Book Review - Shamrock: The World’s Most Dangerous Man

Trauma, broken bones, redemption and perseverance remain constant in the life of a man that finally puts it all on display for the world to see.

It all begins with a beating.

Ken Shamrock’s new biography starts with his childhood, the very first thing he remembers. It builds upon that foundation and with every story, every adventure, every loss, there is a piece that explains the overall puzzle of who Ken is and why he is the man he is. It is simply an exceptional read, and is a fearless work that never shies away from the man’s personal failures, mistakes, and acts that lead to his undoing.

Jonathan Snowden, formerly of Bloody Elbow, has truly outdone himself this time with a book that is both compassionate yet unconcerned with making the protagonist out to be anything other than what and who he is, warts and all. From his time as a young boy to his explosion into teenage athleticism; from the boys’ home that bears the name he eventually took on, to Japan, the birth of the UFC, his time in WWE, PRIDE, and his many odd experiments both after and in-between, everything is here. The training, the sacrifices, the wins, losses, sex and drugs, all of it is there as well.

Unexpectedly thorough, the book manages to give certain subjects time to air out their grievances and give their side of the story. Very few people that were reached out to declined to participate, leading to a robust degree of context and attempts at clarity.

The only minor quibbles I personally found were some of the pro-wrestling parlance that may not have been adequately explained for the uninitiated, but it’s not even worth using it as a knock on the book. Anything that isn’t explained can be easily figured out, so whether you’re a fan of MMA and/or pro-wrestling (or neither), you can pick up the thread. At just around 420 pages, there’s a ton of footnotes to add a lot of color to the situations that took place, with some very amusing asides being included for good measure.

One of the most enjoyable things is how well it bridges the pro-wrestling and the MMA portions of his life and career, but also fills in gaps for the history of both forms of entertainment. That alone is a major point in it’s favor for being an essential read to understand the various eras that Ken lived through and was a part of.

At certain points, you feel a large level of empathy for Ken because of how he’s been perceived by MMA fandom, and this book at least tries to offer explanations, not excuses. And they’re almost all entirely valid, with a refreshing amount of honesty and Shamrock owning up to things that fell on his shoulders. Strangely enough, it ends up being one of the most unexpected “what if“ stories in the sport. If Shamrock had zigged here instead of zagging there, where would his career be? How differently would he be remembered? Because by every single account, he was a prodigy that could be damn-near invincible on his best day. It’s one thing to hear this from his trainers, coaches, training partners and friends, but when his opponents and former enemies admit it, it becomes unshakeable.

The book doesn’t concern itself too much with contemplating hypotheticals or branching paths. It follows past the glory years to a man whom everyone knows is fighting with a broken body, but nobody can stop him from taking more and more fights. After being at the great heights at a prestige level, the long and slow descent is well-documented, all the way to the fateful pair of fights he had in Bellator against Kimbo Slice and his old nemesis, Royce Gracie.

There’s no fairy tale ending here. But it ends with Ken in the present day, trying to make do with what he has, trying to still pick up the pieces of the promises he’s broken and relationships he’s damaged in his wake. But he knows where he is now, knowing that he can keep working on making everything better because of the adversity he’s faced. Once you’re done reading it, you just might have that same confidence in him as well.

It’s hard to put down, and I can’t recommend it enough. Grab a copy as soon as you can.

Jonathan Snowden’s Shamrock: The World’s Most Dangerous Man is on sale now on Amazon.com on both Kindle devices and in paperback.

**Review was conducted via a digital copy provided by the publisher.