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Number Nine Dream
Number Nine Dream
Oct 20, 2024 6:11 PM

Author:Robert Howley,Graham Clutton

Number Nine Dream

Rob Howley was a late developer in terms of playing international rugby. But the Cardif, Wales and British Lions scrum half has more than made up for lost time. In Number Nine Dream, Howley looks back at his career, including his injury heartache, his late development, the pain of seeing a friend temporarily paralysed and the various scrapes with officialdom he has been involved in throughout his career. He talks in detail about the teething problems of professionalism and how he, one of Welsh rugby's all-time great players, has on more than one occasion been issued with an ultimatum by the West Wales Under 11s, Rob Howley was desperate to realise his boyhood ambition - to play senior reugby for his country. Injuries and subsequent operations set back his progress and when he finally returned to action, courtesy of a local valley faith healer, he found himself involved in one of the most controversial transfers in Welsh rugby history. Now a seaconed international and British Lion, Howley tells a story of pride, passion and extreme personal pain. Number Nine Dream is a compelling recollection of events on and off the pitch and highlights exactly what goes on in rugby's corridors of power and behind the changing-room doors.

Reviews

'This book is a great read. Not only does Hansen give an insight into the Liverpool side which won eight championships, but in print he combines his trademark bluntness with a degree of tact few of us ever suspected he could achieve' Glasgow Sunday Herald

—— Glasgow Herald

'Alan Hansen claims this is an autobiography, but it is much more than that. True, the BBC pundit and Express columnist has more than enough tales to tell from fourteen seasons at Liverpool. But A Matter of Opinion is precisely that. Hansen shares his thoughts on a variety of aspects of the game but the spotlight is never more illuminating than when cast upon himself . . . Now, nine years after hanging up his boots, the analytical style that takes a back seat often enough to allow the dry humour to come through, makes this one of the more readable football books . . . The thoughts of Hansen are a hit.' Express on Sunday

—— Sunday Express

Fife has an infectious enthusiasm for the Tour and it shows in every sentence. This is a difficult book to put down.

—— Cycle Sport

Savage has become a character of the game with enough anecdotes to warrant a collection of books. This'll do for a start, though. (****)

—— Irish Daily Star on Sunday

A humorous and touching account of [Savage's] career to date

—— Football Punk

Full of incident, detail and gossip

—— Daily Telegraph

Astounding

—— The Observer

Hugely enjoyable, poignant book... Dave Roberts' wonderful series of tales explain why every one of the programmes made it into the box; each is infused with a mixture of touching reminiscence or laugh-out-loud anecdote

—— Birmingham Post

Deliriously enjoyable... utterly engaging

—— Caroline Sanderson , The Bookseller

Nostalgically warm in its tender recall of the way things used to be, this is a book for the true football follower, whose life has been shaped by the game and doesn't mind admitting it

—— Duncan Hamilton, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award

Wonderful, hilarious and moving. 32 Programmes is not just a football memoir but a delicious slice of the 1960s and 1970s, a razor-sharp and achingly evocative social history. This brilliant memoir will resonate with all of us who have ever supported a football team, listened to music and fallen in love.

—— Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping

I loved this book. If you know a man in his forties or fifties, please give him this book

—— John Inverdale

A funny, charming and heart-warming tale of obsession

—— Nigel Walrond , Western Sunday Independent

I fail to believe that anyone who reads Dave Roberts' new book 32 Programmes cannot relate to his thinking as a football fan. It traces his life as a football fan through 32 chapters in his life, going into the bitter-sweet details of growing up in the 1970s and '80s via 32 football matches. Building on and around his first book, The Bromley Boys (soon to be released as a film, no less), Dave introduces us to his career, his attempts to find a soul mate and finally in a twist his life changing circumstances that will have you reaching for a tissue. If you read one new book on your holidays this summer, choose this one. And then you try and detail 10, let alone 32, games that mark the milestones in your life

—— The Ball is Round

Entertaining, heart-warming and expertly executed, this book is certain to strike a chord with anyone who's ever loved the game. Engrossing and enjoyable... funny and charming

—— Alistair Hunter , Two Banks of Four

An entertaining read, rich in nostalgia and reminiscent of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, this offers an insight into the power of obsession and how the beautiful game has changed. Moving and amusing

—— Sport magazine

Paul Hendrickson has another theme more interesting than Hemmingway's boat: the writers deadly effect on his sons

—— Peter Lewis , Daily Mail

This is a measured and thoughtful, sometimes lyrical book that adds considerably to the Papa story

—— Ronan Farren , Irish Independent

Hendrickson has a tremendous feel for Hemingway, as both writer and man; his own writing is vivid and personal... What he says about Hemingway is usually dead on target

—— Sarah Churchwell , Guardian

Hemingway's Boat... turns a seemingly trivial search for an old boat up on cinder blocks in a Havana yard and a potentially mawkish concentration on the latter end of a life into a powerful meditation on what made Hemingway tick and what made him great. Though one needs other books for the first 35 years of the life, it supersedes them all.

—— Brian Morton , Sunday Herald

Hendrickson has a fluent, engaging tone...he brings us closer to understanding Hemingway as a man who loved and lost - as opposed to the archtypal misogynist bully he is widely regarded as

—— Big Issue in the North

His life was spectacular, and, somehow, went spectacularly wrong. Hendrickson tells the story of the man and the boat, and the fish, and the women, and the writing. And then the moment when, at the age of 61, Hemingway woke up early one morning and shot himself. In the head. On purpose. Some story. Very well told

—— William Leith , Evening Standard

Rich, magisterial account...Other books on Hemingway have tended to focus on his post-1930s literary decline and his machismo. The portrait that emerges from these pages is altogether more human

—— Ed Caesar , Sunday Times

He has a tremendous feel for Hemingway, as both writer and man

—— Sarah Churchwell , Guardian

This is a portrait of the author which is likely to leave one feeling more warmly disposed towards him

—— Herald

More a portrait than a biography, this book is a dazzling late example of "New Journalism"...the result is touching, revelatory and utterly absorbing

—— Independent

Unmissable

—— The Lady

While much of Hemingway’s life may have been hellish, Hendrickson’s writing is a delight. A fine work

—— Fachtna Kelly , Sunday Business Post

Very well told

—— William Leith , Scotsman

An album of fascinating snapshots of Hemingway

—— Simon Shaw , Mail on Sunday

Paul Hendrickson writes with a great deal of passion…

—— Nudge

A terrific and fresh approach to the man

—— Daniel Woodrell , Financial Times
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