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The Sheik of Baghdad: Tales of Celebrity and Terror from Pro Wrestling's General Adnan |  | Authors: Adnan Al-Kaissy, Ross Bernstein
Publisher: Triumph Books (IL)
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $4.73
as of 9/9/2010 14:02 MST details
You Save: $12.22 (72%)
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Seller: Ocean Book Club
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 356402
Media: Paperback
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8
ISBN: 1572437308
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.812092
EAN: 9781572437302
ASIN: 1572437308
Publication Date: June 30, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The Sheikh of Baghdad is the true story of one mans journey across two continents to find his place in the world. It is an unbelievable rags-to-riches-to-rags story with wrestling as a metaphor for life itself. Adnan Alkaissy, better known as professional wrestlings General Adnan, can finallysafelytell his story now that Saddam Hussein, once a childhood companion and later a threat to Alkaissy and his family, is in custody awaiting trial. An odd juxtaposition of two very different worlds, this incomparable life story encompasses both the hilarious tales of what life was like in and out of the squared circle of professional wrestling and stories of heartache and despair from a man whose country is trying to find itself once again. It is also the story of a mans desire to achieve closure on a separate life lived many years ago. Finally, it is a story about a man, now in his midsixties, who wants nothing more than to go home to a free and democratic Iraq so that he can finally introduce his new family to his old one. The Sheikh of Baghdad is the story of an Iraqi American trying to make a difference in this post9-11 world by telling his story to provide a small ray of hope for peace in the tumultuous Middle East.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 Very Entertaining April 25, 2010
Ricky Lee Hicks (Murrells Inlet, South Carolina USA)
A great read, very entertaining and you will find this pro wrestling character to have one of the most interesting backgrounds of anyone in the business.
Sheikh of Baghdad a Winner April 17, 2006
Ben Martin (Roanoke, VA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Adnan Bin Abdulareem Ahmed Alkaissey El Farthie, who is known in professional wrestling circles as Sheikh Adnan Alkaissy, recalls in his book, The Sheikh of Baghdad, that when he and Saddam Hussein were teenagers hanging out in Baghdad coffee shops, the tall, lanky, well-dressed and polite young man always had a book or newspaper with him, anxious to talk about Middle Eastern politics. Saddam was fascinated by the Baath Party that was gaining influence in Iraq at the time, and young Adnan could see that his friend would, one day, become one of their recruits.
Meanwhile, Adnan Alkaissey, who is allowed to use the title "Sheikh" because his father was the imam, or, spiritual leader of the Almahdia Mosque in Baghdad, was anxious to travel and see the world. Since he excelled in sports, particularly amateur wrestling, he decided to come to the United States via the American Friends of the Middle East on a football scholarship.
Adnan earned a masters degree in education from the University of Portland. Using his immense amateur skills, he financed his education as a professional wrestler. In a showbiz world where Canadians made the best Russian villains (Ivan Koloff); native Nebraskans the most believable Germans (Jim, "Baron"von Raschke), Adnan followed the example of Italian Joe Scarpa (Chief Jay Strongbow), and became Chief Billy White Wolfe. Adnan became a huge wrestling success.
In 1969, on one of several trips back home to Iraq to visit family, Adnan was "asked" by Saddam, now the Chairman of the powerful Revolutionary Command Council, to replicate his work at home. He had made a big name for himself in America, so, Saddam reasoned, Adnan owed it to his countrymen to show them that they, too, could be successful. Saddam wanted an Arab Champion whose struggles could mirror those of the Baathist Party. As you will read, Adnan could not refuse his old friend.
Sans Indian headdress and tomahawk, Adnan, who was appointed Saddam's General Director of Youth at the Youth Ministry, stages wrestling matches throughout Iraq and the Middle East. He becomes rich, a cultural icon as the Arab champion, and performs before hundreds of thousands of cheering fans. All the while, Saddam, who is giving the people bread and circuses and diverting attention away from his own plans, does not realize the matches he watches are performances.
Fame, as you will read, comes with a price.
The Sheikh of Baghdad is not a typical wrestler autobiography because it is a well-written, gossip-, beer binge-, drug- and raucous sexual exploit- free work. You'll laugh at how Saddam, fearful that Andre the Giant might actually defeat his champion, brings a solid gold pistol to the match, forcing Adnan to protect his huge opponent. You'll read sobering tales of Baathist cruelty but also of a man's desire to go back home one day and visit his family. Finally, you'll befriend an Iraqi who becomes an American, who lives the American Dream, and who wants others to have the same chances he did. The Sheikh of Baghdad gives a close look at life in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. It is evidence that Muslims and Americans can be friends rather than enemies, both in the ring and out.
One of the best Wrestling Bios I Ever Read! January 13, 2006
A Forest Fan (USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Over Christmas, I was stunned to see a new wrestling autobiography, from wrestling's infamous "General Adnan". I snapped it up and read it, and was pleasantly surprised. This is one of the more interesting wrestling autobiographies to come out recently. (I've also read Ric Flair's and William Regal's.)
Older wrestling fans will remember the WWF's 1990 storyline coinciding with the Gulf War. In the storyline, Sergeant Slaughter teamed up with an Iraqi manager, "General Adnan", to side with Saddam Hussein's Iraq. In epic battles with Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior, these evildoers were eventually defeated. Slaughter became a behind-the-scenes employee at the WWE (still on television occasionally to this day), and Adnan disappeared. Who was this guy? I assumed he was just some taxi driver that Vince McMahon picked to play the role. Boy was I wrong.
Adnan Al-Kaissy really was from Iraq, and more than that, he was Saddam Hussein's official World Iraqi Champion for eight years! Adnan has a wealth of stories from his life, both from Iraq and wrestling in America's AWA as "The Sheik".
Older wrestling fans will be surprised that Adnan first wrestled in America as "Chief Billy White Wolf", and was the tag partner of Chief Jay Strongbow during the late 70s. (This shocked me, because I actually saw these two wrestle Mr. Fuji and his partner at the Capital Center in Washinton DC when I was a child.)
Later, Adnan returned to Iraq and introduced Pro Wrestling there. He would fly over friends from Europe and America, including Andre the Giant, to wrestle in the Baghdad arena. His opponents never won a match, however, as the Iraqis believed the wrestling was real, and would have killed the victorious foreigner. At every victory of Adnan, the crowds would fire off their guns in appreciation, terrifying the guest wrestler.
Adnan's stories about Saddam Hussein are the most interesting of all, and the most disturbing. Adnan knew Saddam from the time the dictator was 16 years old. Saddam was very political even then, he murdered a man who was a Communist rival. As Saddam climbed the ranks of the Baathist party, Adnan relates, he became more bloodthirsty and paranoid.
Saddam's paranoia, interestingly, was not unfounded. In 1960, Adnan relates how the entire Iraqi country watched on live television as their president was assassinated. They watched as he was strapped down to a chair, as thousands of machine gun bullets made his body smoke. The killings of Iraq's political leaders continued, president after president was murdered as the decades passed. Very informative, especially considering the political process that Iraq has today.
Adnan's story of how he became an American citizen, and how he yearns for a better future for Iraq, is spellbinding. Whether you're a pro wrestling fan or interested in the people of Iraq, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
BOOK DESCRIPTION FROM THE AUTHOR, ROSS BERNSTEIN July 12, 2005
Ross Bernstein (Minnesota)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
Unbelievable. That is, in a word, perhaps the most appropriate word to best describe life story of professional wrestler Adnan Alkaissy. Alkaissy's incredible journey begins in Iraq, where as a young boy he grew up the son of a prominent religions seik in the 1940s and `50s. A childhood friend of future dictator Saddam Hussein, Alkaissy went on to become a very successful prep wrestler and soccer player in Baghdad.
As a top-flight athlete, Alkaissy was recruited by a secret U.S. agency operating in the Middle East and given a scholarship to play football at the University of Houston. Despite the fact that he had never played American football before, Alkaissy came to America to make the most of his unprecedented opportunity. He eventually transferred to Oklahoma State University, however, where he emerged as an All-American wrestler. From there, Alkaissy got into professional wrestling as an Indian character named "Chief Billy White Wolf."
After traveling the world as a pro grappler for several years, Alkaissy returned home to Iraq as a modern day hero of sorts. Meanwhile, Saddam was rising to power in the ruling Baath Party at the time and had big plans for his old friend. With that, Saddam summoned Adnan to his palace and told him that he wanted him to wrestle for Iraq and make him proud. Adnan, who was only home for a visit to see his family, respectfully declined the generous offer. But when Saddam told him it was not an offer, but an order, he realized that his life would never be the same.
So, under Saddam's watchful eye, Alkaissy began promoting his own wrestling matches in Iraq - importing professional grapplers from around the world to compete against him. Literally hundreds of thousands of crazed fans poured into local soccer stadiums to see Adnan emerge as the Middle East Heavyweight Champion of the World, and before long a superstar was born. Adnan was rewarded with his own palace, a fleet of Mercedes complete with chauffeurs, and money beyond his wildest dreams. He was even named as the Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth, a very coveted and prominent government position.
Soon, there were thousands of adoring fans sleeping outside his home at night just hoping to catch a glimpse of their new hero. It was utter insanity. What Adnan didn't realize, however, was that Saddam was using his old friend as a clever ruse to entertain and occupy the masses while he began his own murderous regime of torture and terror throughout the Middle East. Eight long years later, Alkaissy was fearful of being killed. So, he left everything behind and escaped in the dark of night, leaving his friends and family behind forever.
With nowhere to turn to, he came back to America, where he would start over as a professional wrestler - only this time, instead of being an adored national hero, he would be transformed into a villainous Arabian madman named "The Sheikh." Alkaissy would spend the next several decades making a new life for himself working in the American Wrestling Association. Then, in 1990, a career ending knee injury forced him to retire and become a ringside "manager" instead of a headlining villain. That same year, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and the Gulf War began, he was lured back into the limelight as a new character called "General Adnan," which was created by the head of the vaunted World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon. McMahon saw dollar signs with Adnan, who would now dress up like Saddam and enter sold-out arenas across the country as a real-life enemy of the state. With a wife and kids and a home in Minnesota, Alkaissy was torn between cashing in and doing the right thing amidst the backdrop of his two homelands going to war. The events that ensued were simply incredible.
This is a true story about a man's journey across two continents which has finally come full-circle. In many ways it is an unbelievable rags-to-riches-to-rags story about wrestling as a metaphor for life. It is also a story that can now finally be told only because Saddam Hussein is at long last in U.S. custody awaiting trial, and poses no threat to Alkaissy's family which still resides in Iraq. This is also a story about an Iraqi-American wanting to make a difference in this post 9-11 world and hopefully provide a small ray of hope in the quest for peace in the tumultuous Middle East.
While the book is a very odd juxtaposition of two very different worlds, albeit so is Adnan's life story. On one hand there are hilarious tales of what life was like both in and out of the squared circle of professional wrestling. On the other are stories of heart ache and despair about a man whose country is once again trying to find itself. Mixed in are truly amazing stories which will make you laugh and make you cry. It is also about a man's desire to obtain a sense of closure while telling his personal accounts about a separate life lived many years ago. Finally, it is a story about a man, now in his mid-60s, who wants nothing more than to go home to a free and democratic Iraq, where he can finally introduce his new family to his old one.
 A "work" of fiction July 4, 2005
Obsessive Book Geek (Minnesota USA)
4 out of 19 found this review helpful
I haven't quite finished this book yet, but what I've read thus far is maybe 10% fact and 90% fiction. Sure, making up stories about links to famous people makes for more interesting reading, but personally I'd be more interested in hearing the real story. It becomes a lot more readable once he gets to the AWA years. Not the worst book on pro-wrestling by far, but not in the top 50% either. Oh, and I'm not impressed that relatives were able to get signed copies. LOL.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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