Wrestling fans, young and old alike, know that André the Giant is one of the true legends of the business, but what some may not know was that his match with Hulk Hogan in Wrestlemania III was not the start of his career as he was quite successful for many years prior to that match in which many became familiar with the “Gentle Giant”. This biography by Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade is a very complete work telling the life and career of the wrestling icon.

Born André René Roussimoff, the book follows him through his childhood to his various jobs before getting his start in professional wrestling in Paris at age 18. From there, he went on to enjoy success in Japan and the province of Quebec, becoming a big attraction for wrestling fans in the province, most notably in Montreal and Quebec City. His French roots and ability to speak the language helped him tremendously in the province and it provided him exposure to other promoters. One in particular, Vince McMahon Sr, saw André perform and signed him to wrestle for the then-WWF (now WWE). The authors do a commendable job of research and writing about this part of Andre’s life and career as it is not as well known as his later years in WWF and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan.

The story of André’s personal life, which included not only the acromegaly that made him the size that he was, but also his addiction to alcohol, his dislike of certain aspects of the life of a celebrity such as his distaste for flying, and also his lack of a romantic partner for most of his life, is treated with detail but fairness. There is not criticism for these aspects of André’s life and that makes for a terrific and fair read for those readers not familiar with his life. This is also true for the discussion of André and his work in Hollywood and the movies he appeared in, most notably The Princess Bride.

Of course, Andre’s legendary time with WWF and his appeal with fans after his match with Hogan is covered with the same amount of research and detail and fans who are familiar with this part of his career will thoroughly enjoy reliving some of his best matches in sold-out arenas that are described in this portion of the book. It is here where the reader will learn much more about his personal life described above and also his injuries and diseases that would trouble him for the rest of career and his life outside the ring until his death in early 1993.

It should be noted that this book is not only an excellent account of André’s life and career, but also one about the business of professional wrestling. The details behind the contracts, agreements between promoters to let wrestlers perform for several wrestling promoters at the same time and how the matches are determined on how the heels or baby-faces will win in order to gain either maximum followings or ensure that there will be demand for rematches is great reading. This reviewer has read wrestling books from this publisher in the past and every one on them, including this one, cover this aspect of professional wrestling thoroughly and they and the authors should be commended for brining the reader into this world.

Any wrestling fan who remembers André the Giant will want to add this book to their collection. While it is a long read at 550 pages, it is one that is worth the investment of their time to complete. I consider it to be one of the best books I have read on professional wrestling.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A great companion piece to the 2018 documentary about the man, this is a biography that has absolutely no qualms about delving into the little details, especially about where Andre wrestled over the course of this career. Within those moments may lie this work's only flaw to any readers who are not wrestling historians, so buckle up, because Hebert did some magnificent research, and you're getting your money's worth.

Clearly on display are the many discrepancies that linger around the events and "facts" of Andre's life; these are possibly cleared up as much as they can be, several instances even calling out the 2018 doc, or begging to differ in regards to those close to him (e.g. Vince McMahon). All throughout, Hebert takes care, as many have in the past, to point out the man's charitable nature, even when he's proven to have made some substantial mistakes.

The incredible thing about this is that, even though much of the mystery around him has been uncovered, it doesn't lessen his appeal or his legacy. Hebert has officially contributed greatly to that cause through this book, giving us a closer look at a wrestling legend that permeated our culture and, if we're honest, is just as remembered today.

High recommend. Great read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for the advance read.

Andre the Giant was both an awe-inspiring and tragic figure. The authors do an excellent job of capturing this duality, using a memorable reference to Andre's Faustian bargain. He essentially chose to never get surgery or treatment for his acromegaly, allowing his limbs to grow larger and larger. While this decision made him a multi-millionaire in wrestling, it also destroyed his quality of life and led him to vast amounts of drinking and depression. He once told referee Tim White that he would give everything just to be normal-sized for a week.

This is also one of the most thoroughly researched wrestling books I've read. Considering that Andre the Giant has so much mythology built around him, this level of research and fact-checking really enhances the quality of the book. There was also an impressive quantity of interviews conducted for the book, with people like Paul Wight, Lanny Poffo, Dave Meltzer and others, who were able to add a valuable layer of context. Overall a very enjoyable read.

The Eighth Wonder of the World is the story of the life and career of Andre Roussimoff, better known as Andre The Giant.

Authors Pat Laprade and Bertrand Hebert were not kidding when they labeled this book “a definitive and exhaustive biography”.  Through interviews with members of Andre’s family, promoters, Andre’s peers as well as journalists, they truly went to the ends of the earth to get the final word on Andre’s life.

The book takes us from the early days of Andre’s life growing up in Europe and the troubles he faced from a young age with regards to his size (Andre would hit six foot six by age fourteen).  It isn’t long before Laprade and Hebert focus on Andre training to be a professional wrestler as he would quickly break into the Parisian wrestling scene and eventually make his way to the UK.  His first matches and his initial feuds are detailed as Andre would begin to find himself as a performer.

Andre’s work in Japan with IWE (International Wrestling Enterprise) and his eventual partnership with Antonio Inoki and New Japan Pro Wrestling are explored.  It’s believed that this is where he was initially informed of his acromegaly condition although the authors cannot be certain.  It’s believed that Andre may have already known about it or that the diagnoses had been lost in translation from Japanese doctors.  Generally, although rare, if Laprade and Bertrand are unsure of the true story, they will go to great lengths to present all the information they were able to dig up and make an educated theory.

In the 70s, Andre would be brought into the North American wrestling scene by getting his start in Quebec.  One of the best things about this book is the effort the co-authors put into providing context and establishing the various territories before showing the impact Andre would have upon his arrival.  Great care is put into showcasing the legendary figures and the business side of the industry in each market Andre would come into.  His drawing power in Quebec is historic in producing crowds in the thousands to see him square off in several feuds with his biggest being with legendary opponent Don Leo Jonathon.

As noted above, as the book moves through the years, Laprade and Hebert are constantly attempting to clear up misconceptions or fallacies about Andre’s career.  The reason for so many myths about Andre comes down to the fact that at the height of his popularity, the business was still a closely guarded secret.  What people would come to know about Andre was limited to what he would tell them.  Whether it was an exaggeration or a way to keep kayfabe alive, it's anyone's guess. They make note of Shane McMahon’s comments in the 2018 HBO documentary (of which both were field producers) stating that before Andre made it to the WWWF, he was wrestling in front of crowds in the range of a few hundred people. This was false as Andre had drawn crowds in the tens of thousands.  The authors reference attendance figures through Andre’s career to establish his drawing power well before he got involved with the McMahon family.

His career under McMahon Sr in the 1970s shows how McMahon would retain booking rights for Andre and would loan him to other promotions across the world as a special attraction.  By utilizing his vast network of associates, McMahon would ensure that Andre would be paid well, while he would retain a booking fee..  Andre’s drawing power was unparalleled but he also had to be wary of how promoters who would look to take advantage of him by either body slamming the Giant - something that was kept for a special occasion - or beating him to boost their own local wrestlers.  Vince Sr. would ultimately control creativity when it came to how Andre would be used and honestly, if Andre didn’t want to do something, given his size, he wasn’t doing it.

There is a fair amount of time devoted to his 1980s and early 1990s WWF career here as well as his role in the 1987 film, The Princess Bride.  A lot of this stuff has been done to death in documentaries from both WWE as well as outside parties, but it was still interesting.  It’s heartbreaking to read about Andre’s health as it degraded rapidly in the mid-80s onward.  In the HBO documentary, it seemed like Vince had pushed Andre to compete at WrestleMania III despite Andre’s cavalcade of health issues, but as Bertrand and Laprade note later on, Andre never really wanted to stop wrestling.  He would miss the camaraderie with the boys and keeping a busy schedule.  I thought the authors did a great job in examining Andre’s career as it began to wind down.  To say Andre was limited would be putting it lightly, yet he was still pulling in crowds despite his decreased mobility.  The authors spotlight how Andre believed he had more to offer despite his body being an unwilling participant in his ambition.

In terms of research, this is one of the best wrestling books I've ever read about a performer.  While they do spend time correcting a few things in the HBO documentary, they are complimentary of it and this book makes a great companion piece to it.  Many modern fans may only know Andre from his rivalry with Hulk Hogan in 1987 onward (myself included), where he was nowhere near as agile and quick on his feet as he was in his early days.  The Eighth Wonder of the World shines a light on Andre’s passion, his big heart and his genuine love for his peers.

As a big wrestling fan I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, full of little known facts about one of wrestlings biggest stars

I never got the privilege to watch this man wrestle as he was before my time but I was really excited to read this about his life. I loved him in The Princess Bride and have seen stories about him from other wrestlers but getting to read about him was a great ride. I loved reading about this gentle giant and where he came from. If you enjoy wrestling, this is a definite must read.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

if you watched wrestling then you know who Andre the Giant is. He is a legend, he was a force to be reckoned with, and he had an interesting life. When I first picked this book i thought it was going to be a typical biography and short. I almost gave up reading it , but I am very glad I didn't. This book not onl67y talks about his life, but also it talks about his wrestling careers, other wrestlers and their careers, and his personal life. I give it five stars and I am very glad I got to read and review this book from Netgalley.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was about the life of Andre the giant.(The wrestler) It was a well written book. It had many facts of his career over the years and when he acted a bit too.