He offers technical analysis of the complexity of what Warne did, against a background of the whole history of spin bowling. Gideon gives a detailed description of the mechanics of Warne's leg-spin and the variations he employed. The chapter on Warne's art - just how he bowled - is a tour de force. It's a portrait in depth, navigating between the image or images of Warne, the reality, and what grew into a popular sporting myth it moves back and forward between these to check them against one another, the whole being informed by an immensely detailed knowledge of Warne himself and the game of cricket, both past and present, as well as by a perception of human affairs that is consistently thoughtful, wide-ranging and nuanced. It is, rather, a portrait of the man in five chapters, each of which explores an aspect of his career and personality. On Warne doesn't have the form of a conventional cricketer biography. It's a stunning achievement - not only the best book I've read on an individual cricketer, but one I would place among the finest books about cricket ever written, and period. I've just read Gideon Haigh's book on Shane Warne.
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