Asshole or not he's going to make tons of money off of this book. I'm sure that was his major intent.
I'm just about done reading this book and it's a good read. I never cared for Canseco, and I'm a huge McGwire fan, but there is no doubt that Canseco knows what he's talking about when it comes to steroid use. To me, the real problem with steroids is not the use of them, it's the ABUSE of them. Let's face it, probably the vast majority of people that get into them do so without much knowledge or plan in place. Steroids, when used correctly at the correct dosage and cycle lengths, combined with proper PCT and "off" time, are a invaluable cornerstone to heavy weight training. I'm a believer in them, but like I said, I'm also a believer that most guys don't know what the hell they're doing and that has led to society's stigma on them.
As for the book, he covers several subjects. He rants quite a bit throughout the book about racism and it was impossible for a Latino in the 80's and early 90's to be the kind of "untouchable" superstar that an All American player like McGwire or Cal Ripken could be. Out of all the players he mentions, he talks about McGwire the most by far. I love Big Mac, but I'm not convinced that he built his body naturally....and I don't care. The man was a born homerun hitter anyway. He set PAC-10 homerun records while playing at USC. He hit a rookie record 49 in 1987 at 220lbs....and Canseco even says, that to his knowledge, that season was "clean". He states that he and McGwire didn't start discussing steroids until 1988. He goes on and on about Mac's incredible swing and tecnique and work ethic. I feel McGwire would have hit 500+ homeruns either way. I never really got the feeling while reading this the Canseco was trying to be malicious...just telling his story....true, untrue, or exaggerated.