To Be the Man

Infobox Book
name = To Be the Man


image_caption =
author = Ric Flair Keith Elliot Greenberg
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Autobiography
publisher = WWE Books Pocket Books
release_date = July 6, 2004
english_release_date =
media_type = Hardcover and paperback
pages = 352
isbn = 0743456912
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"To Be the Man" is an autobiographical book written by professional wrestler Ric Flair and Keith Elliot Greenberg, and edited by Mark Madden. It was published by WWE Books and distributed by Simon & Schuster in July 2004. The book's title was taken from Flair's famous catchphrase: "To be the Man, you gotta beat the man!" Its retro cover design references the golden age of Flair's career.

"To Be the Man" reached #5 on the hardback, nonfiction "New York Times" Best Seller list. It reached #10 for nonfiction best-sellers in "Publishers Weekly". Upon its release, Flair held a successful book signing at a Borders bookstore in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Nearly 13,000 copies sold between July 4 and July 11, according to Nielsen BookScan.Siner, Jeff [http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/07/21/showbuzz/index.html#2 "Ric Flair, author"] CNN.com (July 21, 2004). Retrieved on December 22, 2007.]

Content

The book discusses Flair's strange youth and beginnings that lead him to stardom in promotions such as American Wrestling Association, National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IFS0QI Ric Flair: To Be the Man] Amazon.com (July 6, 2004). Retrieved on December 22, 2007.]

Criticisms of wrestlers

"To Be the Man" received a lot of attention for his legitimate criticisms of certain wrestlers. Flair openly criticized Mick Foley, calling him a "glorified stuntman," in response to what Foley said about Flair in his book, "": "Flair was every bit as bad on the booking side of things as he was great on the wrestling side." While Flair admitted that he wasn't a great booker, he felt insulted by Foley's remark.

Flair also criticized Bret Hart, and even accused him of using Owen Hart's death to "grind his axe with Vince." In response, Hart wrote a scathing rebuttal [ [http://www.brethart.com/comments.asp Bret Hart's comment on To Be the Man] ] debunking Flair's comments, while defending Foley and Randy Savage, another wrestler Flair criticized. Flair also criticized former WCW President Eric Bischoff for what he percieved to be poor treatment during his time in WCW, which in turn led to a backstage confrontation between the two before an episode of "Raw" in March 2003.

Praise of wrestlers

Among the list of wrestlers Flair had praise for in his book, they include:

*Harley Race
*Kurt Angle
*Stone Cold Steve Austin
*Terry Funk
*Ricky Steamboat
*The Undertaker
*The Rock
*Wahoo McDaniel
*Shawn Michaels
*Triple H
*Eddie Guerrero
*Arn Anderson
*Ricky Morton
*Blackjack Mulligan

Resources