Jesse Ventura: The Book

A tell-all book released Wednesday paints former Gov. Jesse Ventura as a gloomy recluse who was often rude and spent much of his time at the governor's residence watching TV.

The former manager of the governor's residence says he decided to write the book after Ventura dismissed the entire staff when a couple of workers made observations about the Venturas to reporters.

"I felt compelled to set the record straight," Dan Creed said.

Ventura has not said why the staff was fired, but accused them of disloyalty for talking about parties thrown by his son, Tyrel.

In "Governor Ventura 'The Body' Exposed. The Man. The Mansion. The Meltdown," Creed says Ventura seldom acknowledged those who labored on his behalf and often shunned visitors. He slept on a "1970s-throwback waterbed," and sometimes left his pink feather boa on the bed, a sight Creed said "still unnerves me for reasons I can't really put my finger on."

Ventura wore a boa in his pro-wrestling days as "The Body."

Creed, speaking in freezing rain near the residence, was joined by four other former staffers wearing pink feather boas.

Ventura is not commenting on the book, said spokesman John Wodele, but it's clear the Venturas are not happy about it. The book's official release came just before Thursday's unveiling of Ventura's official portrait in the State Capitol.

"I spoke with the (former) First Lady and she is obviously very disappointed and sad that Dan would betray the family's confidence," Wodele said.

In the 170-page paperback published by Hunter-Halverson Press in Madison, Wis., Creed praises Ventura's wife and children, though he writes that Tyrel frequently had parties when his parents were away.

"More than once, we also found telltale signs that someone had enjoyed a night of passion in the governor's bed. I began to wonder if I was manager of the governor's mansion or the Playboy mansion," Creed wrote.

The Venturas are particularly distressed that the book uses snapshots taken at private family functions, Wodele said. One picture shows Ventura at his 50th birthday party dressed in a pink hula skirt and flowered headdress. Another shows the Venturas' pink bedroom, with what Creed describes as "Pepto-Bismol walls, trimmed in cough-syrup fuchsia."