The subtitle of this book is “A Look Behind The Curtain” but that’s one thing you most definitely will not get from this book.

This autobiography was published in 2000 by the “Kayfabe Publishing Group”, an appropriate title given its nature. As those who’ve seen Anderson speak in interviews or in talking head segments on documentaries, Arn continues to maintain that wrestling was a legitimate contest and the on-screen product was 100 percent real. That may be admirable or endearing for some fans, but it made for a book that was disappointing upon its release and even more so in today’s context.

With Anderson repeatedly talking about how he won a match or how he planned a beatdown, what we’re left with is effectively a recap of his storyline career with little insight or new information. There are some anecdotes about life on the road and the stresses and strains and logistics of working shows in different times, but it’s nothing revelatory.

For those looking for details on the most notorious moment of Anderson’s career, the genuine fight with Sid Vicious in England in 1993, there’s virtually nothing said, with Anderson blaming the lack of detail on legal issues.

About the only real point of interest in the book is transcripts of some of his more famous promos. There are a few pieces by other wrestlers talking about Anderson’s career, though concentrating on his kayfabed role means they can’t really be as praiseworthy as if they were discussing his abilities to work a credible match or captivate an audience with a promo.

The book is also disappointingly short. It’s 160 pages of fairly large print, padded out further by frequent use of short one-sentence paragraphs. All in all, it’s very much a product of a time when a book by a name wrestler was still something of a novelty and expectations were much lower than today.