Title/Author:
“The Eighth Wonder of
the World: The True Story of André the Giant" by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade
Tags:
Wrestling,
professional, History
Publish date:
April 14, 2020
Length:
550 pages
Rating: to
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
Wrestling fans, young and old alike,
know that André the Giant is one of the true legends of the business, but
what some may not know was that his match with Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania III
was not the start of his career as he was quite successful for many years prior
to that match in which many became familiar with the “Gentle Giant”. This biography by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade
is a very complete work telling the life and career of the wrestling icon.
Born André René Roussimoff, the book follows him through his
childhood to his various jobs before getting his start in professional wrestling
in Paris at age 18. From there, he went on to enjoy success in Japan and the
province of Quebec, becoming a big attraction for wrestling fans in the
province, most notably in Montreal and Quebec City. His French roots and ability to speak the
language helped him tremendously in the province and it provided him exposure
to other promoters. One in particular,
Vince McMahon Sr, saw André perform and signed him to wrestle for the then-WWF
(now WWE). The authors do a commendable
job of research and writing about this part of Andre’s life and career as it is
not as well known as his later years in WWF and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan.
The story of André’s
personal life, which included not only the acromegaly that made him the size
that he was, but also his addiction to alcohol, his dislike of certain aspects
of the life of a celebrity such as his distaste for flying, and also his lack
of a romantic partner for most of his life, is treated with detail but
fairness. There is not criticism for these aspects of André’s life
and that makes for a terrific and fair read for those readers not familiar with
his life. This is also true for the discussion
of André and his work in Hollywood
and the movies he appeared in, most notably The Princess Bride.
Of course, Andre’s legendary time
with WWF and his appeal with fans after his match with Hogan is covered with
the same amount of research and detail and fans who are familiar with this part
of his career will thoroughly enjoy reliving some of his best matches in sold-out
arenas that are described in this portion of the book. It is here where the reader will learn much
more about his personal life described above and also his injuries and diseases
that would trouble him for the rest of career and his life outside the ring
until his death in early 1993.
It should be noted that this book is
not only an excellent account of André’s
life and career, but also one about the business of professional wrestling. The
details behind the contracts, agreements between promoters to let wrestlers
perform for several wrestling promoters at the same time and how the matches
are determined on how the heels or baby-faces will win in order to gain either
maximum followings or ensure that there will be demand for rematches is great
reading. This reviewer has read wrestling
books from this publisher in the past and every one of them, including this
one, cover this aspect of professional wrestling thoroughly and they and the
authors should be commended for brining the reader into this world.
Any wrestling fan who remembers André the Giant will want to add this book to their
collection. While it is a long read at
550 pages, it is one that is worth the investment of their time to
complete. I consider it to be one of the
best books I have read on professional wrestling.
I wish to thank ECW
Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest
review.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment