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Kriss Akabusi on Track: The Extraordinary Story of a Great Athlete
- GenresBiography
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 1992
About the author
Ted Harrison
37 books1 followerLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 19, 2021
Black and British, though his parents might not see it quite that way...
What a story! Couldn’t put it down, especially the early chapters recounting a dreadfully disrupted childhood for Kriss and his brother, the breathtaking carelessness of their parents (how different are the attitudes of different cultures to so many things!) and the positive input and kind dedication from some foster carers and social workers.
Harrison does a good job of letting all the major characters speak, including the prejudiced and unattractive ones, and he sometimes offers his own authorial commentary, doing his best to avoid moralising, though not always succeeding, as often the narrative episodes do very much call for moralising! The writing style is ok for a non-literary biography, nothing special and perhaps by the end becoming a little bit wearing for those readers hankering after finer prose, but I have read much worse, so I won’t deduct a star.
Akabusi really comes across in these pages as a tremendously interesting ordinary exceptional guy. We get a sense of his mistakes and weaknesses, his changing views, maturing outlook, real challenges, inquisitive and hungry approach, and a delightful honesty. Just an army PE instructor who grew up in care and left school at 16. Oh, and he is an Olympic medalist, World Athletics Champion and minor Nigerian royalty (though that seems to have been mostly water off a duck’s back to KA himself).
KA’s conversion to Christianity in his late 20s (his German wife’s rather blunt opposition to this is curiously endearing!) receives quite a bit of attention, and Harrison does of good job of contextualising his general spiritual interests and these strands are woven with a surprisingly light touch. Since this book was published in 1991 it doesn’t cover his later career as a TV personality, but that’s no loss to this work, which I thoroughly enjoyed and devoured from my sick bed.
What a story! Couldn’t put it down, especially the early chapters recounting a dreadfully disrupted childhood for Kriss and his brother, the breathtaking carelessness of their parents (how different are the attitudes of different cultures to so many things!) and the positive input and kind dedication from some foster carers and social workers.
Harrison does a good job of letting all the major characters speak, including the prejudiced and unattractive ones, and he sometimes offers his own authorial commentary, doing his best to avoid moralising, though not always succeeding, as often the narrative episodes do very much call for moralising! The writing style is ok for a non-literary biography, nothing special and perhaps by the end becoming a little bit wearing for those readers hankering after finer prose, but I have read much worse, so I won’t deduct a star.
Akabusi really comes across in these pages as a tremendously interesting ordinary exceptional guy. We get a sense of his mistakes and weaknesses, his changing views, maturing outlook, real challenges, inquisitive and hungry approach, and a delightful honesty. Just an army PE instructor who grew up in care and left school at 16. Oh, and he is an Olympic medalist, World Athletics Champion and minor Nigerian royalty (though that seems to have been mostly water off a duck’s back to KA himself).
KA’s conversion to Christianity in his late 20s (his German wife’s rather blunt opposition to this is curiously endearing!) receives quite a bit of attention, and Harrison does of good job of contextualising his general spiritual interests and these strands are woven with a surprisingly light touch. Since this book was published in 1991 it doesn’t cover his later career as a TV personality, but that’s no loss to this work, which I thoroughly enjoyed and devoured from my sick bed.
August 8, 2012
Great book, my copy is personally autographed by Mr Akabusi.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews