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Amazon.co.uk Review
It is said that the Olympic Games is not about winning but taking part. Perhaps for some. I prefer another maxim--the one that someone used before Atlanta: "If you're not here to win, you're a tourist."
Completed in the run-up to Sydney 2000--where he crowned an already remarkable career with a record-breaking Gold in the coxless fours--A Golden Age is Steve Redgrave's account of a life spent exercising a will to win.
As you might expect--given Redgrave's renowned enthusiasm for stifling the hyperbole of gushing reporters--Britain's greatest Olympian doesn't bother to linger long in celebration, choosing instead to chronicle the realities of a 25-year obsession with exploring his physical and mental limits.
But by focusing on the lifetime behind those few minutes of glory every four years, and measuring the true cost of success--his struggles with diabetes and colitis, and the wall he recognises he has built between himself and his young family--Redgrave leaves the reader with no doubts as to the enormity of his achievement.
A frank critic of himself, Redgrave's assessments of the strengths and shortcomings of his rowing partners--most famously, Matthew Pinsent and Andy Holmes--and accounts of the behind-the-scenes drama of top-flight competition, are equally clear-sighted and revealing.
Olympic Gold in endurance events at five consecutive Games is a unique achievement, and A Golden Age is an engrossing self-study by the man who made it happen.Alex Hankin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly and not unlike its subject, the book is almost entirely focussed on rowing. For me, as a rowing fan, that did not prove a problem, but for those with less interest in the nuts and bolts of the sport, A Golden Age may prove to require more dedication than an hour on a rowing machine. I, for one, was fascinated to read of Redgrave's rapid ascent from paddling on the river with friends in order to skive school to going on to become the leading oarsman in this country and then the world.
The small insights we are given into Redgrave's private life show that achieving his sporting status has required more sacrifices than most of us would make in a lifetime. Perhaps that is understating it. The book deals in depth with all the problems that we have heard about in the press such as Redgrave's battles with Colitis and, more recently, Diabetes. It is an unbelievable testament to the man's courage and force of will that he insisted on carrying on even when, as a result of his illnesses, he was training harder and, in terms of assessments, achieving less.
It also gives an interesting perspective of the personality of the man. The lasting impression I have taken from the book is that it should be his put-upon wife, Ann, who should receive something by way of the honours list this year. Fingers' crossed!
Definitely worth a read although don't be expecting any major revelations. There is touching intimacy in parts although for the most part, Redgrave concentrates on listing events that happened rather than how he felt about them. Perhaps, the typical lack of gushing emotion (he acknowledges that he does feel great emotion at times but he may be better than the rest of us at controlling it) is necessary to maintain his aura of invincibility.
I am quietly confident that, before too very long, there will be an updated version of the autobiography with a chapter on Sydney 2000. I couldn't wait to read the book to learn a bit more about one of my idols. I was not disappointed and so am sure that I will be buying version II as well! If you have any interest in rowing or if the Sydney Olympics have sparked an interest in how all of these amateur athletes dedicate their lives to their sports, this book is for you.
The majority of the text comes across as him 'setting the record straight' and some dreadfully trite even narrow minded opinion about how 'top level' sport should be funded at the expense of the development of rowing across the board.
This aside, it is a real struggle to get through to the end of this dreary (and I suspect hastily produced) book, the only redeeming factor for me are the photographs in the middle.
Save your money, if you're looking for inspiration, insight and a book that will share life lessons from an elite athlete (of which Redgrave is undoubtably) buy the hugely superior 'It's not about the bike' by Lance Armstrong.
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