Shane Warne is arguably the greatest spinner of all time - he has taken 356 wickets in 82 tests since his debut in the Sydney test in the 1991-92 series. In this autobiography, he talks about his early ambitions, and offers a colourful narrative account of the various Ashes series in which he has been involved. He also offers his personal views on sportsmanship and the relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka, as well as providing his thoughts on captaincy and the leg-spinners he respects. He talks candidly about his fascination with gambling, and about the conflict between his public persona and private life.
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Amazon Review
In My Autobiography, Aussie leg-spin maestro Shane Warne, perhaps the outstanding cricketer of his generation--and one of the most consistently newsworthy characters in sport--takes stock of a phenomenally successful career, and gives his account of the scandals and controversies that have sent the media into spasms of delighted indignation.
From his days as a frustrated teenage wannabe Aussie Rules star, who decided he might as well try his hand at cricket, Warne has almost single-handedly taken the gentle, studious art of spin-bowling and turned it into a thrilling gladiatorial spectacle--on the way gathering career stats that rank him in company with the game's all-time elite.
Warne crashed into the world spotlight in 1993, when his first-ever ball in Ashes cricket made seasoned England star Mike Gatting look like a floundering buffoon:
In the second or so it took to leave my hand, swerve to pitch outside leg stump, fizz past the batsmen's lunge forward and clip off stump, my life did change ... Ian Botham said he hadn't seen the same look of wide-eyed horror on Gatting's face since somebody had stolen his lunch a few years before.
And he has hardly looked back since--on the pitch at least. Outside the boundary rope it has been a different, though no less sensational story. The media has revelled in tales of extra-marital phone-sex, match-fixing controversies, and bust-ups with the game's authorities and fellow professionals--sparking endless nonsensical speculation as to whether this hard-drinking, smoking "yobbo" was too fat, too loud, too arrogant or just plain too much for cricket to take.
This is a candid chronicle of his side of the story, and along the way there are some wonderful revelations about the mysteries of spin-bowling, the professional art of "sledging", and a fascinating insider account of Australia's rise to world dominance. A frank observer of others; an insightful assessor of his own achievements and motivations--and rarely descending into bland PR-consciousness--The King Of Spin has once again confounded all expectations and served up a peach. --Alex Hankin
Review
The text has been embargoed due to a big serial deal, but we have some idea of the contents. Arguably one of the greatest leg spinners of all time, Shane Warne has taken over 450 wickets since his debut and played his first Test against India in Sydney. By 1996 he had dismissed great batsmen from many Test-playing countries. Voted one of five outstanding bowlers of the 20th Century, Warne was recently described as one of the most adroit spinners of the ball, with superb control of leg spin, the flipper and the googly. His quirkily written autobiography describes many choice moments in his spectacular career. Warne was born in Victoria, Australia in 1969, and he conjures up his early ambition and a colourful narrative account of the various Ashes series in which he has been involved. He offers his personal view on sportsmanship and the relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka, as well as providing cogent observations on captaincy and the leg spinners he respects. He talks candidly about his fascination with gambling and about the conflict between his public and private life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By L. Davidson
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I started to become fascinated with Shane Warne following his remarkable performance in the Ashes this year when he almost retained the trophy for the Aussies single-handedly. Without his devastating leg breaks which repeatedly tortured the England top-order batsmen and his determined batting which frequently spared the blushes of the Australian middle order, I am convinced that England would have won the Series 4-1. Shane Warne's autobiography is interesting but not particularly revealing and it lacks the amount of amusing anecdotes one might have expected from a top sportsman's life story. I would have liked to have found out more about his early life and his married life , but a lot of the book concerned itself with details and statistics about long forgotten Test matches and accounts of his cricketing injuries. The book is at it's best when describing some of the more controversial and unfortunate events in Shane's life such as the Scott Muller incident, saucy extra-marital phone-sex, bag-snatching and sledging. He doesn't seem to have had much luck getting away with doing naughty or silly things over the years. I also enjoyed finding out more about the Australian Cricket team and the personalities and relationships that have made them such a powerful force over the past decade. Unfortunately this book is a little out of date and doesn't include recent scandal about drug-taking, more extra-marital sexual liaisons and the recent break-up of Shane's marriage. The book reveals that although Shane Warne may have made some ill advised choices in his personal life, his knowledge of strategy and tactics in cricket is excellent and it is a pity that non-cricket related matters prevented him from becoming captain of the Australian side.... Read more ›
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Paul Johnson
Format:Paperback
Though it pains me to say it, what with him being an Aussie, Warne is quite possibly the greatest cricketer of all time and certainly (as Wisden decided) one of the top five. As such, any cricket fan would bound to be interested in his autobiography. It is however a disappointment.
Warne has always been colourful both on and off the field and a lot of his off-field antics have gained a great deal of publicity. In the book he attempts to explain away all of the situations he found himself in, whilst always attempting to show that nothing was his fault in any way. Put frankly he comes across as a whiner.
The chapters about his early years and going to the accademy are interesting enough, though I would have enjoyed more detail be provided about how he developed his incredible action. The book starts to struggle towards the end and as mentioned previously turns into a torrent of feeble excuses that you would expect a schoolboy to trott out to a teacher.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This book was a fantastic read. I dont read much, but i coudn't put this book down.Warne describes his early days where he wanted to be a Aussie Rules player, and then his times in the world famous Adelade Australian cricket acadamy. He then goes onto explain differnet aspects of todays game such as sledging and bookmaking, and Australias rivaly with Sir Lanka and especially Ranatunga. He describes the Art of Leg-Spin and how different bowlers bowl it. He picks his dream teams, decribes his time at Hampshire and his hopes for the future. A great read strongly recomended. BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Ceri Jenkins
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
A refreshingly forthright autobiography in which Warne is not afraid to dish the dirt and he gives a serve to Ranatunga, Malik, Cullinan and Scott Muller, amongst others. However, as you'd expect from an Australian cricketer, the book is also full of whinges and double standards.
The author's frank admission that he has never read a 'complete book' in his life, leads one to presume that this book was heavily ghost written by Richard Hobson, but the contradictions throughout the book definitely have Warne's footmarks all over them. For instance, in the section on 'Sledging' he claims that he can see nothing wrong with this tactic as long as comments don't get personal, but any cricket follower with audio on his TV would know that Warne has a history of personalising his sledging, with the likes of Stuart Carlisle coming in for some much publicised 'personal comments' from Mr Warne. He goes on to say that he would never humiliate a fellow player, but anyone who saw Warne mockingly laughing at Paul Adams dismissal would find this a hard one to swallow.
He talks with pride of how Australians are innovative in their ability to stretch the laws of the game to their benefit, without breaking them, but then goes on to harangue players of other nationalities, such as Arjuna Ranatunga for doing likewise. In fact, it appears that Ranatunga has found a special place in Warne's heart and should therefore come in for praise from him for achieving his own stated goal of being able to affect an opponents game.
This book does appear to be aimed at the British Market with large swathes of the book concentrated on Ashes duels, and his time at Hampshire. At times you could be forgiven for thinking that the book is being used as a vehicle to get Warne another lucrative contract at Hampshire.
... Read more ›Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Of ego and ability
A reasonably interesting book though hardly substantive and to put into perspective, by author who has not ever read a book. Read more
Published on 20 July 2003 by Rohan Goonewardene
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some fascinating nuggets but for cricket fans only
The world's greatest spin bowler he may be, but a great writer he certainly isn't. You wonder what was his ghost doing? Read more
Published on 20 May 2003 by R. S. Stanier
3.0 out of 5 stars
Needs another 200 pages to do it justice.
Shane Warne is a cricketing legend but clearly never going to be a literary one. His autobiography is interesting but not as spectacular as it might have been given his stature in... Read more
Published on 15 May 2003 by Kevin Turrell
3.0 out of 5 stars
A must read book because he is one of the best
But the adaptation wasn't really to my liking. Far too short. 2 hours only! And he does concentrate on a lot of statical accomplishments. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2001 by Carl-Axel Brandt
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too much emphasis on the Ashes tours
Isnt a bad read, but could have included more details on touring countries other than England. If you are a big fan of the Ashes ( i dont think there are many left ), this book is... Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2001 by gopal_shenoy@yahoo.com
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bowled Warnie
A must for all fans of this genius of leg spin. Some interesting comments on team mates and the oppo and some brilliant in action photography.
Published on 14 Feb 2001
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great insight from the man himself.
If you are a Shane Warne fan then this book is worth it. Being a leg-spinner myself I have found it really interesting how the worlds best spinner made his way into being what he... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars
My Own Story
As cricket books go, this one has all the usual glossy photos (Shane on his wedding day, Shane on Caribbean beaches, Shane in the early days... Read more
Published on 18 July 1999
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