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Dan Carter - My Story

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Dan Carter - My Story is an up close and personal account of a New Zealand sporting icon; a down home country boy who went on to become a world superstar. Daniel William Carter is acknowledged as the greatest fly-half to have played international rugby. A veteran of more than 100 test matches, he is the world record holder for most test points, has twice been named the IRB's Player of the Year and twice named New Zealand Player of the Year. Legendary unbeaten All Blacks coach, Sir Fred Allen, who followed international rugby from the 1920s until after the 2011 Rugby World Cup, had no hesitation in naming Carter as the greatest fly-half he ever saw. Carter, though, is renowned for his modesty and unassuming nature, and argues that he has he always 'just tried to do the best job I can for the All Blacks'. In Dan Carter — My Story the great All Blacks pivot with the model good looks, opens up for the first time about his stellar 13-year career. He looks back on the myriad highs, including that virtuoso performance for the All Blacks against the Lions in the second test of the 2005 series. And, with an equal measure of honesty, he reflects on the lows of his career, speaking frankly of the mental anguish he felt after twice being invalided out of Rugby World Cups. As well, he talks about his unflinching loyalty to the famous black jersey and the reasons why he elected to make a long-term commitment to New Zealand.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2015

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5 stars
111 (21%)
4 stars
207 (40%)
3 stars
151 (29%)
2 stars
32 (6%)
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6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Pat Rae.
1 review1 follower
December 28, 2015
Was a little disappointed with the finish, almost like both Dan & Duncan lost interest in the project.
Profile Image for Kerri.
1,105 reviews461 followers
May 28, 2024
Dan Carter is a fairly private man, and I think this book did an excellent job of letting you in more than his media persona ever has, without requiring him to delve too deeply into his personal life - just enough is shared in that sense. He is very open about his mental state, which often wasn't as cheerful and relaxed as he was projecting, especially during the times when he was injured frequently and healing slowly. He talks about his love of rugby and the times when the love was difficult to find. The chapter titled I Wish I Could Retire was heartfelt, and even knowing that his body did improve and he was able to play in the RWC, that low point, physically, mentally, and emotionally was fascinating to read about.
Well worth reading. Also, the photos are great.
11 reviews
April 12, 2016
A book well worth reading as it provides lots of new insights behind the All Blacks environment and the life of a professional sports person who has made it. I was disappointed by the ending as it stopped before the end of Dan Carter's All Black career.
Profile Image for Oliver.
85 reviews
January 13, 2021
Dan Carter’s legacy will be engraved in rugby forever. He is one of the biggest names to ever grace the rugby field.

To us rugby fans and New Zealanders he is legendary and it was surprising to read how humble he was. Maybe it was the typical laid back Kiwi attitude? At the same time however, it really showed how talented of a athlete Carter was.

Like Carter, I grew up in small town New Zealand and it’s crazy to read about the parallels between the lives of small town kids. From the late night mischief to the alcohol driven culture, it all seemed so relatable.

I am a bit disappointed by the way the biography finished however I understand it had to do the the timing of the book having come out right after the 2015 World Cup.

Nonetheless, this biography gives brilliant insight into the unknown struggles top tier athletes face behind the curtains while at the same time showcasing the luxurious lifestyle hard work brings.
Profile Image for Tony.
415 reviews3 followers
June 21, 2021
A good book without being great. I've read numerous sporting biographies and they tend to all follow the same formula. This was a little better then a lot I have read and it had a bit of a strange ending. The book was leading up to his final World Cup game in 2015 but it finished after their semi final win with the final to be played a week later. I couldn't work out why they would do that and detracted a little from the book.
He came across has a genuine, humble good bloke and gave a little insight to the All Blacks culture. A nice easy read.
Profile Image for Abby.
Author 43 books244 followers
August 14, 2016
Well-structured to be a compelling story, even for a reader who doesn't normally appreciate sports biographies. Dan Carter comes across as humble and genuine, prone to moments of idiocy (mainly in his younger days), a huge team player and not afraid to reveal the flaws we all share but mostly don't own up to.
Profile Image for Finn.
2 reviews
September 27, 2017
Dan Carter-My story written by Duncan Greive is a good book he wrote is well and described Dan Carter's life in an interesting way and that made me want to read it. It was published in 2015 by upstart press ltd b3, Apollo Drive, Rosedale Auckland, New Zealand.

The style of the book was interesting and he used descriptive words/adjectives. The genre as a biography was really cool he made it interesting and informing he used great language and the first sentence was great"All I wanted to do was put my hands on the trophy. That pulled me into reading this biography.

The setting was described well and I loved how he really put you in like the park and jumping over the fence as a kid. The book made me think about playing rugby it really put me on the rugby field.

The events in it were really cool the main one the fog final he described it well and the pictures of the game helped he also described it well when he was a kid playing rugby.

The plot as a biography showed the twists and turns of his life and how he made teams like going to boys high because of his phenomenal rugby playing and getting into the All Blacks wouldn't have been too hard for him growing up [lpaying rugby and being good at rugby.

In conclusion, I think this a good book my favourite part of it was the fog final description I learnt about his and his career as a kid and I enjoyed the I would recommend the book to any young rugby player and many people will also like it if they are not rugby players.
Profile Image for Šomin Novotný.
23 reviews3 followers
December 4, 2019
Vyborna autobiografie a pokud mate radi rugby tak si tuhle knihu musite precist. Dan Carter zaroven naskocil do vrcholoveho rugby ve velmi zajimavem momente, kdy se prechazelo z amaterskeho na profi sport, takze hlavne historky z pocatku jsou velmi zabavny. :-)) Zaroven je vtipny videt, jak skromne o sobe vypravi. Pravdepodobne nejlepsi utokova spojka vsech dob a z jeho slov byste meli pocit, ze jen tak pricmrndaval spoluhracum. :-D
Profile Image for Rutger Gerrits.
227 reviews2 followers
October 7, 2019
What's the best way of spending your time if you are not on the pitch yourself, or if there is no rugby on TV? Reading about some of the giants, definitely. Dan Carter has an amazing understanding of the game, in his story he takes us on the journey from his early years to the famous world cup wins with the all blacks, the book is a nice read from start to finish.
14 reviews1 follower
April 3, 2018
wicked. gives great insight what it is like to rise up through the ranks of rugby in NZ. Behind the scenes stories. sooo good
3 reviews
November 6, 2018
So this was pretty decent u get me ?? Dan carter is a proper savage. A mean he won the World Cup.
Overall pretty dam sweet book ye no
Profile Image for Kaustuv Mukherji.
4 reviews
December 5, 2018
Brilliant and revealing. From arguably the biggest name in professional rugby ever, the book takes us into the mind of the seemingly have it all and show us that the greatest is human too.
Profile Image for Iain Barnett.
4 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2021
Interesting guy, some amazing experiences to read about! Similar structure to a lot of autobiography, play by play of life
28 reviews1 follower
May 28, 2021
Pretty much what you'd expect. An easy read, mostly pretty shallow, though with a few entertaining stories. Still pretty buttoned up.
Profile Image for Mary.
254 reviews5 followers
March 8, 2023
The highs and lows of the top rugby number 10 in the world. Worth reading.
Profile Image for Jacqui.
41 reviews
October 16, 2023
Not my usual reading material but I really enjoyed this.
Profile Image for Aaron.
166 reviews2 followers
December 26, 2023
Loved it. Hearing about a local making it big
184 reviews
November 23, 2024
3.5 stars! Love Dan Carter, I was always cheering for him so very interesting to read all the behind the scenes.
564 reviews
February 28, 2017
Great rugby player! Enjoyed the photos inside too. I thought the book really showed the mental toughness needed to play rugby at such a high level and Daniel's strength in returning back to the game he truly loved after numerous injuries throughout his career. Maybe a few too many drinking stories in the book though.
5 reviews
February 25, 2016

Dan Carter My Story is an Autobiography of Dan Carter written by Duncan Grieve about the life of Daniel Carter, highlighting his astonishing rugby career and how it all began. I decided to read as Dan Carter is my favourite All Blacks and I heard his book was coming out so I brought it. Dan is a centurion for the All Blacks and is the highest point in international rugby history. The book begins in Carters childhood where he grew up in small town outside of Christchurch called Southbridge. He then begins secondary school at Leeston college and proves himself as a very handy sportsman excelling in rugby and cricket. He the moved to Christchurch Boys High for his last year at school where he starred in the 1st XV. After school Carters rugby career was not looking all that promising however he was seldted to play in the Crusaders development squad where his career then took off as he made the Canterbury provincial side then the Crusaders and eventually the All Blacks. The book details his international career including his greatest trials and tribulations. It explains his own personal heart break of the 2003, 2007 and the devastating 2011 Rugby World Cup,where he was severely injured. The part I liked best about the book was during the 2012 to 2014 period he suffered great setbacks threw injury and lack of form however despite all of his misfortune he was able to come out on top. This shows that even though you go through struggles you should still work hard to make the best of tour situation. However I dislike the fact that the book ends prematurely as he is waiting on the crucial RWC 2015 selection and does not continue past that point. Although I still highly rate this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Profile Image for Warren.
15 reviews
January 25, 2016
3 things stood out for me. I hope the NZRFU read it and find out how boring the tri-nations/ rugby championship has become, the same each year according to Carter, and I agree.
Carter should have read Kirwan's book on mental health to know how to deal with his feelings and be honest about them. Also Mourie's biography about the importance of honesty.
At times Carter would start to say things needed fixing but would stop without any real details given. This was disappointing because ultimately it meant the book lacked any real depth.
Profile Image for Nick Grant.
17 reviews
February 3, 2016
I quite enjoyed learning how DC came to be and also how he overcame injury after injury in his final years to finally get the pleasure of lifting the Webb Ellis.

While there was a few tales of mischief and shenanigans I feel like he didn't really let to much out.

It was a pleasure getting to watch him play and he will always be known as one of the best players to step foot on the field. If you are a fan it's definitely worth a read.
Profile Image for Angus McLean.
Author 32 books16 followers
September 3, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed this, a great insight into top level rugby and the challenges of staying at the top when the injuries start to mount up.

Carter is a classy player and comes across as a genuine sort of a bloke, despite the unreal experiences he had as a young fella.

Recommended to anyone wanting an insight into one of the world's best rugby players, ever.
Profile Image for Hisandherpages.
7 reviews1 follower
November 4, 2016
An interesting read from a South African who enjoys watching the All Blacks play rugby. It was an enjoyable read , reading about how professional they are as a team. Carter shows an interesting behind the scenes information about the all blacks as well as his personal life and how he became and an all black superstar. A definite must read for any rugby fan.
2 reviews
January 3, 2016
Not a bad summary of where he came from until the 2015 World Cup. Lacked actual details of that World Cup and any interesting stories of anyone else during his career to date. Disappointing in that respect.
Profile Image for Catherine.
72 reviews
January 5, 2016
An astonishing story. Reveals the golden boy of NZ rugby to be humble to the point of self-effacing. He is clearly uncomfortable taking any credit beyond the bare minimum. A true team player. Odd moments of humour are scattered throughout.
Profile Image for Shelley Des Forges.
147 reviews1 follower
February 6, 2016
Really interesting to understand how those injuries shaped Dan's world for so long, as well as the opportunities that open up as an All Black recognised as the best in the world. Hanging out with all sorts of celebs at one of Elton John's parties - a nice way to decompress.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews

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