Still propaganda in its own way - when it came out he was panned for glossing over his relationship with Pete Fisher
I struggle to read books written by or with the authorisation of their subjects, you just can’t trust anything they say
Big Footy Book Club
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I struggle to read books written by or with the authorisation of their subjects, you just can’t trust anything they say
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- #202
Roy Keane's is very raw and doesn't hold back.
iluvparis
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- Apr 1, 2005
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Anything by Antony Beevor is good for War stuff
STALINGRAD
D-DAY
WORLD WAR II
STALINGRAD
D-DAY
WORLD WAR II
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Anyone read Dead Wake by Eric Larson?
Ive heard good reviews.
Ive heard good reviews.
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I don't mind the odd autobio, but you gotta watch out for the low touch, totally ghost written ones - unless it goes horribly wrong. Chyna's is a good example of one of those.
You want the author to realise they're not perfect and not omit large controversial chunks of their life that existence of is already public knowledge.
Mick Foley's is good. Slash's was brutally honest. I enjoyed Keefs. Lethals was OK, if a little disappointing. Chopper's - lol. Scott Adams was illuminating. Books like those from Dan Kahneman, Don Norman, Marty Seligman, Robert Cialdini, Nassim Taleb, whilst educational/self help (urgh) are written in an autobiographical style that I enjoyed immensely. Jesse Ventura's and the Donald's lol.
Not auto - but Steve Jobs and Kerry Packer's interesting (especially the footnotes added in revised edition after the death of the latter).
You want the author to realise they're not perfect and not omit large controversial chunks of their life that existence of is already public knowledge.
Mick Foley's is good. Slash's was brutally honest. I enjoyed Keefs. Lethals was OK, if a little disappointing. Chopper's - lol. Scott Adams was illuminating. Books like those from Dan Kahneman, Don Norman, Marty Seligman, Robert Cialdini, Nassim Taleb, whilst educational/self help (urgh) are written in an autobiographical style that I enjoyed immensely. Jesse Ventura's and the Donald's lol.
Not auto - but Steve Jobs and Kerry Packer's interesting (especially the footnotes added in revised edition after the death of the latter).
Here is my first book to get me started
Wanted to get Mamba Mentality but at 50 bucks ill wait
Wanted to get Mamba Mentality but at 50 bucks ill wait
- Nov 26, 2015
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Any fans of Thea Astley? Love her sardonic, jaundiced view of Australia. There is not a bush that she does not see a philistine behind.
"The Acolyte" and "Drylands" are both excellent.
Georges Simenon and W Somerset Maugham are guilty pleasures.
The early stuff of Joseph Wambaugh ("The Choirboys" and "The Onion Field") was a lot of fun as well.
"The Acolyte" and "Drylands" are both excellent.
Georges Simenon and W Somerset Maugham are guilty pleasures.
The early stuff of Joseph Wambaugh ("The Choirboys" and "The Onion Field") was a lot of fun as well.
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- #208
Started Agassi's book yesterday.
60 pages in and it's ******* sensational. So well written and it's just so engaging. Definitely one of the best books I've read and I am only a bit into it.
Anybody else read it?
60 pages in and it's ******* sensational. So well written and it's just so engaging. Definitely one of the best books I've read and I am only a bit into it.
Anybody else read it?
Yup, definitely the best sports autobiography I have read - although I am a bit skeptical of his account of a few key events
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- #211
Like games (without giving too much away)?
Matches he lost, stuff that happened with his wives, his form dip in 1997... his explanations for a lot of things just come off as a bit too neat. That's not to say he completely whitewashes himself, but the stuff he reveals that makes him look bad, does so in a very specific way - it's clearly selectively chosen to portray a specific image
There are also little things that just don't seem to line up with known facts... like, he makes out that his first trainer (Pat Etcheberry) was utterly incompetent, making him do biomechanically dangerous drills and exercises. Anyone reading the book would think Etcheberry was a complete clown and fraud. In reality, Etcheberry is incredibly highly regarded - after being sacked by Agassi, he went on to train Jim Courier (who subsequently revolutionised professional tennis with his fitness).
Now I'm sure Agassi just didn't gel with Etcheberry's training style, and in the book running him down serves a narrative purpose (it's a prelude to Agassi hiring long-time trainer and friend Gil Reyes, to whom he credits much of his success). But I struggle to believe he taught Agassi to do a bicep curl incorrectly. And when you see stuff like that, it makes you wonder where else the truth is being fudged a bit.
Recently finished The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina. Highly recommended if you're someone who wants to learn more about what goes on at sea with regards to illegal fishing, whaling, exploitation, illegal dumping etc.
- Jul 6, 2015
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'Operation Mincemeat', British deception of the Nazis during the Second World War.
I have only read Cricket Crisis, which was excellent but jeeze he goes to town on Bradman
Gough
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- Sep 29, 2006
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- #217
Bradman just wasn't a likeable guy is the only conclusion that I can come to. Aside from the youngies on the 48 tour like Loxton and Harvey who were probably in awe of him all their lives as much as anything else, it's hard to find too many with a good word about him as a person and there are more than a few people here who went to their graves saying he should have been jailed for his part in the collapse of Hodgetts in 1945.
If you want to stick with the British WW2 theme 'The Splendid and the Vile' by Erik Larson is a great read and covers the Churchill administration 1939-1941.
Shell
Premium Platinum
Dont mind the odd autobiography. Will track it down
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- #220
Just stay away from Samprass's.
Shell
Premium Platinum
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- #222
It's very boring. The guy knew how to win but his book is boring as s**t. All he did was train, play, train, play. Nothing else.
Shell
Premium Platinum
Actually maybe i should get a copy.. sounds like it could cure my insomnia
Shell
Premium Platinum
Done; should have it in about a week.
- Apr 18, 2005
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Yeah he was the worst I reckon. Purely in that he was totally safe from the police bar him popping his head and taunting them again. 2005 wasn’t it?
