or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
46 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Behind the Shades: The Autobiography
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Behind the Shades: The Autobiography (Paperback)

by Duncan Fletcher (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £4.77 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.22 (40%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
27 new from £0.01 19 used from £0.01

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

Behind the Shades: The Autobiography + Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick + Not Dark Yet: A Very Funny Book About a Very Serious Game
Price For All Three: £14.96

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Head On - Ian Botham: The Autobiography

Head On - Ian Botham: The Autobiography

by Ian Botham
4.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.98
Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick

Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick

by Marcus Trescothick
4.8 out of 5 stars (23)  £4.71
Ashes Regained: The Coach's Story

Ashes Regained: The Coach's Story

by Duncan Fletcher
£7.19
It's in the Blood: My Life

It's in the Blood: My Life

by Lawrence Dallaglio
4.0 out of 5 stars (18)  £6.68
Seeing The Sunrise

Seeing The Sunrise

by Justin Langer
4.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket Books (6 May 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1416511024
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416511021
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 51,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #28 in  Books > Biography > Sport > Cricket
    #74 in  Books > Sports, Hobbies & Games > Cricket

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   The Shades opens new browser window
Ask.com  -  Find the Best Results for The Shades. 
  
 

Product Description

Product Description

Before his resignation in April 2007, Duncan Fletcher had been the most successful England cricket coach of the modern era. In the glorious summer of 2005 Fletcher's management and coaching skills reached their apogee, as England regained the Ashes from Australia for the first time since 1985. Widely acclaimed as the greatest Test series in the history of the game, this five-match contest thrilled the nation with its extraordinary swings of fortune. It was a personal triumph for Fletcher, and the high point of his tenure as England coach. One of the most experienced and senior figures in the game, Fletcher now looks back over his life and career as he ponders his next step. What was it that drove him from a sporty and competitive Rhodesian farming family to the heights of international cricket? What lessons has he drawn from his successful business career in forging a winning team? Full of telling insights and frank assessments of the players and administrators he has had the pleasure and pain of working alongside, Behind the Shades is the riveting and revelatory autobiography of the man who put the pride back into the England cricket team.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Behind the Shades: The Autobiography
85% buy the item featured on this page:
Behind the Shades: The Autobiography 3.8 out of 5 stars (6)
£4.77
Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick
7% buy
Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick 4.8 out of 5 stars (23)
£4.71
Opening Up: My Autobiography
4% buy
Opening Up: My Autobiography 4.5 out of 5 stars (11)
£7.49
Head On - Ian Botham: The Autobiography
3% buy
Head On - Ian Botham: The Autobiography 4.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.98
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Honest, 5 Jan 2008
By G. L. Haggett "glynlhaggett" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Behind the Shades: The Autobiography (Paperback)
A few of the newspaper reviews of this book suggested it was little more than a self-pitying whinge.

It turned out, however, to be an interesting take on the inside track of modern international sport and those who run and play it.

Since Duncan Fletcher was the coach of the first England team to win the Ashes for the best part of 20 years and was still the coach when the team rather meekly surrendered them a couple of years later, the book necessarily spends a lot of time discussing those two series. He does, however, map the changes in the game during his lifetime, to interesting and insightful effect.

While Fletcher does, as one might expect of a coach, go into some detail about technical aspects of the game (when and how certain shots should be played and certain deliveries should be bowled), I suspect the most interesting parts of the book for most readers will be those where he shines a light on some of the game's heroes, sung and unsung, both on and off the field. His opinions can be strident and he clearly has something of an axe to grind with some aspects of the administration of cricket and with certain individuals; however, the measured, even restrained, tone adopted makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected, 17 Sep 2008
By R. Gardham - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
OK, first I should admit that I am a big fan of Duncan Fletcher the coach. He took English cricket from its lowest low and brought success unseen since the days of Trueman and Statham. I also admired Fletcher the man. He stood up to the Aussies and the media and wasn't afraid to make himself unpopular as long as he had the support of his team.

However, when the book was serialised in the English press, it seemed that Fletcher was, through this autobiography, acting in a way that was out of character from the man that had been running the English cricket team so skillfully. Players that had sweated blood for him - Hoggard, for example - seemed to be receiving untold criticism. Fletcher was always big on loyalty, but here he seemed to be being disloyal.

Despite this, I figured it must be worth a read, and on the whole, it is. Fletcher's analysing of the game, the way he looks for bite in his players (hence the preference of Jones to Read) and the way he can see how players use angles and the 'low crouch' (which helped him spot the otherwise-ignored potential of Vaughan, Trescothick and Strauss) are great to read if you're a cricket fan, but probably dull if you're not. On the whole, the book is for the cricket purist; if you want a cricket autobiography that entertains beyond the world of cricket then seek out the more feted books of Simon Hughes, Nasser Hussain and Mike Brearley.

The book isn't as full of vitriol as the media clippings suggest. With the curious exception of Matthew Hoggard, Fletcher is loyal to those that had been loyal to him. The book does its fair share of score settling. Geoffrey Boycott, Henry Blofeld, Ian Botham and a handful of others get it with both barrels. But as they'd spent eight years or so making a living out of criticising Fletcher, he has his right of reply.

On the whole, the press it received on its release didn't do Behind the Shades justice. Fletcher is refreshingly honest throughout the autobiography, and for anyone that has followed English cricket over the past decade or so I would recommend this book. Love him or hate him, Fletcher transformed English cricket, and his approach to cricket - gone through in detail here - shows why English sport could do with more of his ilk.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Lot of fuss over a dull and bitter book, 22 April 2008
By D. O'Reilly "Dom O'Reilly" (West London, forever) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Behind the Shades: The Autobiography (Paperback)
I bought this expecting a lively and revealing read. Instead, it was a protracted exercise in settling old scores. Time and again Fletcher reports, 'and he said afterwards that he realised I had been right all along' or 'I was the best coach he'd ever had'.
For someone who has achieved so much it was embarrassing. All the revelations about Flintoff or Trescothick have been discussed by now so I don't see any reason to buy this.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Cricket Book that Left me Wanting More
This is an excellent autobiographical work by the best English coach since, well, since England started having coaches. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Andy

3.0 out of 5 stars Bitter and cynical
I have endless admiration for Duncan Fletcher and his fine achievements for England but this book is myopic, cynical, vengeful rubbish and it saddens me that someone can have such... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Gr Edgar

5.0 out of 5 stars The most honest cricket book around.
Duncan Fletcher was the man who put the verve back into the England cricket team. Reading his memoirs one is reminded what a dedicated, thorough and disciplined man he was. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Bobby Smith

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject









i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.