Apartment 4B, Like in Brooklyn - Book Review

Evan Ginzburg has been in and around the wrestling business for a number of years, as editor of the Wrestling Then and Now magazine, helping to organize wrestling conventions, or acting as a booking agent for former WWE stars Johnny Valiant, Lanny Poffo and Nicole Bass, Ginzburg has built up quite a reputation.

Ginzburg’s second book, Apartment 4B, Like In Brooklyn, is an autobiographical book, as Ginzburg looks back at his childhood years, of life growing up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.

It’s a tale of a child growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, at a time long before kids found their entertainment with video games and mobile phones, and they found enjoyment by playing ball games in the street and in backyards. Things certainly were a lot easier and simpler back then.

And it’s a truly enchanting tale, as Ginzburg tells us about his parents, a mother who looked after house and home, and a father who worked fourteen hours a day, six days a week, as a New York cabbie, estimating that he’s driven over a million miles during his life.

Ginzburg also tells of the many influences in his life, which, of course, involve professional wrestling, and learning Spanish along the way while watching Lucha Libre on television. The story of his first ever visit to Madison Square Garden, to watch his hero Bruno Sammartino, was also enjoyable.

But it’s the stories of his friendships and encounters with other kids in the neighbourhood that make this book. While not wanting to go into to much detail here, there are tales that will make you laugh and cry, and even though these events took place over thirty years ago, and you knew things would turn out fine (otherwise he wouldn’t have written this book), you couldn’t help but root for the guy during some of the more troublesome moments.

In conclusion - a highly enjoyable read here. Ginzburg manages to capture the sense of the era perfectly, and after finishing the book, I began to wonder if Ginzburg ever got back in touch with any of the friends he made in Brooklyn, and if he found out what they’re doing now.

With thanks to Evan Ginzburg for supplying a copy of this book. For more information on this release log onto www.evanginzburg.com. You can also find out about Evan’s magazine, Wrestling Then and Now, now in it’s sixteenth year, by visiting www.wrestlingthenandnow.com.