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WRESTLING BOOKS


It's Good to Be the King... Sometimes

by Jerry Lawler with Doug Asheville

Description: I love puppies, I really do and I wouldn't be able to say that if it wasn't for The King. And I'm sure alot of young men feel the same way. Lawler is the King and if he can give us puppies, he can give us a book as well. Unfortunately, just as the fact that he didn't coin the term "puppies" is a disappointment, so is his book.

Don't get me wrong, it starts off great in the beginning. Lawler gives insights into a lot of the hot programs he was involved in and also shares with us the fact that he was also a very successful booker. All this starts to show us the wrestler that Lawler once was, the one the young fans haven't seen and you really start to see the value behind Lawler and I'm not saying that the value is gone or anything, but it's a bit tarnished because of what the man has become and his book is a great example of that.

Maybe it's the fact that it was ghostwritten, maybe it's the fact that Lawler is preoccupied with something else (young girls), whatever it is, this book really starts sucking in the middle all the way to the end. A lot of the wrestling he covers is quick and in such a strange order in the way he tells it, that's it hard to understand and disinteresting to read. For example, he hardly goes into detail about his famous Bret Hart feud that all us 90's fans remember and he never even shows us his feelings on it, which sort of tells me he wasn't too impressed with his own program.
And to make things worse, The last few chapters are dedicated to women and how Lawler's heart was broken. I understand that Lawler probably had this book made at a very sensative time (believe me I was there once, guys hurt too) but that is not an excuse for putting it into a wrestling book. This is a wrestling book, people buy it and read it because they want Lawler to talk about his insights on wrestlers, the business, and his own career, not about his search for a rebound after The Cat. He doesn't even cover his take with Kaufman well and mixes it with his take with Carrery, which I felt should have been covered differently.

With that being said, IF YOU ARE A WRESTLING FAN, PUT DOWN THE BOOK AND WALK AWAY. If you're a guy who got his heart broken and want some advice, maybe read the last few chapters in this book. On occasions, books can show us how to cry, to laugh and more often than not, teach us how to be human; that's the beauty of reading. Not this book. Sometimes, it's good to not be able to read.

Rating: I give 5 out of 10

Reviewed by andrew Lee on August 6, 2005.

Eric Anderson wrote in with his review:
Great story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lawler is honest and tells his story like a total pro. Unlike most people of his time, he doesn't preach or plug how great he once was. He just tells it like it is, and that's all you can ask for. His explaining his divorce with Stacy 'The Kat' Carter was a little long, but as a whole it was a great book. 8/10.



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