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 Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Bobby "The Brain" (or perhaps you knew him as "Pretty Boy" or "The Weasel") Heenan’s wrestling career spans 38 years from the early AWA and NWA to today’s WCW and WWF. Heenan wrestled, managed, commentated and promoted matches. Was wrestling as wild and crazy at its start as today? Try wilder and crazier. Starting in 1965 as a bag boy for Dick "The Bruiser" and the tag team, "The Assassins", he worked and talked his way into the ring. Some of Bobby’s early tag team matches, pairing with Baron Von Raschke were against Teddy the bear. No, not a guy named Teddy but a REAL BEAR. While Teddy was muzzled he did have a bad habit of getting in the ring and peeing. Wrestling as "The Weasel," in a costume, Bobby would wake in the ring from a sleeper hold, stare at his paws, see his tail and start chasing it running in circles and begin fighting anew. He did that until one day, unconscious in the ring, some spectator ripped off his tail and stole it. He tells all the stories, names all the names and doesn’t care who gets mad about it. He talks about his long running feud with Hulk Hogan, Andre, (7’ 6" and 550 pounds) "The Giant" hearing "last call" in a bar and ordering 40 martinis that he drunk until 4:00 a.m., and he reveals all about Vince McMahon of WWF. For the wrestling fan it definitely is "no holds barred" in a book you just can’t put down, at least for a count of three!


From the Publisher
"Bobby was a legendary wrestler, legendary. He will go down in the books as someone who mastered the craft. Among people that know the business, Bobby's name will always be on the tip of their tongues." - from the foreword by Hulk Hogan "Bobby the 'Brain' Heenan is not only the funniest and wittiest person in the wrestling business, but also its best storyteller." - Mike Tenay, TV wrestling announcer "Professionally, Bobby Heenan has the uncanny ability to put over issues and people better than anybody I've ever worked with. He was a great manager, a great broadcaster, and a highly capable athlete. Above and beyond that, he is one of the best friends I have. This business is full of egos and Bobby's never got in the way. He is one straight-ahead guy." - Gene Okerlund, host of WWE Confidential "Long before Vince (McMahon) even had the idea to make wrestling the spectacle it is today, a flamboyant wrestler/manager named Bobby the 'Brain' Heenan was one of many pioneering elements of what we see today. His quick wit and his flashy style set Bobby Heenan apart from the pack...It's time to give the 'Brain' his rightful place - and that is high up with the greats of our business." - Bill Apter, senior editor, POW magazine

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Bobby the "Brain" Heenan's wrestling career spans nearly 40 years -- from the early AWA and NWA to the WCW and WWF. Was wrestling as wild and crazy at its start as it is today? Try wilder and crazier! In this book Bobby tells all the stories, names all the names, and doesn't care who gets mad about it. Wrestling fans won't be able to put down this "no-holds-barred" book -- at least until the count of three.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly