[Simon & Schuster Australia]
Kategoria: Książki / Literatura obcojęzyczna
matches. In Tangled Ropes, his autobiography, Graham
remembers his victories -- and his setbacks -- on both the
wrestling and the evangelism circuits in vibrant detail.At his
core, Graham is...
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"I'm the man of the hour," Superstar Billy Graham told his
audiences, "the man with the power. Too sweet to be sour!"Despite
years of devastating health issues (a long history of drug abuse
led to a liver transplant in 2002), the man regarded as one of the
most influential professional wrestlers of the past thirty years
still flaunts the same optimism that made his interviews as
compelling as his matches. In Tangled Ropes, his autobiography,
Graham remembers his victories -- and his setbacks -- on both the
wrestling and the evangelism circuits in vibrant detail.At his
core, Graham is still Wayne Coleman, the artistic, curious boy who
escaped the wrath of his disabled father in post-war Phoenix
through painting, sports, and bodybuilding.When his photo appeared
in a bodybuilding magazine, the young man caught the attention of a
family in Texas who began praying for his soul. Soon, Wayne found
religion at a revival meeting, then mortified his parents as he
left home to bend steel, rip phone books in half, and preach the
Gospel on the back roads of America.Because of his natural
athleticism, Wayne held a series of jobs -- from bouncer to boxer,
from repo man to football player. However, it was under the
training of the "Mentor of Mayhem," Stu Hart, that the wrestler was
revealed. Then the fading headliner Dr. Jerry Graham bleached
Wayne's hair blond and transformed him into an in-ring "brother."
Still reverent of men of faith, Coleman became "Billy Graham,"
after the preacher. Graham completed the package with his golden
tan and enormous "pythons," a succession of color-coordinated
outfits and jive-talking -- a persona imitated by countless
wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Jesse "The Body" Ventura.The
Superstar's greatest wrestling achievement came in 1977, when he
took the World Wide Wrestling Federation Championship from Bruno
Sammartino. He held the prize for nearly a year -- the first
wrestling villain to do so. But after he lost the title to
wholesome Bob Backlund, Graham fell into a deep depression. He
disappeared from the business, squandering his money and losing
himself in a haze of drugs.In Tangled Ropes -- co-written with
Keith Elliot Greenberg -- Superstar Billy Graham tells a story that
transcends his life in the wrestling profession, offering candor,
nostalgia, inspiration, and humor. Graham's narrative is
supplemented by anecdotes from personalities like Vince McMahon,
Jesse Ventura, Ivan Koloff, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, and California
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
