Chris Jericho: A Lion's Tale Review
November 3, 2011
By Ricky Dozan
Chris Jericho's book, A Lion's Tale was released in 2007 and it quickly became a New York Times bestselling autobiography. Many fans knew that Chris Jericho has a great deal of knowlege about the pro wrestling business, so a significant number of fans purchased the book, which is made it very successful.
One thing that really bugs me about the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community for all those that aren't aware) is how highly they rate Chris Jericho. Sure, I'll admit I was a huge Jericho fan back in the day (In fact, he was one of the wrestlers that made me want to watch every week) and I still am today, but many fans on wrestling message boards see him as a god. Whenever his books are discussed, many fans say that they are right up there with Mick Foley's legendary books. When I initially heard this, I brushed it off as fans overrating their hero's work. But after hearing it so much, I felt the need to at least give his first book a chance, entitled 'Lion's Tale: Around The World in Spandex'.
One thing that makes 'A Lion's Tale' unique is that is actually doesn't cover all of Jericho's life and career. It starts from his early life when he was attending wrestling shows with his father and finishes just before he makes his infamous WWF debut where he cuts a killer promo on The Rock. While this may come of as a downer to some of you, it's really not. Clocking in with nearly 450 pages, 'A Lion's Tale' is no small book. Because of the time frame that Jericho chose to write this book in, it allows him to go into great detail about his career. No pre-WWF time-period is left uncovered. He speaks in great detail about his Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Wrestle And Romance days, even if his stint in those companies barely lasted a year.
'A Lion's Tale' is also a very funny book. It had plenty of laugh-out-load moments. Whether it'll be Jericho discussing his first time with a lady-friend or when he tells the tale of when he mistakenly drank from a fan-thrown cup of urine which he thought was beer, this book will have you in stitches.
Now I have to tell you about the bad stuff about this book and truth be told, there is not a lot to be said. The only thing that really did irk me about the book was Jericho's arrogance. He came of as very egotistical and at times, unlikable. In all fairness, this never lasted anymore then a few pages and my dislike for the man himself would be very short-lived.
How does this compare to other wrestling autobiographies? If I'm honest, I really think that this blows most of them out of the water. With a few exceptions, such as Bret Hart's and Mick Foley's books, nothing touches 'A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex'. Jericho fan or not, get this book.