Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very honest tale of a super Husband, Father, and Wrestler, June 26, 2004
this is a very sad book. if you have read mick foley's first book(Have A Nice Day) then you know how much of a family man Owen was. Well this book only shared more of this great man life. He had values that would not be compromised in any way. You couldnt buy Owen. He was probably the most moral man in the sport at that time, and truley loved his wife and family. This tragic book chronicles his life, growing up in the Hart family home and business(which was wrestling), meeting the love of his life(which he couldnt have found a better woman), establishing himself in the wrestling busines(that he honestly despised, but it paid the bills), and the sad way Mr. Hart had to leave us all. It also chronicals the lawsuit following his death, and the literal hell his beloved wife went through following his death. This is a must read if you were a Owen Hart fan. A truely heart touching and wrenching novel. Thank you Martha Hart for sharing with us things that you didnt have to, but you chose to. So thanks again.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Painful Read..., March 28, 2004
I've read nearly every wrestling book out there. From the WWE produced biographies (Mick Foley's two books, Chyna, Kurt Angle, Freddie Blassie), the WWE produced coffee table books (WrestleMania, Unscripted) to independant looks at wrestling (Pro Wrestling for Dummies, Sex, Lies and Headlocks, WrestleCrap), they all offer varying views on the hobby I am most passionate about. This book, however, sets itself apart for many different reasons.
Martha Hart, as part of a promise she made to herself shortly after Owen died, wrote this book under a very heavy heart. I was prepared for that when I started to read it. I also tried to be prepared for a personal attack on the world of wrestling. She definately has a reason for that. However, I was not expecting the level of bitterness she showed to most of Owen's life.
There are two different areas to where she spews her hatred: The (at the time) WWF, and the Hart family. In reguards to the Hart family, with the exception of Bret, she paints a dismal picture, most of which senitments she writes Owen shared. She is constantly judgmental of the family that raised Owen.
In reguards to the WWF, nothing is sacred. Not one word of good was at all written about wrestling. As a matter of fact, you can see disdain (which seems engrained in her from her childhood) in every paragraph. She regularly refers to wrestlers as "uneducated mucleheads as a whole," and the reader gets the picture that she thinks about the same of the fans. Think, Martha, who is going to buy this book?
As for the positives, the behind-the-investigation report of Owen's death is amazingly in depth. However, due to marred facts that run through the book (Owen was never at fault for breaking Steve Austin's neck in 1997, as contrary to video evidence, Al Snow carried a severed woman's head instead of a mannequin head.) I really have questions to the accuracy of it all. The book also allows the reader glimpses of how the family dealt with the death, and the aftermath. Although dripping with bitterness during these parts as well, it is interesting.
Overall, it was tough for me to continue reading through some of the backhanded insults that I felt were directed towards myself as a wrestling fan, but I'm glad that I picked the book up. I understand that pro-wrestling is a very different business, but it isn't as disgustingly horrible as Hart paints it out to be.
I miss Owen Hart's entertaining in ring work. It saddens me that he leaves behind a family with two little children. I wish Martha nothing but good luck and happy times for the rest of her life, but this book really does nothing but trash wrestling. I reccomend this to Owen Hart fans, or people who hate Vince. Other than that, don't pick it up.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book I've read in years., October 31, 2002
While I'm sure wrestling fans will be enthralled to learn about the life and tragic death of this of incredible man, the beauty of Broken Harts is that it's not a wrestling book.
It's an incredibly emotional tale of two high school sweethearts who had had all their dreams shattered thanks to an incredibly negligent WWF stunt that made for the most famous incident in the history of wrestling.
Martha Hart, Owen's widow, reveals what happened the night he fell 78 feet thanks to a stunt designed by a hack who used a flimsy nautical clip to suspend Owen above the ring.
The legal battle and family fight that followed is fascinating to read about as is the raw emotion of the night Martha learned of his death and the days that followed.
I finished the book - as did several of my friends - in two sittings and cried several times. Yet, at the end of the book you're not depressed as hers is a story of triumph over tragedy in many ways.
It's a great read. I'd recommend it to anyone and, remember, I hate wrestling.
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