Finally Free: An Autobiography

"As the little red dog lay on the ground fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their head like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn't kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead."

That is the work of a sociopath, not a human. This book was so poorly written I couldn't get through it. Tried to give him the benefit of the doubt to see if he had anything new to add but no, he spends his time trying to divert your attention. He doesn't regret what he did, he regrets getting caught. He didn't go to jail for animal abuse, he went for running a fighting operation. If you want the real story of the dogs and a glimpse of the monster that inhabits the body of Vick then read Jim Gorant's "Lost Dogs".

And why is he even writing this? He isn't old enough to do an autobiography, what is he "finally free" of? Probation? Fines paid? Did BADRAP or Best Friends ever get fully paid for taking and rehabbing his former dogs? And "what portion" goes to what rescue groups? He hired a PR team to help rehab his image but the only way they could do that was manipulate him like a puppet. He's on some sort of 10 year plan to "make things right" which included tripe like this. The only problem is you can't rehab someone with no soul. He sold his long ago and is trying to get us to believe he got it back. Doesn't work that way. Let's hope when Karma finds him she's a total bitch.

This book has a very misleading title. While Michael Vick may legally be "finally free," morally he can never be excused for torturing and killing animals in his care for fun & profit. In his own words he describes how he sought forgiveness in the Lord & how he made "poor choices." Poor choices would be something akin to say, abusing drugs or alcohol, hanging around with the wrong crowd, not paying your bills on time, but when you consciously choose to breed a dog then starve that dog to the point where it will look to kill anything around it & then feed that dog puppies to ensure its' taste for blood & then turn that dog on another to watch them fight to the death, that is not a "poor choice," that is sociopathic behavior. When you add to that the idea that he could not only watch, but place bets & howl with laughter as two dogs ripped each other to pieces, please explain to me how that was just a "poor choice?" Was it also a "poor choice" for him to hang dogs who failed to perform & then throw their bodies in a hole?

Buying this book buys into the idea that Vick just somehow "made a mistake" by training animals to kill each other. Let's all "finally be free" of Vick & his excuses.

I've read a lot of autobiographies lately and this one is by far the worst. At no point does he go into any real details, skips over facts and just gives generalizations of what he was doing. There is no mention of drug use thru the first few chapters, but then he is mad he cant get into the drug program in prison? How about explaining WHY you should be in the program and what you were doing. Come clean with what you did. The chapter on dog fighting spends more time saying what he did was wrong and says nothing about what he did. Just writing "i made mistakes" doesnt explain anything. My 4 year old explains things better.

Bottomline is dont bother with this book. It is boring, has no emotion and feels like a publicity stunt more than anything. If you want to read a GREAT book about downfall and redemption checkout Duff McKagan's book.

This book is nothing more than his continuous PR campaign to make people sympathize for him despite the fact that he brutally tortured hundreds of dogs, including family pets that were stolen from neighboring communities to be used as bait for the killer dogs. He poured acid on them, electrocuted them, slammed them against the concrete until their heads exploded and fell apart in a bloody mess. How can anyone want to give this man more money?

What does car buying, bankruptcy and this other garbage have to do with torturing and murdering defensless creatures, GOD"s creatures? Nothing but excuses from this person. Garbage, pure garbage! Read "Lost Dogs" then come back tell me about this murderer. He even threw family pets into the pit to be killed. How could anyone do that to any dog let alone a family pet. Let GOD forgive him...I would rather forget him. Only good thing to come out of this is raising awareness regarding dog fighting. Vick denied responsibility right up to the day of sentencing...forget him.

Anyone who buys this book is saying they support the behavior of this man. I THOUGHT it was illegal to profit off a felony crime....100% of the profits from this book should be going to animal rescue. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.

This book is the most ridiculous bit of tripe I have ever come across. Certainly not worth the gas to drive your car to the library and borrow it. The only book Vick should be part of writing is "Confessions of a Murdering Sociopath."

as adoptive-dog champions, this was a hard sell for us. we have many #7 chewtoys available to our six adopted dogs. we actually have #7 'falcon' stuffed figurines that we let our 'chewer' puppies 'chew' on. we have actively worked with four different rescue organizations, and are now actively linked to three. we are at this moment considering fostering a pair of great pyrenees that have been abandoned. i say this only for the extended point that we are a true, TRUE, dog family.

i first started to sway when i saw michael vick's presentation to the rookie class of 2012. in his few minutes he voluntarily laid open the truth that what happened to him was his responsibility . . . "i did this." it is a thing you will read over and over in this book. "i did this;" "it was my fault."

please, please, don't mistake my following statements. we are still actively involved with saving animals.

BUT, i firmly believe michael vick gives us champions of the canine persons a rare opportunity.

in this book, mike vick takes TOTAL responsibility for his actions. he openly admits to his failings -- in what we dog-lovers would consider, an inhuman ('human' being the forefront description of 'humane') act. he does not blame anyone else.

i have never been a mike vick fan. but the effort that he is now actively giving with the humane society to INCREASE the degree of penalty for those that throw these animals against each other, and to make a FELONY of bringing a non-adult to such events (vick first went when he was eight), seems to me to be an opportunity we cannot waste.

no, it is not well written. he is a quarterback of a football team who finds himself more influential than any governor of any state.

i have had a hard time coming to forgiveness.

but this guy has convinced me he is sincere.

just check it out.

Michael Vick may have served his prison sentence, paid his fines, received his sensitivity training, but make no mistake about it: he is not in the least bit sorry for the way he tortured and killed some of those pit bulls. He's sorry that he got caught and that his image is tarnished. He sorry for being careless. He's sorry for being overconfident. But he is NOT sorry for the pain and suffering he inflicted.

I'm an avid pit bull advocate. I love this "breed" of dog like no other animal on the planet. These dogs are beautiful, courageous, loving, kind, sensitive, loyal and adaptable. It's people like Michael Vick and so many other like him and before him that are wholly responsible for horrific and undeserved reputation these dogs have today. So much negative publicity has been ascribed to the pit bull through absolutely no fault of their own. In reality there isn't a shred of truth to any of the misconceptions about these dogs, only an epidemic of overbreeding and plethora of irresponsible owners wanting these dogs for all the wrong reasons.

Finally Free is a nice way to garner sympathy from his fans and from people that do not care about the plights and the fates of the dogs he had killed. He uses his poor background and upbringing as one terrible excuse to try and wash away the blood stains of all those innocent dogs that he has on his hands.

Sorry, that's not flying with me, and not with millions of other people. I grew up in the hood, too. I never tortured and killed pit bulls. Neither have millions of others who grew up poor or in poor communities.

He should never be allowed to own another dog again for as long as he lives. In fact, the only pet he should be allowed to have is a cockroach. I do not forgive him for what he did and I never will. Maybe he can forgive himself. Maybe others will forgive him. I certainly don't wish him any harm in his future. But I will continue to advocate for pit bulls and against him ever having another dog.

This poorly written poorly timed pseudo-biography adds very little to what is already known about Vick, his crimes and his punishment. He offers some helpful guidelines at the very end of the book, too little, too late.