Bobby the Brain: Wrestling's Bad Boy Tells All

by Bobby Heenan, Steve Anderson, Hulk Hogan (Foreword)

Bobby the Brain unleashes the life story of Bobby Heenan, better known as “The Brain” in wrestling circles. He tells all about his experiences with Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Vince McMahon, and all the other personalities that every wrestling fan knows like a relative. Just like his career, this tell-all has no holds barred.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Sports, Memoir, Autobiography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of The Brain, I had high hopes for this one and it delivered in a way that I wasn't expecting. It's a memoir that details Heenan's life in wrestling and is a blast to read because it's done exactly the way you expect. All Brain, all the time. It's Heenan detailing not so much his private life, but his professional life and he has a lot of great stories to tell. If you're not a fan of wrestling or even Heenan's you probably won't enjoy it the way a fan would because it's not the type of bio you read to learn about the person, but the life they lived in the profession they chose. There's a great deal said about WCW and Heenan even wrestled a bear once. This is a book for fans of prowrestling written by one of the greatest managers of all time.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of hilarious anecdotes from Bobby "The Brain" Heenan. I loved all the backstage stories, especially about his time in the WWF in the 1980s. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaated The Brain as a kid, which just goes to show how damn good he was at his job. (As an adult, I love The Brain and can't get enough of rewatching his old clips, especially with Gorilla Monsoon.)

[Optimus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great and quick read.
The book is witty, hilarious just like The Brain was.

Loved it.

[Nial · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book with good stories as I was a fan of his growing up.The only problem is that he goes from one time period to the next and would have been better if he kept going in a straight line. Stories are great though but it just needed someone to keep him on track!

[Tony Farinella · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was massively disappointing. For someone with such a storied career in the wrestling business, it was a major letdown. While it’s a quick and easy read (180 or so pages), it doesn’t have a whole lot to say about anything regarding his career. It felt like the cliff notes version of his time in the wrestling business. It also jumps all over the place with its timeline. I couldn’t get into it and he barely scratches the surface on his career. I love Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, but this book had no sense of direction or purpose. It’s very forgettable.

[Mr. Pease · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is to be expected from one of the most colorful personalities in the history of wrestling, The Brain's first book is a hilarious set of anecdotes from his years in the business. A must-read for fans of wrestling from the 80s to today.

[Jeff Lynsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read a number of the recent biographies of wrestlers (Foley, Dynamite, Angle etc), and enjoying them, I thought I'd take a look at this one. I was always a big fan of "the Brain's" commentary on the WWF shows of the late 80's & early 90's, so i thought this book would be an entertaining read.
The book begins with a look at how Bobby got started in the business, and continues to go through is early days of managing in the 60's, going through the various territories that existed at the time, such as Indianapolis, Detroit, St Louis, Florida & others. Going into the seventies, the book gives an account of his time spent working for the Gagne's in Miineapolis (AWA), before moving onto the 80's and the period of his career when he became a national star, while working for Vince McMahon in the WWF.
There are a number of humourous stories from his time spent managing Andre the Giant, and also his work with the late Gorilla Monsoon, who hosted the WWF's TV shows with Heenan.
The final part of the Brain's career was spent working for WCW in Atlanta. Bobby didn't have many kind words for the organization, or many of the people who worked there.
Although I did enjoy this book, I found it to be very short, & would have preferred it to be at least twice as long. There are many instances in the book, where something or someone is just brushed over in a paragraph, where a whole chapter would have been more appropriate.
Having said that, the book is an entertaining read, especially for people who were lucky enough to watch Heenan in his prime during the 70's & 80's. I would rate it 3rd of the Wrestling Biographies I have read, behind Mick Foley's 'Have a Nice Day' & Dynamite Kid's 'Pure Dynamite'.

[ReadinRasslin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bobby Heenan, the greatest manager in professional wrestling history, was surprisingly disappointing in his first of two books. This book is less of a guided path through one of the greatest wrestling careers of all time and more of a shit list of who Heenan can't stand (especially Tony Schiavone). Heenan inserts his trademark clever humor into the book and it does a lot of the heavy lifting, because the general tone of the book is a rant. When the Brain's not going off on who he doesn't like, he will do the opposite in expressing extreme devotion to guys like Vince or Hogan. There's a certain old school mentality of paying it back to the guys that made you famous and I think Heenan certainly honors that but this feels like less of his story and more of "here's what I think of the guys who were around me". I could have used more personal life anecdotes, which I'm sure I will get in Heenan's follow-up self-help book, because for a career so expansive and fascinating, this felt half-baked.

[Brian King · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was the perfect age to get swept up in the Rock 'n' Wrestling, Hulkamania era in the 80's. I watched Prime Time Wrestling every week, and enjoyed the hijinks of Gorilla and The Brain. I took a long break and returned for the Monday Night Wars. I watched WCW at first (so many familiar faces) but eventually moved to the better product, but it was good to see The Brain. But I digress. I found this book to be a very fun read. The Brain wrote like he spoke and told lots of good stories. He goes through his career as a wrestler, a manager, and a color commentator. And he includes something on just about everyone he was associated with. It was exactly what I wanted out of a Bobby "The Brain" Heenan memoir. God bless you, Weasel.

[Paul Geary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Bobby the Brain. I really did. And still do. I had high hopes for this book and in some ways they were met. In others they were missed.

The issue relates more to the editing

The chapters sensibly divide his life and experience it's the contents of the chapters where the issue lies.

The editing of this book shows its pretty much verbal record to take. There needed to be spacing between subject jumps, more context added for those jumps.

The other downside the " no punches pulled" when he slanders someone there is little to no expansion.

"So and so is a d!CK" and that's it.

The book picks up towards the end and is worth a look but it's not a patch on Jericho or Foley.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my mind (and many others) Heenan was one of the greatest wrestling personalities of all time. His book gets personal here and there, but it doesn't get overly concerned with his deep biography. Instead this is what wrestling fans of his want...story after story of wrestling greats, gimmicks, and crazy situations. There's not much more to say really. It's certainly an easy and fun read, but I'd recommend it only for fans who grew up watching him and his era. It's not a book that will turn non-wrestling fans around or really interest them in the least.

[Gustavo Yepez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took me a while to get through because of its anthological nature. It was easy to drop, read something else, and pick it back up without missing a beat. Or a laugh, since the anecdotes are pretty funny.

What I wasn't expecting, however, was for this slimy weasel of a man to sneak up on me with that final chapter and take me on an emotional trip which was made even more intense knowing about Bobby the Brain's ultimate end. Well played, Heenan. Tear it up in the squared circle in the sky.

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were good and funny, but all over the place. The paragraphs were short and would jump from topic to topic. If each period in time or story about certain other wrestlers were grouped together, making a more cohesive narrative this is easily a 4-star read for a wrestling fan. I'll definitely read it again, but the erratic writing may make it hard to some to finish unless you've seen a lot of shoot interviews and have context for the stories already.

[Chip Rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book for quite a while. It did not disappoint. All the stories about his years in the business were gold. I enjoyed the insights into his personal life with his wife and daughter co-fowarding the book. However, I felt something was missing. More stories - especially from WCW. Maybe more insight into the business. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it. It was also somewhat surprising he put Hulk Hogan over the way he did.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alot of fun reading about the Minneapolis scene, grew up being taken to the Calhoun Beach Club when my Aunt's were babysitting us to give Mom a break or a date night. I still remember meeting all those guys around the club. Baron Von Rashke practically made me soil my pants!!! Fun memories to relive again. Never did like The Brain, but I wasn't supposed to now was I?

[James Wade · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such an extraordinarily gifted wrestling personality with an extensive career, this was really disappointing.

It's not even really an autobiography, it's a cliff notes collection of brief anecdotes. He rarely goes into any great detail on any subject and leaves so much unsaid. 224 pages for a near 40 year career in major wrestling promotions is never going to be anywhere near adequate.

[Retromash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good primer to get into the world of wrestling. Introduces a lot of the wrestling parlance. For me it just focussed too much on the really old early days of his wrestling which was before my time. I was hoping for more behind the scenes stories of his time in the WWF heyday. Still an entertaining read though.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Brain" was a personal hero of mine. He was so damn good on the mic. This book is great because it's just him telling stories. I wish it was way longer though; his time in the business would probably see a book the length of Webster's.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Brain is the best manager ever.
I once saw him live--he filled in for Tully Blanchard (or was it Arn Anderson?)--and Hulk Hogan beat the crap out of him.
A very informative book...for example, I learned that wrestling isn't real.

[Kalle Wescott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read /Bobby the Brain: Wrestling's Bad Boy Tells All/, by Bobby Heenan:

http://www.kayfabememories.com/BookRe...

The book was exactly what I expected, which for me was an opportunity to learn more about the world of "professional" wrestling and its characters.

[Ronn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew when I first picked this up at an estate sale that it was not going to anything deeply cerebral, and I was right. But I'd heard interviews with Mt Heenan over the years and knew him to be a very entertaining storyteller and figured this would be more of the same. And I was right again.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! Lots of amusing stories from many eras of pro wrestling. Well written and turns out Bobby, as well as most of the old wrestlers, were good people unlike the heels many portrayed. This is a must read for my fellow old AWA fans.

[Bookreader1972 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best wrestler bio, not the worst. Jumps around a lot, but thankfully it's not overly long like some wresting bios.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were a lot of great stories from a great personality. It was a little disjointed at times, but it felt like conversation with a wrestling legend. RIP Brain

[Joe Bohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. The book may not be structured perfectly but it brings Bobby spirit back to life. There is a lot of heart, laughter and wrestling wisdom in these stories.

[troy spry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Brain!

[Harrison Rip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny stories occasionally, lots of boring stuff and some where he's just a dick.

[Keith Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really funny book with lots of great stories. I had trouble putting it down. Rest In Peace Bobby.

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bobby “The Brain” Heenan was one of the greatest characters in professional wrestling history. His story on how he got into the business is both compelling and inspiring, literally coming up in Indianapolis with nothing and little education. His stories about the business are excellent. However, “Bobby The Brain” bounces around quite a bit and at times seems very disorganized. The reality is, the book seems to be an interview that can be found on YouTube, almost verbatim. Definitely worth the time and an easy read however. 📚🤼

[D.J. Desmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

WWF and WCW chapters are best, but it’s a nice perspective on the business, especially how quickly it gets muddled by other stuff