Rating: 
Summary: A MUST...
Review: No joke! You just gotta have this. I have never laughed so much at any book. I always thought autobiographies [were bad]. I didn't really want to read this either. But I did, and I praise myself for doing it. I also praise Mick Foley for writing it. It was a tremendous effort (lots of pages with letters dominating on them -- it's not a picture-portfolio, as opposed to books of other wretlers), but worth every minute of it. Foley is honest. Very honest. And he talks about everything in his life in an honest manner. And what makes it all funny is that he is a loser. One of the "nice" guys... you know, who always stays behind because he is... well... nice. And that's exactly what makes him so funny -- I'm sorry, but the Rock's personal stories don't even come close to Mick's tales of family, frineds and long-long years in the underground swamps of wrestling. The story is a true inspirational tale, whenever it is not a laugh, and besides those, shares Foley's honest opinions as a man who came from low and was handled as such, but worked his way up to the top. He never forgets though where he came from -- never forgives either, but the vengeance is simply to crack up about. Even if you don't care about wrestling and don't want to be inspired, still buy this book because of its humor. Foley has a true talent to writing and is intelligent and snappy in his style. The book is big and long, but it contains [money] worth fun that will keep you flipping those pages with interest and a smile on your face -- take my word for it.
Rating:
Summary: Mick, made it a nice day
Review: I was not sure what to expect from this bio from Mick Foley.
Beeing my first "wrestling" bio ever that I was going to read, I guess that I started reading this book, with very low expectations. I now have to sit back and eat humble pie.
Mick writes with an honesty, that is painfully vivid.
His antics with Al Snow, Stone Cold and DDP, had me in stitches. Don't let his characters fool you folks.... Mick Foley is one inteligent individual! The only thing that I find hard to believe, is that this is his first book! He has a talent for putting words to paper, the likes of which, some authors out there, will be humbled by. All I can say is wrestling fan or not, this book is a must to read and display proudly
Rating:
Summary: The one that started it all...
Review: First one read, last one reviewed. What's up with that? Never mind. Take it for what it's worth. Before the slew of wrestling books came out, Mick's autobiography, "Have a Nice Day," was an oddity. It was thought so by the publishing world and even by its publisher. They didn't have enough faith in it to crack into the top 50 best-sellers, never mind number one. Especially when you consider it was handwritten, and it was huge by celebrity bio standards. It became a best-seller. A number one best-seller. Why? Well, I may be preaching to the converted, but Foley took huge risks. He didn't use a ghostwriter. He committed everything to paper. He talked about the business in terms that, until recently, were forbidden. He used profanity, praised Vince McMahon, and lambasted genuine legends in his field. And he did so with a literary flair (the style, not The Man). The book was intelligent, funny, and thought-provoking. Non-wrestling fans read the book. It was ignored by the literary media and became a best-seller. A number one best seller. It has it's weaknesses. I agree that it should've been edited better (Bret(t) Hart!). There should've been an index (the publisher's to blame for this one!). It dragged in parts (never too much or very long). It was full of vulgarity (even for me!) which guaranteed it would be ignored by the mainstream. Even so, it was the story of a regular guy with irregular dreams and an intelligent viewpoint on a carnival job. Part one is better than part two, but both tell the story of Mick Foley: family man, intelligent bon-vivant (what the heck!), and the craziest, toughest SOB in wrestling!
Rating: 
Summary: For Hardcore Wrestling Fans Only...
Review: James Brown is considered the "Hardest Working Man in Show Business". Mr. Brown meet Mr. Foley. Mick Foley has become a cult hero to the millions of fans who have turned professional wrestling into a billion dollar enterprise. Not too long ago, wrestlers were confined to the "squared circle", but those days are gone and "sports entertainment" (nee: wrestling) has become a part of our pop culture. Foley takes advantage of this with his debut effort. There are no ghost writers, here. Foley pens every word and his life reads like the inspirational "underdog" story that it is. While Foley spends ample time on his upbringing, his marriage and his life off of the road, he also is a wrestler. That is to say he uses tons of wrestling jargon and anecdotes to bloat this book near the 600 page mark. If you're a fan of Foley's alleged "sport", then this is a surprisingly quick and smooth read. If wrestling is "beneath you" then keep looking.
Rating:
Summary: Mick Foley is a Hero
Review: Mick Foley is a hero, but he's a hero to a different kind of people. Mick Foley is a hero to a different breed of people. Mick Foley is a hero to pro-wrestling fans! "Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and SweatSocks" is hand-written by the hardcore legend himself, Mick Foley on 760 notebook pages . In the book, Foley writes about his life as a wrestler and all of the hardships he takes to get to the top. Foley experiences over 325 stitches, more than 20 injuries, and fights in Japanese death matches to get to his ultimate goal, the World Wrestling Federation Championship. Mick Foley also known as Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love was a not-so-regular kid with a dream until he got noticed. Mick made a backyard wrestling video with his friends using his first ever persona, Dude Love. When he shows the tape to a room full of eager people .He is noticed after he shows the tape to a room full of eager people and is soon taking lessons from wrestling legend Dominic DeNucci. On Mick's first day of training Dominic tells Mick to "Givea' me a forearm." Mick thinks he means a fake punch, so he throws one. However, Dominic then takes his fist and punches Foley right in the chest saying, "This is how you throw a forearm." Foley learns that there is much more reality in pro-wrestling than he and others thought. Foley continued his training and soon became an independent wrestler known by the name of Cactus Jack. An independent wrestler is one who goes where he is wanted and is not in any organization. Foley quickly lights up the independent scene and becomes very popular. Foley is so popular because he puts his body on the line every night and puts 110% effort into his matches every single time he participates. A lot of wrestlers don't do this and that is why Foley is a hero to people. Mick Foley is a hero because he gives it all he's got and gives a great show doing it. To wrestling fans, a hero is one who gives the fans what they want, a show to remember. Foley showed up to every single match he was ever signed up for, whether it was a 900 mile drive away or whether it was right next door. Foley has a dedication to this sport (and yes it is a sport) like no other wrestler I have ever seen. For this reason Foley is a hero to me, and wrestling fans alike. After many years on the independent scene, Foley decided to go somewhere where only the bravest of wrestlers go' Japan! Japanese wrestling is a different kind of wrestling in that the fans want to see not only good technique but what they most want to see is blood and guts. This is done by including "foreign objects" in the wrestling such as barbed wire and nails. These few chapters are very interesting and should be read and not told by me about. Foley participates in these matches and even the "King of the Death Match." How does Foley fare out in Japan? Get the book, and read! Foley describes his experience in Japan with every possible. After Foley left Japan he was offered a job by World Championship Wrestling (WCW)and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) itself. Foley's dream as a kid was to be the World Wrestling Federation Champion. Vince McMahon from the WWF changed Foley from Cactus Jack to Mankind and Foley's WWF career was off. Mankind goes on to become one of the greatest World Wrestling Federation superstars ever. He participated in some of the most memorable matches ever including the infamous Hell in the Cell at King of the Ring 98' where he was thrown 17 feet off the top of a cage onto a table. Foley is a hero because he puts his body on the line and sacrifices his body for the benefit of those paying $30 to see him do it. The fans want/expect Foley to be a daredevil and he delivers EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. All of this pays off as Foley reaches his eternal goal of being the World Wrestling Federation Champion! Mick Foley is not just an amazing wrestler, he is great writer. Mick uses such detail in every story and event that it's a surprise he remembers it all after eight concussions! This book is great for it's stories and it's events, but it's also a well written book. You will laugh, cry, and go in shock from all of Foley's stories in this book. If you are a wrestling fan then definitely get this book for it talks about everything behind the scenes and everything you've always wanted to know about. If you are not a wrestling fan, get this book. This book is for fans but it's even better for non-fans. It opens up to non fans the world of pro-wrestling and the world from a pro-wrestlers point of view. To Mick Foley fans, this will prove all the more that Mick Foley is a hero to all of us. Mick Foley is a hero because he didn't give up when his training was tough and he stuck through it all the way. Mick Foley is a true hero because he had such determination for the sport and he gives the best he can every time he wrestles!
Rating:
Summary: Good writing, poor editing
Review: As readers can tell from the other reviews this book is funny, comprehensive and surprisingly well written. It also contains graphic & sometimes gruesome photos. The major problem is total lack of organization, not even a table of contents. Foley just starts in & keeps on going with no attempt to address any particular subject. The book is not indexed either, a MUST for a long non-fiction work that deals with so many events & personalities. Vince McMahon, Hogan, Flair, Undertaker, the Rock, HHH, Jake the Snake and many more are here but it will take some searching to find them.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading.
Review: This was a good book. I did, however, find it to be somewhat slow at times. It had a lot of funny parts and did talk a lot about the 'behind the scenes' that most viewers never get a chance to learn about. I did like it enough to probably read his next book, 'Foley is Good'. I am reading Kurt Angle's book now and after 100 pages, I like it much better. I have already read the Rock's book 'The Rock Says...' and would also give it a 3 star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy Uncle Mick lays it all out for us.
Review: [...] Professional wrestling is something of a guilty pleasure for me. I enjoy it on several different levels, and this book has altered the way I look at it. (Adding more levels of enjoyment, if you can let yourself believe that sports entertainment has levels.) This is not some ghost written piece of propaganda. Mick did write this book... By hand. Seriously. The title of the book says that it's the biography of Mankind, but we really don't get much about that particular persona of Mick's until more towards the end of the book. But don't worry, because that's okay. If you just focus on Mick Foley as Mankind you're missing out on A LOT. The book starts pretty much at the beginning, with Mick as a promising High School Lacrosse player, who's a really big fan of Jimmy "Superfly" Snoka, jumping off a friend's roof for a home movie. (Pajama tops ARE cool!) Mostly, people concentrate of the fact that Mick is a bleeder. Intentionally allowing himself to be "opened up", and capitalizing on it when it happens by accident. (I've got a gash under my lip that I can stick my tongue through! Where's a camera!? Let's do an interview!) And there is a lot of that in this book, but there quite a bit else. We learn about his Mom and Dad, his brother and their friends growing up. His wife and kids. And these are interesting people, and you're glad he's shared them with you. People who's only connection to Professional Wrestling is that they are all connected to Mick in one way or another. Of course he talks about all the people he's known in the industry. And this really changes the way you look at people when you watch the shows. I know I'll never look at William Regal, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and ESPECIALLY DDP the same way again. (I'm not even sure I CAN look at DDP any more...;) ) Mick Foley is a hard working guy who doesn't just bleed for us, he really tries to give his matches some serious entertainment value. He goes out of his way to give backstory and motivation and sociology to his matches. And that really makes them more interesting then just a couple of guys beating the [...] out of eachother.
Rating:
Summary: Great revealing look at the world of pro wrestling.
Review: This is a great introduction into Mick Foley's world.
Even though I read this book in December 1999, I think
it is possibly one of the best autobiographies/biographies
ever written by a professional wrestler. This was his
first attempt at being an author, and he did remarkably
well.
He discusses in the book the matches he and his friends
had as kids, and the crazy stunts they did (jumping off
the roof of a house for example) to mimic their favorite
stars. He also discusses how he spent weekends training
at Dominic DeNucci's pro wrestling training camp, while
he juggled going to school. DeNucci was an ex pro wrestler,
who was in the WWF. He also talked about sleeping in his
car as well.
His discussion of the life on the independent circuit
and in Japan is very interesting, as are the numerous
types of matches he has been involved in his career.
He isn't called the King of Hardcore Wrestling for
nothing. This book also discusses his stints in ECW
and WCW, and how poorly he felt he was treated by them.
He also discussed with Vince the creation of the
Mankind character and his return to the WWF. His first
stint there in the 1980s was as a jobber, or a guy that
is supposed to lose, or JTTS (Jobbing To The Stars).
He also touches on his wife and how they met and his
children. He also discusses the tragedy surrounding the
Owen Hart death. It is a bit on the salacious side with
some of the content, but all in all, it's a very
entertaining read. The man isn't the stereotypical
wrestler as portrayed by certain members of the mainstream
media, who are fairly ignorant about the pro wrestling
industry and what really goes on. He has proven in both
of his bestselling hardcover books that he has sharp wit,
and a sense of humor and is a charismatic personality,
inside and outside the ring. I have known about Foley
since the late 1980s when he was Cactus Jack in WCCW,
or World Class Championship Wrestling, which was one of
the many casualties when the WWF began its' national
expansion campaign into other territories in the 1980s.
What I didn't know was about Mick Foley the man, until
Have A Nice Day!: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks was
released in 1999. The book is a must-have for the mark,
or the knowledgable wrestling fan who knows what is going
on behind the scenes, or the smart mark, a.k.a. the smark.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: As an avid wrestling fan(almost 20 years) I was quite impressed with Have a Nice Day. I assumed it would be another ghost written book but was pleasantly surprised when Foley proclaimed his 150 spiral bound notebooks he used to write Foley is Good. It was exciting, rough and quite candid at times. But the life was a wrestler is extraordinary and FOLEY did an amazing job balancing the hardships and the triumphs. I especially enjoyed speeding down the highway @ 3am and picturing his greatest matches yet to come. As well as steadfastly proclaiming- if someone asks for an autograph they're a fan- if they take a "whiz" oh his lawn they are stalking. FOLEY IS MAGNIFICENT!
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