WINNER OF ‘BOOKIE PRIZE’ REVEALED
Former England and British Lions rugby union hooker Brian Moore today received the greatest honour in sports writing, after his gritty and revelatory autobiography Beware of the Dog: Rugby’s Hardman Reveals All was announced as the winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2010.
Published earlier this year to widespread acclaim and media attention, Beware of the Dog presents an unparalleled insight into the mind of one of rugby’s most successful and controversial characters, in his own words. Praised by the judging panel for its honesty and candour, Beware of the Dog charts the life of one of rugby’s toughest players: from his early days as the much-loved but wayward adopted son of a Methodist family and the shocking revelations of sexual abuse, disclosed for the first time, to the extraordinary highs and lows he experienced during a rugby career in which he won 64 caps. Brian Moore played in three World Cups, won three Grand Slams (1991, 1992 and 1995), went on two British Lions tours and in 1991 was voted Rugby World Player of the Year.
Since retiring from rugby, he has become an uncompromising commentator on sport, broadcasting for the BBC and writing for The Daily Telegraph, for which he was nominated for Sports Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards in 2009.
William Hill spokesman and co-founder of the prize, Graham Sharpe, said: “As a trained solicitor and a lover of opera, fine wine and Shakespeare, Brian Moore is no ordinary sportsman. So it follows that this is no ordinary book. Candid and rigorous, it’s a uniquely engaging book and a fascinating exploration of what lies beneath the tough exterior of one of England’s greatest rugby players”.
Waterstone’s Sports Buyer, Joe Browes, said:
"For a memoir to lift itself above the rest, the author must give something of themselves to the writing, as Marcus Trescothick did when he won the William Hill Award. Moore displays the same raw honesty that made Trescothick's book so memorable and he thoroughly deserves this prize, and the great sales that will come with it."
Winner of the 2011 British Sports Book of the Year Best Autobiography.
In winning this award, as well as the William Hill award, Beware of the Dog achieved the very rare feat of winning the two most prestigious awards in sports writing.
The Thoughts of Chairman Moore - The Wit and Widsom of Brian Moore
In this controversial, funny and forthright collection of thoughts and writings, Brian Moore sets the world to rights in his own inimitable fashion. Ranging from the problems with the England rugby team today to the 'soap opera' that is the FA, the feeble state of British tennis and the threats posed by corruption and drug-taking, Brian shares his unique insights and not-so-unique frustrations about the world of sport and beyond.
The Thoughts of Chairman Moore is an engaging and outspoken collection of articles from one of our most admired commentators.Paperback edition is available in June 2011
The Thoughts of Chairman Moore Vol. II - hardback edition will be released in November 2011Description
Pitbull is back and angrier than ever, with another collection of hilariously well-observed and rambunctiously argued grievances about the mad world of sport and beyond.
Following the success of The Thoughts of Chairman Moore, Volume I, you might have hoped that sport's powers that be would have sat up and taken notice of its many faults and flaws. But alas no, lunacy prevails and so Brian has taken it upon himself to put forward another collection of his unique insights and not-so-unique frustrations.
Uproariously funny and spot-on in its every complaint, Volume II is required reading for anyone who can't live without sport but who also can't help but wonder at its unbridled idiocy!
The Thoughts of Chairman Moore Vol. II - hardback edition will be released in November 2011
