It's True! It's True! FROM OUR EDITORS
With an Olympic gold medal as well as WWF titles under his belt, Kurt Angle isn't your typical wrestler. Get the complete story from Angle himself in this tough-talking autobiography -- Angle swears, "It's true! It's true!" After his early days as a wrestling champion in college, Angle won numerous wrestling prizes before setting his sights on an Olympic victory. Angle put in some serious time training for the Olympics and walked away with the gold. When he joined the WWF a short while after, he became the first Olympic gold medalist in the federation. Find out if Angle really lives up to those "three I's" he pays lip service to in the ring by checking out It's True! It's True!
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Kurt Angle generally utters the phrase, "It's true! It's true!" whenever he denegrates a World Wrestling Federation rival, or when he portrays himself as a bonafide American hero. Although Angel's goal is to rile up fans, there is certainly validity to his boast. After winning Olympic gold in overtime, Angle became the first Olympic medalist to sign with the World Wrestling Federation.
In his first year, he skyrocketed faster than any rookie in Federation history, quickly becoming the third man in a humorous love triangle, including Stephanie MacMahon and her on-screen "husband," the infamous Triple H. On October 22, 2000, he defeated The Rock to become the World Wrestling Federation's Heavyweight Champion. He is walking, talking, wrestling proof that hard work and detarmination can overcome all obstacles, and this is his full story.
SYNOPSIS
Kurt Angle's life has been an epic journey. Growing up in a large family in Pennsylvania, Angle followed in the footsteps of his four older brothers when he decided to pursue wrestling. His discipline and hard work were soon rewarded: He won the Junior National Freestyle Championship and went on to become the Wrestler of the Year at Clarion College. In 1996, with many prestigious wrestling honors to his credit, Angle set his sights on a new goal: an Olympic gold medal. Months of grueling training paid off in the most spectacular way when Angle returned from Atlanta with a gold medal around his neck and renewed determination in his heart.
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA
Although fans of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) no doubt will be asking for this book because Angle is the promotion's top babyface (good guy), there is a lot here even for teens who do not enjoy pro wrestling. From a working class family in Pittsburgh, Angle's brothers, although fine athletes, made a series of bad choices, whereas he remained focused on prep sports. Angle's life was broken apart at age sixteen by the death of his father. Although Angle considered his father his hero, he was an abusive alcoholic. Nevertheless his father's death drove Angle toward new levels of dedication to becoming one of the most decorated college wrestlers ever, winning championships at every level including capturing a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. After winning the gold, the WWF offered Angle a spot, which he turned down, sharing the disdain that most amateur grapplers felt for pro wrestling. A desire to challenge himself led Angle to change his mind. He took to pro wrestling immediately, and within a year of his debut in the WWF, he was given the championship. Although not as funny, entertaining, or insightful as Mick Foley's two best-sellers, Have a Nice Day (Regan/HarperCollins, 1999/VOYA February 2000) and Foley Is Good (2001/VOYA October 2001), Angle's story is a fascinating and inspiring read about a naturally gifted man who has had to overcome huge obstacles to become the very best at what he does. VOYA CODES: 2Q 4P J S A/YA (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2001, Regan/HarperCollins, 317p, $26. Ages 12 to Adult.Reviewer: Patrick Jones SOURCE: VOYA, February 2002 (Vol. 24, No.6)
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