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Gareth Edwards: The Autobiography
GARETH EDWARDS, PETER BILLS'
- GenresBiography
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 1999
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Gareth Edwards
17 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 14, 2013
More than any of the other autobiographies of famous rugby players, this book seems the most open and the most honest. The others tell stories and tales of who did what on tour or how things were when the writers were children, who liked who and who hated who, but Gareth opens up his mind completely, tells you exactly how he feels on a subject, even knowing that in some circumstances he will be severely criticised for his views. The man has ever been such an open person, naive in some respects (his word not mine) I would prefer the words honest and refreshing.
GarethObviously Gareth devotes space to the demise of the Welsh game that he held almost as a religion. The players of the successful 70's teams wanted to help or add to the unsuccessful teams of the 80's but were shut out, in this case for writing a book and therefore becoming a nasty professional! He writes passionately about this phase of history and I would remind him that it in the centre of Cardiff's premier shopping centre there is a statue of Gareth Edwards and not one of the Welsh Rugby Union - enough said on the point.
Where I fall out with Gareth, but still applaud his honesty, is during the passages relating to touring South Africa. Some of us at home felt let down by the tourers. Here we were boycotting the apartheid regime and there were our sporting heroes apparently supporting it. Whatever your politics, and remembering that these actions are now thankfully buried in the past, I cannot believe Gareth's statements along the lines that he was that naive politically that he didn't know what was going on. He is six years older than me and I was, with my contempories, fully aware of the protests that were going on at the time.
That said, this book is not just a recollection of matches and tours, it has the added benefit of Gareth's philosophy on life and is a great insight into the man. I never got round to buying the hardback version of this book and understand that this soft back has been updated to include the 1999 World Cup. It is a book that I would thoroughly recommend and one that I am presently reading for the second time. Thank you Gareth for the entertainment that you provided on the field of play and now for an excellent read.
GarethObviously Gareth devotes space to the demise of the Welsh game that he held almost as a religion. The players of the successful 70's teams wanted to help or add to the unsuccessful teams of the 80's but were shut out, in this case for writing a book and therefore becoming a nasty professional! He writes passionately about this phase of history and I would remind him that it in the centre of Cardiff's premier shopping centre there is a statue of Gareth Edwards and not one of the Welsh Rugby Union - enough said on the point.
Where I fall out with Gareth, but still applaud his honesty, is during the passages relating to touring South Africa. Some of us at home felt let down by the tourers. Here we were boycotting the apartheid regime and there were our sporting heroes apparently supporting it. Whatever your politics, and remembering that these actions are now thankfully buried in the past, I cannot believe Gareth's statements along the lines that he was that naive politically that he didn't know what was going on. He is six years older than me and I was, with my contempories, fully aware of the protests that were going on at the time.
That said, this book is not just a recollection of matches and tours, it has the added benefit of Gareth's philosophy on life and is a great insight into the man. I never got round to buying the hardback version of this book and understand that this soft back has been updated to include the 1999 World Cup. It is a book that I would thoroughly recommend and one that I am presently reading for the second time. Thank you Gareth for the entertainment that you provided on the field of play and now for an excellent read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review