BOOKER T FROM PRISON TO PROMISE by BOOKER T HUFFMAN (1-Sep-2012) Hardcover

by Booker T. Huffman

As a six-time world champion, TV commentator, and holder of more than 35 major titles in WWE, WCW, and TNA, Huffman knows what it means to fight. He learned long before he entered the ring, when daily survival was a fierce battle.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autobiography and memoir are brutally difficult genres to pull off. It seems easy--it's your story, so you just tell it like you're talking. But there's a razor thin line you have to walk: sound like you, exactly like you, so that I can hear you talking to me on the page, but don't be boring or rambly.

The solution is usually to bring in a professional writer to clean up the language and make a cohesive narrative. You need a writer who is willing to disappear from the page and let the subject tell his story believably. When that process fails, even a little bit, the result is jarring, inauthentic and even laughable.

The world of professional wrestling is quagmire of truth and lie. You use the truth to bolster the lies--mix the kayfabe heat in to spice up the storyline. The very best storylines are the ones where everyone asks, "Was it a work or a shoot?" You always assume--unless it can be proved otherwise--that whatever you see in the ring or even out, is worked. Always.

So when you read a memoir of a wrestler's life before the ring, and the writing feels stilted, inauthentic, overly WHITE when the wrestler is black, you retreat to the question: Was it worked or shot?

Unfortunately, asking that question in memoir has exactly the opposite effect that it does in wrestling.

[Ray Daley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very Misleading, don't get this book thinking you'll learn more about the start of Bookers wrestling career.

Because you won't.

Apart from who trained him (Ivan Putski, a twat apparently) and a few people who gave him breaks here and there you don't realy learn much about his wrestling career as the book focuses on his childhood and formative years BEFORE he became a wrestler.

I'm not saying he didn't have an interesting life before that but I was expecting to learn more about his career.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it is a interesting story to the start of Booker T's career, and the type of life he lead growing up, and even his time in prison, I wish there was more of his wrestling life. This is begging for a second and maybe even a third book. Hopefully, we won't have to wait long.

[Troy Lefman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Booker's story up to WCW.

[Lance Lumley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book at a library book sale, and got it to add to my wrestling collection, however, this is not a wrestling book. As the title states, the book talks about Booker's childhood growing up being around drugs, gangs, and the loss of his mother at a young age. He gets involved with stealing money from Wendy's restaurants, and is faced with jail time.
The book is interesting in reading all of the trials Booker went through at a young age, and (as fans would know), ended up overcoming the situation in the world of wrestling.
Only the last 2-3 chapters deal with his wrestling, and it is briefly about his time in Texas and the Global Wrestling Federation. The last chapter ends with wrestler Sid Vicious calling Booker and his brother up to WCW in Atlanta, setting up a sequel for his WCW Wrestling days.
For the price of the book, I could not complain and enjoyed parts of it, but buyer beware that it doesn't talk much about wrestling. If you are OK with that, you will still find an entertaining read, even if you were not a Booker T fan when it came to wrestling, which I was never a huge fan of his work.

[Kathryn King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly positive despite extreme hardship. Great story.

[David Salchow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read and surprisingly enjoyable and reasonably well written. Booker's upbringing is so tragic and he transformed his life through hard work and learning from past mistakes. I found the book inspirational.

[Alice Sanchez Dezamora]

I cannot believe the struggles Booker T went through. I have gained so much more respect to the amount of respect I already had for him. I would highly recommend anyone read this book. It is an eye opener and does prove if you work hard, dreams come true.

[Davy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most books about the lives of a wrestler focus on their life inside of wrestling while offering a little bit of back story. this was not the case in this book. The is mostly about Booker T's childhood and late teen and early adult years. From losing his mother and being bounced from home to home to ending up in prison and deciding to change his life for the better. It ends with Booker's beginning in the independent wrestling scene and being invited to wrestle in WCW. Leaving us readers with anticipation for the next book were he insinuates that we will hear about his time in WCW. I look forward to this series of books about the life of Booker T. Huffman.

[Nickolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very enjoyable. It's not very long or very dense, but it's a fun read nonetheless. There's not a whole lot about Booker's life in wrestling, but rather it focuses on his life leading up to getting into wrestling. Well written, and all of the stories are interesting. It had some added depth for me because I live and grew up in the Houston area, and therefore know most of the places mentioned in it.

Overall, this is a nice easy read that you'll love if you know of wrestling or of Booker.

[Trevor O'Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. It showed how you go from having no family, food, or money to being a famous person that kids look up to. This book also shared how he didn't give up even though he went to prison. A lot of people who go to prison end up going back multiple times. Booker wasn't like those people; he turned his life around and made a good living.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read but a very enjoyable story. I can't give it five stars because it only goes up until the time Booker signed with WCW. I look forward to the next installment covering his time in WCW, WWE and TNA.

[Donna Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite interesting. We never know what people have to go through to get to where they are. We often forget famous stars have a background to overcome also. I was proud to read about a young black man with all the odds stacked against him, MADE IT!

[Travis Benton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is begging to made into a film. Hollywood is dumb. Booker T’s real life is far and wide more interesting than the crap Hollywood shovels. It’s not so much about wrestling as his crimes and adventures. It’s an exciting book.

[David Preedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a one punch knock out. short and hard hitting.
seriously though this book is amazing but it's also way to short when you think of everything booker went through before he got to wcw.

[Jnagle4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent overview of Booker's life before wrestling. He has a compelling and inspirational story, but From Prison to Promise is a fairly bland sports biography. You could finish it in hour.

[Dawn Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is about his early years and prison.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting look into the life of a man on his way to becoming a wrestler.I look foward to the hopeful sequel to this book,named" WCW i am coming for you"

[Daniel DeLappe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written and interesting story. Have always been a huge Booker T mark. One of the better written wrestling books around.

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fantastic. My only complaint is that it wrapped up a bit too quickly.

[Brenden Vandermark · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a very good book anyone that has to come over the emotional odd of imprisonment and has succeeded it is a moving book and i tell people it is a good book to read.

[The Farmer's Wife · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying story, plain and simple. The author's voice and honesty captivated me.

[Robert Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense wrestling biography

So I like how Booker T did his biography and did it in more than one part, because I feel like I got a better introduction to his background which helped me appreciate more of what he went through to get where he is today. I'm a huge wrestling fan, and have always enjoyed wrestling biographies. I have always felt Booker T's WCW title run as world champion was one of the few good things to come out of the final days of WCW. Furthermore his work in the WWE (especially with Goldust) was amazing. So it's great to read about how he got started and where his roots were. Not to diminish the struggles of any other wrestler, but I think after reading his biography that Booker T had the most to overcome out of anyone I've read in the genre. You'll appreciate this amazing wrestler more after reading his biography!

[Juxhin Deliu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice shot autobiography, more focused on the lots of recollections about catch-as-catch-can or " shoot" wrestling rather than the late great Robinson's career or life. Moreover, he shares some interesting opinions on MMA more than pro wrestling itself, bringing some legitness to his lost art as fighting sport. Quite acceptable.