The Queen of the Ring

Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend

By Jeff Leen
(Atlantic Monthly Press, Hardcover, 9780802118820, 356pp.)

Publication Date: August 2009

Other Editions of This Title: Google eBook, Paperback

Categories: Wrestling, Women, Sports - General

Jeffrey Leen is the assistant managing editor for the Washington Post’s investigations unit, where his work has helped win six Pulitzer Prizes. Also the author of KINGS OF COCAINE, the first book-length investigation of Columbia’s Medellin cartel, he lives in Maryland.

“In a class by itself. A serious history of one of this country’s goofiest pastimes...one senses that [Leen has] left no stone unturned in researching Burke’s story.”—The Washington Post

“An all-American story of a woman who rises above her downtrodden circumstances to make something of herself.”—Barry Gewen, The New York Times

“You won’t be disappointed…Leen has [Burke’s] story pinned to the mat.”—USA Today

“Leen can deliver gripping scenes…a rewarding read, an untold tale that completely deserves the telling.” —St. Petersburg Times

“Jeff Leen has made a fabulous contribution to the sports-history canon. The Queen of the Ring is a marvelous evocation of an era, and a riveting portrait of a one-of-a-kind American moll.”— Sally Jenkins, author of The Real All-Americans