The Voice of Rugby: My Autobiography - Softcover
Bill McLaren writes poignantly about his entire life, focusing on his 50 years as chief rugby commentator for the BBC. Included are fascinating personal memories from his childhood (he was hospitalized with TB), and harrowing wartime experiences.
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About the Author:
Bill McLaren was born in Hawick in 1923. He was on the verge of a full international cap when he contracted tuberculosis and spent nineteen months in a sanitarium. It was through his junior reporting with the Hawick Express tha the launched himself into a career of commentary, making his national debut for BBC Radio in 1953. The switch to television came six years later. Recognition of his services came in November 2001 when he became the first non-international to be inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.
Review:
"The familiar rugby stories are still there but the haunting chapters on the bloodiest of wars, his fight for life against TB, the last-ditch arrival of a miracle cure and the death of his beloved daughter Janie, constitute largely unchartered and painful territory - at least emotionally and in public - for the most private of men" -- Daily Telegraph "It has plenty about the rugby world and his inherent sense of fairness but, even more pertinently, about the real, sometimes apocalyptic, world" -- Sunday Herald "He has a remarkable story to tell ... it is in turn heart-warming and heart-rending. Bill McLaren was and is a one-off. So is his book" -- Yorkshire Post "Bill McLaren, the legendary commentator, may have hung up his microphone, but moving words still flow" * Daily Telegraph *
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- PublisherBantam Press
- Publication date2005
- ISBN 10 055381558X
- ISBN 13 9780553815580
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages359
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My Autobiography
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Transworld 2005-11-01, London
(2005)
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ISBN 13: 9780553815580
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My Autobiography (Paperback)
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Bill McLaren talks poignantly about his entire life, focusing on his 50 years as chief rugby commentator for the BBC.Just before the start of the 2002 Wales v Scotland match in Cardiff, the stadium announcer asked people to stand and acknowledge Bill McLaren's great contribution to the sport. The whole ground rose, leaving McLaren choking back the tears. Then came a voice in his ear- 'Cue, Bill.'Coping with his emotions on that day was obviously not straightforward, even for a commentator of Bill McLaren's experience, used to being caught up in some of the most dramatic moments rugby has ever seen. But Bill also talks frankly about the greatest tragedy of his life- the death of his younger daughter from cancer at 46, the three years of agony and the trauma of her final day. Bill wanted to stay at her bedside but she insisted he go and carry out a commentating duty in Edinburgh on the Saturday afternoon. He did so, rushed back to the hospital, but she had died that afternoon while he was on air.McLaren, himself, had almost died of TB in his youth and he tells of the days and nights when he hid under the sheets in bed at the Scottish hospital where he was kept for 19 months, 'crying myself to sleep each night as they took away my friends who had died that day. I was certain I would be next'. He has excellent memories of his war years and delves deep to recall some harrowing times as a forward observation spotter when he came within inches of being killed by a German sniper. Later, he also remembers leading his men one day into a small northern Italian town where they discovered 1500 corpses piled up in the square. 'That was the day I became a man, rather quickly,' he says. He was 21.As well reliving the highlights of his illustrious career as a commentator, Bill talks of the game today and his regrets that rugby went professional. He is a fierce critic of what this has led to and fears for the future health and safety of rugby players because he regards the modern game as dangerously physical. His story amounts to a history of the game itself and reaffirms McLaren's status as something of a global treasure. McLaren, himself, had almost died of TB in his youth and he tells of the days and nights when he hid under the sheets in bed at the Scottish hospital where he was kept for 19 months, 'crying myself to sleep each night as they took away my friends who had died that day. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780553815580
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The Voice of Rugby: My Autobiography
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(2005)
ISBN 10: 055381558X
ISBN 13: 9780553815580
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Book Description Condition: New. Reliving the highlights of his illustrious career as a commentator, Bill McLaren talks about rugby and his regrets that rugby has gone professional. He is a fierce critic of what this has led to, and fears for the future health and safety of rugby players, because he regards the modern game as dangerously physical. Num Pages: 400 pages, col. Illustrations, ports. (chiefly col.). BIC Classification: BGSA; WSJF. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 129 x 25. Weight in Grams: 286. . 2005. Reprint. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780553815580
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Book Description Condition: New. Reliving the highlights of his illustrious career as a commentator, Bill McLaren talks about rugby and his regrets that rugby has gone professional. He is a fierce critic of what this has led to, and fears for the future health and safety of rugby players, because he regards the modern game as dangerously physical. Num Pages: 400 pages, col. Illustrations, ports. (chiefly col.). BIC Classification: BGSA; WSJF. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 198 x 129 x 25. Weight in Grams: 286. . 2005. Reprint. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780553815580
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My Autobiography: The Voice of Rugby
Published by
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(2005)
ISBN 10: 055381558X
ISBN 13: 9780553815580
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My Autobiography (Paperback)
Published by
Transworld Publishers Ltd, London
(2005)
ISBN 10: 055381558X
ISBN 13: 9780553815580
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Bill McLaren talks poignantly about his entire life, focusing on his 50 years as chief rugby commentator for the BBC.Just before the start of the 2002 Wales v Scotland match in Cardiff, the stadium announcer asked people to stand and acknowledge Bill McLaren's great contribution to the sport. The whole ground rose, leaving McLaren choking back the tears. Then came a voice in his ear- 'Cue, Bill.'Coping with his emotions on that day was obviously not straightforward, even for a commentator of Bill McLaren's experience, used to being caught up in some of the most dramatic moments rugby has ever seen. But Bill also talks frankly about the greatest tragedy of his life- the death of his younger daughter from cancer at 46, the three years of agony and the trauma of her final day. Bill wanted to stay at her bedside but she insisted he go and carry out a commentating duty in Edinburgh on the Saturday afternoon. He did so, rushed back to the hospital, but she had died that afternoon while he was on air.McLaren, himself, had almost died of TB in his youth and he tells of the days and nights when he hid under the sheets in bed at the Scottish hospital where he was kept for 19 months, 'crying myself to sleep each night as they took away my friends who had died that day. I was certain I would be next'. He has excellent memories of his war years and delves deep to recall some harrowing times as a forward observation spotter when he came within inches of being killed by a German sniper. Later, he also remembers leading his men one day into a small northern Italian town where they discovered 1500 corpses piled up in the square. 'That was the day I became a man, rather quickly,' he says. He was 21.As well reliving the highlights of his illustrious career as a commentator, Bill talks of the game today and his regrets that rugby went professional. He is a fierce critic of what this has led to and fears for the future health and safety of rugby players because he regards the modern game as dangerously physical. His story amounts to a history of the game itself and reaffirms McLaren's status as something of a global treasure. McLaren, himself, had almost died of TB in his youth and he tells of the days and nights when he hid under the sheets in bed at the Scottish hospital where he was kept for 19 months, 'crying myself to sleep each night as they took away my friends who had died that day. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780553815580
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My Autobiography (Paperback)
Published by
Transworld Publishers Ltd, London
(2005)
ISBN 10: 055381558X
ISBN 13: 9780553815580
New
Paperback
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Bill McLaren talks poignantly about his entire life, focusing on his 50 years as chief rugby commentator for the BBC.Just before the start of the 2002 Wales v Scotland match in Cardiff, the stadium announcer asked people to stand and acknowledge Bill McLaren's great contribution to the sport. The whole ground rose, leaving McLaren choking back the tears. Then came a voice in his ear- 'Cue, Bill.'Coping with his emotions on that day was obviously not straightforward, even for a commentator of Bill McLaren's experience, used to being caught up in some of the most dramatic moments rugby has ever seen. But Bill also talks frankly about the greatest tragedy of his life- the death of his younger daughter from cancer at 46, the three years of agony and the trauma of her final day. Bill wanted to stay at her bedside but she insisted he go and carry out a commentating duty in Edinburgh on the Saturday afternoon. He did so, rushed back to the hospital, but she had died that afternoon while he was on air.McLaren, himself, had almost died of TB in his youth and he tells of the days and nights when he hid under the sheets in bed at the Scottish hospital where he was kept for 19 months, 'crying myself to sleep each night as they took away my friends who had died that day. I was certain I would be next'. He has excellent memories of his war years and delves deep to recall some harrowing times as a forward observation spotter when he came within inches of being killed by a German sniper. Later, he also remembers leading his men one day into a small northern Italian town where they discovered 1500 corpses piled up in the square. 'That was the day I became a man, rather quickly,' he says. He was 21.As well reliving the highlights of his illustrious career as a commentator, Bill talks of the game today and his regrets that rugby went professional. He is a fierce critic of what this has led to and fears for the future health and safety of rugby players because he regards the modern game as dangerously physical. His story amounts to a history of the game itself and reaffirms McLaren's status as something of a global treasure. McLaren, himself, had almost died of TB in his youth and he tells of the days and nights when he hid under the sheets in bed at the Scottish hospital where he was kept for 19 months, 'crying myself to sleep each night as they took away my friends who had died that day. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780553815580
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