Wrestlers have been putting pen to paper ever since Mick Foley’s
Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks proved to be an instant hit. Ever since, a flood of books about wrestlers’ lives followed suit. But the secret to Foley’s success, which was never really duplicated, is this—the man can actually write and tell a compelling tale. The influx of books coming after that has been mediocre at best. There have been a few that have managed to hold its head above water but not by much. Foley really set the bar high and many haven’t come close to achieving his literary status.
When Bret Hart announced he was releasing his own autobiography, I cringed but was excited as well. I think I’m numb to the number of wrestling memoirs out there right now that it just all reads the same. But this is Bret Hart. This is different. I have admired the man when he performed daily for the WWE (then WWF) and took a great liking to him. He wasn’t built as the typical steroid-induced beefcake. He wasn’t all brawn. He could actually wrestle and amaze you with his technical skills. He was not your typical World Heavyweight Champion at the time when big men still ruled the ring. He was looked upon as the everyday man. More importantly, he’s Canadian and it was great to see someone from the home country, that wasn’t named Wayne Gretzky, take the spotlight.
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling is an autobiographical tale of Bret Hart’s life, as told by Hart himself in his own words.
Everybody knows the infamous “Montreal Screw Job” that occurred at
Survivor Series 1997. Bret talks about this black mark in his career but it’s only a portion of what has happened in his life. Everything before and after that moment has a lot of significance, and he talks about the highs and lows of his in-ring career. More than anything, I believe it’s the fact that his entire family is in the wrestling business made this a very unique read. He could have become an amateur wrestler Olympic contender but instead he turned to the family business. From his humble beginnings at Stampede Wrestling to his time in both the WWF and WCW, Bret re-accounts every facet, every detail of his time as a wrestler. This is because he kept an audio diary from the very first day as a wrestler and has used these notes to compose his book.
This is a very honest account of his life, and it isn’t always a pretty read. Yes, he has won multiple championships, both in the singles and tag team divisions, has traveled the world many times over, has become a popular superstar, and is renowned to be one of the greatest wrestling technicians and workers in the business. But he also has faced many demons along the way as well, such as the sex and drugs, real rivalries with wrestlers (as opposed to just staged ones for in-ring performances), tragic deaths in the family, and eventually his own massive stroke. On the outside, it may look like Bret Hart’s life looks great. This book sheds the vestiges of that illusion and he tells it like it is. Amazingly though, Hart could have really used this book as a vehicle to do damage to a lot of people, but he restrained himself (to a degree) as he wants his fans to understand who he is and why these certain betrayals have affected him deeply.
I honestly thought that I knew enough about Bret Hart’s life and was extremely surprised at how little I really knew after finishing the book. Not many things surprise me these days but this one did. I still hold Bret Hart in high esteem just because I admire his work ethic and integrity. This book just revealed how human he is as well.
Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling was a Christmas present from my family back in Canada. They know how much I like Bret Hart so when I received the book, I was even more surprised to find out that he personally autographed it for me. This is the legacy of the Hitman and he has recorded it well in this tome.
Product Details
ISBN: 0307355667
Format: Hardcover, 592pp
Publisher: Random House Canada
Pub. Date: Oct 2007
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This is an entry in my Canadiana Write-Off.
