The Queen of the Ring is the story of Mildred Burke, the longest
reigning champion of female wrestling. In this in-depth account,
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeff Leen pulls back the curtain on a
forgotten era when a petite midwesterner used her beauty and brawn to
dominate America's most masculine sport.
At only five feet two, Mildred Burke was an unlikely candidate for the
ring. A waitress barely scraping by on Depression-era tips, she saw her
way out when she attended her first wrestling match. When women were
still struggling for equality with men, Burke regularly fought--and
beat--male wrestlers. Rippling with muscle and dripping with diamonds,
she walked the fine line between pin-up beauty and hardened brawler.
An unforgettable slice of Americana, The Queen of the Ring captures
the golden age of wrestling, when one gritty, glamorous woman rose
through the ranks to take her place in athletic history.