Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Player, The Legend, The man, all in one gripping story, 24 Aug 2008
This is one of the best bio`s that you will ever read, not only because it is written by a true football legend, but also because of the honesty within. Some of the recent bios (Rooney for example) are rubbish and skate around issues, never really telling the honest truth. Rush bares all in this bio, the fun, the laughter and the tears. The only surprise is why it has taken him so long to write his memoirs.In 2006, Liverpool fans voted Ian Rush among the top three all-time greatest players in the history of the club. Taking his place alongside Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard, he surpassed legends such as Fowler, Keegan, Owen, Smith, Carragher and Hansen, which speaks volumes of the passion for the man, and the high esteem that Liverpool fans, and football fans alike hold him in.
Ian Rush is quite simply Liverpool's greatest goalscorer and, along with Jimmy Greaves and Denis Law, one of the finest natural penalty-box predators the game has ever seen. We can only hope that Keene and Kuyt, Babel and Torres can stand in his very substancial shadow!!
Thee story tells of the rough-edged Welsh teenager who was thrust into the ranks of an already great side, but who didn't feel he belonged in their company. It tells how he learned to keep his head down and grow as a player, turning into the man that became the most devastating finisher in English football.Rush's story is bursting with honesty and insight, emotional turmoil and tragedy, and hilarious tales and asides. It is a near-mythical tale of triumph and tragedy. Of an era when Liverpool became nigh on invincible, made the League title their own, and rode the highs of European and FA Cup Finals alongside the devastating tragedies of Heysel and Hillsborough.
Such stories are the stuff of dreams and nightmares for every football fan, the drama of Rush's time at Liverpool during the 80s - the decade that defined the club more than any other - is thrillingly captured in this autobiography, which takes you into the thick of the action, as well as offering a frank and insightful analysis of the game today. There have been some good reads from Liverpool authors recently, `We go gathering cups in may`, `43 Years with the same Bird` by Brian Reede is excellent, the `Soft Target` thrillers by Conrad Jones (set at Anfield), `Gangs of Liverpool` parts one and two are all well worth a read.
Rush is a ten out of ten.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Legendary goalscorer, mediocre book, 4 Oct 2008
This book suffers from being badly written, which is a shame because Ian Rush was a hero to me when I was growing up. I was looking forward to this book and to be fair the first few chapters were reasonably entertaining, but before long it became the cliched football autobiography and there are long sections explaining the fine details of certain games. As a Liverpool fan, I am aware of these games and I can watch them on DVD if need be; there is nothing more boring than a running commentary of runs, dribbles and passes. Maybe it's because Rushy was naturally a quiet person that there doesn't seem to be too many really interesting anecdotes in this book, however his revelations about not originally warming to Kenny Dalglish and his opinions of his team mates at Juventus are quite interesting. One more thing, the chronology of some of the events are a bit perplexing at times (obviously the proof reading was a bit lax), one passage that springs to mind has Rushy being in Australia playing for Sydney Olympic and getting a call from Rick Parry asking if he'd like to help Rafa with the coaching. Given that Rushy was in Australia until 2000 and Rafa didn't come to Liverpool until 2004....
Bad editing aside, it's still an average read I'm afraid, but thanks Rushy for your 346 goals and lots more besides, you're still and always will be a Legend!
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, 16 Sep 2008
This should have been good, actually it should have been better than good, when you think of the games and times that Ian Rush played in for Liverpool. Lets not beat around the bush Ian Rush is the greatest striker Liverpool have ever known who played in some of the great teams and great games of his time. Unfortunately this book does not measure up to the career of the player
More than anything I think he has been let down by the people who worked on the book with him. I lost count of the number of grammatical errors, misspelt words and in some cases names of players (Stevie NicHol????, Neil Macdonald in the 86 Cup Final Liverpool team (didn't he play for Everton, as opposed to Kevin Macdonald). Also according to this book Robbie Fowler made his name by scoring 5 against Ipswich rather than Fulham in the League cup.
Now spelling and historical facts aren't everything, but the other main disappointment was the lack of detail (Hillsborough, relationships with other players/managers etc.). Perhaps Hillsborough is too painful and has been covered by others but I thought he may have gone a little deeper with regards to how it affected him personally
Overall Ian comes across as a thoroughly nice guy, very level headed and perhaps too nice to write a book which reveals anything much that isn't already known.
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