Broken Harts: The Life & Death of Owen Hart by Martha Hart w/Eric Francis ... 2002, Key Porter Books.

This was, yet again, another wrestling book that I anticipated but quickly became disappointed in.

Firstly, the title is somewhat deceiving ... one would expect the majority of the book to be about "The Life" of Owen. However, only approximately the first half details Owen's life while the rest surrounds Martha Hart's coping, the trial with the then-WWF and the settlement. Personally, I wanted more about Owen's life versus the aftermath of his tragic death.

This book also seemed to focus on Martha instead of Owen. While this is somewhat understandable--being that it is written from her perspective--it is also, at times, frustrating. To sum-up, this is a biography of Martha with Owen in the background.

And while Martha, at times, claims no ill-will towards Vince McMahon, other times she seems to despise him. This is somewhat confusing. Also, not much of Owen's WWF days are detailed. This is, obviously, what most wrestling fans would want to read about. One incident, however, is discussed--Owen's botched piledriver in Steve Austin at SummerSlam '97. Martha has a new twist on this story, claiming that Austin's paralysis was a work orchestrated to give him some time off.

Much of the Hart Family history is discussed ... or should I say, overkill regarding the family bickering and backstabbing. While Martha doesn't go to the extremes of Diana Hart's "Under the Mat," she does successfully and repeatedly bash the Hart family. This, in lieu of the "Under the Mat" banning-debacle, seems somewhat hypocritical.