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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty book, but what a pity, March 21, 2000
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.
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by Bret Hart
by Chris Jericho
by Martha Hart
