Playing with Fire: The Autobiography
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Author: Nasser Hussain List Price: £8.99 Availability:  |
|
 | Product Details: Paperback 512 pages Release Date: 02 June 2005 Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 0141003669 Rating:   Sales Rank: 54320 | | Look for similar books by subject:
| | Customers who bought this item also bought:
| | Customer Reviews: Great, true, honest reading (18 October 2007)To be fair, loved it, Hussain gritty honest view of everyone he has met in the game, much better than most sports autobiographies coz he does'nt cosy around people he actually does'nt like, brutally honest and difficult to put down, a great read whether you are a fan of the man or not! A great captain produces a great book. (04 September 2006)Nasser Hussain's jouney through English cricket is perhaps more unique than any other. Starting his career at the beginning of Englands demise in 1989, he went on to play through a shambolic era in the mid to late 90's to captaining a side at the turn of the millenium that grew into a world beater, comulating in England regaining the Ashes last year. Well known for his passion and fire in his game, this book portrays everything you would expect from Hussain. His acheivements largley came from utter determination, and his comparrisons with players that (in his words), had more natural ability are intersting. He explains why people like Ramprakash and Hick didn't have the success they should have, and why players such as Stewart, Atherton, and Thorpe sustained a place in a losing England side for so long. His dilema concerning Zimbabwe in the 2003 World Cup sums this book up. An honest and frank view of his feeling's of the sheer pressure he rode as he battled with cricket boards and politicians to help make the right choice for his cricket nation. Hussain write's about his astute retirement from the game, and you feel the release of all his pressures as he reflects up on what was a career that's summed up in his choice of title for the book- playing with fire. Playing with fire, written with passion (28 July 2006)I always find it fascinating to read the autobiographies of England cricket captains as they have such huge influence on and off the pitch. It's interesting to hear the thought processes behind their decisions and the usually revealing pen portraits of their fellow cricketers. Nasser Hussain's autobiography has plenty of these revelations but even more, it provides a huge insight into the roots behind the determined, sometimes hot-headed temperament of England's most successful captain for years. Clearly crucial to Nasser's development was his obsessive but loving father who relentlessly pushed his son as a cricketer. With some of his old man's steely determination rubbing off, Hussain's rise and superb career were as much due to his character as his talent as he was not as phenomenally naturally talented as some of his cricketing peers. What comes through in his well-titled autobiography is passion and controversy but also a great tactical brain and an acknowledgment of mistakes made. Playing With Fire also includes evidence of the politics at play in international cricket with Chapter 1 piecing together the shameful way the England team were treated by the various cricket authorities and UK government over the controversial matches in Zimbabwe in the last World Cup. Nasser records his detailed version of events and provides the definitive account of his career in this brilliant sporting autobiography. Nasser Hussain's Life - Warts and All (27 October 2005)This book is very easy to read. You don't get bogged down as you can easily find with many other autobiographies. Nasser Hussain's life is presented here, warts and all, for the reader to digest and ultimately you will find yourself passing judgment upon a cricketer who has been hated as much as he has been respected. Personally I found his distaste at the cricketing system refreshing in the pages of this book. He respects those who are up front and honest even if the opinions expressed are against his own, while on the other hand he dislikes intensely those who are two faced and sneaky. Nasser Hussain is a man who obviously put lots of peoples backs up during his career but if he had tried to be Mr Nice Guy it is quite clear he would have failed in his quest to be so successful as a cricketer. There are certain things I personally found quite disturbing. For example the admission that Nasser Hussain's father had had such a huge impact upon Nasser's life and decision to take cricket seriously. One got the impression that this was an example of a classic pushy parent. Nasser Hussain seems to be in fear of upsetting his father, to the point of getting his brother to phone up his father when he stood down as England captain and then again when his career came to an end. Going back to his childhood if Nasser Hussain played well at cricket then the whole family got "chocolate and curry" and his father was happy, but if Nasser Hussain didn't play well then the whole family suffered as a result. Personally I read this, and as a parent, I thought that this is surely unhealthy. This book details the many confrontations that took place during Nasser Hussain's career and he has obviously upset a lot of people along the way. This apparently enabled him to play cricket with fire and passion. This book describes Nasser Hussain as being fiercely loyal to those around him, those who he calls "my boys." There are many examples described where Nasser Hussain stands up for his boys sometimes against fierce opposition. His reputation as a bad boy earlier in his career obviously enabled him to understand other bad boys later on and encourage them to give a lot to the England cause. I felt very sorry for Nasser Hussain when he describes how he found himself betrayed by some he had backed strongly. You get an impression about sportsmen and women by watching their careers as they progress. But this book shows that there is a lot more going on behind the headlines, behind the highs and lows of their career. Nasser Hussain has written a wonderful, frank account of his life - full of exciting highs and depressing lows. Some are disturbing accounts and others describe the wonderful joys of being a sportsman at the top of his profession. If you only ever purchase one autobiography make sure it is this one. The book starts by describing Nasser's extraordinary eve-of-match routine and illustrates the amazing duality of batting for a living: Nass couldn't live without batting, it obsessed him and, moreover, doing it well...better than the next man, obsessed him. At the same time he detested it, and probably never got a good night's sleep all the time he played cricket. His compulsive habits the night before an innings were tragicomic. All of these are symptomatic however of his not entirely wholesome relationship with his father. In short, Nasser lived his life for his Dad, never for himself. His dad, when not explicity mentioned (which he is ubiquitously throughout), hovers over the revelations and episodes in the book like a malign spirit. Nasser virtually exhibits Stockholm Syndrome...thanking his dad for everything he has achieved...and mitigating against his dad's domineering and pushy behaviour by saying the ends of Nasser's career have justified the means. Nasser has convinced himself, but failed to convince me. The book is ghost written, but is nowhere near as classily penned as Atherton's autobiography. Nasser aspired to Atherton's traits and skills as a batsman and as a captain with some success - intellectually and as a writer, he is very much his inferior. Nasser was never a studious and thoughtful captain in the same way as Atherton. He read Brearley's essential book on the subject of course, but his theories and methods were very much based on intuition and luck, rather than on pondering captaincy's finer tactics and points. Nasser was at the helm of English cricket throughout some extremely turbulent and heady times - touring Zimbabwe, winning in the Pakistan gloom - but his powers of description and his limited literary style don't get maximum value from the material. Instead he comes across sometimes as a bar-room philosopher verging on the pub bore: repeating the same manly platitudes. The book is however enjoyable and insightful on the whole. It covers Nasser's controversial but, in my opinion, courageous and heartfelt views on the cricketing commitments of British Asians. Nasser does not hold back in his criticisms of people such as Mike Gatting, Ronnie Irani and Tim Lamb. His book, just like Atherton's, does a superb job in exposing the sheer ineptitude and pettiness of English cricket's hierarchy. His description of the celebrated 'three fingered salute' to the commentary box on scoring a hundred batting No. 3 in ODIs, and his unscriptable finale of his last Test runs bringing up a Lord's century to win a Test match were particular highlights. Nasser is extremely honest about himself, he wore his heart on his sleeve and can be proud of his legacy and his contribution to the game and to his country. | |
