Product Description

'The Power' is back. King of the oche and a legend in the game, Phil Taylor is largely responsible for taking darts into the 21st century. Recently crowned world champion for an unprecedented eleventh time, Taylor is a complete one-off -- the Tiger Woods of his sport -- and the most phenomenal player ever to throw a dart. Brought up in the back streets of the Potteries, where his Dad tried to turn him into a boxer, Taylor's first job saw him earning GBP75 a week in a factory making ceramic toilet handles -- and by the age of 25 he had hardly thrown a dart in anger. Then he attended an Eric Bristow darts exhibition, and the 'Crafty Cockney' became his mentor and friend and loaned him GBP10,000 to play the pro circuit. Within five years Taylor had won the first of his eleven world titles ...In his book, Taylor describes how Bristow coaxed, bullied, humiliated and often literally punched him into making it as a pro. He is candid about the booze culture of the game, while revisiting the memorable matches and recalling vivid stories featuring the likes of Bristow, Cliff Lazarenko (who once had 20 cans of lager before a match), John Lowe and the legendary Jocky Wilson. A dispute between the professional players and the British Darts Organisation in 1992 almost led to a dispirited Taylor giving up the game for good. And he retraces the worst six months of his life, during which time he was convicted of sexually assaulting two female fans and had his MBE rescinded. The pain for his family was hard to bear. This is a story of a man having to come to terms with unparalleled success in his professional life after a career setback that would have destroyed many others; a unique sportsman whose steely-eyed determination won him an unprecedented eleventh world title in 2004 in what many observers described as the best professional darts match in living memory.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #184873 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 387 pages

Review
'An extraordinary story' Telegraph

About the Author
Phil Taylor was born in Stoke-on-Trent in August 1960. He won his first world darts title in 1990, and has since amassed a further nine world championships and many other major titles around the globe. He is married with four children.Sid Waddell is the voice of darts. Born in Northumberland in 1940, he was educated at Cambridge University. Since then he has worked as a TV producer and director for Granada, and as a darts commentator for the BBC, and more recently, Sky Sports. Voted Sports Commentator of the Year in 2002, he lives with his wife and family in Pudsey, W Yorks. He has co-authored books with Jocky Wilson and John Lowe.

Customer Reviews

Top Drawer!!!
An enjoyable read full of interesting facts about Phil "The Power" Taylor who made history in the World of Darts. I found it thoroughly easy to read and was quite surprised with the background in which he grew up which explains why Phil Taylor is a hard worker.

The book captures the high's and the low's of his career. From starting off when Eric Bristow sponsoring him, winning his first World Championship, to his darkest hour when he was charged with assault and to present day. It is also interesting to learn about the dispute between the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation (what was formerly the WDC) and how it affected the lives of darts players on all sides.

Phil covers events from some legendary matches and there are some nice stories about some of the players also. We get the run up to his televised nine dart finish and also read about Team Taylor.

Overall you'll find yourself turning over the pages of this book with ease.

This man is a GENIUS!!!!
I am a big fan of Phil "The Power" Taylor and would recommend this book to any darts enthusiast, in the book taylor captures all the drama in his life right from winning his first world title through to his amazing 9 dart finish in blackpool.

He also tells of his darkest hour in which he was charged with assault and how it nearly tore his family appart and nearly drove him to suicide, but all in all this is a great read and you will not be able to put it down! happy reading.

The Greatest Player to ever throw darts
This book is great. In it, Phil 'The Power' Taylor tells all about his darts life. Taylor is without doubt, the best player in the world of darts today and all of how he won his ten World Titles and everything else is in this book. A must-buy for any fan of darts.