During one of my conversations about books with a friend, he happened to recommend Steve Waugh's autobiography (oddly) titled "Out of My Comfort Zone" as a must-read (chat history says this happened in 2013). Though he also mentioned that the book is not available in India and can only be bought as an import which makes the book priced at about Rupees out-of-a-normal-person's-reach. A chance encounter with another school friend last year happened and while we talked about what a disappointment Sachin's autobiography has turned out to be, I mentioned in passing that I have heard that Steve Waugh's is an impressive one. Now this friend said that he had that book with him and it's serving in his bookshelf as a mere dust gatherer. Quite unexpectedly, he gave the book to me and this is how the best book that I have read in the past year or so came into my possession.
I don't have a huge liking for autobiographies (they're too realistic!) and quite frankly, the only ones that I have read are Gandhi's, Sachin's and now Waugh's. Before I started reading it, I was apprehensive about how repetitive a cricketer's autobiography is. It's like reading a record-book of his cricketing achievements interspersed with a few anecdotes, injuries, struggles to get into the team and his pain of retirement. My reference for this apprehension was of course the hugely anticipated autobiography of Sachin. Of course, Steve's was broadly arranged on these lines too but it made for a far superior reading experience. A big curiosity regarding this book was how Steve's relationship was with his twin Mark who was a bigger favourite for me back in the day.
The best part about this book was how Steve shows his all-too-human side and while doing so (perhaps unknowingly) brings forth a few precious guiding lessons which seem applicable in all walks of life. His occasional struggles with the bat and the frustrations around an eluding century bring forth the honest endeavour of opening himself up to the world. Whenever he had his mind made up about how he'd play out the next ball, the next day's play, the next series or the next session, he'd end up failing. He mentions quite a few times that it bogged him down and that the game (cricket? life?) is all about how to keep calm without getting to far ahead of the time. He talks about how he had many dismal performances and was shown the team door after being in the team for a long long time. While he was sulking on the inside, he couldn't do show the full extent of his sadness to his family because his place in the team was awarded to none other than his brother, Mark. While he himself worked hard to get back into the team, he gives many examples of people who just faded out once they were dropped. Here he brings forth how a string of failures can bog one down and the only way to rise is to believe that one can do it. Sounds like a usual pep-talk but this one doesn't fail to make a connection.
The autobiography talks to an outsider about though the game is all about one's own performance and in the end, that's all there's to it, it doesn't happen without support of one's friends and well-wishers. Steve's journey is dotted with people who cheered him up, asked him not to think about the failures, told him that he's got to believe that he's got what it takes and in the end he's thankful to all of them. He comes across as an introvert (may be because I don't remember seeing him agitated), but it's quite impossible to walk the long distance without these frequent pats on the back. Family and friends are your deal of a lifetime. He talks about how fitness experts approached him and suggested him unusual though helpful regimens and diets that helped him play for a long time. I guess one has to trust some strangers on the way and witness them becoming an unforgettable part of the journey. Of course, luck plays a part in making you meet with these people.
He talks about how learning is a constant process. His efforts to keenly listen to past greats and even top sportspersons playing sports besides cricket bring forth his keenness to learn about attitude and mental makeup. There are many occasions on which he has talked about how it's more about attitude and less about the skill. An interesting incident that he has mentioned is about why he wanted the best Australian cricket team to represent them in the Commonwealth Games when many other countries sent their second-best team considering it to be a worthless event. It is wonderful how Steve considered it to be a chance to mingle with other sportspersons rather than just another taxing tour.
For a cricket lover, the autobiography has special hidden gems. It's superb to read descriptions about what goes on in a fielder's mind before a catch is taken, how a few players have certain idiosyncrasies (e.g. Steve's own red rag piece, Hayden wanting to be 'one' with the pitch, tying a particular shoe lace first, Jayasuriya touching his pads thrice then undoing and sticking up his gloves, Mackenzie taping up his bat to the ceiling, etc.), the on-field banter, and the best of the lot - how the Australian players went out of the way to break some rules. The funniest incident is again about how during the Commonwealth Games, the Australian cricketers didn't have the tickets to the swimming competition but in order to witness it, gelled their hair back and identified themselves to the authorities as being competing swimmers.
The way Steve has penned it deserves a special mention. He has kept the language extremely simple but the writing style speaks of someone who is extremely well-read and has a great sense of humour. The metaphors are definite winners and make the book a real page-turner.
As for his relationship with Mark, as in his public life, he doesn't talk much except that he was rather close to him during his childhood, spending a lot of time playing with him. However, over a period of time, the competitive streak between them got the better of the twins' communication.
The autobiography has a few points of departure from the ordinary from an Indian's point of view. It's about an outsider's view of India - how many stadiums didn't even have an acceptable ground, how the abject poverty (read: person cleaning strangers' ears to make ends meet, beggars carrying babies whose state of being alive or dead is unknown, and so on) shocks him to the extent that whatever be his state of life, he thinks himself lucky to not be living like this. Steve impresses upon the fact that so many aspects of life are taken for granted for which one should be immensely thankful to the unknown forces.
At around a thousand pages, it might turn out to be a tiresome read for someone who's not deep into cricket. A review by a cricket journalist says that Steve considers writing this book as part of his endeavour to play a long innings and hence, the length of the book makes it as tiring to read as it is to hold it in your hands. I suggest that one should ignore all such doubts, embrace this book tightly and not let go until it's read end to end.
I don't have a huge liking for autobiographies (they're too realistic!) and quite frankly, the only ones that I have read are Gandhi's, Sachin's and now Waugh's. Before I started reading it, I was apprehensive about how repetitive a cricketer's autobiography is. It's like reading a record-book of his cricketing achievements interspersed with a few anecdotes, injuries, struggles to get into the team and his pain of retirement. My reference for this apprehension was of course the hugely anticipated autobiography of Sachin. Of course, Steve's was broadly arranged on these lines too but it made for a far superior reading experience. A big curiosity regarding this book was how Steve's relationship was with his twin Mark who was a bigger favourite for me back in the day.
The best part about this book was how Steve shows his all-too-human side and while doing so (perhaps unknowingly) brings forth a few precious guiding lessons which seem applicable in all walks of life. His occasional struggles with the bat and the frustrations around an eluding century bring forth the honest endeavour of opening himself up to the world. Whenever he had his mind made up about how he'd play out the next ball, the next day's play, the next series or the next session, he'd end up failing. He mentions quite a few times that it bogged him down and that the game (cricket? life?) is all about how to keep calm without getting to far ahead of the time. He talks about how he had many dismal performances and was shown the team door after being in the team for a long long time. While he was sulking on the inside, he couldn't do show the full extent of his sadness to his family because his place in the team was awarded to none other than his brother, Mark. While he himself worked hard to get back into the team, he gives many examples of people who just faded out once they were dropped. Here he brings forth how a string of failures can bog one down and the only way to rise is to believe that one can do it. Sounds like a usual pep-talk but this one doesn't fail to make a connection.
The autobiography talks to an outsider about though the game is all about one's own performance and in the end, that's all there's to it, it doesn't happen without support of one's friends and well-wishers. Steve's journey is dotted with people who cheered him up, asked him not to think about the failures, told him that he's got to believe that he's got what it takes and in the end he's thankful to all of them. He comes across as an introvert (may be because I don't remember seeing him agitated), but it's quite impossible to walk the long distance without these frequent pats on the back. Family and friends are your deal of a lifetime. He talks about how fitness experts approached him and suggested him unusual though helpful regimens and diets that helped him play for a long time. I guess one has to trust some strangers on the way and witness them becoming an unforgettable part of the journey. Of course, luck plays a part in making you meet with these people.
He talks about how learning is a constant process. His efforts to keenly listen to past greats and even top sportspersons playing sports besides cricket bring forth his keenness to learn about attitude and mental makeup. There are many occasions on which he has talked about how it's more about attitude and less about the skill. An interesting incident that he has mentioned is about why he wanted the best Australian cricket team to represent them in the Commonwealth Games when many other countries sent their second-best team considering it to be a worthless event. It is wonderful how Steve considered it to be a chance to mingle with other sportspersons rather than just another taxing tour.
For a cricket lover, the autobiography has special hidden gems. It's superb to read descriptions about what goes on in a fielder's mind before a catch is taken, how a few players have certain idiosyncrasies (e.g. Steve's own red rag piece, Hayden wanting to be 'one' with the pitch, tying a particular shoe lace first, Jayasuriya touching his pads thrice then undoing and sticking up his gloves, Mackenzie taping up his bat to the ceiling, etc.), the on-field banter, and the best of the lot - how the Australian players went out of the way to break some rules. The funniest incident is again about how during the Commonwealth Games, the Australian cricketers didn't have the tickets to the swimming competition but in order to witness it, gelled their hair back and identified themselves to the authorities as being competing swimmers.
The way Steve has penned it deserves a special mention. He has kept the language extremely simple but the writing style speaks of someone who is extremely well-read and has a great sense of humour. The metaphors are definite winners and make the book a real page-turner.
As for his relationship with Mark, as in his public life, he doesn't talk much except that he was rather close to him during his childhood, spending a lot of time playing with him. However, over a period of time, the competitive streak between them got the better of the twins' communication.
The autobiography has a few points of departure from the ordinary from an Indian's point of view. It's about an outsider's view of India - how many stadiums didn't even have an acceptable ground, how the abject poverty (read: person cleaning strangers' ears to make ends meet, beggars carrying babies whose state of being alive or dead is unknown, and so on) shocks him to the extent that whatever be his state of life, he thinks himself lucky to not be living like this. Steve impresses upon the fact that so many aspects of life are taken for granted for which one should be immensely thankful to the unknown forces.
At around a thousand pages, it might turn out to be a tiresome read for someone who's not deep into cricket. A review by a cricket journalist says that Steve considers writing this book as part of his endeavour to play a long innings and hence, the length of the book makes it as tiring to read as it is to hold it in your hands. I suggest that one should ignore all such doubts, embrace this book tightly and not let go until it's read end to end.
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