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Crazy Like A Fox - The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later


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Crazy Like A Fox - The Definitive Chronicle of Brian Pillman 20 Years Later is now available on Amazon (http://amzn.to/2h93SxL). The book offers (if I may say so) the most in-depth analysis of Brian's personal and professional life ever compiled, with unheard details of his football and wrestling careers complimented by exclusive interviews with close friends, colleagues and reporters including:

 

*Linda Pillman (Brian's sister)
*Brian Pillman Jr. (Brian's son)
*Brittany Pillman (Brian's daughter)...
*Dave Meltzer (Wrestling Observer editor and long time friend of Brian)
*Jim Cornette (WCW and WWF booking committee member during Brian's runs)
*Mark Coleman (First UFC Heavyweight Champion who went to Miami of Ohio with Brian)
*Raven (Travelling partner and good friend in WCW)
*Bruce Hart (Pillman's trainer, tag partner in Stampede and one of his best friends)
*Kim Wood (Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach, father figure to Brian and co-creator of the Loose Cannon)
*Alex Marvez (Three-time author, former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and friend of Pillman)
*Mark Madden (WCW commentator and one of Brian's closest confidants)
*Shane Douglas (Worked and travelled with Brian in WCW and ECW)
*Les Thatcher (Promoter of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows)
*Mike Johnson (PWInsider.com writer and noted Pillman historian)
*And many more close friends and colleagues

If you're a Pillman fan, or just want a look at the bizarre world of wrestling in the 80's and 90's, you might want to check this one out.

 

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The official preview reads:

 

An alpha male with a beta body, looking to thrive in worlds where beta males with alpha bodies are the primary requirement.
He was a complex paradox, a walking contradiction. He lived more in 35 years than most do in a lifetime, the product of an arduous infanthood. His overachievement is awe-inspiring. Tales of his conflicts and conquests became the stuff of legend. His borderline genius and tragic demise made him an icon shrouded in mystique.
He was Brian Pillman, and two decades later the most comprehensive look at one of professional wrestling's most fascinating stories has been compiled. Discover unheard details of his upbringing, the incredible story behind chasing an NFL roster spot and his introduction to pro wrestling in the crazy Stampede circuit. Revel at his trials and tribulations in WCW and the WWF, walking the fine line between the cusp of superstardom and political turmoil. Reflect in the most detailed, inside breakdown of his Loose Cannon gambit ever produced, the scam that turned him into the talk of the business, before fatally drowning in personal tragedy and addiction.
With exclusive interviews with some of Brian's closest friends and family, Crazy Like A Fox is a must-read for Pillman fans, and a breathtaking look at the bizarre world of wrestling to boot…
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EDIT - John Lister of FSM has written a review that can be found here, giving it five stars: https://cinemazine.co.uk/2017/11/22/book-review-crazy-like-a-fox-the-definitive-chronicle-of-brian-pillman-20-years-later/
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  • 1 month later...

 

I got this yesterday. I haven't finished it yet, but I'd highly recommend it based on what I've read so far. Great details and it's fun to read too.

 

Thank you sir! Appreciate the kind words. Let me know what you think when you're done!

 

 

Finished and wow, fantastic. I'm definitely not sure how I feel about Brian Pillman now, but it was a gripping read. I'd never heard all those stories about Bill 'Quagmire' or all the blow by blow and insights into developing the Loose Cannon gimmick. It's pretty cool that John Harbaugh is still involved with the Pillman family. Did Melanie Pillman decline to be interviewed? She sure got taken to task.

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I got this yesterday. I haven't finished it yet, but I'd highly recommend it based on what I've read so far. Great details and it's fun to read too.

 

Thank you sir! Appreciate the kind words. Let me know what you think when you're done!

 

 

Finished and wow, fantastic. I'm definitely not sure how I feel about Brian Pillman now, but it was a gripping read. I'd never heard all those stories about Bill 'Quagmire' or all the blow by blow and insights into developing the Loose Cannon gimmick. It's pretty cool that John Harbaugh is still involved with the Pillman family. Did Melanie Pillman decline to be interviewed? She sure got taken to task.

 

 

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it. And yeah, that's kind of the common theme I'm getting in the early feedback. I think the best compliment I could have gotten on that front was from Kim Wood (Bengals strength coach of 29 years), who sent me an email last week telling me he'd read the book, saying, "For all that's been written about Brian, you captured the little bastard the best."

 

As for Melanie, she didn't decline to be interviewed, and I did try to get hold of her, but it's not the easiest thing to do. Without going too far into personal details I was given, the impression I got from almost everybody was that, in her current situation, it probably wasn't going to happen no matter what.

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Thanks very much dude, let me know what you make of it as you progress through.

 

Had a big piece written on the book by Alex Marvez for Sporting News this past week, which can be seen here: http://www.sportingnews.com/wwe/news/brian-pillman-book-crazy-like-a-fox-flyin-brian-liam-orourke-wcw-ecw-eric-bischoff/15xhpb5b1rffb1r6glsguafb80

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's what I've written to post as my Amazon review once I get chance to post it later tonight,

 

 

"Finally got to sit down and finish this during the holiday break and was tremendously pleased with how much I enjoyed and learned from this book. This book was well worth the money and was so well put together and well written compared to some wrestling books I've read and I've read a whole lot of them.

 

The amount of stories and viewpoints from the people who knew Brian best from all different eras of his life both personally and professionally really helped paint the picture of who he was with both the amazing admirable qualities and the sometimes disturbing faults. Brian was by no mean a perfect person but his spirit and overall intentions when not clouded by his own demons or faults seemed to still shine through.

 

The pacing of the book was great as it didn't drag but also wasn't rushed and gave fair weight to all the milestones and periods of Brian's career that sometimes get glossed together in previous tellings of Brian's life and career especially his WCW struggles. Also the amount of obvious suffering and struggle the man went through as a child with the throat issues was explained in a way that I really could sit and take in how much of a struggle something like that had to be to endure, which I hadn't gotten before when talked about in other reflections of Brian's life.

 

The parts I enjoyed most were the bits of Brian's thirst for learning wrestling history and the funny story of him calling and riling up Lou Thesz by questioning of him on some the accuracy of his book after consulting Stu Hart. The amount of books on conmen and research he did in crafting the Loose Cannon character really was fascinating and makes me want to seek out and read those books and check out the film House of Games. And the list of quotes of Brian's wit on commentary with JR in his WWF announcing stint had me rolling in laughter all these years later.

 

Overall the sentiment of a lot of the folks making the point of not feeling guilty for Brian's untimely death but rather sad and terrible about it happening is the same way I felt about his story and the fallout of what happened to his kids. It was sad and terrible that they were left without Brian and left with a mother and "step father" to use the term loosely that also were plagued by demons of addiction that made the whole family suffer in life in a way that Brian probably would've been devastated to see if he had lived.

 

I'd strongly recommend this book to any fan of pro wrestling especially of that era because the honesty and gems of information and sobering lessons are such valuable knowledge in truly gaining an understanding of the wrestling business as it was and what it can be without the proper checks and balances. How such a talented and intelligent person can with some terrible choices anyone can make destroy and jeopardize their entire body of work and livelihood and the methods taken to attempt to remedy and salvage it can cause their own self fulfilling prophecy and untimely demise and also leave those they hold most dear susceptible to those same demons in their absence."

 

 

So I loved the book and easily rank it in the top 5-10 wrestling books I've ever read. Thank you for putting such obvious great and hard work into this project as the result was such a fantastic read and journey on a person who really was a rare innovator in the history of professional wrestling.

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