You have to get the Bret Hart book now
I've only just begun reading Bret Hart's long-awaited autobiography, and already I can tell you that in my opinion, it's the greatest wrestling book ever.
It's brutally honest. It's historically accurate. And unlike the vast majority of wrestling books -- written by guys who are either on Vince's payroll or want to be -- Bret is at a level where he can say what he wants about people without fear of repercussions. And he's so respected, you have to put stock in everything he says.
I'm still far from done with it (it's more than 500 pages), but I'm just blown away. It's not officially scheduled for U.S. release until later this year, but there's a few sites out there that sell it -- I bought mine from Highspots -- and even at 35 bucks, it's worth every freakin' penny.
I'll review it more fully once I've gotten through the whole thing. And please, if you've read it, let me know what you guys think.
E-mail
Facebook
Digg
Delicious
Comments (10)
Seth, when you get to the last 10% of the book(Owen dying, the stroke, his divorce) don't read this part alone. It is so depressing if no one is there to talk you down, you may try to kill yourself.
Otherwise great book, definately worth picking up. But i liked Jericho's book better.
One of the BEST books I've read. You can tell that Bret put a lot of his heart (no pun intended) into the book. I certainly hope one day he'll be at peace with himself.
I read it last year when it came out up here in Canada & I thought it was an excellent book. It had been a long time since I had sat down to read as much as I did when reading that book.
2nd best book ever, next to Foleys. Your either going to feel so bad for Bret you will wnat to cry, or you will want to punch him in the face repeatidly because he is such a pompas ass.
I think you will be the former, but its a very polarizing ending.
Excellent, excellent book. If you're a Bret Hart-hater, it's highly doubtful this book will change your mind about him. If you're a Bret mark (like me), you'll get validation for how Bret conducted himself with Shawn & Montreal. There's a few factual quibbles here and there (I don't think Chyna and HHH were together in '95, but I could be wrong; also, the way he describes the post-match reconciliation with Bulldog at Summerslam '92 doesn't quite resemble what I remember), but overall, not only is it a great autobiography, but the most definitive book on the WWF/E I've seen so far.
Yes, it's a very good book but saying that "it is so depressing if no one is there to talk you down, you may try to kill yourself" is perhaps slightly melodramatic. This business cannot handle many more wrestling-related deaths, so I wouldn't add "Bret Hart's book" to the list of causes of such deaths just yet. Once again, a rivetting read.
Hi guys, I'm writing from the land Downunder - Melbounre, Australia. My folks managed to get me a copy of the book for Xmas. Even considering Bret is/was proably my fav. wrestler, I found this very hard to put down, & had it finished a couple of days into the new year!
In a word - wow! Very deep, dark & moving book. It must have taken a lot of guts to write. I certainly will never think of Micheals the same way again, despite what he continues to produce inside the ring. Certainly makes you think twice, three times even about some of the things in wrestling & in family life that we take for granted.
I just hope putting this book out there also brings Bret some closure on some on the major issues he has had to deal with over the years.
Agreed, Hitman is a quality book. I appreciate how honest Bret is about himself and his foibles on the road, although sometimes I get teh feeling that he's not as hard on himself as he should be.
Seth, I'm not sure if you've read Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling. I read it back-to-back with Bret's book and it's a great companion of sorts as well as an excellent standalone. It covers the history of Stampede starting with the birth of Stu and ending with Nattie Neidhart, TJ Wilson and harry Smith getting signed to WWE. In between you have Abdullah, Bret, Davey, Dynamite, Bad News Allen/Brown, Honky Tonk Man, and more. I'd recommend this one as well.
For a 500-page book, it comes to a close awfully quick. The last hundred pages seem underwritten compared to the begining.
That said, I enjoyed it a great deal, and it's interesting to read his book after reading Flair's and Michaels', where both men left important information out of their accounts. Hart leaves nothing out. It's awesome.
I'd hate to ruin one of Bret's greatest lines, but "This book is the best there was, best there is, and the best there ever will be!"
But in response to Vance's comments, my guess on the final 100 pages is that he might not remember all of it. I mean, he did suffer a lot within the final area, and the concussion from Goldberg might have made him forget some things.