Going into “Arn Anderson 4-Ever,” I really didn’t have any expectations. The only real review I ever heard about the book was that it was a combination of a work and a shoot. After reading it, my final score would be 80% work and 20% shoot. That, actually, may be very conservative.

Remember the bonus chapters in The Rock’s book where Dwayne Johnson ... I mean, The Rock ... wrote in-character? That’s how the Arn book is ... almost through the majority of the text.

Arn does talk about how Boris Zukoff was a bad roommate, his fight with Matt Borne and how Ric Flair visited him in the hospital after a nasty rope-breaking incident, however Arn’s discussions regarding angles as if they were pure truth is overbearing to say the least.

Any fan of the 1980’s will enjoy reading about Arn’s beginnings in wrestling. And it was, in a way, nice to re-live some of the old Horsemen angles I had forgotten ... but when Arn talks about teaching Ole Anderson a “lesson,” and how many champs have lost titles due to defending their titles while sick ... again, it’s just too much.

Arn’s book was one of the very first wrestling autobiographies ... it came out around the same time as Ted DiBiase’s nicely written “Every Man Has A Price.” But, like DiBiase’s book, Arn’s book could have been at least three times as long.

Arn obviously didn’t have the “fortitude” that Mick Foley did ... Foley talked about everyone and everything--one of the aspects that made his book so popular. Most names in Arn’s book were simply mentioned in passing.

I actually thought this book could have been partially saved when Arn mentioned Sid Vicious ... however, when detailing the infamous scissors incident, Arn skewed over the facts by refusing to comment due to future “legal” issues. Arn, did discuss the incident in generalities but Sid, seemingly fearless of these alleged “legalities” spoke much more about the stabbing in the shoot interview, which, ironically, he did at approximately the same time this book was published.

Speaking of dates, no copyright date is even mentioned in the “small print” of the book. However, Arn does discuss his predictions for 1998 at the end of the book which would place publication approximately in 1997-98.
What Arn didn’t realize was that dating a book in such a way makes modern-day readers lose interest. That’s why producers of vintage film and TV rarely allowed dates to be mentioned in said productions--to keep the story timeless. By mentioned these speculatory thoughts for 1998, Arn essentially makes his book “1998.”

There were a few typo’s (not as many as in DDP’s book though) and a few minor inaccuracies (such as Scott Steiner going to the WWF as a singles wrestler in approximately 1990 which lead Rick Steiner to begin teaming with Bill Kazmeier ... if Scott ever briefly jumped ship only to return in WCW “from an injury,” I certainly don’t remember it).

Personally, I have always been an Arn Anderson as well as a Horsemen fan (sans weak incarnations ... Paul Roma). I enjoyed this book for what it was worth but feel it could have been improved hundred-fold if given the opportunity. I’ll rate “Arn Anderson 4-Ever” (yet again, a title many fans in 2002 are probably miffed at) in accordance to other wrestling autobiographies.

“Arn Anderson 4-Ever” is not in the Foley category whatsoever however almost on the same level as Ted DiBiase but much better than literary attempts by The Rock or Chyna.