Hulk Hogan's personality shines in his memoir

"My Life Outside the Ring" (St. Martin's Press, 320 pages, $25.99), by Hulk Hogan.

He may have had his own reality show and starred as Thunderlips in "Rocky III," but Hulk Hogan will always be remembered as the wrestling legend who told children to take their vitamins and say their prayers, brother.

So even though the Hulkster — whose real name is Terry Bollea — titled his book "My Life Outside the Ring," the fans who want to know anything about him are probably more curious about his life inside the squared circle.

Hogan does provide a few of those fascinating gems. He describes how he shredded his back muscles when he bodyslammed Andre the Giant in Wrestlemania, and how the Undertaker administered a Tombstone pile-driver that made Hogan's upper body go numb.

Those intriguing vignettes are infrequent, but that's OK. As it turns out, the stories of his personal life, especially his childhood, are equally intriguing.

Hogan was raised in a poor Florida home and dabbled in music before discovering his passion for professional wrestling. He hoped to impress local wrestlers enough to get his own shot in the ring, but the more he pestered them the more they drove him away.

But Hogan persevered. To chase his dreams he followed a circuitous route through the South and as far north as Minnesota.

Later chapters focus on his challenges — an estranged wife with an apparent drinking problem, a teenage son who served jail time for a car crash that left his best friend with severe head injuries, a lifetime of post-wrestling back and knee problems.

Hogan doesn't shy away from sharing personal details of his family's tragedies. But he does it in a way that sometimes feels like he's orchestrating a bit of a public-relations campaign.

For example, Hogan, who faces a civil lawsuit from the parents of the injured boy, repeatedly emphasizes that he considers the boy a second son and prays for him every day. He also portrays himself as a naive but well-intentioned husband who can't understand why his wife is so angry and hell-bent on destroying their family.

Besides that, the book is a quick read that is, for the most part, highly entertaining. Hogan comes across as a likable person, the same larger-than-life character he portrayed in the ring.

Even through the written word, Hogan makes it easy to remember why Hulkamania ran wild for so many years.