I'm Next: The Strange Journey of America's Most Unlikely Superhero
Review
by : Russ
Ray 
Written
by : Goldberg with Steve Goldberg
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At 247 pages,
Goldberg's biography is definitely light reading that you could
probably finish off in a day or two, but that doesn't mean that he
doesn't have an interesting story to tell. In fact, Goldberg's story
is unique in that it's the first wrestling autobiography that I've
read where the ghostwriter is faithful to the voice of the subject.
It's no mistake, then, that the choice of Goldberg's brother Steve
was made because he knew his brother almost as well as anyone and
could portray that. In fact, as evidence in a chapter Steve wrote on
his own, Steve's voice isn't as interesting as Goldberg's (and he's
the one writing the book!).
The book has
an unconventional sequence for an autobiography, as it starts out
with his first televised loss at the hands of Kevin Nash and Scott
Hall at Starrcade 1998. Then, the story jumps backwards to
the injury that ended his football career with the Atlanta Falcons.
While rehabbing, he met WCW wrestlers Sting and Lex Luger at their
gym Main Event Fitness (well, "met" might be too gentle of a term).
He discusses how close he came to signing a WWF contract instead of
a WCW contract, his training at the Power Plant, and how he explained
his choice of becoming a pro wrestler to his family. As the story
follows Goldberg's career to early 2000 and the arm injury he suffered
after smashing the windshield of a limousine, he mostly has good
things to say about everyone he's worked with and learned from along
the way with three exceptions: he says he could fill another book
with things he doesn't like about Scott Hall, he claims that Triple
H was a prick when he met him, and he hates Joe Theismann for the
comments he made on TV about him letting the team down during Georgia's
Gator Bowl appearance. On the other hand, he has nothing but nice
things to say about The Rock, likes Mick Foley but thinks he took
too many risks for the business, and says he likes Steve Austin, but
doubts he would ever be able wrestle him with all of his injuries.
The book
then takes a sharp turn from the biographical for a few chapters and
describes Goldberg's philosophy on kids, charities, animals, and how
he uses his fame to help others. He also talks about some of the cool
celebrities he's been able to meet. Then, his brother Steve wrote a
chapter on their trip to Super Bowl XXXIII and how they basically
got mobbed everywhere they went that weekend. It also portrays Scott
Steiner as a rather laid-back individual than the psychotic roid freak
that runs over construction workers and beats up EMTs. Finally, his
father Jed wrote a chapter on his observations of what Goldberg was
like as a child. His son then returns to tell his life story from
childhood as a victim of divorce to high school through college and
professional football. It's funny to see Goldberg take his job as a
role model so seriously now when he was nothing close to being a
role model back then. He partied hard in his younger years and was
even suspended from Georgia's trip to the Gator Bowl in his junior
year for failing a drug test.
The book
also has excerpts and quotes from different people. However, unlike
those in the DDP book, these aren't overdone and they don't make
Goldberg out to be some kind of saint fishing for compliments.
Obviously, if you're only interested in reading about Goldberg the
wrestler, you'll only want to read the first half of the book and
the last chapter, which basically takes Goldberg up to the summer
of 2000. However, the full Goldberg story is worth reading, and he
definitely takes his fame in stride with a dose of humility, humor,
and responsibility.
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