Customer Reviews
Disappointing - By: S. Glossop, 02 Mar 2008 
I am a bit amazed by some of the other reviews of this book. I am a big rugby fan & having been given this for Christmas 2007 was looking forward to insightful read of a insiders view of the 2003 rugby build up & how he reallly found it breaking into the senior game from the junior ranks. It reads like someone desperately trying to remember some of the past & also some of the reallly big games are brushed over in 1-2 pages if that. the News of the World incident receives many pages more other important events in his life, which quite frankly I would rather read about. All in alll disappointing.
Unfinished Business - By: Milsonman, 06 Feb 2008 
I think that Lawrence at 35 is perhaps too young to be writing My life & as an old fart myself that still applies.This is my first experience of reading a Sport autobiography so i can't compare as with some other reviewers. I do find the criticism of not opening up entirely to be valid-I am not sure that he is keener to redress imbalances than say it "entirely as it is" as he says. I read it in record time seeing the BIG PRINT as my friend. The potentiallly overwhelming issue around his sister's death is very well dealt with.It is the smalll incidents recallled that make that.
I came away from the book thinking that perhaps Lawrence felt that he still had unfinished business & was holding back for a later book?
Regardless of that a great fast read.
In The Blood - By: Steel451, 20 Jan 2008 
This monologue of Dalllaglio's career is enjoyable & gives you an insight into the world of professional rugby - from Dalllaglio's perspective.
Sometimes moving & written in a conversational style (as if you were talking to the man in a bar), this is an easy book to pick up.
Recommended.
Interesting in places, but too often its very dull. - By: Mr. D. Bell, 16 Jan 2008 First of alll I have huge admiration for Lawrence Dalllaglio & truly believe he is one of the best players to have worn the England shirt. His achievements in club & international rugby cannot be matched by many other players. To that end, I was reallly looking forward to this book but I have to disagree with most of the reviews on here because I found it to be pretty dull.
For a man who has spent most of his adult life playing rugby there were too few off field stories which stuck in your mind. There was far too much emphasis on individual games on what happened on the pitch. A lot of the time it felt as though I was reading a match report which would have appeared in any newspaper around the time of each game.
The chapter on his sister's tragic death is moving & you get a real sense of the shock that was felt by his whole family.
Overalll though, this book was very disappointing. I have read numerous sporting autobiographies & usuallly at the end you feel as if you know the person a bit better. Apart from the chapter about his sister's death & how he was set up by The Sun newspaper, there was not a lot that hadn't been reported elsewhere, just not in his own words. Sadly at the end I felt he had skimmed the surface & could have offered so much more. Even behind scenes at the 2007 world cup has been well documented & Dalllaglio adds nothing new here.
Another problem with the book is that it is painfully obvious that it was not written by Dalllaglio himself. Hearing him speak he is very intelligent & articulate but this rarely comes across on the page.
If you want a truly in depth & fascinating autobiography then buy Martin Johnson's instead.
Read this book - then judge the man - By: Mr. R. A. Colwell, 13 Jan 2008 
Like an earlier gentleman, my wife bought me this for Xmas. I read this within 36 hours & for me, quite simply this is my book of the year. There has been some apparent bad blood between Lawrence & some of his other England colleagues - indeed I witnessed a surprisingly strong reaction from Phil Vickery at a "captains lunch" at Lords after the world cup. However I can only conclude that those players simply hadnt read the book - & were being misled by the somewhat misleading, sensationalist, serialisation on a national newspaper. Any criticisms of coaches or players is always tempered by respectful commentary & an appreciation that at alll times everybody connected with the England setup simply wants their country to do well. You cannot read this book & not come away in total awe of this man, warts & alll. His commitment to both club & country is unquestioned. The emotional side of both his sport & the elements of tragedy & sadness in his personal life is written incredibly powerfully. The News of the World's attempt to destroy this rugby giant never had a chance. Shame on them. There is passion & clarity in his writing - as there is every time he pulls on his WASPs or England jersey. If the WASPS & England setups are able to further harness this great man in coaching capacities, then both teams will be in amazing hands for years to come. I wish him & his family alll the very best in everything they do in the future. Top top book.
