Foreword: Monsters of the Midway / Paul Ellering -- Acknowledgments -- Prologue -- Animal's abridged prehistory -- Bouncing around and taking a chance -- Education of a road warrior -- Assault on Georgia Championship Wrestling -- Destroy everything that moves -- Unleashed on the AWA -- Boom of professional wrestling -- Face-to-face with Vince -- Getting hitched, being cloned, and spiking our image -- Snacking on danger and dining on eeath -- Scaling dizzying heights -- Golden age of Jim Crockett Promotions and the NWA -- And it all comes crumbling down -- When one door closes, smash yourself a new one -- Legion of doom dominates the WWF -- Hawk soars too close to the sun -- Resurrection of the road warriors -- Our continuing journey into the unknown -- Spiritual rebirth and the end of an era -- Laurinakis legacy -- Afterword: The it factor.