Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108704 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 298 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jimmy White has been beaten six times in the final of the snooker world championship and on at least two of those occasions it was easier for him to have won than lost. But at the death White always managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory. It is now likely he will be remembered only as the people's champion but he isn't complaining. White has made a fortune and then lost a good chunk of it, mostly through gambling. He's been in trouble with the law, had his share of tabloid exposes and pushed his marriage to the edge of collapse. But if one thing comes out of this sparky autobiography it is that White is a chancer and he will always keep going.

Behind the White Ball starts with an illiterate teenager getting both a street education and an income hustling in a south London snooker hall and ends with an older, a bit wiser, and literate man still making a living from his cue. But in between there is all the mayhem you could ask for; escaping irate locals after taking the money off the customers in a Liverpool snooker hall; fetching up a bit too often for his wife's peace of mind at Ronnie Wood's place--"although when I hang out with The Stones I end up making the tea"--and, bizarrely, attending Chelsea matches with Peter Cook. Whirlwind stuff indeed. --Nick Wroe

Synopsis
Aged 16, White was the youngest snooker player to win the English Amateur Championship. By 1984 he was a professional success, and married but not settled. He has survived a life of gambling, women, and marathon binges with showbiz friends, to tell in candid detail the story of his own life.

From the Publisher
One of snooker's most poluar heroes. Story of a life lived on the edge - of triumph and despair, illness, bankruptcy and success.

Customer Reviews

Fitting tale of a legend
As I write this, I have been a follower of snooker for the past fifteen years. The reason for this is quite simply I fell in awe of Jimmy White's game and his unfaillingly humble attitude. So I obviously looked forward to reading his story. And I was not disappointed, this is a brilliant account of Jimmy's raucous life. There are some lovely anecdotes about his drunken exploits, there are also some rather sinister tales that take place in dodgy snooker halls.

As noted by other reviewers, Jimmy doesn't fill the book with snooker stories this book's tales focus more on Jimmy's behaviour away from the baize. We are told of Jimmy's truanting as a child as well as misadventures such as two week "escapes" to Ireland. However Jimmy, at times, does not paint a good picture of himself. At times his treatment of his wife Maureen seems irresponsible to say the least, although as his life progressed this behaviour did abate a little.

So, all things considered, this is a very enjoyable read and a must for Jimmy White's legions of fans. And I would also recommend this even to non-snooker fans. Excellent!

Restless Soul
Having had a modest interest in the career ups and downs of the truly exceptional talent that is/was Jimmy White, I had been really looking forward to reading this book. So when I spotted it in the local library I felt compelled to read it. And having done so, I can't help feeling disappointed, not so much with the book but with White himself.

White always gave the impression of being a maverick and his very candid and open account of his life does nothing to counteract this. With stories about going AWOL from school, to hustling money on the underground circuit and no-end of shenanigans with friends and other snooker stars - notably Alex Higgins, White has certainly led a full life. And perhaps this is the issue, for I felt that the cheeky Cockney took the partying a step too far.

Some of his recollections are doubtless amusing, but to continually read that he has gone on alcohol-fuelled benders for days and weeks at a time leaving his long-suffering partner home alone with the kids, strikes me as nothing short of irresponsible. A handful of times you could forgive, but this seems to have been a constant theme throughout his life and his selfishness can surely not have benefitted his young kids.

I can confidently still say that I admire him tremendously for his ability on a snooker table, but unfortunately I can not say the same of him as a father or as a person.

Behind the black ball
Behind the White Ball is a great autobiography but it is too short. And that is meant as a compliment. The life story of Jimmy White is so unbelievable that one could easily write a book twice as long as this one. There is not much snooker in it. No endless tales of all the great matches The Whirlwind has played throughout his magnificent carreer. Jimmy has always been a modest lad - and he still is. Even his most memorable moment - the infamous black ball of the 1994 Crucible Finale - is only mentioned in a few lines. And yet that black ball is what Jimmy's life was and is all about. Jimmy will go into snooker history as the best player who has never won the World Title. Maybe he should have changed the title of his biography. Behind the Black ball says it all. This biography is unbelievable, hilarious, funny and in more than one occasion very moving.
It is a must read for every snooker fan with a heart.

Diederik van Vleuten, The Netherlands