The Squared Circle

Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling

By: David Shoemaker

Narrated by: R.C. Bray

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Grantland and Deadspin correspondent presents a breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact that does for the sport what Chuck Klosterman did for heavy metal.

The Squared Circle grows out of David Shoemaker’s writing for Deadspin, where he started the column “Dead Wrestler of the Week” (which boasts over 1 million page views) - a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young because of the abuse they subject their bodies to - and his writing for Grantland, where he covers the pro wrestling world, and its place in the pop culture mainstream. Shoemaker’s sportswriting has since struck a nerve with generations of wrestling fans who - like him - grew up worshipping a sport often derided as “fake” in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestling superstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens through which they learned to see the world.

Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of pro wrestling in America through the present day, The Squared Circle is the first book to acknowledge both the sport’s broader significance and wrestling fans’ keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offers a snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period’s preeminent wrestlers, and the sport’s influence on our broader culture. Through the brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestling can teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art.

©2013 David Shoemaker (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

great book

it was a great book, the editing was a little iffy, but I highly recommend to any old school wrestling fan

Pretty good

There was tea nothing I haven’t heard before and some of the names weren’t even close. Besides the nitpicky stuff it was very good and entertaining. I would recommend giving it a listen.

Maj book, Repug recording.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Squared Circle to be better than the print version?

I really liked this book, but the piss poor editing of the audio can really take you out of it. additionally, the narrator is clearly a good older than the author, which makes some of the autobiographical details in the book sound extra strange, but that's just being knit picky. Truly awful sound quality though. This thing is audiobook adjace.

Technical Difficulties?

My only issue with this book was that it was very clear where edits were made as there was a definite drop in sound quality where these edits were made. In all my years of audiobook listening I’ve never come across this issue outside of old radio dramas from the 1930’s & ‘40’s.

Outside of these technical problems I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of Pro Wrestling or anyone interested in it’s history.

This is a great book

It is a great book good detail good info great narration worth a listen for sure

Love this gem of a wrestling book!

A great book about pro-wrestling, its history and pro-wrestlers. It starts with a hilarious anecdote about the author's initiation to wrestling as a kid drawing on his experience to go see wrestling matches with his father. There he kind of learns that pro-wrestling is an intricate intermingling of reality and fakery. The book briefly describes how pro-wrestling came about along with its more legitimate cousin (as a sport), boxing, and then embarks on the introduction of various wrestlers in loosely chronological order. I was a pro-wrestling fan as a kid and, though I don't follow pro-wrestling anymore, this book's superb story-telling really packs tons of entertainment for me. This is an audiobook I want to come back to over and over. A real keeper in my book.

Eye opening

Will open your eyes to what professional wrestling is actually all about. Don't judge wrestling without listening to this.

One Two Thee….. FIVE!!!

I was one of those kids who’s eyes were glued to the tube in the 80s watching match after match. I even went to Wrestlemania 2 in L.A. Great stories, and backstage antics along with mythical lore. However, I will say I was rather bummed at the lack of correct information in regards to Wrestlings own Voldemort. I just saw the Murdered 17 year old kid very much alive and giving interview on a recent documentary. How does that get past the editors, and an author so well versed? Someone tripped over the top rope there.

The best book about wrestling that I've ever read!

I've never read a detailed account that compares to this one of the life and death of various wrestlers, their hardships and their victories, and all the insider stores in between. The language in this book is beautiful as well! Note that some of the audio is redubbed; however, it's barely an issue at all in that this book is so great!


If you like this book, you might like the author's podcast Cheap Heat; just Google it and you should be able to find it in various ways.

Really Enjoyed the Book

My only complaint is that Shoemaker didn’t read it himself. He is a popular podcaster and has a great voice. So, the voice actor used here was a strange choice by the publisher.