Bob Backlund: The Journey of an All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling World Champion

Wolfie55: He has an encylopedic memory of every match he was ever in. The problem is he talks about every match he was ever in. Some are interesting but Wish there were More behind the scene stories.
He seems like a super nice guy and appears he did not want to possibly upset anyone.

United States on Sep 22, 2023

TsubakimoriTsubakimori: - [1] ハーリーレイスの自伝で「鶴田」が出てきませんでしたが、本書では「鶴田」は出てきても「藤波」が出てこないのが残念。
- [2] これだけ1983年12月のアイアンシーク戦での裏話が聞けるなんて大満足！他の防衛戦も同様。
- [3] ニューヨークから見れば、猪木の1979年WWF戴冠、ＮＹでの防衛戦などあり得ない環境だったことが思い知らされた。
- [4] ボブによる他のレスラー評などが他のプロレス本よりも信頼ができる。
- [5] 相手のレスラーのコメントコーナーもあり充実しています。

Japan on Aug 23, 2023

Mark: Required reading for any discerning wrestling fan. Incredibly well done.

United States on Aug 12, 2023

Lewis Carlan: This book a a great trip down memory lane for me. Absolutely fantastic read.

Canada on Jan 08, 2021

Dave B: Just a fabulous historical document in a lot of ways. Survivor Series 94 was almost exactly my 17th birthday, as the traditional Thanksgiving Eve ones often were and it was the last time I was sold on something to do with a wrestling "angle" and that was down to Mr Backlund, Owen and the rest f the Hart Family. I've grown a lot since that overnight stay at my friend's house and I've come to identify with many of the joys and many of the difficulties that Mr. Backlund came through. We all go through them. Blimey, people hate me for having standards but I won't lower them to fit in. I ran a junior cricket team for seven years and succeeded in other fields too but the standards I believe in aren't wanted anymore. I used to feel badly about it. I used to think maybe I was wrong to expect things from people and that I too was a dinosaur. I've since realised that people don't like having expectations placed upon them because there's apparently nothing in their lives that matters more than a new phone or game, or chemical dependance, can cure. People don't believe that they have to work at anything, not even in their personal lives. They think that they deserve everything and that it...

United Kingdom on Jan 22, 2017

cyborg73: I am a 43 year old man who was too young to watch pro wrestling in the late 1970's when Backlund was ruling the WWWF as its World champion. Although I definitely knew OF him, and was familiar with his 78-83 championship reign, it wasn't until 1992 when I got to see him wrestle regularly once again, as he came out of retirement for his second stint in the WWF. I also had the pleasure of seeing him wrestle live in White Plains New York in 1993, as well as get an autograph and handshake from Bob. One of the nicest and down to earth pro wrestlers past or present that you could ever meet.
As for his book, Bob takes the reader on a virtual tour into the wrestling scene in the 1970's, which was much different than it was when I became a pro wrestling fan in the 80's. Bob grew up poor, and did not do well academically in school, preferring to work hard and excel in amateur wrestling. He became obsessed with fitness and health, and keeping his body in peak condition. Bob details his chance meeting in a gym with Superstar Billy Graham, who was impressed by Bob's training regimen and encouraged him to give pro wrestling a chance. As Bob's fans know, he achieved great success in pro...

United States on Jan 10, 2017

Adam Smith: A wonderful story charting Bob's rise to the pinnacle of professional wrestling from the most humble and difficult of beginnings. Bob's account of a glittering amateur career and rise to WWWF champion in the pro ranks is presented chronologically and put forth with a great deal of passion and detail. Bob provides details of all the major matches of his career telling the reader what he and his opponent hoped to achieve in the ring and to what extent they succeeded. Bob's explanation of wrestling psychology is the real gem for wrestling fans as he relates what has sadly become somewhat of a lost art in wrestling today. The true prize for every reader is Bob relating the clean and inspiring way in which he lives life. Bob is a testament to what any individual can achieve with hard work, honesty and clarity of purpose.

On a side note the way matches are described ids truly wonderful. I would recommend that every reader should seek out matches on YouTube or WWE network after reading about them. Personally this helped me view the matches in a new way and greatly enriched the experience.

United Kingdom on Jul 11, 2016

Kindle Customer: I found this book to be genuinely inspiring: it made me want to adopt Backlund's attitude and be a good person. It is this that separates this wrestling autobiography from the many others. Each chapter begins with a quote from self-improvement scholar Napoleon Hill, the entire book gives a good accounting on why it is best to be a good person, and it ends with Backlund's 18 principles to living a good life.

From a wrestling perspective, it is very insightful in to classic booking, what goes in to making a good match and the inner workings of the NWA and the WWF. There is much here that can be learned, that perhaps cannot be explained better by anyone else.

I docked a star due to the number of typos. That might seem trivial, but there are more in this book than any other wrestling book that I have read. It certainly needed to be proofread better. You sometimes have to reread the sentence a couple of times to realise what was meant.

Nonetheless, that is eclipsed by the quality, detail and attention that the book boasts.

United Kingdom on Jan 07, 2016

Stephen Lau: I have read a lot of wrestling biographies, and sadly, many of them amount to little more than a worker cutting an extended promo on paper. If you've been disappointed by those superficial books (as I have), then you are in for a very pleasant surprise with Bob Backlund's autobiography. This book reflects the man -- serious, rigorous, gentlemanly, and positive.

Serious: This book goes into the kind of detail about the business that you've always craved. Unless your name is Bruno Sammartino or Harley Race or Terry Funk, you are going to learn things about the industry you've never known before -- its economics, the psychology of a good match, attempted shoots, the thought process behind booking, etc. Remember the length of time that Mr. Backlund has been in the industry, the long list of historic figures that he's worked with, and his impressive intelligence and memory. All of those things come to bear in this book.

Rigorous: The research that went into this book is stunning. Whereas your typical wrestling biography is full of hearsay and apocrypha, this book is full of direct quotes right from the source -- affidavits, almost. Hear directly from Bruno and Harley and...

United States on Oct 31, 2015