PACHINKO
MAN

The Life and Meaning 

of Pro Wrestling Legend Rikidōzan

Publication date is January 2027. Orders direct from the author are expected to ship slightly earlier. Direct orders include autographed copies with free shipping to U.S. addresses. Reserve yours by remitting $24.95 in U.S. currency to  paypal@muchnick.net. (Canadian orders, add $10 for shipping. All other foreign orders, add $20.)

ECW Press,

distributed by Simon & Schuster

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR PACHINKO MAN

Irvin Muchnick, the late sportswriting great Frank Deford said, “produces magnificent investigative journalism.”  Reporting for Underwater: The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe (2024) spurred government and sports governance investigations in five countries. He also took on the public health crisis in football with Concussion Inc. (2015) and Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads (2023). His classic books explaining the pro wrestling phenomenon in American society include Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal (2007) and Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death (now in its third “Ultimate Historical Edition”).

Muchnick was born in St. Louis and lives in California. A former assistant director of the National Writers Union, he was lead respondent of the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming freelance writers’ copyrights and economic rights, Reed Elsevier v. Muchnick.

Read the profile of the author by Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Blog

Books

UNDERWATER

The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and Around the Globe

 A deep dive into the unsafety of youth athletes — in the U.S. and abroad — under the commerce-driven Olympic system

$19.95

Also available from:

CHRIS & NANCY

The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death

  Third and “Ultimate Historical Edition.” Full account of the sensational 2007 episode that still shines light on the dark side of the wrestling industry and of American business, media, and politics.

$22.95

Also available from:

Investigative journalism isn’t ‘peer-reviewed literature.’ It’s a contact sport.

Concussion Inc. - Author Irvin Muchnick