The more sports books you read, the harder it is to escape the conclusion that
athletes should wait until they are firmly retired before thrusting their
life stories at us. The finest sports books are more interested in people
than points tallies, but the best sportspeople necessarily believe winning
is the only thing. You survive and thrive in their world by developing
skills, not a sense of perspective.
Since sporting prose rarely reaches the same heights of colour, immediacy and
drama as the events it describes, the wisdom and honesty of the veteran is a
worthwhile trade-off for the loss of immediacy that distance brings.
Would Jackie Stewart, for example, have been able in his early twenties to
conclude that Winning is not enough? This heresy is the title of his life
story, penned in his late sixties, which is one of the contenders for the
Best Autobiography prize in the National Sporting Club 2008 British Sports
Book Awards, to be announced on March 18.
With England's footballers not performing well enough to justify a pamphlet,
let alone a hardback, the celebrity publishing industry turned its glossy
stare towards Lewis Hamilton last year. But the driver's own effort and its
unofficial doppelgangers ambled along in low gear. The subject, after all,
is only 23 with a single season in Formula One under his belt. He needs to
do some more winning before he can decide whether it is enough or not.
Reading Stewart, it is clear that merely staying alive as a racing driver in
the 1960s and 1970s is victory of a kind. Despite his shimmering and
glamorous career, the heart of this book is not the racing driver's
lifestyle but the style of death.
In the book's most powerful passages, dozens of Stewart's colleagues, rivals
and friends are claimed in horrific accidents - awful both in their sudden
brutality and the knowledge, as the Scot was acutely aware, that many were
preventable.
Two other books vying with Stewart on the autobiography shortlist are tattooed
with the indelible pain of loss. The first instalment of Sir Bobby
Charlton's story - the sports publishing event of last year - explains the
Munich air disaster and its aftermath with dignity and sensitivity. In It's
In The Blood, the young Lawrence Dallaglio struggles to cope with the death
of his sister.
The shortlists represent arguably the strongest set of contenders in the
award's six-year history. There is a lack of female writers and subjects,
but, overall, the diversity and depth of good writing is encouraging, so
much so that new categories, such as best boxing book, may be added next
year.
There is also a sense that these awards are truly a meritocracy, with
achievement recognised regardless of genre, size or sales. Amid the more
conventional personality-driven stories, Tim Harris is up for Best New
Writer with his encyclopaedia-style history of sport - which probably weighs
more than the average gymnast.
Here, the publishing equivalents of Liverpool and Havant & Waterlooville
face off and the minnow has a genuine chance. Fairfield Books, tiny cricket
specialists, have three nominations, including a pair for one of the
stand-out books of last year, the story of the former Warwickshire player,
Tom Cartwright.
In the Best Illustrated category, the might of the Reuters news agency, with
its global reach, battles with Goodbye Gay Meadow, an author-published
tribute to a football ground that will have a limited audience beyond
devotees of Shrewsbury Town. A loss not of life but bricks and mortar,
although keenly felt all the same.
Places at the awards lunch at the Café Royal in London are available from £99
per person plus VAT. Details from Lucy Ainsley, 020 7437 0144.
And the contenders are...
Best biography, sponsored by The Times:
Arsène Wenger, Xavier Rivoire (Aurum)
The Arsenal manager co-operated with the author, who also interviewed former
players to produce this insight into the life of a familiar but complex
figure.
Tom Cartwright: The Flame Still Burns, Stephen Chalke (Fairfield)
The finely and fondly-crafted story of the Warwickshire medium-pacer, who was
a mentor to Ian Botham and worked in car factories in the winter. Sadly,
Cartwright died just as this acclaimed book was released.
In Search of Robert Millar, Richard Moore (Harper Sport)
The author voyages around the world looking for the Scottish road cyclist, a
difficult but brilliant man who withdrew from public life after some
dramatic tabloid stories about his private life.
Provided You Don't Kiss Me, Duncan Hamilton (Fourth Estate)
This much-lauded tale of a Nottingham journalist's up-and-down relationship
with Brian Clough is a sensitive tribute to one of football's most eccentric
and extraordinary characters.
Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards, Clive Everton (Mainstream)
Part memoir, part history, the long-time snooker commentator recalls the great
matches and men who enlivened the game with their talent and their
frequently dubious off-table antics.
Best Autobiography, sponsored by Sky Sports: Bellies and Bullseyes, Sid
Waddell (Ebury); Made in Sheffield, Neil Warnock (Hodder and Stoughton); My
Manchester United Years, Sir Bobby Charlton (Headline); It's In The Blood,
Lawrence Dallaglio (Headline); Winning Is Not Enough, Jackie Stewart
(Headline); No Ordinary Joe, Joe Calzaghe (Century).
Best Illustrated Title, sponsored by Llanllyr: Source Arsenal:
Extraordinary Images (Hamlyn); Reuters: Sport in the 21st Century (Thames &
Hudson); Monaco Grand Prix, Michael Hewitt (Haynes); TT Century, Stewart
Barker (Century); Extreme Running, Kym McConnell and Dave Horsley
(Pavilion); Moto GP in Camera, Julian Ryder (Haynes); Goodbye Gay Meadow,
Matthew Ashton (GGM Publishing).
Best New Writer, sponsored by Ladbrokes Sport: Almost Everything You
Ever Wanted To Know, Tim Harris (Yellow Jersey); Best of British: Sporting
Heroes, Jon Henderson (Yellow Jersey); Up Pompey, Chuck Culpepper
(Weidenfeld & Nicolson); We Don't Know What We're Doing, Adrian Chiles
(Little, Brown); Supercat, Simon Lister (Fairfield); The Pyjama Game, Mark
Law (Aurum).
Best Football Book, sponsored by Ladbrokes: Provided You Don't Kiss Me,
Duncan Hamilton (Fourth Estate); My Manchester United Years, Sir Bobby
Charlton (Headline); Football Delirium, Chris Oakley (Karnac); England
Managers, Brian Glanville (Headline); Outcasts!, Steve Menary (Know The
Score); Left Field, Graeme Le Saux (Harper Sport).
Best Cricket Book, sponsored by Littlehampton Book Services Tom
Cartwright: The Flame Still Burns, Stephen Chalke (Fairfield); More Than A
Game, John Major (Harper); Fatty Batter, Michael Simkins (Ebury); Grovel!,
David Tossell (Know The Score); Shane Warne, Simon Wilde (John Murray).
Best Rugby Book, sponsored by Clays Ltd: Thirty Bullies, Alison Kervin
(Simon & Schuster); Landing On My Feet, Mike Catt (Hodder &
Stoughton); Pushing the Limits, Mark Eccleston and Andrew Quirke (Psychology
News); It's In The Blood, Lawrence Dallaglio (Headline); Talk of the Toony,
Gregor Townsend (Harper Sport); Ripley's World, Andy Ripley (Mainstream).
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