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As It Was: The Memoirs of Fred Trueman
As one of the greatest fast bowlers in cricketing history, Truemans dazzling performance raised the spirits of a nation and struck terror in the hearts of even the most formidable of opponents. Now, for the first time, Fred Trueman tells the full, definitive story of his life in his own inimitable fashion. From his village childhood to his debut for Yorkshire at the tender age of eighteen, to his international test triumphs and his otherand equally successfulcareers as a commentator, stalwart of BBC Radios Test Match Special, raconteur, and after-dinner speaker, Freddie recalls, with characteristic honesty, the highs and lows of his public and private life.
405 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 9, 2019
Basically tells it as it was, his life in cricket from the forties to the sixties. An interesting insight to how cricket was played and administered in that era.
You can sense Trueman's voice in the narrative and you wonder how much is actually ghost written or written down from what Fred said word for word from a recording.
I doubt Trueman could instantly recall all the statistics which pop up in the body of the work.
There is no doubt Trueman rates his own ability and there's nothing wrong in blowing your own trumpet but it's easy to see how he would have ruffled feathers within the cricket establishment. The 'Player Gentleman' divide is all too evident.
Truman pours cold water on some of the stories that surrounded him during his playing career but I would like to see a more objective analysis from someone who was there to get a more balanced perspective of his life.
You can sense Trueman's voice in the narrative and you wonder how much is actually ghost written or written down from what Fred said word for word from a recording.
I doubt Trueman could instantly recall all the statistics which pop up in the body of the work.
There is no doubt Trueman rates his own ability and there's nothing wrong in blowing your own trumpet but it's easy to see how he would have ruffled feathers within the cricket establishment. The 'Player Gentleman' divide is all too evident.
Truman pours cold water on some of the stories that surrounded him during his playing career but I would like to see a more objective analysis from someone who was there to get a more balanced perspective of his life.
May 22, 2012
Sportsmen's "autobiographies" are usually fairly bland affairs. The odd little anecdote, the occasional insight on other players, the "I was there" revelation on moment's of mediocre sporting history...
"Fiery Fred" Trueman was never your bland cricketer though - constantly at odds with the cricket establishment, whether it was with the committee of his "beloved Yorkshire" or the "stuffed shirts at the MCC", he had a public persona of being slightly belligerent, a little supercilious, more than a bit self-opinionated and a tad insensitive.
In the first few pages he's anything but this when he describes the south Yorkshire countryside of his upbringing in language that even Wordsworth at his Pantheistic best would blush at. The unseen hand of the silent ghostwriter is apparent from the very start...
And as you continue through the book, you begin to wonder whether the ghostwriter is deliberately trying to stitch poor Fred up - because the arrogance, belligerence, superciliousness and self opinionation grwos page on page - "I really don't know it all - because I know everything, and one of those things is that I'm not a know-it-all" is almost crying out form every page twoards the end.
Fred Trueman was a great bowler - there is no doubt about that. But he wasn't quite as great as this book would have us believe - and you do get the sense that there's an unseen hand at work subtly making this point to us. I wonder if the invisible spirit had a father who was a Yorkshire committeeman.....
An interesting read though, especially for those who enjoy recalling cricket history from the 1940's to the 1960's.
"Fiery Fred" Trueman was never your bland cricketer though - constantly at odds with the cricket establishment, whether it was with the committee of his "beloved Yorkshire" or the "stuffed shirts at the MCC", he had a public persona of being slightly belligerent, a little supercilious, more than a bit self-opinionated and a tad insensitive.
In the first few pages he's anything but this when he describes the south Yorkshire countryside of his upbringing in language that even Wordsworth at his Pantheistic best would blush at. The unseen hand of the silent ghostwriter is apparent from the very start...
And as you continue through the book, you begin to wonder whether the ghostwriter is deliberately trying to stitch poor Fred up - because the arrogance, belligerence, superciliousness and self opinionation grwos page on page - "I really don't know it all - because I know everything, and one of those things is that I'm not a know-it-all" is almost crying out form every page twoards the end.
Fred Trueman was a great bowler - there is no doubt about that. But he wasn't quite as great as this book would have us believe - and you do get the sense that there's an unseen hand at work subtly making this point to us. I wonder if the invisible spirit had a father who was a Yorkshire committeeman.....
An interesting read though, especially for those who enjoy recalling cricket history from the 1940's to the 1960's.
June 8, 2019
Very interesting look at cricket in comparison to today and the way it was run.
July 20, 2022
I enjoyed this autobiography because I remember watching Freddie Truman playing cricket and also recall quite a few of the incidents and grievances mentioned in he book!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews