Interesting: My Autobiography Hardcover – 9 Apr 2015

Steve Davis was the king of snooker when I was a teenager (I even had his 8-bit computer game), and I held him with great esteem. To this day I will him on to go all the way in his matches, hoping for a glimpse of the old magic.But, if Jimmy White's autobiography was given the equivalent of an 18 movie rating then this autobiography would have had the equivalent of one below Frozen's classification by comparison.It is insightful into all things snooker: how he perfected his technique, grew in confidence through small tournaments, made the big time, that final with Dennis, and his ultimate dethroning as king of the Crucible.There's also a few good stories and nods to fellow past and present holders of the cue.But the drama away from the table is never truly revealed. There's nothing that will surprise you or take your breath away. If you were already a fan of Davis then the chances are you pretty much knew the score already (and scores feature heavily as we recount various matches).It's a good book, but it's not a particularly exhilarating read. Just... interesting.

Steve Davis was dubbed "snooker's finest mind" by that sport's ultimate authority, the encyclopediac Clive Everton. To which it might be added that on this evidence Lance Hardy may be one of sport's most talented ghost-writers. The ingenious rendering of Steve's voice by Lance provides excellent company in this thoroughly entertaining and dryly humorous biography.Okay there are no juicy revelations that chronicle the personal challenges and mistakes that every human being encounters in life. If you seek 'cuemen behaving badly' then White and Higgins ghost-stories are abundantly available. No, this book details a quite extraordinary life of dedication by the eternally enthusiastic potter. Snooker's big three are characterised by their differing obsessions. The greatest of them all, Hendry was obsessed by WINNING above all else, snooker happened to be the means of doing so. Eventually human error and anno domini frustrated this temporarily sustainable ambition. A sad face was the lasting result. O'Sullivan was always chasing absolute technical PERFECTION; his inevitable, human, fallibility accounts for his perpetual disappointment. A sometimes successful but ultimately unhappy player.Steve Davis, however, has been driven to pursue the longest of all professional snooker careers by an obsessive and undiminished FASCINATION for what the balls actually do with each other when steered around a 12 by 6, baized slate by a stick-wielding human. In this Steve has always been able to succeed: he can always visit his beloved game , hit the cueball and watch what happens. That's why Steve smiles more than the other two.The flavour of humour on offer here is distinctly out of fashion. Too many forms of modern laughter seem to be triggered by a base, arch, cynical, cruel and demeaning form of words. Here the smiles are stimulated by a droll and life-affirming commentary of the things that have happened to Steve ' on the way to the Crucible'.But there are serious passages too. This is not a 'no regrets'..... 'I did it my way' kind of blind insistence that the writer was always validated. As a responsible representative of snooker Steve goes to some lengths to apologise for his brief involvement with Thatcherite politics in 1983. Sprinkled through the book are perceptive and polite pen-portraits of all of the game's leading characters of the last 45 years. If you want to know all the sport's political perambulations see the afore-mentioned Clive Everton library.We are treated here to the sound of two highly intelligent men presented in a prose style which is very easy to read. Lance Hardy a thoughtful and talented sports writer. Steve Davis a brilliant thinker and a very nice man.

Really enjoyed this book and been a snooker lover and the same age as Steve I can remember a lot of the things he writes about. A great ambassador for the game and also the book is written with humour and compassion for a game he has dedicated his life to. Loved it.

I loved it. Written with humour. Who said Steve Davis has no sense of humour? It takes you from his humble beginnings through his meteoric rise to fame. I would have liked to have read a little about his personal life but he is a private person and obviously thought that was a step too far. A good read.

Bog standard chronological biog with some good humour about his fellow players. A few opinions here and there but if you're looking for controversy or want to read about his private life (girlfriends etc) you won't find it here. It's very clear Davis loves the game, the profession and earned a very good living out of it. Lots of lists and stats for geeky snooker fans like me. What is really interesting is I can quite easily access footage of most matches mentioned in his book on YouTube so that adds an extra dimension for the reader.

A book written from my era, its seems an honest look back at his career very funny in places and a good insight to how with the talent you can if willing turn it into a full time job. All the usual snooker players from that era are included, I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, well written and as he is now called "very interesting".

I always thought the Spitting Image puppet was a true resemblance of Steve Davis. Later in his snooker/pool career the true personality of Steve Davis came out. This is a honest write up of an 80s legend. At times he questions his own ability. For the younger readers he is the bloke in the jungle. Great read and very interesting

Really enjoyed this book. Well written about a interesting legend.