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Andrew Strauss’s autobiography: Coming into Play

By Will 3 years ago, at the end of September Add your comment below

I’ve just finished reading Andrew Strauss’s book (review is at Cricinfo on Saturday) and it highlighted a worrying trend: the premature autobiography. It’s one which is seemingly unstoppable, too, and not just in sport - although sportsmen offer publishers a tantalising combination of fame and talent which the public will mop up all day long.

It’s just not on, though. The book was fine - it passed a few hours, and I’d have enjoyed it at an airport or on the bus. But I was left with a feeling of “…and?” Of all the recently released autobiographies, at least Strauss’s is nicely written. He received some help from Angus Fraser but, by and large, it is his own work - a tremendous achievement, then. The fact remains that he has only been in the game five minutes. His excitement in arriving in Test cricket is glib, and no different from any other cricketer. Descriptions of the Ashes are neatly written and fondly recalled…but again, it’s nothing we haven’t heard a dozen times before. Worse still, this lets the author down more than us.

I’m sure once he’s finished his career and has progressed into a fulltime journalist, if he chooses, then his final book really will be worth reading. Right now though, it felt unfinished; much like his career, it is only the first chapter.

It’s a shame though. I think I’m right in saying Charlotte Church, who my boss absolutely adores and respects with unrivalled passion, has already published two! She’s about 23 for God’s sake. Yet we can’t blame her or other people for writing them. Books are big money these days. Monty Panesar has accepted a £250,000 deal to write his - he’d be very daft, or perhaps a shrewd businessman, if he turned that down. I guess it’s just a shame for us who have to review them as, essentially, it’s the same old thing over and over again.

Buy now from Amazon.

Related posts:

  1. Andrew Strauss’s autobiography: Coming into Play
  2. Review of Andrew Strauss’s autobiography
  3. Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick
  4. Another hundred for Andrew Strauss
  5. Andrew Strauss in line for captaincy

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3 Responses to “Andrew Strauss’s autobiography: Coming into Play”

  • The BinnsBlog wrote:
    September 27th, 2006 at 10.20 pm

    Oh, and on Autobiographies…

    Will over at The Corridor has observed the same thing that I observed the other day: the phenomenon of the early autobiography.
    People have either become really interesting without me noticing (of course, everyone’s interesting to someone, but if…

  • Welshtart wrote:
    September 27th, 2006 at 10.23 pm

    Charlotte Church is singing’s equivilant of Ronnie Irani only with less class.

  • Ollie wrote:
    September 28th, 2006 at 12.58 am

    I’d like to be able to claim that I wouldn’t accept £250,000 for writing my autobiography due to being only 20, but unfortunately It’d be bare-faced lying!

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