A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho
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Book Reviews of A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex
Book Review: From wrestling fan to Lion Heart to Y2J!
Summary: 5 Stars
Chris Jericho has been a favorite of mine going back to 1998 being 2nd only to Lance Storm. I'd been looking forward to the release of this book for months. Then, low and behold? Lance Storm makes it one of his Book Marks (book club) selections. Yet more incentive to read it! A great read as you follow Chris from his childhood in being a fan of both wrestling and his other passion Rock n' Roll to actually suceeding at both. Though he was a bigger name in wrestling than being a "HUGE Rock star!" My favorite thing about this book is that I could relate with his wrestling fandom as we're the same age. I found myself getting nostalgic when he described his made-up wrestling league and PPV "Pummelmania" as my friends and I used to do that too in the mid 80's (though not as organized as the BTWF). I found that he likes a lot of the same bands I grew up with. Well, not so much Stryper... LOL AND, my first car was also built in 1976! Though mine was a Firebird, like his Volare they'd both seen their best days in the mid to late 70's. LOL! So to me, it was like following the career of some dude I used to hang out with.
His passion would grow as he would be the wrestling "groupie" and attempt to get autographs and pictures. His depictions of the wrestlers were funny as hell and dead on as far as accents go. For the entire book Jericho really makes the reader relate as he paints himself the "wrestling mark" during the early stages of his career meeting some of wrestling's big names. From starting out in the infamous "Hart Dungeon" wrestling school in Calgary (and "graduating" with Lance Storm) to his famous entrance and stand off with the Rock on WWF's Monday Night Raw; the reader is transported all over the world on a journey of paying dues, learning true life lessons, the making and losing of friends along the way, to making a name for yourself in a business where the odds are against you from the start. In the grand scheme of his wrestling career, as the reader I found myself cheering him on as the ultimate babyface underdog.
I'd never seen Jericho until his debut in WCW in '96. And I admit I wasn't impressed. He was great in the ring but he had no character. And as I read these chapters I found myself remembering all the Monday nights I watched Nitro. He even admits that WCW basically made him a generic babyface with "Basketball Highlights #12" as his entrance theme. LOL! It wasn't until he turned heel that I started paying more attention and becoming a "Jeric-aholic." The reader also gets to share in the frustrations of yet another victim of the backstage BS of Eric Bischoff and WCW. Though I had given up on the WWF in the mid 90's, I tuned in just for the debut of Y2J! Not once did I think "Traitor" or "sell out" because I KNEW that WCW was a mess and a wrestler with Jericho's amazing ring ability and tremendous mic skills would only suffer there. Proof positive that if you're doing what you love for a living but find yourself miserable? Time to change companies!
I was VERY interested to read about his time in Germany, Mexico, Japan (FMW,WAR,New Japan), SMW, and ECW. Some of which I'd had a taste of reading Lance Storm's commentaries. Reliving WCW in the mid to late 90's through his eyes. Just a great read cheering him on, laughing out loud, and getting a little choked up with the Owen Hart tragedy's impact on him.
There are a good collection of full color pictures in the middle of the book through the different stages of his life and career. You don't have to be a Jericho-holic to enjoy this book as any wrestling fan would find it both interesting and entertaining. But, you might become one after you finish the final page.
Book Review: I am a Jericho-holic, and proud of it
Summary: 5 Stars
Chris Jericho's autobiography, A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex takes a look at the life and times of everyone's favorite Lionheart of the wrestling world. This is purposely written as a "part one" of sorts as A Lion's Tale only details Jericho's wrestling endeavors up until his then WWF debut in 1999. I fondly recall being a die-hard Jerichoholic from his late 90s WCW exploits, but I had barely a clue about his indy wrestling days, so the book was going to contain a lot of new information. I had no idea how interesting it was going to be reading about a lot of his fellow indy wrestlers I wasn't familiar with. It turned out be pretty interesting after all. Jericho spends a lot of time writing in-depth about training in the notorious Hart Family Dungeon in Canada and trying to get matches in California and Japan.
After finishing this book, Jericho did have one heck of an indy career. Reading about how he became a teeny-bop sensation in Mexico and how being a guest on Mexico's top late-night program led to a live call-in vote to determine his ring name was just a tiny sampling of his crazy days wrestling all over the world. Jericho also has many more peculiar tales of his days wrestling under circus tents in Germany, desperately seeking out a McDonalds while wrestling for WAR in Japan, and shooting rock star promos a decade behind the times for Smokey Mountain Wrestling while tagging with Lance Storm. Don't just skim over these parts, there is a lot of intriguing information to be discovered about Jericho and his days on the indy scene.
I was really anticipating him talking about his ECW and WCW tenure, and it delivered. He didn't spend too much time in ECW, just a few months and not even 30 matches before he was discovered and swept by WCW. His three year WCW run is by far the highlight of the book for me, most likely because it was what I was most familiar with and for his unique insight to what went on behind the scenes in WCW during the crazy nWo era. I was glued to the book to when Jericho detailed what he had to go through in order to get his storyline with Goldberg to go as far as it did, and still have no blowoff match to it all.
It is very refreshing to see this book bring up a couple topics in great detail that aren't in most other wrestler's books that are published under the WWE Books label like steroid use and wrestler salaries. It's just too bad the book only covers his Pre-WWF/WWE years, I guess that's what the sequel is for, but if you can get by the fact he doesn't talk about his WWE years (he does talk about the process that lead to his signing and debut as the book ends the moment he interrupts the Rock's promo on this 8/99 RAW debut), than by all means check this one out.
A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex
Book Review: A Great Read From Start To Finish
Summary: 5 Stars
There's no denying that I've almost always been a fan of Chris Jericho. When I first saw him in WCW, I thought he was an annoying crybaby, but then reality set in. Jericho was a heel who was actually funny and a talented wrestler. It takes skill to make a wrestling audience hate you and Jericho was doing that each and every week. Once I realized that, I enjoyed the comedy that was buried within every promo and I've been a fan ever since.
A Lion's Tale is Chris Irvine's autobiography that focuses around how he became Chris Jericho and how he got into the wrestling business. It begins with an eight-year-old's dream of becoming a professional wrestler and ends right when Jericho is about to walk through the curtain and make his first promo in the WWF. It chronicles everything from Jericho training at the Hart Brothers Training Camp, his time in Mexico, Germany, and Japan, his entire run in WCW, him meeting Vince McMahon, and everything else in between. If you've ever wanted to know more about Chris Jericho, then look no further.
The book isn't just filled with Jericho's past though. He is extremely funny and that fact shines throughout every page in this book. It's the way he tells these stories that'll keep you entertained and make you not want to put it down until you read the last word on the last page. I'd even go out on a limb and say that the humor in this book could even appeal to people outside of wrestling fans. It's definitely a great read for wrestling fans and Jerichoholics, don't get me wrong, but it's also a story about how dreams can come true and is often laugh out loud funny.
The one flaw this book has is the amount of typos scattered throughout the book. I may be nitpicking, but that irritated me a bit. I realize that every book has a few typos, but this was the worst I've ever come across. If my story was professionally published, I'd make sure this wouldn't happen. Where are the proofreaders when you need them?
All in all, A Lion's Tale: Around the World In Spandex is without a doubt the best wrestling book I've ever read. Keep in mind, I haven't read all of them, but none of the others had me laughing or hanging on every word. It is a book that'll be enjoyed to its full extent if you're a wrestling fan or are at least familiar with the names and maneuvers mentioned throughout the book, but anyone can pick it up and find something to enjoy.
Book Review: Jericho's life story is truly A Lion's Tale!
Summary: 5 Stars
I became a fan of Jericho when he started showing flashes of turning into a heel with his post-match tantrum following a loss. I could see he had the charisma and talent to make it into a big time superstar. Then he came out with the Monday Night Jericho t-shirt (which I was unable to afford back in the day) and the Ralphus angle, I totally started to love the guy.
For the life of me, I could never figure out why WCW never gave him the chance to be the guy.
Jericho's "A Lion's Tale" explains the backstage politics of WCW and how WCW almost killed his passion for wrestling. Jericho should have known that WCW was bad news when Bischoff called him to fly to Atlanta to sign a contract, while only a few hours later, booker Kevin Sullivan called Jericho to tell him he needs to come in for a try-out, not knowing he was already on his way to sign a contract!
But this book is not all about WCW, in fact, WCW doesn't even come until page 320ish, and there is 410 pages in the book. The last 20 pages or so of the book is about him joining the WWF (he calls it the WWF, not WWE, so I will be referring it as WWF too).
The book starts brilliantly with the countdown to the new millennium.... actually, sort of. The book ends the same way, but on a higher note.
The whole idea of Jericho's book is how he developed a dream to be one of the best wrestlers ever in Vince McMahon's WWF.
The book starts us with how Jericho developed a passion for wrestling at his grandmother's house on Sundays, how his father took him to the matches in Winnipeg on Sundays, how he was angry when none of the famed Hart Brothers were actually training wrestlers at the Hart Brothers Wrestling Camp (upon arrival, he was about to quit when he saw all the other wrestlers who were not wrestling-material until he met Lance Storm), his stints in Mexico, Knoxville, Japan, ECW and WCW.
Jericho had a dream, he paid his dues, and he accomplished his dream.
That's why I loved this book, it was truly A Lion's Tale.
Book Review: Funny and informative
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Chris Jericho. I don't like his current heel character, but after reading this book, I love the actual guy.
This book was so funny! Chris has had some crazy experiences in his wrestling career and he delivers them in a hilarious way, that had me laughing out loud.
This book covers Chris' wrestling career right up to his debut in the WWE. That's where the book ends, and I hope he writes a followup soon about his WWE career.
I thought it would be boring reading about his tenures in Mexico, Japan, ECW and WCW but they weren't at all! Chris has a flair for telling a tale and many of his crazy stories had me in hysterics. He also talks about the many friends he's made along the way (including Chris Benoit, I'm glad to see somebody who doesn't act like the man never existed) and talks about the trouble he's got into (the guy has had a gun pointed at his head about 4 times!).
There's lots of good pictures in the book too, including the usual colour picture bit in the middle, which has loads of pictures of him with his wrestling friends and a couple of pictures of his family (including his wife, Jessica). There's lots of black and white photos too scattered throughout the book.
This book was a fun read, and one I definitely enjoyed. Chris' writing style was easy and enjoyable to read, some of the things he wrote had me giggling for ages. He writes in a personable style, like he's talking to you - instead of feeling like you're reading a book, you feel like Chris is there telling you the stories. I really liked that about the book.
Overall, one of the best wrestling autobiographies I've read to date (Shawn Michaels' is another favourite of mine). A definite read for any Chris or WWE fan. 5 stars without a doubt.