Cheating Death, Stealing Life (WWE) - Michael Krugman, Eddie Guerrero

Cheating Death, Stealing Life is the posthumously released autobiography of Eddie Guerrero. It is difficult for me to review this book impartially because Guerrero is quite simply a hero of mine and has been for many years prior to his death.

The book itself tells the fascinating story of a man who overcame emotional obstacles as well as personal demons in order to get his life back on track and ultimately rise to the top of the profession ...
...his daughters.

Cheating Death, Stealing Life is almost a specially written guide to the dangers of professional wrestling. Drink addiction, drug addiction and injuries, they're all here in abundance.

The ultimate story though is the life of a man who grew up in a famous wrestling family, overcame the big man culture in the United States aswell as countless other obstacles and became the champion of the biggest wrestling ... more

Cheating Death, Stealing Life is the posthumously released autobiography of Eddie Guerrero. It is difficult for me to review this book impartially because Guerrero is quite simply a hero of mine and has been for many years prior to his death.

The book itself tells the fascinating story of a man who overcame emotional obstacles as well as personal demons in order to get his life back on track and ultimately rise to the top of the profession that he gave his life and soul to. The book is of course given an unwanted added dimension because the book was written by Eddie Guerrero but released after his death, leaving the reader with an uneasy feeling in certain sections of the book.

As soon as you can overcome the sense of loss that you will get from reading the book, the story of Guerrero's life is not only fascinating but takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions. An inspirational story of a man who overcame odds in both his profession and his personal life in order to become a success.

Guerrero is brutally honest about his problems with addiction and does not hold back. In what is almost the complete opposite of Pure Dynamite - the autobiography of the Dynamite Kid, Guerrero rarely points the finger of blame at anyone but himself. And believe me, this is a man who was fully aware of how much he had to hold himself accountable for.

The book takes you through a lot of emotional lows, such as the passing of Eddie's best friend Art Barr as well as the highs. I defy anyone to not get a little bit choked up when Eddie tells of how he managed to re-unite with Vickie and his daughters.

Cheating Death, Stealing Life is almost a specially written guide to the dangers of professional wrestling. Drink addiction, drug addiction and injuries, they're all here in abundance.

The ultimate story though is the life of a man who grew up in a famous wrestling family, overcame the big man culture in the United States aswell as countless other obstacles and became the champion of the biggest wrestling promotion on earth. It's a story fit for hollywood and its written beautifully by ghostwriter Michael Kurgman.

One downside to the book is the way it glosses over Eddie's career in Japan as Black Tiger II. Predictably he also bashes WCW to kingdom come while WWE comes out of the book smelling like roses. One can't help but wonder if Vince and his company would have been given such a favourable review if Eddie had known how they would go on to exploit his death, but that's another story for another day. It's a minor gripe however and one that cannot be held against a man who was given a second chance by the company and eventually the WWE championship.

Final thoughts:

If you haven't read this book already, go out and read it now. You won't be disappointed. It is one of the best wrestling autobiographies you will read and a damn inspirational story on a human level. No matter who you are, you will not put this book down without taking something from it. There is something here for everyone. At times humorous, at times tragic this is a book you have to read if you're a wrestling fan.

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