Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story

As my title says, if your a fan of Shawn Michaels then I highly recommend this book. It's cool to hear from him basically behind the scenes, and his story of how he got to be one of the best wrestlers of all time. I'm not a huge wrestling fan in general especially nowadays but I always watched his matches.

It was in very good shape and cant wait to read it.

This is a book about Shawn Michaels dream to become a wrestler, how he did it and how, in the end he was redeemed by becoming a follower of Christ. I have watched wrestling since I was a kid and enjoyed an inside view. More importantly to me was to see a life changed from drugs and alcohol to one that now serves the Lord who saved him. Great redemption story.

Ok you name the wrestler and I have red his book now I can add shawn Michaels to my list I would give this book 4 stars it would be 5 if it had a little more sex drugs and rock and roll stories in it but over all it's a great read about the show stopper HBK kid I really enjoyed the redemption in the end shawn finding his faith is very inspiring

This book is a terrific story whether you are a wrestling fan or not. I personally have been an HBK fan since I was a kid so I loved the book. I feel he is by far the greatest wrestler of all time. This book only proves it for sure. From growing up in a military family to his early days in the AWA, the book takes you through his entire life. From his early days in WWE, his constant feud with Bret Hart, his title reigns, his DX days, and his rebirth, this book tells it all. I feel that Shawn probably left some details out but the book still holds it own. I read it faster than any book I've read before. I definately recommend it for it is truely a feel good book. I am personally so happy for Shawn to have a beautiful wife and two children. He deserves all the success he has and it is great to see him finally achieve inner peace. HBK ROCKS!!!!

I am a huge mark for Shawn Michaels so I bought this book with rose-tinted glasses. I need not have worried that Shawn would come across as unlikeable or too boastful, he came across as a guy who lived his dream to be a great wrestler and made it to the very top before injuries curtailed his career for the better part of four years. He was quite modest in places.Michaels entered a world of painkillers to get over his injuries and was in a bad way before he found God (or God found him) and he saw the light to redemption both personally and professionally.I found the book to be a quick and easy read and I liked it a lot. I wouldn't have minded a few more backstage stories but what was written was pretty good.

After reading AJ Lee's book and being disappointed with the lack of info on her wrestling career this book is exactly what I wanted. Tons of behind the scenes info as well as details regarding his personal life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this genuine portrayal of a lifelong passion towards an industry that is jeered and the seeking of a purpose when that passion abandons you.As a child of the late 80's and early 90's I was disillusioned when I learned that wrestling wasn't real.Still a nostalgic fan of Shawn Michaels and intrigued to learn he was now a born again Christian I looked forward to hearing his story.I was touched by his honesty in these pages.The most surprising realization from this memoir that I hate to admit is the respect I now have for those dedicated to the profession. I finally understand why they say it's real even if the final outcome is planned.

I've read several wrestling autobiographies and have to admit this was one of the most "readable", even if a little trashy (the best being Bret Hart's). However, I must point out that it becomes clear as you progress through that Shawn Michaels is overly anxious to convince the reader (and maybe himself?) that nothing bad he has ever done, or been accused of doing, was ever his fault - always someone else's, or a misunderstanding, or a lie; every single time. Hence, none of what Shawn writes comes across as truthful whatsoever (not surprising, really, considering he's now a born-again Christian, hence is in complete denial of his former self). And another thing that becomes apparent is Shawn Michaels' jealousy and hatred of Bret Hart (at the time of writing), which for most parts is completely unnecessary - any chance of throwing in an insult, Shawn never fails. It all comes across as child-like and amateurish. Overall, worth a read, but other than that, something to send to a charity-shop.

This is a book that will only have any real meaning if you are a fan of America wrestling and have seen Shawn Michaels wrestle. We all know that TV wrestling is phoney and Shawn Micheals doesn't pretend otherwise but the book makes clear that he and his fellow wrestlers are extremely hard working and fit. I enjoyed the story of a young man with ambition fighting his way to the top and there is no doubt that Shawn Michaels was one of wrestling's top "performers" but for me the sadness of this book is his public bitterness towards others in his profession coupled with his own self adulation. I enjoy watching American wrestling and I enjoyed watching Shawn Michaels, so the book had some meaning and i could relate to the incidents and people he was writing about. If you don't enjoy either, the book will be meaningless to you, but if you do enjoy them, this is a well written and honest book, well worth reading.

This book for me was bittersweet, I did the right thing in reading it straight after I read Bret Harts and to be honest Harts book is the much better of the two. I don't feel that Shawn went into enough detail and it seems as if he released the book much too early, having a behind the scenes insight to the Flair and Taker Mania matches would have been golden.It felt as if Vince may have had a lot of control in what was said in this book also.All in all its a decent read although he does paint a spoilt brat image of himself in the book and any serious HBK fans may have slightly altered opinions of their hero after reading as I was.It doesnt take away from the legend of the character of the ring preformer in Shawn Michaels though and I would recommend any wrestling fan to give this a go.

Shawn shows a lot of honesty in this book, stating that he could be a nightmare to work with, and that he would have dealt with certain regrettable situations differently if he was given the opportunity again. He gives an insight into the workings of the wrestling industry and how he has learnt what is accepted, and not accepted by old-timers, referring to his own personal experiences of carrying a reputation for over-partying, rebelling against wrestling authorities and making a mockery of wrestling titles. Three-quarters of the book sums up his career up until the infamous 'Montreal Screw-job', and only about 50 pages are written about his career after this point. I can't nudge the feeling that in some ways, the book could more accurately have been titled 'My Side of The Montreal Screw-Job'. I also can't nudge the feeling that this book came a bit early. A significant proportion of his career was to come after it was published, Including the DX Reunion(s), The two Wrestlemania matches against Undertaker, Ric Flair's retirement match and the classic against Shelton Benjamin on RAW in which he concussed Shelton with the Sweet Chin Music. It's also worth noting that for the most part, (about 50-60%) of the book, it is his tag-team career with Marty Jannetty that is spoken about. Sure, it's important to acknowledge his early days and the routes to what would become Michaels in his prime, but writing so little about his singles career somehow takes away from the importance and significance of the Shawn Michaels wrestling fans learned to love. Although those early years may have been as important to Michaels as the later ones, by prioritising the days in which he was no big deal, it makes his career sound somewhat disproportional. Overall, it's a very interesting read and definitely a must-have for any wrestling fan, but don't expect it to be the best thing you have read for a while.

I have followed Shawn Michaels for nearly 30 years. I read this book years ago but never fully appreciated how much he overcame to get where he is today. You have to be a fan otherwise he'll come across as self absorbed and obnoxious (which pretty much describes how I feel about Bret Hart's autobiography) Worth a read in you're a die hard fan.