A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke [Hardcover]

I am not really into sport and found some of the book quite in depth when talking about the sport but the author did highlight the plight of Robert Enke beautifully. He was a professional man with a fantastic career ahead of him and still he got depression, just goes to show this illness can hit any of us at any time. I so wanted someone to step in and save Robert even though I obviously knew how the book would end. Beautifully written, very respectful.

Until he passed away, I'll admit I hadn't really heard of the German international goalkeeper Robert Enke. When I heard there was a book being released about his life I still wasn't that interested, simply because I never really knew the guy, as a player or a man.

I am so glad I ignored any previous misgivings or hesitation I had. This is a must-read book, and not just for football fans either.

Don't worry if you didn't know who Enke was, where he came from or who he played for. It's all covered and in detail too. Author Robert Reng was a friend and had in-depth access to Enke and his wife Teresa as well as Robert's personal diaries. So you know the author has his facts right and it shows in the style the book's written in. At times A Life Too Short reads like a work of fiction, it flows seamlessly from chapter to chapter and is never boring or repetitive. Despite dealing with the difficult subject that is depression, not once does Reng's writing become morbid or depressing itself. In fact the book really helped me to understand just how serious the illness is and how horrible it must be for sufferers. Enke certainly had an interesting life and a very interesting career. The chapter that deals with Enke's match during his time at Barcelona, when the Catalan side faced off against the small Spanish minnows Novelda is simply incredible. It is a harrowing piece of writing, you can literally feel Robert coming apart as the match turned in Novelda's favour.

It's not all negative though. As Robert experiences the highs that come with being a professional footballer, you feel like you're right there with him the entire time. Enke's years in Lisbon with Benfica come to mind, when he embraced the Portuguese culture around him until he felt right at home. There are just as many highs as there are lows in A Life Too Short.

This is a special book and I would recommend it to all readers of sport, football especially. It is easily one of the best biographies I've ever had the pleasure of reading and could quite possibly be the best football title I've read too. At the time of writing this, A Life Too Short has been long-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and it would be a crime for it to miss out on the short-list. I personally feel it should win the whole thing, it's simply that good.

Just go ahead and buy it, because A Life Too Short really is a powerful book. You won't regret it.

A couple of things before i continue

I suffer from depression i have been in hospital because of it and feel that i can add a review of context for this book.
Football is a passion of mine although i have lost some interest due to the money involved.

Having read a lot of books on depression this one spoke out to me the most.The author who was a friend of Robert really does explain the thinking of someone who is depressed,he is helped by the fact that Robert kept a diary of his feelings that he could not express to the world.The book tells the highs and lows of being a proffesional footballer and Robert had plenty of lows but his career was on the up when he took his own life.He had demons of failure he was worried if he told people he was depressed his adopted daughter would be taken away.Robert and his wife had lost their first child due to a heart defect.Through all that he was now the German goalkeeper but that means nothing when you have depression.This book is not sentimenal it just shows that depression can happen to anyone.I would reccomend this book most highly