A good journalistic friend of mine has just had his first book published, and I think it's going to be a truly hysterical read for anyone even remotely interested in sport or the strange world of sports journalism (with which I have a passing acquaintance!). Chris Davies, formerly of the Daily Telegraph, is the scribe in question, and his book is Behind The Back Page, The Adventures of a Sports Reporter. It will be out next week at Waterstones (and others) and you can see more about it here:
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6102633
The synopsis is also funny, and, having had a 'sneak preview' of some of it a couple of years ago, I will definitely be in the queue for a copy!
"The life of a roving sports reporter is one to which most men and quite a lot of women aspire. Surely it would be full of glitz and glamour, packed with boozy nights on the road and hob-nobbing with the stars. Wouldn't it? Only partly. In "Behind The Back Page" award-winning sports writer Christopher Davies, veteran of the "Daily Telegraph" for over 30 years, tells the hilarious and sometimes poignant stories of his 40 years in the business following international sports as varied as football to croquet to the Super Bowl in places as varied as Washington DC, Malaysia, Colombia, Japan, Portugal, Argentina, New York, Nigeria and Albania, where local customs and world events such as 9/11 often cross his path. He has hob-nobbed with the best, including David Beckham, Andy Gray, Roy Keane, Baddiel and Skinner, Barry Davies, Jack Charlton and, er, Graham Poll. But he has also been pickpocketed by Colombian drug barons, offered a man's wife for the night in return for an exclusive on a story, mistaken for Christ, learned to Shag in New Orleans, and spied on by the KGB. His hilarious memoirs make fascinating reading for anyone with a passing interest in sport of any kind or the reality of being a sports writer."
PS: Check out the cover and tell me if you think he looks like Kenny from South Park!!
http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/displayProductDetails.do?sku=6102633
The synopsis is also funny, and, having had a 'sneak preview' of some of it a couple of years ago, I will definitely be in the queue for a copy!
"The life of a roving sports reporter is one to which most men and quite a lot of women aspire. Surely it would be full of glitz and glamour, packed with boozy nights on the road and hob-nobbing with the stars. Wouldn't it? Only partly. In "Behind The Back Page" award-winning sports writer Christopher Davies, veteran of the "Daily Telegraph" for over 30 years, tells the hilarious and sometimes poignant stories of his 40 years in the business following international sports as varied as football to croquet to the Super Bowl in places as varied as Washington DC, Malaysia, Colombia, Japan, Portugal, Argentina, New York, Nigeria and Albania, where local customs and world events such as 9/11 often cross his path. He has hob-nobbed with the best, including David Beckham, Andy Gray, Roy Keane, Baddiel and Skinner, Barry Davies, Jack Charlton and, er, Graham Poll. But he has also been pickpocketed by Colombian drug barons, offered a man's wife for the night in return for an exclusive on a story, mistaken for Christ, learned to Shag in New Orleans, and spied on by the KGB. His hilarious memoirs make fascinating reading for anyone with a passing interest in sport of any kind or the reality of being a sports writer."
PS: Check out the cover and tell me if you think he looks like Kenny from South Park!!
