Its HARDCORE! . Review on Have A Nice Day - Mick Foley

Mick Foley...Cactus Jack, Mankind or Dude Love...take your pick. A saying goes- A rose by anyother name would still smell as sweet. The same goes for Foley or Mrs.Foleys baby boy as he called himself.

Non wrestling fans please excuse me.

I just had a little nostalgia trip to the WWE's attitude era when Mick foley was arguably one of the biggest draws.

To the uninitiated- Mick Foley is a professional wrestler who has now retired from active wrestling. He made his name by wrestling a particularly hardcore style of wrestling which involves taking a number of bumps and basically putting your body on the line so to speak each time you wrestle. This style involves a lot of foreign objects being utilised and a loot of blood. Not for the faint of heart.

Foley wrestled in various pro- wrestling companies namely CWA, WCW, International Wrestling Association Japan, ECW , WWE and lastly TNA.

His biggest success is undoubtably his run in the WWE between 1996 and 2000 when he utilised all his known personas from Cactus Jack to good old Mick Foley (once only).

Mick Foley is a certified legend in the pro-wrestling business. Known as 'The King of the Deathmatch' in Japan, for his jaw dropping Hell in a cell Match against the undertaker, Mr. Socko (the mandible claw finisher) and his hard hitting promos (interviews).

Have A Nice Day is an autobiography that actually has been written by him and stands out amongst the glut of ghost written autobios for athletes.

Now for those of you who will say ' Pro-wrestling' is fake...Yes it is fake as in the results are predetermined...its actually a soap opera for men. the results are predetermined, enemies on screen may be best buds off it and so on.

The bumps and the grind of the lifestyle is not fake. The wear and tear on their bodies and detirioration of their family lives as a result of the business is real. The wrestling deaths and dependencies on performance enhancement drugs and substance abuse like that of painkillers and alcohol to name a few because of the business are real.

The book starts out with Mick winning his first WWE Heavyweight Championship in 1999 against the Rock. It then delves into Foleys life as a kid, there are chapters dedicated to his family and his time growing up. This section was a bit of a drag personally but it does give you an insight into Foleys family and his upbrininging to a certain extent.

It then goes into his travails of learning wrestling and I must say that this is when the book starts to get really interseting. Mick Foley is very articulate, funny and even unabashadely profane at times in the book. His Al Snow jokes are a blast and his road stories (stories while wrestling in a different town every day) are a must read.

The book details his experience in the "Hell in a Cell" match with The Undertaker that he had at King of the Ring 1998 which truly made him famous as Mankind. Ironically, due to the concussion he sustained during the match, he had to watch video clips of it to recall the details and write about it.

Foley also breaks chronological history at some points, notably when he writes about the in ring death of Owen Hart with whom he evidently was very good friends with.

His relationship with WWE owner Vincent Mcmaohan sheds light on how creative Mick is and for that matter of fact how creative Vince was with the promos and storylines for his talent. Wish we had that a little more with the current WWE programming.It also mentions the fact how Mick came to the WWE on a handshake agreement with no formal contract in place.

Recollections of his memorable wrestling matches with HBK, Vader, 'The Funker' Terry Funk, Mikey Whipwreck, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and the Undertaker are very enjoyable. Add to that colour photos of his storied career and youve got yourself a great book. The back cover outlines his various injuries right from his 365 stitches to his torn right ear is a wrestling fans delight.

His logic on the interviews (promos) that he cuts, his perspective on the business and the fact that he is an outright family man is evident in the book.

The book is a New York Times Best Seller to boot and is testament to the fact that the book is very well written.

Heavily recommended to wrestling fans and non fans alike.