Book Review: Hardcore Diaries by Mick Foley

Hardcore Diaries by Mick "Mankind" "Cactus Jack" "Dude Love" Foley is the final entry into the trilogy of autobiographical BESTSELLING books that Foley delivered. It's also my least favorite of the three but by no means a bad book.

This particular book focuses on a few months in the year 2006, with a few anecdotes filling in the gap between his last book and this book. The most intriguing part of the book is the titular Diary portions dealing with Foley's and WWE's creative processes.

The main arc involves Foley's pitching of an idea for an epic storyline that he hopes will go down in wrestling history, the creative and political hurdles he has to dodge in order to get his ideas on screen, and the subsequent fumbling by the WWE in the faith and execution of the storyline. It's interesting looking back on this back as the relationship between Foley and Vince McMahon and as a result Foley and WWE becomes soured probably leading to his decision to leave sometime in 2008.

The Wrestling portions are the biggest draw for me as I've always been interested in the creative processes of the WWE and they get a major spotlight in this book. Also while I never loved Foley as a character/wrestler, I've always respected him, his work, and his mind. He shows here in his description of his epic storyline, his dedication to creating promos, and ultimately his dedication to the art of wrestling that he has one of the greatest creative minds in the sport...or at least he convinces the reader that he does with the storyline he's cooked up.

It's unfortunate that Foley's arc in this book takes him from highly dedicated to his craft and wanting to entertain the audience with the greatest possible (the whole reason the idea crops up is because he felt like he underperformed in his match with Edge at Mania 22, which was a very good match mind you)...to a person who has been disarrayed with WWE and feels it's not worth the time he dedicated if epic ideas are going to crapped on. I really felt sympathy for the man as he went through this downer period near the end of the book, and while I agree there are more important faucets of life than a storyline idea, that storyline idea is part of your passion and ultimately the creative process, the storyline, the performing, and the passion Mick had for his art was lost (if not lost, at least knocked down a severe degree) due to the corporate fumbling of his idea, and his experience with that fumbling.

Ultimately while the look into the creative processes of the wrestling world and Mick Foley's world is rather exciting, there are many many tangents along the way, sometimes even within the same chapter. Having written in a diary/journal myself I understand that diaries often take tangents where you end up in a completely different place than where you started, but in a book it feels unfocused, muddled and confusing. It's unfortunately the nature of the project. Also I felt the anecdotes were sometimes placed at random in-between the diary sections of the book, small complaint, but it still bugged me as I was often so sucked into the present day portion of the book that these other portions (describing his 2004 comeback in the WWE, his literary pursuits, and several other anecdotes) broke the momentum.

While a few complaints, there's one tangent that's absolutely spectacular and that's his desription of his trip to the Middle East to visit the troops. It's one of the most harrowing descriptions, and Foley's experience really hits home. It's also not as politically black and white as WWE often portrays it as Foley lets his political views shine through, and his experience with a resident civilian child being a victim of the war makes this small section of the book unforgettable and an absolute highlight.

Final Thouht:
Although there's some problems with the book, and Foley isn't exactly a literary expert, it's still a fun ride that I'd certainly reccommend to anybody interested in the WWE's creative process, Mick Foley the person, Mick Foley the performer, and really if you've read the other two books this one is a must as well.

7.5/10