Rating: 
Summary: Great Basic Book
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.
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