Customer Reviews

Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Between November 22nd, 1985 and June 20th, 2007, Chris Benoit built a Hall of Fame wrestling career. Throughout his twenty-two years in the business, he was a promising newcomer, a rising star, an international sensation, an admired hero, a consummate ring general, a respected locker-room leader, and champion of the World in every division. But the horrific events that happened on the final weekend of June 2007 would forever tarnish Benoit's legacy and leave him remembered as the monster that killed his wife (Nancy) and 7-year old son (Daniel) before taking his own life.

It took ECW press only three months to produce the first of what I imagine will be many books written about the Benoit tragedy. Established writers Steven Johnson and Greg Oliver (co-authors of "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams" and "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels") were joined by Heath McCoy (author of "Pain & Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling") and Irvin Muchnick (author of "Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death & Scandal") to compile several essays focusing on the frenzy that occurred following what has become known as wrestling's darkest day.

The book fittingly begins as a tribute to Chris Benoit's wrestling career, which was a good move because the great professional life of Chris Benoit, the wrestler, deserves to be acknowledged. However, many would argue that point.

After paying reasonable tribute to the wrestling career of Chris Benoit, the authors turn their attention to the real story of what exactly happened on that dreadful weekend. They also reflect on the media frenzy and the battle for information which resulted in the reporting of many unsubstantiated claims, such as the blockbuster presented by WWE that Benoit's son, Daniel, suffered from Fragile X syndrome - which ended up being proven false by family members and Daniel's school teacher. The internet also played a part in the global distribution of BENOIT developments. The world of professional wrestling had a powerful spotlight placed upon it, as theories of Roid-rage were splattered on every major news publication on the planet. This was another theory eventually proven ghastly inaccurate. By the time the toxicology reports were released, the world was exhausted and had already moved on to the next news story.

This book contains a series of essays written by four of the best wrestling journalists in the world, presenting a very informative version of the life and death of Chris Benoit and his family. It is a short book, about 160 pages; large print, a strong reader could polish it off in one sitting (three sittings for me). At around $17 Canadian ($15 US), the price is certainly worth it to get the entire Benoit story - as straight-forward as it's ever been told. There will be more books about Chris Benoit in the future, including a full-length book by Irvin Muchnick called "Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro-Wrestling's Cocktail of Death."

"BENOIT: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport" will be released on October 15 and will be available at most book stores and online bookselling sites; for more information on the book and its authors please visit www.ECWpress.com..

Rating: 8 / 10 - Personally, I still struggle to comprehend what Chris Benoit did. I will never be at peace with this.

Reviewed by Brad Dykens of OnlineWorldofWrestling.com

I was disappointed with this book. It would of been ok if it was just one person writing it. It seems that they kept telling the same things over and over. Everyone would of known this part of Chris Benoit's wrestling career if they watched his wrestling dvd Hard Knocks. As for the murder/suicide they basically just stated what was said on tv instead of doing any kind of investigating reporting. I really thought that it was more of a angle into Chris Benoit's history, but it really wasn't.

know this - Chris Benoit's brain has been analyzed and it showed severe brain damage in all areas of the brain, even into the brain stem itself, due to trauma suffered in the ring over the years. He gave his life to the sport we all love so well, and the brain damage that resulted is what caused him to lose control and commit the terrible acts on that day. The doctor's reported that Benoit's brain resembled that of an 80-year old Alzheimer's patient. But no, they didn't report THAT on all the news programs, now did they? YES, what he did was horrible - but now we truly know WHY he did it, and that he did NOT have full control of his mental faculties. I have been a healthcare worker for over 8 years, and I am experienced in working with mental illness... and that's exactly what this was.

Just buy the "Hard Knocks" DVD and remember Chris for the man he was through out his life.

If you want a super fast read, get this book, lots of photos and rehashing information in the short pages.

The topic of Benoit and his life needs a comprehensive review and this is something this book did not succeed in doing or even attempt to cover. What we get is a brief overview of the whole tragedy.

It is not a bad read, just too light.

The best book out there on Benoit is "Ring of Hell".

The collection of essays from four journalists - Greg Oliver, Heath McCoy, Steven Johnson, Irv Muchnick - is a mixed bag due to the angles covered; including brief biographies and a definitive account of the timeline leading to the double-murder/suicide, to an in-depth look into the media coverage and a scathing editorial closer from Muchnick that every wrestling fan should read.

There are repetitive portions of text due to the material being presented as it was when initially published, but the placement of the essays does allow the text to flow as well as possible. The material builds to Muchnick, who dissects the work by World Wrestling Entertainment in what he alleges is spinning the tragic story line to protect the financial interests of the publicly-traded company.

While not being a definitive account of Chris Benoit, his wife and son, it is a decent primer for those wishing to have a foundation before delving further into the rest of the story.

I bought this and Chris Jeicho's book the same week. A lions tale blows this away,, im not even sure i learned one new thing in this "breaking new" book that the observer or the torch didnt report a long time ago.

Save your money....on this one

The biggest problem with this book is that it was rushed out after the disgusting events which Chris Benoit perpetrated on his wife and son. Just the idea of putting the book out because of the media coverage of this event is what prevents it from being more favorably reviewed. The upside of the book is that it in no means attempts to forgive Benoit for his actions nor does it attempt to figure out why he undertook the murders. It is a collection of essays about Benoit up to the murders but does not cover the deaths in detail thankfully. The big question is, is this a book honoring Benoit's previous career or is it attempted damage control in the aftermath of a monster or is it just a cash-grabbing attempt?

1. Greg Oliver presents his take on Benoit's career and now tarnished legacy. Oliver wraps up his entry with Benoit's title wins throughout his career.
2. In his second article, Greg Oliver recounts the events of Nancy Benoit and her place in wrestling history. Very interesting article on arguably the best non-wrestling woman in wrestling.
3. Heath McCoy submits the best article in the book which is a much more detailed history of Benoit's career from his start in Stampede Wrestling up to his final days. If the attrocities of Benoit's final actions didn't happen, this is then the definitive history of the man's career. Heath McCoy seems to have a much deeper grasp on the history which is also covered in his astonishingly good book Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. Great article.
4. Steven Johnson attempts to balance out the positive articles with a more direct perspective on the media circus, possible steroid influence, and drug issues rampant in the business.
5. Irvin Muchnick, who has a personal connection to wrestling through his Uncle Same Muchnick, proceeds to write yet one more article attacking the entire wrestling business as well as Benoit. For someone who seemingly despises wrestling, he spends an awful lot of time writing about it.

Overall, several great articles but it still doesn't overrule the fact that the man's life ended in the brutal deaths of his wife and son. Had Benoit only committed suicide, the entire wrestling world and public view of it would have been forgotten quickly. The fact that he took his wife and son with him is what kept/keeps this in the negative thoughts of the public in general otherwise no one would have cared about his own death.

The book had good detail, and if you want the story of Benoit's life, you've got it, but I felt that there was often too many boyish-stories along with the book. The authors were biased, which is a GOOD thing for this story, but I felt that some things could have been skimmed over and other things should have been more embellished. Perhaps it is outdated now, but I was expecting further discussions and updates repercussions of the events that took place.

If you want a blow-by-blow description of what happened in the Benoit case, you won't find it here. Instead, this is a short, tightly written and very readable analysis of Benoit, his career, and the consequences of the tragedy. The authors are very fair in putting his career in perspective and explaining his position in wrestling.

The section on the media explains not just how the media became consumed by the steroid issue, but more importantly, why that happened. It shows how superficial the media in covering many stories of this type and why that is the case. This book is recommended for both wrestling fans and general readers who want some perspective on this troubling story.

This book isnt what i expected it to be. i thought it was going to be his biography amongst the description of what caused him to commit the crimes he did. The book was good it kept my attention. all together i would have to give this book a 6 out of 10.