DOC RIOT’S BOOK REVIEWS #1
To Be The Man by Ric Flair (with Keith Elliot Greenberg/edited by Mark Madden): Considering the political compromises Flair had to make to get it published, his autobiography’s still a fascinating read and relatively honest…for wrestling.
Flair doesn't hold back on a lot of issues: breaking into the business, his rise to fame, his greatest feuds and so forth.
He praises the people who deserve it (George Scott, Wahoo McDaniel, Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Sting) and slams the ones who don’t (Billy Robinson, Kerry Von Erich, Rufus R. Jones, Jim Herd, Eric Bischoff, Scott Steiner, Shane Douglas, etc).
He also doesn’t hold back on stories about his wild, wild lifestyle – and the negative impact it had on his family and two marriages.
Most compelling is reading about his deteriorating relationship with WCW and Eric Bischoff – from the coming of Hulk Hogan in 1994 through to the bitter end – and how it negatively affected his self-confidence to the point he was having anxiety attacks and, reading between the lines, developing a drinking problem.
While I disagree on many of the things WWE has done, one thing I am happy about – and Flair talks about this several times in his book – is how Vince McMahon helped the Nature Boy regain his pride and rebuild his legendary status in the business.
Sure, Naitch’s constant shilling for Vince, Triple H, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels – along with his unnecessary comments regarding Bret Hart and Mick Foley – lower the book a notch. It wasn’t necessary and I don’t know how much of this bullshit he genuinely believes. But, hey! You do what you gotta do to stay on top in this political biz.
I found very few factual errors in the book – and they were more likely due to memory lapses than bad writing.
However, my biggest quibble with To Be The Man is Flair’s lack of hostility towards people who clearly tried to hurt his career over the years.
Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger and Kevin Nash get off very lightly. Even Hulk Hogan only receives a slight flogging at the hands of the Nature Boy, when it should’ve been far, far worse.
Overall, I’d place To Be The Man below Foley’s first autobiography (sorry, Ric), on a par with Fred Blassie’s autobio, but well ahead of the rest of the pack.
Of course, how it compares with the non-WWE sanctioned autobiographies of Terry Funk and Harley Race – both of which should be free of the political bullshit of Flair’s book – will be interesting to see.
I’ll let you know once I’ve read them.
Flair doesn't hold back on a lot of issues: breaking into the business, his rise to fame, his greatest feuds and so forth.
He praises the people who deserve it (George Scott, Wahoo McDaniel, Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper, Sting) and slams the ones who don’t (Billy Robinson, Kerry Von Erich, Rufus R. Jones, Jim Herd, Eric Bischoff, Scott Steiner, Shane Douglas, etc).
He also doesn’t hold back on stories about his wild, wild lifestyle – and the negative impact it had on his family and two marriages.
Most compelling is reading about his deteriorating relationship with WCW and Eric Bischoff – from the coming of Hulk Hogan in 1994 through to the bitter end – and how it negatively affected his self-confidence to the point he was having anxiety attacks and, reading between the lines, developing a drinking problem.
While I disagree on many of the things WWE has done, one thing I am happy about – and Flair talks about this several times in his book – is how Vince McMahon helped the Nature Boy regain his pride and rebuild his legendary status in the business.
Sure, Naitch’s constant shilling for Vince, Triple H, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels – along with his unnecessary comments regarding Bret Hart and Mick Foley – lower the book a notch. It wasn’t necessary and I don’t know how much of this bullshit he genuinely believes. But, hey! You do what you gotta do to stay on top in this political biz.
I found very few factual errors in the book – and they were more likely due to memory lapses than bad writing.
However, my biggest quibble with To Be The Man is Flair’s lack of hostility towards people who clearly tried to hurt his career over the years.
Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger and Kevin Nash get off very lightly. Even Hulk Hogan only receives a slight flogging at the hands of the Nature Boy, when it should’ve been far, far worse.
Overall, I’d place To Be The Man below Foley’s first autobiography (sorry, Ric), on a par with Fred Blassie’s autobio, but well ahead of the rest of the pack.
Of course, how it compares with the non-WWE sanctioned autobiographies of Terry Funk and Harley Race – both of which should be free of the political bullshit of Flair’s book – will be interesting to see.
I’ll let you know once I’ve read them.
posted by Dann at 9:25 AM
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