KEN Piesse has gone to great lengths to inform those who pick up this book for a read that this is not an authorised biography; "this biography is unauthorised and has been written without the collaboration or co-operation (sic) of Shane Warne" reads a blurb on the back jacket. A smaller blurb on the front makes a similar proclamation. After reading the book, one is not surprised at this at all.
Piesse, who is a cricket writer, has produced a book that does little justice to Warne. It is a rendition of facts and figures; given the fact that there is not a single direct quote from the subject, all the reader is exposed to is quotes taken from other publications. Second-hand stuff, not the best stuff with which to tell the story of the best leg-spinner in the world. Further, a book about a man like Warne should be one which every cricket lover can read and understand fully; while Australian English has its own charm, an explanation of some of the terms which belong solely Down Under would not have harmed the book in any way.
A biography is read for one of two reasons: either the subject is someone larger than life, else the book itself is so well-written that it merits a read on that score alone. Piesse's effort falls clearly into the first category; no matter his credentials, which are just as boldly displayed in the book as those blurbs, the book is not the best written one around. One would pick it up only because it deals with Warne.
The tale is told in a rather pedestrian manner: Warne's early days in Victoria, the influences on his career, his debut in the state and national teams and his progress from tour to tour -- the first wicket in Test cricket, the ball which got Gatting, the bribery allegations in Pakistan, the disgrace in South Africa, the triumph in the West Indies. But the chapters are irritatingly short and lend themselves to the conclusion that they are written for those with short attention spans and penned by one who is short of material.
To all these shortcomings, add the occasional proof-reading error and factual inaccuracy (the book has the Australians becoming world one-day champions in 1986, a full year before they won the World Cup) and unnecessary hype on the rear jacket ("Shane Warne is cricket's most idolised player..." it begins, and that is a statement which can be contested) and you have a combination which is not exactly digestible. A pity indeed for the subject merited much better treatment. The only saving grace is the pictures which are of excellent quality though whether they are the ones which best illustrate the career of an extraordinary bloke is open to debate.
Many authors tend to forget that every cricketer is also a human being and telling a story from that point of view would make him interesting to most of us ordinary mortals. A listing of mere facts and figures tends to put a man on a different planet and make him seem unreal to the average reader. This important fact has been overlooked in this book (as in numerous others). I hope Warne will rectify this by getting someone to either ghost his own story or else by authorising a biography which helps to bridge the gap.