"Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks," By Freddie Blassie and Keith Greenberg, 2003.

(Before we begin--a question. Why is Freddie Blassie billed as "Freddie" when he signs his name "Freddy"? Have promoters and the WWF/WWE been spelling his name wrong for decades?)

While the WWE has--to an extent--promoted this book, it deserves much more attention than it has been given. In lieu of heinously bad wrestling books over the past year, I reluctantly picked this one up. Instantly, I knew I picked something special.

Unfortunately, many "bandwagon" fans may ignore the well-written, extremely entertaining reflections of a legend. You have to be a true fan to appreciate and enjoy this book because no, The Rock isn't mentioned very often. Neither is Steve Austin or The Hardy Boys. But these are positives as the stories are fresh and unique and not the same-old-wrestling stories we've heard and read about in excess.

The voice--much like Bobby Heenan's book--is definitely Blassie's. Unlike wrestling many recent wrestling books, it truly seems as if the voice you read is indeed Blassie's. Thankfully, this book lacks that stale, unemotional voice that has accompanied pretty much every wrestling autobiography to emerge since Foley's "Have a Nice Day."

An interesting feature of this book is that, like other wrestling books, during certain points, other people --such as Vince McMahon and Ron Blassie--interrupt Blassie's text to provide stories of their own. What makes this interesting is that--unlike other wrestling books that have attempted this in the past (DDP and Goldberg)--it works remarkably well.

As well ... those tired of books that simply praise everyone will feel refreshed with Blassie's honesty. Yes, Blassie shoots. Case in point ... promoter Mike Bell makes regular flattering comments about Blassie through the book. Blassie, however, regarding Bell, states "trust wasn't one of the emotions he inspired." And that's just one of the unflattering comments regarding Bell. And Bell contributed to the book. That's honesty. And that's what makes this book so enjoyable.

The stories are fantastic. A few of the stories covered--Blassie's encounters with irate fans, wrestling in Japan, filming "My Breakfast with Blassie," and the infamous Stephanie and Shane McMahon promo from WWF Invasion. The photos are also great selections.

No oversized font. No repeated pictures to fill space. No fake, unemotional voice. Just genuine honesty and fun stories. If you are truly a fan, you will truly enjoy this book.