Rating: Summary: Not the long- awaited biography but a good book for the fans Review: i was waiting for a biography signed by "the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be", this book is more a tribute of the majestuous carreer of the best wrestler of all time. It's good writing, it's interesting, good book but not the awaited...
Rating: Summary: The Best There Is, Was, and Ever WIll Be? Review: I will not lie. Bret Hart is what he wants to be to more people in my mind. He is one of my own personal heroes. In this book, you can relive som of Bret's most amazing matches with tremendous full color photos from them as well as hear some really good comentary by Bret, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, & Goldberg. It's a really good book for all the Bret Hart fans out there. It's also a great book for parents who don't know about wrestling and want to show the side of wrestling that I miss. Purity.
Rating: Summary: Why, Bret, why? Review: If you could put the life story of each wrestler of the modern era into a book, I guarantee that Bret Hart's would be the best. This man has, by far, the most fascinating life & career in all of pro wrestling; he has done everything, and he has had everything done to him. What's that you say? "What about Mick Foley, he wrote a great book?" He did, but he has not had half the career that Hart has; he didn't grow up in the Dungeon, he hasn't had nearly as many classic matches, he didn't get screwed out of the world title in his last WWF match, and he didn't punch Vince McMahon in the face. Every wrestling fan knows at least the bare bones of Bret Hart's story even if they don't like him, simply because his story is so interesting & so essential to the story of pro wrestling itself. Hopefully, someday he will write his REAL autobiography and we'll be able to read all about his childhood, all his fond memories of Owen, his backstage feud with Shawn Michaels, & what he thought about so many classic matches (I personally would love to hear in detail about the iron man match & the submission match with Steve Austin). He is a good writer (he's been writing a column for the Calgary Sun for over 4 years), and he is not afraid to shoot his mouth off. Until then, we have to settle for this: a kiddie picture book, full of fluff, with no insight whatsoever. Any respectable wrestler would be embarrassed to have his name attached to this, and I can't imagine someone of Bret Hart's stature not dying of shame. A twelve-year-old could have written this. The way this book insults one's intelligence is bad enough, but the potential a Bret Hart autobiography had makes it unbearable. If Hart puts forth some effort, he could easily outdo Foley and write the Bible of wrestling autobiographies. Maybe he will, now that he's retired and would be able to focus on it.
Rating: Summary: Great Basic Book Review: If you were new to wrestling, which I am not, and would like to know what happened this is great book. It takes care of many unanswered questions. It's basic great information, Thanks Bret!
Rating: Summary: Worst book there is, was, or ever will be. Review: This book has a lot of pictures and a lot of family in it. I t shows Bret's childhood to his days in WCW. For what's it worth there wasn't much WWF stuff in there(I mean, can you blame him? they practically killed his brother). But, he indeed showed all of the important stuff that went on there, like when he fist won a WWF belt. He has a tribute to Owen and moves beatifully going from page to page, without all of that clutter you see in a lot of biographies. Going from his good times to bad, heading into WCW with high expectations, and most of all, being a class act all the way. Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be,.
Rating: Summary: NO WWF PICTURES. Review: THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT BRET IN WCW WINNING THE US TITLE AND MATCHS WITH STING IN THE SHARPSTOORER.PS IF YOU LIKE BRET IN THE WCW DAYS THAN BUT IT.
Rating: Summary: A true legend Review: This book is not about twisted tales like that of Mankind, nor about inspiring personalities like that of the Rocks it is about proving one thing who is the best there is, best there was and the best there ever will be. I would not say it is exactly a biography but a great book.
Rating: Summary: Pretty book, but what a pity Review: This is a very handsome package, with many pictures and an attractive un-wonky book design (so distracting and unnecessary in the Mankind and Rock books). But after the content expectations and standards set by the WWF autobiographies, this book disappoints.1. The author credit is Bret Hart's, but it's written in third person--except for the reprint of Bret's Calgary Sun eulogy for his brother Owen. Roddy Piper's intro is nearly the same length as the eulogy--he should have gotten cover credit too! This book is clearly not written by Bret Hart; that he is credited is very misleading. 2. Roddy Piper writes as if wrestling is not "a work." Given the context of the Foley and Johnson books which take pains up front to explain the realities of the business, Piper's point of view is somewhat embarrassing. The body text takes a "work" tone as well, focusing more on the drama inside the ring than the enigma of the man. 3. Most jarringly, the text obviously spends a lot of time talking about Hart's classic WWF matches...but as beautifully reproduced as the photos in this book are, there are very few pictures of the WWF days...no pictures of Davey Boy Smith, his brother-in-law and the man with whom Bret had his finest match, only one picture of tag team partner Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart. It's a really HUGE gap. No pictures with his major belts. All recent photos are from WCW. It makes the book a somewhat disconcerting read, as biographies go. Clearly this is based on Bret's and Vince McMahon's emnity and that rights could not be obtained for WWF-era photos. I am sorry for that. 4. Finally, while the book is a treasure trove of Hart-family-growing-up photos, there are only two small photos of Bret's wife Julie, and none of his four children. The book's text doesn't even go near what I would think are two important life dramas--the end of his marriage, and the filming and release of Wrestling with Shadows. All in all, a must for Hitman completists, of which I am one, if only for the rare Hart family photos. It's more an expanded article from Pro Wrestling Weekly than it is a true biography. Bret Hart's life is one of the more interesting and heart-wrenching human dramas in this whacked-out industry, full of beauty, idealism, tragedy, and irony. It's a story that's very far from over. I can't wait to hear him tell us about it someday.
Rating: Summary: not the best book there was, is or could have been Review: This is not an autobiography. It is a good book at highlighting his career, but there are missing gaps. no detail of his tag matches, no real detail of his other family members like Bulldog and Anvil. Although I am a huge hitman fan, I couldn't help thinking how much better this book would have been if Bret actually wrote it. There are absolutely no first hand commentary about his life or any matches. No stories about life on the road, other wrestlers, matches, family, freinds. After reading one chapter of Nick Foley's book, and then reading this book in it's entirety. I was hugely disappointed. Nick's book is far more entertaining, and insightful about the business than this book is. If you want more info on the hitman pick up the wrestling with the shadows video, that does a better job at showing the behind the scenes of the business and offers more insight to the HITMAN. I look forward to the day the hitman puts out a true autobiography, that is the best there is, was, and ever will be
Rating: Summary: Biography Doesn't Do "Hitman" Justice Review: When I heard that a book about Bret "Hitman" Hart was coming out that was going to be about his life and all his many adventures in the wrestling business, I eagerly waited with anticipation. Given the success Bret had with his award-winning documentary, "Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows," I expected the same kind of honesty and openness in his book. However, that is not the case. There are a few things in it worth noting, but otherwise it is just a glamorized magazine. The book starts out with a forward written by the rowdy one, Roddy Piper. I should have known from the forward that this book wasn't going to be what I thought it was. Piper doesn't even get half his facts straight in his forward. In one paragraph, he says he had to face Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Title; this is true. He also says that a turning point in the match came when he threatened to hit Bret over the head with that same belt; this is not true. Piper was going to hit Bret over the head with the ring bell. This is the match that took place at WrestleMania in 1992. Kind of makes you wonder what else in Piper's forward is sadly mistaken for real facts. Perry Lefko, the REAL author of the book, does an okay job talking about Bret's life growing up and his blossoming wrestling career. There are many never-before-seen family photos in this section of the book, and those are a nice addition. However, there is little mention of Bret's tenure in the WWF outside his debut and his controversial exit. Not only that, but there are hardly any photos of him wrestling in the WWF. I imagine this has something to do with the fact that Vince McMahon owns all of Bret's archives, and it is sad that such a legend like Bret Hart can't even have photos of his greatest matches in a book written about him. Much more time is focused on Bret's tenure in the WCW and the events that led up to him winning the World Heavyweight Championship in the Air Canada Centre on November 21, 1999. There is much left out in the book that could have been touched upon, and what is not in the book far outweighs what is actually in it. This book almost looks more like a fancied up magazine than an actual book. There are pictures galore, which I am a strong fan of, but many of the pictures repeat, and hardly any are of Bret from the WWF. Over 90% are photos of him wrestling in the WCW. Overall, this is a book that could have been much better. It's got a sleek design, a lot of photos and a few interesting facts about Bret that I didn't know before. But it could have been so much more. It should have been so much more. I've heard that Bret is writing a book of his own and that it will be due out before 2002 is over. If Bret is writing the book himself, if someone else is not writing about his life, it will be the best-selling wrestling book ever. After his refreshingly honest documentary, I expect that same openness with is book. And, knowing the "Hitman," he will give us just that.
|