From Publishers Weekly
Following in the footsteps of the likes of Mick "Mankind" Foley, The Rock and Kurt Angle, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan has become the latest professional wrestler to set his life on the mat to the page. While the book certainly won't challenge for any literary prizes, Heenan-a funny, cocky guy with an intelligence that goes well beyond his 8th grade education-is surprisingly charming. A pro wrestler since the 1960s, Heenan recounts the early days spent wrestling bears in Canada, getting cheated by promoters and bleeding in smoky gyms and halls across the northeast, all for as little as $10 a night. A devoted family man, Heenan finally made a comfortable living off the sport he loves in the 1980s and 1990s and has spent a lifetime reveling in the attention (and venom) his supporters and detractors have thrown his way. 22 pages of b&w photos
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Heenan has been involved in professional wrestling since the 1960s. He's worked empty small-town arenas where a curtain with painted-on faces was used to simulate a packed house for the television audience. He's worked prime-time network television. Jesse Ventura and Hulk Hogan are among his peers and sometimes clients. Heenan's ongoing role has been that of manager, and if you know the "sport," you know that managers usually show up in a suit, tout their guy, and then wind up in the ring after insults are exchanged. It's all high drama or low theater, and it has played very well to more than a few generations of 13-year-old boys. Heenan relates 30-plus years of often-hilarious, self-deprecating anecdotes, profiling along the way some of the unique individuals attracted to this hybrid of sports and soap opera. Heenan even gets a bit personal, revealing his search for long-lost family members and reflecting on his ongoing battle with cancer. A very entertaining memoir from a man who's been on the inside of a uniquely American entertainment medium.
Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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