Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword

[King]

The recent Steve Waugh's book "Out of my comfort zone" is fore worded by Rahul Dravid. I didn't know that one. Seems an interesting read although a bit thick in terms of size.

[Dhondy]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword Have the book. Read large parts of it. Fascinating read. Steve was Rahul's hero. Rahul always wanted to be like him. Took him out to dinner once and quizzed him at length about his mental approach to the game.

[King]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword Yup I saw glimpses of Steve's shots in Rahul in the first ODI against West Indies. I think he must have been watching Steve's tapes a bit. The shots between long on mid wicket were reminiscent of Steve's shots on the leg side.

[gator]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword i have tht book and read tht cover to cover and got to admit, it was one of the best tht i have ever read..... fabulous....

[King]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword Good to know guys, looking forward to reading it. I bought it just yesterday.

[Mr. Wicket]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword Very good book, Ravi. Start reading. My own review:

It's hard to classify this magnum opus by Steve Waugh as an autobiography. "Out of my Comfort Zone" is written as a look back over Waugh's life and career in cricket, yet it's far more than just that. It's the story of the most influential cricketers of this generation and a player who helped shape and define the Australian team for a decade and a half, and thus often reads like a history of Australian cricket in that time period. After the first several chapters that recap a climb from schoolboy cricket into a struggling Australian team, Waugh details the evolution of the Australian team, highlighting the change in the team's character under Allan Border. The chapters of the 1986 tour to Australia and the victorious World Cup campaign of 1987 make for fascinating reads, particularly the descriptions of Dean Jones' famous double at Madras and Waugh's own development as a 'death' bowler during the World Cup. Waugh's tale also covers the rocky relationship between player and administrator with the chapter "Death by Silence" providing particularly gripping insight into a tour of Pakistan, with dismal umpiring, near protests from the players, and eventually a gag by the ACB. It's almost as disconcerting as a later moment in the book when he's named captain of the one day team, only for Malcolm Speed to then say to him, "You're on our side now." Those who want in-depth details of recent series and tours would be better served to go through Waugh's old tour diaries; a number of chapters here sum up the contents of those succinctly as he delves into other matters, focusing on his mind's workings at the time and the growth of the team into the all-dominating side it later became. Off-field events like team bonding, selection issues and Waugh's own travels and family are weaved into the main tale smoothly and make for excellent reading. A major strength of the book is Waugh's clarity and honesty in writing - there are no Brearleyesque attempts to overanalyse players and teammates from a sterile, neutral perspective; instead Waugh calls it as he sees it, with honest opinions on the likes of Lara, Slater, Bevan and Ganguly that might raise an eyebrow or two. The book as a whole is a superb package, but an unattractive one for the casual fan. Clocking in at almost 800 pages, it may not seem an appealing read at first, but most will find it a difficult book to close after starting. Definitely one worth adding to the bookshelves.

[King]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword

After the first several chapters that recap a climb from schoolboy cricket into a struggling Australian team, Waugh details the evolution of the Australian team, highlighting the change in the team's character under Allan Border. The chapters of the 1986 tour to Australia and the victorious World Cup campaign of 1987 make for fascinating reads, particularly the descriptions of Dean Jones' famous double at Madras and Waugh's own development as a 'death' bowler during the World Cup.

I've read all his other books and am sure it will not be any more that is not covered in his previous books.

Clocking in at almost 800 pages, it may not seem an appealing read at first, but most will find it a difficult book to close after starting. Definitely one worth adding to the bookshelves.

That was my first thought particularly after having read all his other books. Good summary by the way :wtg:

[shailesh]

Re: Steve Waugh's "Out of my comfort zone" foreword got to agree it is one of the best books out there :wtg: yeah big in size Ravi, but once you start the individual chapters are not too long and mostly based on a certain event/experience/tour etc. so no need to worry about losing continuity.