Audiobooks by Abraham Riesman

Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Riveting, essential reading." —Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland The definitive biography of Vince McMahon, former WWE chairman and CEO, charts his rise from rural poverty to the throne of one of the world's most influential media empires—and features never-before-seen research and exclusive interviews with more than 150 people who witnessed, aided, and suffered from his ascent. Even if you've never watched a minute of professional wrestling, you are living in Vince McMahon's world. In his four decades as the defining figure of American pro wrestling, McMahon was the man behind Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and Hulk Hogan, to name just a few of the mega-stars who owe him their careers. For more than twenty-five years, he has also been a performer in his own show, acting as the diabolical "Mr. McMahon"—a figure who may have more in common with the real Vince than he would care to admit. Just as importantly, McMahon is one of Donald Trump's closest friends—and Trump's experiences as a performer in McMahon's programming were, in many ways, a dress rehearsal for the 45th President's campaigns and presidency. McMahon and his wife, Linda, are major Republican donors. Linda was in Trump's cabinet. McMahon makes deals with the Saudi government worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And for generations of people who have watched wrestling, he has been a defining cultural force. Accessible to anyone, regardless of wrestling knowledge, Ringmaster is an unauthorized, independent, investigative chronicle of Vince McMahon's origins and rise to supreme power. It is built on exclusive interviews with more than 150 people, from McMahon's childhood friends to those who accuse him of destroying their lives. Far more than just an athletics or entertainment biography, Ringmaster uses Vince's story as a new lens for understanding the contemporary American apocalypse.

Abraham Josephine Riesman, Abraham Riesman (Author), Alyss Weissglass (Narrator)

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True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee

The definitive, revelatory biography of Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee, a writer and entrepreneur who reshaped global pop culture-at a steep personal cost   "A biography that reads like a thriller or a whodunit . . . scrupulously honest, deeply damning, and sometimes even heartbreaking."-Neil Gaiman Stan Lee-born Stanley Martin Lieber in 1922-was one of the most beloved and influential entertainers to emerge from the twentieth century. He served as head editor of Marvel for three decades and, in that time, launched more pieces of internationally recognizable intellectual property than anyone other than Walt Disney: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Black Panther, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor . . . the list seems to never end. On top of that, his carnival-barker marketing prowess more or less single-handedly saved the comic-book industry and superhero fiction. Without him, the global entertainment industry would be wildly different-and a great deal poorer.   But Lee's unprecedented career was also filled with spectacular failures, controversy, and bitter disputes. Lee was dogged by accusations from key collaborators such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko over who really created Marvel's signature characters-iconic figures for whom Lee had always been suspected of taking more than his proper share of credit. A major business venture, Stan Lee Media, resulted in stock manipulation, bankruptcy, and criminal charges. A second one, POW! Entertainment, has been repeatedly accused of malfeasance and deceit. And in his final years, after the death of his beloved wife, Joan, rumors swirled that Lee was a virtual prisoner in his own home, beset by abusive grifters and issuing cryptic video recordings as a battle to control his fortune and legacy ensued.   Abraham Riesman is a veteran culture reporter who has conducted more than 150 interviews and investigated thousands of pages of private documents, turning up never-before-published revelations about Lee's life and work. Lee's most famous motto was "With great power comes great responsibility." Stretching from the Romanian shtetls of Lee's ancestors to his own final moments in Los Angeles, True Believer chronicles the world-changing triumphs and tragic missteps of an extraordinary life, and leaves it to readers to decide whether Lee lived up to the responsibilities of his own talent.

Abraham Riesman (Author), Vikas Adam (Narrator)

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