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A Life Too Short
A Life Too Short
Nov 14, 2024 6:18 AM

Author:Ronald Reng,John Telfer

A Life Too Short

Why does an international footballer with the World at his feet decide to take his own life?

On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty two years old.

Viewed from the outside, Enke had it all. Here was a professional goalkeeper who had played for a string of Europe's top clubs including Jose Mourinho's Benfica and Louis Van Gaal's Barcelona. Enke was destined to be his country's first choice for years to come. But beneath the bright veneer of success lay a darker story.

In A Life Too Short, award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his lost friend's life. Reng brings into sharp relief the specific demands and fears faced by those who play top-level sport. Heartfelt, but never sentimental he tells the universal tragedy of a talented man's struggles against his own demons.

Reviews

One of the most remarkable sports books ever written… A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke… stands as the definite work on mental illness in football

—— Sam Wallace , Daily Telegraph

Incredible… It’s a stunning, fascinating and ultimately heartbreaking piece of work that has done so much to further the understanding between mental illness and sport. It is also a reminder that, for all the status and all the luxury which come with being a professional footballer, those lucky enough to make a career from the game are still human beings, too

—— Tom Hopkinson , People

An intensely moving book that transcends football

—— Raphael Honigstein, Guardian

Deeply affecting

—— Ian Hawkey , Sunday Times

A tragic book, but a brilliant one. Reng's is one of the best sports books to have been published in years

—— Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

These men were monumentally strong. They were not just sporting heroes but heroes in terms of human endeavour

—— Peter Radford

Whitaker paints a compelling picture of a world in which the virtues of old-fashioned professionalism and decency overcome class and race barriers... engaging, surprising and...affecting

—— Alexander Larman , Observer

Both men invite Moore into their homes: a privilege that clearly took some badger-like tenacity to secure. But it was worth the effort as Moore gains fresh insight into the rivalry

—— Scott Dougal , East Anglian Daily Times

The stars are, inevitably, Hinault and LeMond themselves, both with their own memories of what did and did not happen. But they're almost outshone by three of the supporting cast... How true was Hinauolt to his word in 1986? Was he just stirring it up or did he actually try to give the French what they wanted from him, a sixth Tour victory? Well that's the story Richard Moore tells in Slaying The Badger. And some stories you really do have to read for yourselves

—— Podiumcafe.com

The tale of the spectator Lemond-Hinault rivalry over the roads of the 'greatest ever' Tour de France in 1986 is hardly unknown for most cycling fan - and yet Moore magnificently offers a fresh perspective, bringing alive this supreme tussle by resorting to some vintage toilet humour... His book is a gripping read

—— UK.eurosport.yahoo.com/blog/blazin-saddles

[Moore] entertainingly unravels the complexities of the relationships within the peloton

—— Richard Williams , Guardian

One of Bike Radar’s favourite books of the past 12 months

—— Bike Radar

Moore unearths a dazzling array of detail through interviews and anecdotes, telling a tale that holds suspense even for those who know the ultimate outcome of this epic battle. As racing books go, Moore’s book just might be “the greatest ever"

—— Kent Petersen , Outside Magazine

The measure of a great book is a great start.Richard Moore’s introductory anecdote in Slaying the Badger set a new standard in cycling literature

—— Cycle Sport
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