Product Description

To date, Steve Redgrave has won a record-breaking four Olympic gold medals and eight world championships for his spectacular rowing achievements, and is consequently regarded with awe by rivals, crew-mates and top sportsmen alike. Now, at the age of 38, Steve is bidding to win an unprecedented fifth gold medal at Sydney. Win or lose, it will mark the end of a remarkable twenty-three year long career. The autobiography that marks the end of this career will discuss Redgrave's partnerships with Matthew Pinsent and first partner Andy Holmes, with whom he had a tense relationship. He will talk about the difficulty of maintaining a balanced family life when work is always a priority, and his attitude to his honeymoon was concern at its disruption to his training schedule. Redgrave will also describe about the strain of battling against the odds with the debilitating diseases of both colitis and diabetes. This honest autobiography promises to be a fascinating insight into the lifestyle and history of one of Britain's most motivated and successful sportsmen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21820 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review

It is said that the Olympic Games is not about winning but taking part. Perhaps for some. I prefer another maxim--the one that someone used before Atlanta: "If you're not here to win, you're a tourist."

Completed in the run-up to Sydney 2000--where he crowned an already remarkable career with a record-breaking Gold in the coxless fours--A Golden Age is Steve Redgrave's account of a life spent exercising a will to win.

As you might expect--given Redgrave's renowned enthusiasm for stifling the hyperbole of gushing reporters--Britain's greatest Olympian doesn't bother to linger long in celebration, choosing instead to chronicle the realities of a 25-year obsession with exploring his physical and mental limits.

But by focusing on the lifetime behind those few minutes of glory every four years, and measuring the true cost of success--his struggles with diabetes and colitis, and the wall he recognises he has built between himself and his young family--Redgrave leaves the reader with no doubts as to the enormity of his achievement.

A frank critic of himself, Redgrave's assessments of the strengths and shortcomings of his rowing partners--most famously, Matthew Pinsent and Andy Holmes--and accounts of the behind-the-scenes drama of top-flight competition, are equally clear-sighted and revealing.

Olympic Gold in endurance events at five consecutive Games is a unique achievement, and A Golden Age is an engrossing self-study by the man who made it happen.Alex Hankin

Customer Reviews

Steve Redgrave: A Golden Age - The Autobiography
After a Christmas of rowing biographies (Tim Foster, Matthew Pinsent included) this was the last of the three I read. What a disappointment. Supposedly an autobiography; it was in fact a poor biography of a great sportsman, badly written in the first person, by someone who didn't appreciate the task he'd been given. Half the text should have been binned and the remainder supplemented by something that at least tried to get below the surface of a unique individual. If there are any decent writers out there who fancy the task then please step forward and do justice to a national hero who deserved better. If you want to experience how it could have been try Martin Cross's "Olympic Obsession" and really experience what it means to be a winner at this level warts and all.

Undoubtedly a legend on the water, how about off it?
More of a legend than a man, at least that is the way Steven Redgrave has long been portrayed in the media. At last, the long-awaited autobiography gives us mere mortals an insight into what makes the world's greatest ever oarsman tick.

Perhaps unsurprisingly and not unlike its subject, the book is almost entirely focussed on rowing. For me, as a rowing fan, that did not prove a problem, but for those with less interest in the nuts and bolts of the sport, A Golden Age may prove to require more dedication than an hour on a rowing machine. I, for one, was fascinated to read of Redgrave's rapid ascent from paddling on the river with friends in order to skive school to going on to become the leading oarsman in this country and then the world.

The small insights we are given into Redgrave's private life show that achieving his sporting status has required more sacrifices than most of us would make in a lifetime. Perhaps that is understating it. The book deals in depth with all the problems that we have heard about in the press such as Redgrave's battles with Colitis and, more recently, Diabetes. It is an unbelievable testament to the man's courage and force of will that he insisted on carrying on even when, as a result of his illnesses, he was training harder and, in terms of assessments, achieving less.

It also gives an interesting perspective of the personality of the man. The lasting impression I have taken from the book is that it should be his put-upon wife, Ann, who should receive something by way of the honours list this year. Fingers' crossed!

Definitely worth a read although don't be expecting any major revelations. There is touching intimacy in parts although for the most part, Redgrave concentrates on listing events that happened rather than how he felt about them. Perhaps, the typical lack of gushing emotion (he acknowledges that he does feel great emotion at times but he may be better than the rest of us at controlling it) is necessary to maintain his aura of invincibility.

I am quietly confident that, before too very long, there will be an updated version of the autobiography with a chapter on Sydney 2000. I couldn't wait to read the book to learn a bit more about one of my idols. I was not disappointed and so am sure that I will be buying version II as well! If you have any interest in rowing or if the Sydney Olympics have sparked an interest in how all of these amateur athletes dedicate their lives to their sports, this book is for you.

Absolutely Brilliant - shows how this man really got 5 Golds
As a ex-rowing enthuasiast I became completely entralled by this book. After having already met Steve I knew what kind of a guy he is but this book was really interesting to see what is exactly behind this man. A very good read for other aspiring athlethes to know what exactly it takes to take there (even once !). Like other fellow reviewists I was surprised with his harshness to some of his "Friends" etc. but liked the sheer honesty. A little dissappointing that it did not include more of this years truimph.I still insist on giving it 5 stars probably because I have been a huge fan for such a long time !