Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain [Paperback]

Arn Anderson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0966324609 | ISBN-13: 978-0966324600 | Publication Date: June 16, 2000

My autobiography is about the wrestling business and my 15 years in it. I will discuss the Horseman days, WWF and my career before Ole & I became a tag team. The book will have other interesting pieces from my time on the road, and my relationships with other wrestlers and promoters. The book will also be forewarded by Ric Flair. I encourage you to read it if you want to know the "real" story about the "Enforcer" and look behind the curtain at a day in the life of a professional wrestler...

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book is a must for anyone who is a fan of prowrestling! The truth about wrestling once and for all revealed by a man who lived it. Nobody tells it like Arn,straight and to the point. The inside stories of events and people in pro wrestling from Ric Flair and the Minnesota wrecking crew to the modern day Nwo,and everything in between. This is a powerful,true life story filled with wit and wisdom thats not just for wrestling fans. Its a success story about a man who became a legend. Its about clawing and scratching your way to the top,and the sacrifices made along the way. You will love this book!

About the Author

Arn Anderson has been making a living as a pro-wrestler since 1982. He was a founding member of the legendary 4 horseman. He achieved greatness as "the enforcer" by holding many world tag -team championship belts and numerous singles titles. His ring career ended after having 4 vertebrae removed from his neck in 1998,though today he still serves as a mentor and member of wcw wrestlings 4 hourseman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Kayfabe Pub Group (June 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966324609
• ISBN-13: 978-0966324600
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #591,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars En-force this off the shelves, March 22, 2000

By 

Adam Geller (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain (Paperback)

Arn Anderson was always a solid worker and one of the best talkers that ever laced up a pair of wrestling boots...however, that doesn't translate on paper. What hurts this book is that Arn stays in character and refuses to break kayfabe. I realize that Arn is from the old school and always tries to protect the business but this is the year 2000 and everyone exposes the business. Arn could have made an inside look at the business still be positive but he didn't. He also glosses over his stabbing incident with Sid Vicious. There is also virtually no inside information in this book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Huge Disappointment..., October 22, 2005

By 

Robert S. Riemensnyder (Wilkes-Barre, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain (Paperback)

When I buy a wrestler's autobiography, I expect a few things, namely an honest, true-to-life portrayal of said performer's time in the business. I didn't get any of that here and that disappointed me greatly because I am and always will be a fan of Arn Anderson.

This book is one big kayfabe (aka "in-character") mess. If this were twenty years ago, I'd understand Mr. Anderson's reluctance to expose the business, but this is a different day and age. Everybody, even fans, has been exposed to the truths behind professional wrestling. Heck, there has even been a reality show focused primarily on the training that goes into learning these basics.

I find it silly that Anderson went the kayfabe route with his book, knowing what he does about the modern state of the business.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NEITZCHE IN THE BLUE CORNER - I DON'T THINK SO, May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Arn Anderson 4 Ever: A Look Behind the Curtain (Paperback)

Marty Lunde aka "Arn Anderson" is a rather ordinary fellow in the very flamboyant world of professional wrestling. He describes himself as someone who "never had the big biceps of the pretty boys, but the [sort of] guy you'd want to have a beer with." This 'everyday kind of guy' persona resonates with his fan base, and Anderson has worked the angle tirelessly - dismissing wrestlers gifted with looks and ability - claiming such qualities are secondary to the 'will to achieve' to which Anderson attributes his success.

In particular Anderson has sought to contrast himself against fellow wrestler Tom Zenk. In his 'autobiography', Anderson claims that while Zenk has the good looks and physique which Anderson lacks, he (Anderson) has the determination and ambition to succeed which, he claims, Zenk lacks.

"As for Tom Zenk, he is the guy with the most potential and least ambition I ever met. Everything was too easy for him. He was extremely good looking with a great physique that won him a number of bodybuilding titles. That guy could go without working out for a year and, given thirty days to get in shape, could look like Rick Martel. But, as his one-month [TV title] reign shows, things coming too easy can be a hindrance in this business." (Arn Anderson 4 Ever; A Look Behind the Curtain, pp. 126-127)

Elsewhere he criticies Zenk, who defeated him for the World TV title in 1990 as "a Greek god" endowed with classic looks and wrestling physique "engaged in "a grandstand play ...to get beautiful women" before again asserting the primacy of the Andersonian "will to achieve" over those naturally gifted and talented like Zenk.

But there's a major problem with all of this. In the fantasy world of pro-wrestling, Anderson might confidently predict his subsequent victory over Tom Zenk and other top wrestlers - knowing the result had been pre-determined weeks before by WCW booker Ric Flair. That's the nature of wrestling, after all. The problem arises when Marty Lunde and his real life fans start to believe "the Anderson story."

As Anderson's friend and fellow wrestler Joey Maggs notes, "In his book .... Anderson infers that Tom Zenk didn't have the ambition it takes to make it to the top in pro-wrestling ... but Tom didn't have the CONNECTIONS that Arn did and that's the important thing in wrestling."

Whenever Anderson ventured away from lifetime buddy Ric Flair's protective influenc e -

- as when Anderson and Tully Blanchard joined the WWF in 1989 as "The Brain Busters" - Anderson's "will to achieve" achieved very little indeed. Anderson and Blanchard held the WWF tag belts for less than 4 months before vanishing into complete obscurity.As Anderson himself admits - "It helps to have friends."

Maggs comments suggest that Anderson's biography propagates a myth - a fabrication which disguises success achieved through internal politics, promoting it instead as some Neitzchean "triumph of the will" over those who rely on natural gifts and talents alone. As such the moral to "the Anderson story" is bo th disingenuous and insidious and shouldn't be left unchallenged by any reader of this book.

For me, the question posed by the title remains unanswered- would Arn Anderson's reputation really survive a closer "Look Behind The Curtain."