Rating: 
Summary: To be the man you have to read the man
Review: This book is a must read for a fan of Nature Boy Ric Flair. It was hard to put down as he told his stories from the road. It's a rare glimpse inside the life of a man who dedicated his life to Pro Wrestling. I think if your a fan you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: this is an amazing book that you have to read you would never stop reading this book when you start you keep until you finish it so don't make a wrong desicion and buy this book
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It
Review: This is the story of Ric Flair, written towards the end of his career. Flair's book has an advantage over other wrestling books. Since he wrote it now, as opposed to ten years ago, it is pretty comprehensive, whereas when people like Rock and Foley wrote their's, they were unable to cover everything since their careers still had plenty of more time. The main advantages Flair has though are his life experiences, stories, and accomplisments. Put another way, he has a lot better material to work with than other wrestlers because he has been around a long time and practically 'done it all.'So what is in the book? A few chapters about his early childhood, years in high school and college, and then the story of how he broke into wrestling. From there, he tells of the people he first met, and how he was in awe of many of them, as he had followed their careers. We learn that Flair was an avid wrestling magazine collector, who idolized many wrestlers. Flair talks a lot about people like Wahoo McDaniel and Dusty Rhodes. From there he talks about his early successes. Among them are some title wins (tag titles, tv title) and his early feud with Ricky Steamboat. A lot of the book is devoted to his first few reigns as NWA champion. Less is devoted to his first stint in WWF, his return to WCW, and then his take on different time periods in WCW, mainly when Hogan first came in, when the NWO was hot, and then when Russo came in.
Do not worry though, he spends enough time talking about his backstage battles and concerns with Hogan, Bischoff, and Russo that the reader should be satisfied. Throughout the book, he gives his take on several wrestlers like: Savage, Sid, Bret, Sting, Lugar, Triple H, Jarett, Foley, Michaels, Undertaker, Hogan, the list goes on. While I do not agree with everything Flair had to say about these guys (I especially disagree with him on Bret and Savage), he is Ric Flair and I believe he has the right to be heard. Basically, Flair tries to distinguish between a "good" wrestler and a "great" wrestler. To him, Bret and Savage are just good, whereas people like him, Steamboat, and Michaels are great. This is far from a perfect book, but I'd still give it 5 stars. If you ever wanted to know what kind of person Flair is, and what he thinks, you will get a lot out of this book. You will not get everything you want, but probably more than enough to satisfy.
Rating: 
Summary: To be the man, you have to be a man
Review: Unfortunately, Ric Flair is not a man, but still a boy. He wasted the opportunity to write his biography, and instead issued this piece of garbage laden with political overtones, cheap shots at other wrestlers, and unjust praise (and butt-kissing) for people he wants to like him. To be truthful, I never liked Ric Flair - he has no talent in the ring, doing the same boring routine match after match; his body & face are hard to look at; and his interviews left me questioning his sanity more than they made me believe he was a great sell. Now after reading every single page of this piece of garbage, I no longer dis-like him, I now HATE him.
Let me start by talking about some of things mentioned early in the book. Allegedly, he's considered by the 'experts' as the greatest wrestler of all time, superceding even Frank Gotch and Lou Thesz. Well, I'd like to know who these 'experts' are, because Frank Gotch and Lou Thesz could and did wrestle for real (Flair couldn't wrestle his way out of a paper bag). And coming from someone who actually has a pedigree in amateur wrestling, I'd say Flair could not even lace the boots of those two legends. Flair seems to think that his longevity in the wrestling business (which I will even admit is impressive) elevates his stature to the very pinnacle. And he wastes no time in this book insulting wrestlers and taking cheapshots at those who he doesn't like, yet he praises wrestlers who say nice things about him. After reading through the first 3 or 4 chapters, I began to think that he's trying to write his own legacy. And despite what other reviewers have written, Ric Flair is not candid in this book.
What I found the most distasteful was the low blows at Hogan, Bret Hart, Savage, and Foley. Every one of these men are better than Ric Flair in their own respective way, but according Natch, they either don't measure up, or in Hogan's case are too political. Flair spends a lot of time in this book praising Vince McMahon, but he neglects to mention that it was McMahon who pushed Hogan, Savage, Bret Hart, and later Foley. I don't understand the logic in criticizing one without criticizing McMahon. And interestly, on Page 116, Flair says that on the night before Starcade 'Vince made a proposal to Harley Race to skip Starcade and jump to the WWF with the NWA title.' Flair says nothing about the charactor of McMahon for that gesture, yet he still finds it appropriate to lavish him with praise, even calling him 'his mentor.'
Also, one cannot speak about professional wrestling without comparisons being made between Ric Flair & Hulk Hogan. Flair offers his opinion that Hogan was not his peer in the wrestling ring, and that his belt was not as prestigous because it was chosen by one man. Well, that man happened to be none other than Vince McMahon, but Flair had his head so far up McMahon's *** that he doesn't bother to mention the poor choice he made. One thought from me on this: McMahon did not choose Flair to revolutionize the wrestling business; he chose Hulk Hogan. And the results prove that McMahon made the right choice, because Vince is a billionaire today. Could Flair draw the diverse audiences that Hogan did? Who knows. But down in the grungy southern territories were Flair made his impression, the audiences & the profits were nothing compared to what the WWF was doing. And as for the in-ring wrestling ability question between Hogan & Flair, who was it that slammed Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III? I've watched every Ric Flair match I possibly could (I even bought his DVD), and I've never seen him do a dropkick, a moonsault, or any technical wrestling other than his figure-four leglock, and he has never shown any strength whatsoever. And I'm also still looking for one of the wrestlers that Flair 'put over.' No one was ever able to get the belt from him, and when they did Flair would get it back in very short time. I think Flair held more wrestlers back than he put over. As for Hogan, he put over many wrestlers. To name a few- The Ultimate Warrior, Yokozuna, The Undertaker, Bill Goldberg, The Giant/The Big Show, and The Rock. After thinking about it, Hogan & Flair DO NOT COMPARE!
This book is a long, hard-to-read, yet revealing book. It offers you a glimpse at the charactor of Flair (or lack of it) that may disturb you. Read it if you must, but don't say I didn't warn you. I'm sure you'll conclude it's probably better as a doorstop.
Rating:
Summary: Naitch is still the man!
Review: Well, what can i say about Ric Flair's book that wasn't said already. It's the absolute best book ever written on the subject of wrestling aside Mick Foley's - Have a nice day!. He did it all ( NWA - WCW - WWF and the WWE) and his career spans over 3 decades so he has the background for a bio of this magnitude. From the most hilarious story ( Terry Funk naked on Flair's lawn with a knive in his mouth chasing Flair's dog! ), to the most heartbreaking ( RAW - Greensville - May 19 2003 - Flair vs HHH with surprise post celebration ), to the most frightning ( airplane crash ! ), with the exception of Have a nice day this is the most honest book on the subject. By honest i mean brutally honest man! The Nature Boy tells it like it is.On then WCW president Jim Heard, Ric said : - I'd spent all these years putting up with (...), sacrificing my body, and never seeing my oldest kids, to find myself manipulated by the whims of a moron, a (...) pizza company executive with his finger on the trigger. I was in shock when he said that Shawn Michaels was a much better wrestler then Bret Hart ( who he finds not that great ) or that Mick Foley was not a wrestler but more of a whipping boy who got throught beacause he could bleed and take punishment. Not in shock beacause i don't agree with him ( well i don't but that's another story right! ) but beacause he's HONEST and he does not hold back his opinions. It's facinating to have the best of the best disagreeing with your own view and it makes you see the business throught another viewpoint. What set this book aside from Foley is the fact that editor Mark Madden did an amazing job of editing this book mixing Naitch own story with interviews from those who got to know Flair ( Harley Race and Ricky Steamboat for example). It gives the book an edge that no other WWE bio had before. Brilliant! P.S : I don't think anyone will disagree with his view on Hulk ( I wrote a supposed tell all bio that's full of holes and filled with lies ! ) Hogan and Eric Bishoff. Actually what he wrote about Hogan is very interesting since Hogan does not talk at all about his relation with Flair in his book!
Rating:
Summary: Flair pulls no punches in a must read for wrestling fans.
Review: When I heard Ric Flair would be writing a book, I was giddy with anticipation. Now that I have read the book, I am very happy to say that Flair does not pull any punches in discussing his personal feelings about such wrestlers as Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Shane Douglas, Scott Steiner, Eric Bishoff, and the entire WWE roster. His stories about the end of WCW gave this fan a better insight of why the poorly run company collapsed when it did. This book is a must read for any fan of wrestling and is especially appealing to Ric Flair fans.
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