On October 14, professional wrestler, rockstar, actor, podcast host and two-time New York Times best-selling author Chris Jericho will release his third book, The Best in the World: At What I Have No Idea.
So, for this week’s installment of Friday Reads I’m going to recommend his two previous works — A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex (2007) and Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps (2011).
As a massive wrestling nerd, I have to say that I am complete softy when it comes to wrestling biographies. Some are absolute gems like anything from Mick Foley or even Bret Hart’s mammoth autobiography. Then, you’ve got the ghost-written ones that just flat-out suck. I don’t even want to mention them they’re so bad.
But then you get something special like Chris Jericho’s books. What’s so awesome about his works are, despite his braggadocios and outlandish characters he’s portrayed in WWE and in his band Fozzy, the man is about as down-to-earth as you or I. He’s a self-deprecator (but not a self-loather) and is able to call himself out on his own missteps and mistakes. He’s also bluntly honest about his thoughts and feelings about the wrestling world and those in it. He’s also able to point out how sometimes, his initial opinions of people are completely wrong and that’s not something a lot of biographies tend to include.
Yet, what really sells Chris Jericho’s books is humor. Jericho is a damn funny individual. Again, the fun usually comes from making fun of himself, but the man just has this knack to make you laugh. And then you realize, a lot of what you see in the ring, is actually Chris Jericho, the man, turned up to 11. The books really bring you inside Chris Jericho’s heart and soul and when you finish them you feel as though you know the man.
So, wrestling fans, if you haven’t grabbed a Jericho book yet, what are you waiting for?
