It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes
**With the recent passing of Jerry Lawler's original partner, Jim White, here's a little flash from the past.**

Author, Ghost Writer, Editor: Jerry Lawler, Doug Asheville
Publisher: Pocket Books
Released: 12/02

The Good
Jerry Lawler has had one of the fullest careers in pro-wrestling and it's no surprise his autobiography is as interesting as it is. He is a lifelong fan and rised through the ranks quickly due to working a faster, big bumping style and being a charismatic son of a gun. He was a top regional star from the early 70s on, split from Nick Gulas with Jerry Jarrett and completely changed Memphis wrestling and took part in all sorts of crazy angles. All that and more is included with an honesty and humor that makes this one of the WWF's better books. He also has funny road stories and sexual escapades that can keep modern fans interested.

The Bad
I'm sure Lawler's childhood was edited down, but it still seemed pretty rambling aside from the strange coincidences that got him into pro-wrestling and that's the better part of the first hundred pages. Spending the better part of his career in Memphis and a scattered memory makes a lot of this seem random and there are large chunks that are just omitted it seems. He gets to the beginning of his WWF career at around page 300 and things get really scrambled and the last 1/3 of this is pretty 'bleh.' His break-up with Stacy and how he coped with that came across as sad, in more ways than one. It prevents a strong finish, but hopefully readers can ignore that and appreciate the bulk of the book.

The Rating: ****