Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling (or the Kindle Edition) is now available in the USA. I read the Canadian version when it was released last year, and it’s one of the finest books written about professional wrestling, and a great autobiography in its own right.

It’s a relatively large book [many wrestling fans describe it as "huge," but I wouldn't go that far], and Bret tells a great story, aided by his note-taking and audio-recordings from his decades in the wrestling business. Hart has always had a large opinion of himself, his wrestling abilities, and his place in the wrestling business, and that bleeds through the pages of this book; but he also lays bare his sins [largely as an adulterer, but also as an occasional drug user] in a way no well-respected wrestler has done before. Lifelong fans of the Hitman may question whether he was really someone to grow up idolizing.

And then there’s the Hart Family, torn apart by tragedy after tragedy: Owen Hart’s horrible death, the fall of Stampede Wrestling and Bruce’s struggles to keep it alive, the deaths of Brian Pillman and Davey Boy Smith, and the bitter family infighting. Like Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling, Hitman leaves you in a place where you can’t help but think that the Hart family sacrificed far too much while becoming “Wrestling’s First Family.”

If you’re a wrestling fan, this book is a must-read — no other wrestling title has covered Stampede Wrestling and the 80s-90s World Wrestling Federation in the way that Bret Hart can. If you’re not a wrestling fan, Bret’s ego and his long-winded descriptions of his most famous matches may turn you off, but there is a great story in this title, well-told, beautiful and disgusting at the same time. Mick Foley’s Have a Nice Day! may have broken the door down for wrestling books, but Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling keeps them relevant.

I can’t resist throwing in my favorite quote from the book:

“I told Bruce [Hart] the spotlight needed to be on Owen [Hart] because Survivor Series would be the beginning of Owen’s heel turn on me. After I explained what everybody’s role would be, Bruce went right back to designing the match around himself, and I had to reprimand him in front of everyone. Shawn [Michaels] muttered to him, “If my brother was world champion and the best in the busines, I think I’d quit fucking arguing with him and start listening to him!” There was nothing Bruce could say in response to that. He shut up, but I could tell the reprimand stuck in this craw.