Best Book Written About A Pro Wrestler
Reviewing “Crazy Like A Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later.”
Along with pro wrestling, one of my great passions in life is reading. I have always been a bookworm of both fictional and non-fictional literature, leading me to develop a great love of the written word. This love eventually led me to study my degree in English Literature and from there, begin writing for The Wrestling Estate.
You may presume that my love of reading would go hand in hand with my love for pro wrestling, but, interestingly, I’ve never really been drawn to pro wrestling books or biographies. I’ve actually read very few as a lot of pro wrestling literature hasn’t appealed to me. Part of this is down to WWE’s constant monopoly on any immediate media related to their past and present talent, and part of this is down to the fact that, unfortunately, a lot of pro wrestling books are very underwhelming.
Pro wrestling is such a colorful, exciting and enthralling industry that it rarely gets presented correctly and/or successfully in prose. However, my views of pro wrestling books took a complete 180-degree shift when I finally read the highly acclaimed “Crazy Like a Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later” by Liam O’Rourke.
For those of you wondering, I know this particular book (as of this review) was published over 18 months ago. But after waiting so long to read this book, I could not pass by without sharing my thoughts on it. That sentence does sound quite ominous, but believe me, I have nothing but praise to say about this biography celebrating the life of one of the most important figures in pro wrestling history.
As we all know, Brian Pillman was one of the most influential wrestlers of the 20th century. Starting out as “Flyin” Brian and eventually leading into the “Loose Cannon,” Pillman was constantly evolving himself throughout his career. Highly respected by his peers and loved by fans, he developed a mythological status which has stuck with him since his untimely death in October 1997.
A well-received WWE video release coupled with numerous online articles and fellow wrestlers’ shoot interviews have shed more light on Pillman. Yet, none really felt to uncover all the details in this man’s amazing life. In some ways, it always felt an injustice was being done to him, paling in comparison to his contributions to the industry. Thankfully, O’Rourke took on the challenge of uncovering the life of Brian Pillman, and in the process, wrote the greatest biography of anyone I’ve ever read.
Coming in at just over 300 pages, this book covers everything you could ever wish to know (and never knew) about the Loose Cannon. Starting at his birth, and finishing with his death, this in-depth account covers all periods of Pillman’s life. Supported by some wonderful first-hand interviews and thorough research, this book truly had me gripped from beginning to end.
O’Rourke’s writing style is highly engaging, straightforward and makes Pillman’s life jump vividly off the page. Having read several biographies, the hardest thing, as a reader, is being able to see the person who is being written about in front of you – almost as if they were writing the book themselves rather than having their life written about by a third party. In the case of “Crazy Like a Fox,” the book feels like pure Pillman and is all the better for it. He is always at the forefront of everything, respectfully celebrating not only his career, but his life as well.
I do not want to give any spoilers away with this book, but all the most publicized (as well as least publicized) moments from his career are covered. From the NFL to “Pillman’s got a gun!” to his life-changing automobile crash and the famous SuperBrawl II opener with Jushin “Thunder” Liger, O’Rourke looks at each key event in great detail, and once again, the book is all the better for it.
But sadly, there is just one small criticism I have. It would have been brilliant to have had some rare photos to go alongside all this great text. However, the book does not contain any pictures inside, which does make the biography very text heavy. I will reiterate though that this is a very small issue, and given that this is an independent Amazon-published book, O’Rourke has done a sensational job getting as much content as he has, with limited resources, into this paperback odyssey.
In conclusion, I agree with all of the critics in saying that this biography is definitely the best book ever written about a pro wrestler. O’Rourke went above and beyond to, as he puts it, “[Definitively] Chronicle … Brian Pillman.” Falling in the same bracket as many other cultural figures including Bill Hicks, Ian Curtis and James Dean, Pillman’s legacy has grown due to his premature death. It is only now, 20 years after his untimely passing, that we can all see just what an impact he made in the pro wrestling industry and why he was “Crazy Like a Fox!”
You can buy “Crazy Like a Fox: The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later” from Amazon in both Kindle and paperback form.
You can also follow the author of this amazing biography on Twitter: @LiamORourke86.
If you have any comments or feedback, feel free to comment on The Wrestling Estate or tweet me @SteJay215.
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