Customer Reviews

The Stone Cold Truth

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin's autobiography, "The Stone Cold Truth" details the life and career of one of the biggest icons in professional wrestling history. Overall, it's a great look at the life and times of one of America's most popular entertainers.

THE BOOK

Like any autobiography, the book discusses Austin's childhood growing up in Texas where he discusses growing up with his brothers. He talks about his family, his love of sports (football, baseball, weight training, tennis) and just growing up in general including his first relationship with his first wife.

From there he talks about how he got started in professional wrestling after dropping out of college after his college football career ended. He discusses the genesis of his wrestling career in Chris Adam's wrestling school and with the Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas. From there he chronologically follows his career with the Jarrett's USWA, Ted Turner's WCW, Paul Heyman's ECW and finally his getting into Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. He shares lots of stories about the promoters and wrestlers he met and learned from along the way and highlights some of his more prominent career highlights.

Overall, if you're a wrestling fan you'll love reading Austin's overall thoughts on the wrestling business as he gives you his honest opinion on it. The vast majority of the book is basically Austin's experience in the business, his opinion on what the business is, how it should be run, etc. He talks candidly about his feelings on what is wrong with the business and how it should get back to its "roots" like when he started in it. He talks candidly about his relationship with Vince McMahon as well as goes behind the scenes with how his biggest feuds in the business were put together or got floundered. We also get some of the dirty details behind his frustrating career in WCW as he saw it.

Overall, it's a real fascinating read to see the wrestling business from the eyes of the man who literally changed it.

In addition to the wrestling business he also "opens the door" a little to his private life where he candidly owns up to a lot of the mistakes he's made as a husband (three wives and counting) and he also takes a look back at some of the problems wrestlers have with their drug addictions, talking in depth over the sadness he felt when he friend and former tag partner Brian Pillman passed away.

THE CRITIQUE

As many reviewers have attested already, the biggest drawback to the book is that it leaves you wanting more. Many of the chapters in the book are only a few pages long. Obviously there's a lot more that Austin and his co-biographers could have shared but I'm of the opinion that what was shared was adequate. The pace of the book reads very quickly and is very accessible. The book itself does not say too little (like the Rock or Chyna's autobiographies which definitely SHOULD have been heavier on content and less on fluff) but you do have the "more COULD have been said" feeling.

THE COOL THING

The book is interspersed with "inserted commentary" by Austin's mother and father as well as his good friend and confidant "J.R." Jim Ross. The commentary adds some good extra insight to some of the points and stories Austin shares. Various pictures and documents (letters, etc.) also highlight Austin's story where appropriate. Overall, the presentation, save for a few typos, is well done.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Overall, while the book was a little sparse in parts, readers should be happy with Steve Austin's "The Stone Cold Truth." For wrestling fans you'll benefit from the insight into the wrestling business from its pre-eminent star. For casual readers you'll love the story of how a "good old country boy" from Edna, Texas came out of nowhere and succeeded against the odds. "And That's The Bottom Line, `Cause Stone Cold Said So!!!"

Total Pages: 312
Total Read Time: 6 hours

Highest Recommendation

First of all, I did enjoy the book. It's an easy read and can very easily be read in one or 2 sittings. So it's really nothing heavy, so to speak.

Most of the stories are enjoyable, but brief. He barely touches on his childhood and collage years. Now for a wrestling fan that could be a good thing because about 30 pages into it he starts on his wrestling career. So it does not take long to get to the meat and potatoes of it.

I do give Steve credit for being honest about several issues. Cheating on his wife. and perscription drug use are the 2 that come to mind right now.

Steve also opens himself up about the love he feels for his 2 daughters. For those who have only seen his tv charactor might be shocked when they find out what a loving father this man really is because it shines through perfectly.

One dissapointment was that he left some of his thought process out of it. I would love to have known how he felt when he found out that he was to win the WWE title and be their #1 guy. Did he get scared, or nervous? We don't know. What was going through his mind when he had to headline his first PPV? I would have liked to see these topics covered.

One more point that was bothering me was the book kind of has the feel that Steve just told the stories in the book to Dennis Brent, and Dennis wrote the book while trying to be in charactor as Steve Austin. I think it would have come across more honest if Steve actually wrote it himself and Dennis just cleaned it up a bit. Just my 2 cents.

I really did like the ending though. Steve talks about what he would change about the wrestling biz, and what he feels would make it beter. This came across to me as the most honest part of the book. I just wish the whole book had that feel.

My recomendation : Worth a read, but wait for paperback.

All Austin fans will love the Stone Cold Truth. For all his fans, they will get to know everything about Austin they did not know. Any wrestling fan in general should like the book as well, since it has more than enough information to satisfy the reader. I do have to say they really could have been more, but the bottom line is information wise it gets the job done. I thought maybe Austin should have commented more on the people who had had such a great impact on his life. Also some chapters in general are bit short such has the WCW section which, could have been longer since Austin made his debut as a well known profesionally wrester in WCW. Th book in general follows all previous wrestler bios with 300 plus pages broken down to plenty of chapters. Even though Austin did not write evry single bit of the book, the majority is Austin's words. I would have to give it 4 and a half stars, maybe not perfect but still satisfies.

the stone cold truth was really one of my favorite books. i m a HUGE wrestling fan and i've been watcng it for years and years to come. stone cold has always been one of my favorite superstars. he touches on his college and child years and alwas has commets from jr or his mom. it was intresting to see wahs mom though because when steve was in the wwf's (wwe) most brutal matches, his mom would be there. the pictures with his kids are really fun to look at. the sitiuations he was in and how he tells them just captures you into readng the book.

on of the coolest things in there was how he explained the rules to being a "heel". and how to cut promos he went beyond the wwe and into his personel life wich makes it one of the best books i read...EVER

I, too, read the book in an afternoon - I couldn't put it down! Being a long-time Steve Austin fan, it was wonderful to get those stories from his beginnings to the present.
I truly enjoyed the book from cover to cover, the many pictures, the family insights and tales, J.R.'s outlook, even the medical info was interesting (I'm a nurse ;))!
You have to admire a man, who seems so private, to just put it out there like this. Although he has repeatedly stated that he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him, you can't help empathizing with him on the health and personal levels. This book shows that although he is adored by millions, he's also a man trying to live a life just like the rest of us - only the whole world is watching him.

I was disappointed in Stone Cold's book mainly because after reading both of Mick Foley's books you really appreciate him writing it in his own language and style. You can totally tell a "ghost-writer" did Steve Austin's book and so the actual story doesnt feel like its coming straight form the hip....

What a great read. This book was very interesting, altough some parts were a liitle too brief there is certainly more than enough information on the life of on of the greatest Wrestling stars and maybe even the best superstar in the wrestling bussiness. Peronally, I really enjoyed reading the whole story invoving Owen Hart. The whole story of him breifly leaving the company was also ver interesting. Overall, thereis plenty of information for any fan to enjoy this autobiography of Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Seeing as this is only the 2nd WWE Biograph I have really looked forward to (Hogans being the first) it had hugh expectations to live up to... and it did.

This book will take you from his early days as a child to his ECW Apperances to his matches with the Bret & Owen Hart to his last match against the Rock at WM 19 at the sold out Safeco Field in Seattle, this was a solid no holds barred book will all the details that the media never knew about.

This is a sure read for any person who even remotly like WWE!

Have you ever wondered what Steve Austin's life was like when he was a kid? How he became a pro wrestler? Or how he became one of the best pro wrestlers in the business till this day? Like what was his dream before he became a wrestler? The book that I am reading is The Stone Cold Truth.
The protagonist is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Steve Austin's dream before he became a wrestler was he wanted to be a rock star. His dream would have come true but his brother told him that he couldn't sing so that's when his dream went downhill. One day he was watching wrestling and they he saw a wrestling camp. He ask his mom and dad; they said that he could try to wrestle. So the next day he went to the school. Then he signed in to wrestle and he was one of the wrestlers that got picked out of 300 guys 8 of them got picked one of them got picked.
I really liked the book. Some of the things in the book were scary and some were funny but the book was a really good. Like in the beginning of the book Austin sad he had a heart attack the night before wrestlemaina. That was one of the scary parts about the book. One of the funny parts about the book is when he and his brother thought there was a robber in the house and they each got a 12 gauge shotgun for Christmas and they grabbed them and went downstairs. Then Austin pulled the trigger and shot their ceiling.
One thing I would have changed about the book is the incident in the beginning of it when he had a heart attack at the third Wrestlemaina I would have put that in the end I would have liked to learn more about what he did in his first Wrestlemaina.

Steve Austin's bio is an intriguing tale of how Steve Williams emerged as a wrestling icon. Some good information is provided about Steve's growing up in a fair but firm family environment. Steve's pre WWE days are discussed with some detail specifically is relationship with Brian Pillman. Steve certainly learned how to cut a promo from his former tag team partner.

Of course the information on Steve's WWE escapades are extremely interesting. Steve does show how is in ring persona is an extension of his personality but not the true man inside. He discusses his relationship with Vince McMahon, Kevin Nash, Owen Hart, and others in a fair way. Steve is also fair in discussing his personal life and his failed marriages. He understands his shortcommings and that is the sign of a true man.

The overall impression is that the reader gets a true inside story of Steve Austin, WWE icon.