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Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Canada
Format: Import
In his own words, Bret Hart’s honest, perceptive, startling account of his life in and out of the pro wrestling ring.
The sixth-born son of the pro wrestling dynasty founded by Stu Hart and his elegant wife, Helen, Bret Hart is a Canadian icon. As a teenager, he could have been an amateur wrestling Olympic contender, but instead he turned to the family business, climbing into the ring for his dad’s western circuit, Stampede Wrestling. From his early twenties until he retired at 43, Hart kept an audio diary, recording stories of the wrestling life, the relentless travel, the practical jokes, the sex and drugs, and the real rivalries (as opposed to the staged ones). The result is an intimate, no-holds-barred account that will keep readers, not just wrestling fans, riveted.
Hart achieved superstardom in pink tights, and won multiple wrestling belts in multiple territories, for both the WWF (now the WWE) and WCW. But he also paid the price in betrayals (most famously by Vince McMahon, a man he had served loyally); in tragic deaths, including the loss of his brother Owen, who died when a stunt went terribly wrong; and in his own massive stroke, most likely resulting from a concussion he received in the ring, and from which, with the spirit of a true champion, he has battled back.
Widely considered by his peers as one of the business’s best technicians and workers, Hart describes pro wrestling as part dancing, part acting, and part dangerous physical pursuit. He is proud that in all his years in the ring he never seriously hurt a single wrestler, yet did his utmost to deliver to his fans an experience as credible as it was exciting. He also records the incredible toll the business takes on its workhorses: he estimates that twenty or more of the wrestlers he was regularly matched with have died young, weakened by their own coping mechanisms, namely drugs, alcohol, and steroids. That toll included his own brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith. No one has ever written about wrestling like Bret Hart. No one has ever lived a life like Bret Hart’s.
For as long as I can remember, my world was filled with liars and bullshitters, losers and pretenders, but I also saw the good side of pro wrestling. To me there is something bordering on beautiful about a brotherhood of big tough men who pretended to hurt one another for a living instead of actually doing it. Any idiot can hurt someone.
—from Hitman
| Customer Reviews: |
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| The Only Wrestler Who Talked The Talk And Walked The Walk |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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If you ask any true wrestling fan in the last 30 years about Bret Hart, it's hard to find someone that will supply a negative response. Bret Hart was a constant professional as well as a devoted man to his craft. Bret Hart easily could be considered the best all around wrestler of not only his generation, but of any generation. In this autobiography you will be thrown into a life that has had more downs then ups. However, it's in those down phases of his life that shows a true testament of what a champion really is.
Bret Hart holds no punches through this brutally honest portrait of professional wrestling. From his constant public battles with his siblings, his nonchalant drug use during his career, multiple acts of infidelity to his wife. Bret's personal feuds with Hulk Hogan, as well as the highly publicized "Montreal Screw job" with Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon are all here in very detailed chapters. The way he writes this book is so easy to understand because he breaks it down for the non wrestling fans. If ever there was to be a movie based on a real wrestler, Bret Hart would be the choice. By the end of reading this book you will feel as if you had a backstage pass to a profession that tries to keep that world hidden from its viewers.
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| The best book there is, was, and ever will be, about pro-wrestling |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Wow...that is one word I can accurately say about Bret's book. It is seriously the greatest book out there about the in's and out's of the wrestling business. He really tells it like it was in good detail from within the Hart family house with it's infamous "dungeon" as well as starting out in his father Stu's "Stampede Wrestling." He explains almost every detail from his beginning in Calgary all the way through to his unfortunate stroke and a bit beyond.
If you are looking for a book that has Bret making all of your childhood heroes look good....this isn't it........however if you want a book that shows you what it was like in the old days before being a wrestler meant being pre-packaged for the masses without much talent development that we see nowadays.......this is definitely the book for you!
Long live Bret "Hitman" Hart!
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| Good Transaction |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Product was delayed due to an out-of-stock notice. Other then the slight delay, recieved the book as expected at a great price. Would use this seller again.
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| Fantastic Read |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Wow! What a book! I normally take 2 or 3 days to read a book, but it took me 2 1/2 weeks because I didn't want to miss a word. I downloaded it on my kindle, and I will buy the book itself for the photos. I have many wrestling autobiographies, but this one, by far, was the best! I've been a wrestling fan for over 30 years, and I remember watching Bret and the rest of the Hart Foundation. I loved them then, and I love them, and especially Bret, even more now. He is so very talented, and is very sad that such a large family just couldn't get along. It was also quite sad how his first wife Julie treated him, and the trophy wife didn't treat him any better. Wow, he seemed to be very honest and pretty much bared his soul. He also didn't mince words, and I loved it! Bret, keep on keeping on!
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| Good read even though Brets ego almost overshadows the book |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Pros: It is a very detailed account of many parts of his career, and Bret is very candid about the dark side of the wrestling life, and he is very open about his experimentation of drugs and his affairs with wrestling groupies. If you've followed wrestling for any amount of time, you will get to hear stories that were going on behind the scenes during memorable moments in wrestling history. He is very truthful in regards to his opinions about his siblings in regards to his success, and the tragedy of his brother Owen's death.
Cons: Bret is open and objective when it comes to his personal life. However, when it comes to pro wrestling, he takes himself way too seriously. I don't mind when a reader gives an opinion, but there are too many instances where he gives his opinions as fact or when he substitutes his own opinion in place of the wrestling fans'. He gives several examples about professional wrestling where he will state something like,
"[Such and such wrestler] had a match, the crowd was bored and hated it."
Several of these instances I remembered vividly, and either the crowd reaction wasn't how he described it. Or I would think, "Well I didn't hate that. The kids I knew who watched it with me didn't hate it."
When it came to pro wrestling, he would admit an occasional flaw, but always had a way of justifying his, while holding others accountable for theirs. In certain chapters, he would literally go on and on about how great he was and how he was everyones hero. Bret has fans all across the world, but it is possible, even for someone like Bret, to have an overinflated view of themselves. Bret, imo, had this problem.
Bret was a great entertainer, and despite some criticisms I have, this is a very good book. It is a book any wrestling fan should read.
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