Canadian Publisher Announces The Publication Of Chris Benoit Book

Courtesy of ECW Press:

TORONTO, July 26 - In the wake of the horrific double-murder suicide, four noted wrestling writers grapple with the life and death of Chris Benoit in the book Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport, by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick, and Greg Oliver.

Michael Holmes, senior editor for ECW Press, says, "This is not a maudlin rehash of tabloid news coverage. The book's four contributors are respected investigative journalists. They'll look at this terrible event with the integrity and passion they've shown in years of experience in the world of pro wrestling". Holmes adds, "ECW's commitment to publishing wrestling books to the highest possible standard is underlined by bringing this difficult story to light."

The book, scheduled for release in October, will include an introduction and four essays that discuss the subject from a distinct perspective.

- The media's coverage of the story and the role of the media in the story itself will be covered by Steven Johnson.

- Heath McCoy establishes the facts of the case and examines Benoit's Alberta wrestling roots.

- Irv Muchnick gives his opinion on the pop-cultural relevance and the place of this tragedy in wrestling's dark history.

- Greg Oliver discusses the Benoit story in the context of the pro-wrestling industry and personal correspondence with Benoit.

About the contributors:

Steven Johnson is co-author of The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame series with Greg Oliver. Johnson holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia and has received several awards for investigative and general news reporting. He lives in Springfield, VA.

Heath McCoy is a pop culture reporter and rock critic for the Calgary Herald. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling (ECW, October 2007).

Irvin Muchnick has written about a variety of subjects including wrestling for many publications, including the Village Voice and The New York Times. His new book, Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death and Scandal, was released by ECW in April 2007.

Greg Oliver is a writer and editor from Toronto. Oliver has covered professional wrestling for 20 years through the Slam! Wrestling Web site, the Canadian Wrestling Report newsletter, magazines and newspapers. With Steven Johnson, he has written three wrestling books: The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Canadians (ECW Press 2003), The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams (ECW Press 2005), The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels (ECW Press, June 2007), and a fourth book in the series (The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Baby Faces) is scheduled for publication in 2009.

For further information: Simon Ware, ECW Press, (416) 694-3348, simon@ecwpress.com

Note from Ric: Not sure how I feel about this idea, but I'm presently leaning toward not liking it much.