Product Description

On 5 April 2008, Timmy Murphy won the Grand National on the Comply Or Die. In this revised and updated edition of his acclaimed autobiography "Riding the Storm", Murphy tells the story of a man who pursued his dream and fulfilled it. Blessed with a rare talent for riding horses, he stumbled his way towards the very top of his profession. However, on 23 July 2002, it looked all over for him when the cell door closed behind him at Wormwood Scrubs. The years spent slowly carving out a career as a Jumps jockey had all been for nothing. All blown away in one moment of alcohol-induced madness. His account of his time inside is frighteningly stark - the regrets, the shame and the fear. He tells of starting all over again with nothing but his extraordinary talent intact. And he tells of the remarkable chain of events that led to him landing one of the top jobs in National Hunt racing, culminating in his convincing victory in the 2008 Grand National.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34352 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Sue Mott, Daily Telegraph, November 4, 2006
"searingly honest ... utterly outshines the banal ramblings of our
indigenous football population"

Daily Mail, November 9, 2006
"a remarkably candid autobiography"

The Independent, December 19, 2006
"Compelling parable of jockey who rode out the storm to find
redemption ... unmistakable authenticity."

Customer Reviews

BEST RACING AUTOBIOGRAPHY SO FAR
I read this book cover to cover in 48 hours, staying up well into early morning, thinking just one more chapter that turned into two then three... Its starts in the court room, then goes back into his early life to present day. Timmy writes honest about his life, about the good and the bad. my deepest sympathy for his first pony Bluebell, who Timmy practised races on ( Who Hasn't?!). Then to working in yards trying to get rides and his breaks, then the fall and the true account of prison. Up to recently i have thought that being an alcoholic would be hard and that people that are have choices. My reviewed opinion is that getting to be an alcoholic is very easy ( i often head for the pub, after a bad day at work ) and being sober is very hard. The autobiography is very good reading compared to Tony McCoy and Richard Johnson which are quite ordinary in comparison. I may even have a flutter on Timmy Murphy ride in the Grand National.

An impersonal account
Timmy is undoubtedly a very skilled jockey with a style of his own. Over the years he has given some horses splendid rides. What is disappointing about this book is how little he recalls of those horses, or the ones he gave terrible rides to. Whether his alcohol fuelled life erased the memories or he has chosen not to include them is not known. The book is well written, but lacks the personal touch, it is obviously ghosted. You cannot imagine Timmy actually saying much of what is written. I would have liked for more thoughts from the heart. In the end we still know very little about this man, and he does not come across as someone you could warm to. His finest and his lowest hours are dealt with in the same unfeeling manner. I was left thinking he still needs to do some growing up, something is missing - as it is in this account of his life, his demons and his resurrection. If you want to know about his humble beginnings, his family and his battle with drink then this will be a good read but you will find little of the horses he has ridden. This was surprising to me as judging by his riding I had thought he had more empathy with the animals themselves.

Disappointingly bland, given the scope
Having read Sue Mott's blurb..."searingly honest," and some of the customer reviews I was looking forward to a personal account of Murphy's rise, fall and redemption. I was sadly disappointed. Perhaps it's because the ghost writer hasn't managed to convey the highs and lows convincingly, but I was bored long before his conviction, and the whole 'oh woe is me' angle got right on my goat. I'm surprised he had so many friends left by the end because he must have been an almighty pain whilst he was on the sauce and the jail sentence seems inevitable in the end. Also, as with many autobiographies, who was the proof reader? They want sacking because the number of anomalies and repeating of anecdotes, sometimes within five pages is jarringly obvious to even the casual reader. The supposed high point of the re-issue, the Grand National winning ride is reduced to a trot through and any emotion is sucked out by the plodding prose. I think I was more excited watching at home, I had £30 on Comply Or Die to win! Only ever so slightly more interesting than AP McCoy's totally dull biog, and only recommended to people who know Murphy so they can check if he apologises to them in print.