Mankind – Mick Foley

Last week, gazing at the uncreased spines of my unread books, arranged in height order and then alphabetically, with a shelf each for hardbacks, large format non-fiction, large format fiction and so on, I decided to make a bigger dint in the hardbacks – many of which have been waiting an unduly long time. Few have waited longer than this first volume of autobiography by wrestler Mick Foley, which I bought on its release in 1999.
Foley is a wrestler of renown on the pro-wrestling circuit – here he tells how he became interested in pro-wrestling, his journey from college student through the various different wrestling leagues to Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation, and the creation along the way of his three wrestling personas: Dude Love, Cactus Jack, and (most famous of al) Mankind. Threaded through his professional career, Foley includes his many failed attempts at finding love (usually of the purely physical kind), his marriage to a beautiful former model, his love of their two children, and the contrast between his public and private personas.
Many non-devotees see pro-wrestling as being fake. Foley acknowledges the engineered aspects of the industry – including designated outcomes, scripted feuds, and elaborate storylines. But he stresses that there is real risk, and that wrestlers sustain real (sometimes life threatening) injuries. Foley has loft most of an ear (in a match in Japan), has broken a number of bones, lost teeth, herniated discs and sustained second-degree burns to his arm and shoulder. And wrestlers have died in the ring – Foley writes with particular sadness as he pays tribute to Owen Hart, who died as the result of a prop malfunction and fall during the writing if this book.
Foley states that he hopes his book will be read not only by pro-wrestling fans but by those unfamiliar with the sport; unlike many celebrity “autobiographies” Mankind: Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks is not ghost written - Foley wrote it in seven weeks. And it shows – though his voice is genuine, often amusing, and frequently informative, it is irritatingly non-linear and assumes a great deal of knowledge about the world of pro-wrestling. Though I watched a little WWF on TV when I was younger, that was sporadic and a long time ago. Tighter editing and a clearer narrative flow would have significantly increased my reading enjoyment, as would captions of the photos liberally spread throughout this massive (500-odd page) tome. There are photo titles at the back of the book, but by the time I got there I really wasn’t interested any more. It took my several days to read Mankind, and then only because I forsook all other books until it was finished. I’m glad I (finally) read the book, and have renewed appreciation for the sport and the man, but have no interest in reading the follow-ups. - Alex