Woooooooooo!

Just finished reading Ric Flair's book "To Be The Man" (a full week after I wrote a column about it. Hmm...). Not bad at all.

Do I agree with a lot of what he said about Foley, Hart and Savage? Not really. But after 30 plus years in the industry, I think the guy's certainly entitled to his opinion. I'll say this: Flair pulls no punches when he talks about who he likes and dislikes. Especially Bischoff. Ouch!

Even though it's a quick read, a lot of the book drags on with feud by feud accounts of what happened in his career, especially starting from his first WWF run in 1991. I'm sure that will be interesting to a lot of people, but for me, I knew all of that already. He does add a bit of commentary to this period of his life, so it's only a minor criticism.

What I like is the dedication and space he gives to his family life, and that he's not afraid to criticize himself for the lesser priority he put on them during the heyday of his career. Sure, he doesn't get into the juicy details of who he was with, but if the guy's family is reading, can you really blame him?

Like Foley's book, the story has a natural beginning and end, which is a nice touch. Same as the peer comments from Ken Patera, Bobby Heenan, Chris Jericho and of all people, George South.

Would I have liked to see the book be a bit longer? Absolutely. But the fact that he was able to cover most of the big moments of his career in fewer pages isn't the end of the world, either. I'm just glad we got to hear from this legend on the printed page.

Here's a quick ranking of which wrestling biographies (that I've read) are my favorites -- I'm sure I'm missing a couple as well.

1. Have A Nice Day -- Mick Foley (arguably my favorite book in any genre; I've read it and re-read it dozens of times.)
2. Foley Is Good -- Mick Foley
3. It's Good To Be King... Sometimes -- Jerry Lawler
4. To Be The Man -- Ric Flair
5. Pure Dynamite -- Dynamite Kid Tom Billington
6. Tributes -- Dave Meltzer (kind of a bio book, so it's technically still on the list. And it's a terrific read.)
7. Bobby The Brain -- Bobby Heenan
8. In The Pit With Piper -- Roddy Piper (for comedic value alone, worth picking up).
9. Broken Harts -- Martha Hart (a little short on the wrestling content, but understandably so).
10. Hollywood Hulk Hogan -- Hulk Hogan

Other ones I've read in bookstores, little bits at a time: The Hardy Boyz, The Rock, Lita, Freddie Blassie, Steve Austin, Missy Hyatt (had any of them been more than just 'okay', I probably would have bought them).