The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: 15 Jul 2011 05:03 AM PDT An Epic Swindle: 44 Months With A Pair Of Cowboys is important as the first record of the shameful original American invasion of Liverpool FC. The Liverpool Way is the fabled philosophy that directed the club to their sorry state in the last decade and into the soiled hands of Tom Hicks and George Gillett. As such, it is only appropriate that mythological Liverpool Way underlines Brian Reade's An Epic Swindle: 44 Months with A Pair of Cowboys. Reade is easily familiar to the prodigious Liverpool reader or cyber supporter: the Daily Mirror correspondent is a rabid Red as his 43 Years With The Same Bird: A Liverpudlian Love Affair autobiography clearly expounds. Reade's 2008 work begins with a preamble on his Bill Shankly interview, purportedly for his high school magazine, and ends with the formation of the Spirit of Shankly. An Epic Swindle takes the story forward and fills in the gaps between the period before Hicks and Gillett, with no little help from former chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry. It follows how the American owners persistently swung a wrecking ball into Anfield in the last three years and the events that led to their expulsion last October. It is clear that none of the main characters in the drama have had their reputations strengthened at the end of this bad episode. The antagonists overwhelm the protagonists – be they past and present players, board directors or shareholders – as Reade sets out to find out who should shoulder the blame for Liverpool FC. Eventually the villains, with the exceptions of Hicks and Gillett, are shown their benevolent side in an incomprehensible attempt to lobby sympathy, especially for Moores and Parry. Apart from Hicks and Gillett, these are the two individuals principally at fault for authoring the darkest chapter in Liverpool's history and they deserve none of the compassion that Reade strives to assign. While the author explores the pitiful business operations at the club – overseas supporters of the club know now why the online order procedure never worked – he omits to mention the poor financial acumen of Parry in finding the best deals for the club. Reade does not explore why Parry signed off that pathetic shirt sponsorship with Carlsberg days before the Americans took control of the club in February 2007. Chris Bascombe, then writing for the Liverpool Echo, trumpeted it as "a massive improvement on the disappointing £5mil over two years which was agreed (with Carlsberg) in 2004." In May 2006, Tottenham Hotspur, without a single European Cup Final to their name never mind a colossal global fan base, sealed a four-year agreement with Mansion that was worth £8.5mil per-season. Two points need to be observed here. That sloppy act was the probably the start of the war between Hicks and Parry, whom he never rated as an executive, and the local media's terrible reading of the entire takeover and its subsequent repercussions. Reade admits as much – that the duty to care was neglected by the journalists too – and was one of the compelling reasons that resulted in the supporters' rejection of the "occasional heroic of journalists" and the move to take the fight to the cyberspace. The club's followers, unlike the media and the people entrusted to protect their interests in the board, refused to let the leverage buyout raiders ride roughshod over the board's country bumpkins. And their battle to expel the co-owners from Anfield – reminiscent of the city's anti-Thatcher strikes in the mid-1980s and the unity that was engendered by the Hillsborough tragedy – makes up the inspiring highpoints of An Epic Swindle. The book would have been greatly enhanced with a recapture of this era, as there are similarities that cannot be missed. The isolation of Liverpool by the establishment; the apathy of the national media toward the their cause and the glorious rise of the refuseniks would have been vividly coloured with a helpful background of the Liverpool people. An Epic Swindle had too much ground to cover to present a wide-angle picture and, judging by the slapdash editing that is characterised by recurring phrases and the need to include such peculiar interview nuggets as Benitez's claim of "money going missing in the game and people being on the take … when they were so well-paid," the book had a tight deadline that had to be met. In the end, both writer and editor, if there was one, barely stumbled over the finishing line. The chapters that illustrate the fight back, last gasps of the shameful rule of Hicks and Gillett and the emotional abyss that makes up the aftermath are written with the fervour of a club loyalist. Once we look past this, however, we will value it for its arrival as the first important record of the original American invasion of Anfield. ·Kinokuniya KLCC is offering 20% off An Epic Swindle: 44 Months with A Pair of Cowboys and selected Liverpool FC-related books from now until July 31. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 15 Jul 2011 05:01 AM PDT DID you know you can vote via SMS in the Popular-The Star Readers' Choice Awards? In this fourth instalment of the only local literary award that rewards local authors as well as participating readers, registering your vote is as easy as texting from your phone. Choose your top three books from the lists below; that is, your top three fiction and top three non-fiction titles. If you are one of 100 readers whose ranking matches the overall vote, you will receive a RM50 gift voucher as well as a one-year-free-membership Popular card. And your favourite authors will be rewarded, too, with cash, trophies and certificates of recognition. If you haven't read all the books, check The Star Online's (thestar.com.my) 365-day archive for the introduction of this year's fiction and non-fiction nominees. You can also go to popular.com.my to find out more about the books. And if you want to buy them, you can get a 20% discount on the 20 titles at any Popular or Harris bookstore until Oct 2, 2011. To vote via your phone, note that RCAF is the SMS code for fiction and RCAN is the code for non-fiction. Once you've decided on your choice, type RCAF Here's an example of what your text message should look like: RCAF 123456011234 ABC Reading enriches the mind, heart and soul and can bring people, families and nations together. (Note that each SMS will cost RM0.30; terms and conditions apply.) Apart from SMS voting, you can also vote online at thestar.com.my (keep refreshing your screen until you see the ad for the contest). Also, look out for entry forms in Star2 On Sunday's Reads pages that you can mail in. Entry forms are also available at all Popular and Harris bookstores nationwide and can be downloaded from popular.com.my and bookfestmalaysia.com. The deadline for entries is July 17, 2011. Fiction (SMS code: RCAF) 1. Rojak: Bite-Sized Stories by Amir Muhammad (SMS code: A) 2. Madness Aboard! by Yvonne Lee (SMS code: B) 3. The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka (SMS code: C) 4. Kebaya Tales by Lee Su Kim (SMS code: D) 5. Orang Asli Animal Tales by Lim Boo Liat (SMS code: E) 6. The Embrace Of Harlots by David T. K. Wong (SMS code: F) 7. A Bit Of Earth by Lim Suchen (SMS code: G) 8. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul by Shamini Flint (SMS code: H) 9. Sweet Offerings by Chan Ling Yap (SMS code: I) 10. Under The Sun by O Thiam Chin (SMS code: J) Non-fiction (SMS code: RCAN) 1. Lim Lian Geok: Soul Of The Malaysian Chinese by Dr Kua Kia Soong (SMS code: A) 2. Moving Forward: Malays For The 21st Century by Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (SMS code: B) 3. The Man From Borneo: An Autobiography by Brother Michael Jacques (SMS code: C) 4. From Poor Migrant To Millionaire by Chan King Nui (SMS code: D) 5. Islam In Malaysia: Perceptions And Facts by Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (SMS code: E) 6. Katz Tales: Living Under The Velvet Paw by Ellen Whyte (SMS code: F) 7. Behind That Shiny Resume by Jasmine Yow (SMS code: G) 8. Syed Hussein Alatas: The Life In The Writing by Masturah Alatas (SMS code: H) 9. The Quran And I by Anas Zubedy (SMS code: I) 10. Footprints In The Paddy Fields by Tina Kisil (SMS code: J) Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 15 Jul 2011 04:59 AM PDT Have your fill of the Harry Potter saga in the latest issue of Galaxie, which comes with a two-page cover too. IT is hard to believe but the popular Harry Potter series has come to an end. After 10 years, the franchise culminates with the release of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays the wizard with the thunder-bolt scar on his forehead, is forever grateful to the franchise for making him one of the most recognisable actors in the world – not to mention one of the richest young stars in England. Galaxie was invited to meet Radcliffe for the final time (in the Harry Potter capacity at least) in London to talk about the final instalment of the Harry Potter series of films, which is based on the second half of the seventh book by J.K. Rowling. He let us in on a juicy gossip – when filming wrapped up for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Radcliffe pocketed two pairs of Harry Potter's famous glasses – one from the last movie, and the other, from the first movie. "They seem tiny now," Radcliffe reminisced about the glasses he wore a decade ago in Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone. But the 22-year-old actor knows that he will take away more than just movie memorabilia from his stint in the Harry Potter franchise. He is happy to have worked with some of the best actors the British film industry has to offer – from Maggie Smith (Professor McGonagall) to Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) – as well as made lifetime friendships with co-stars Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger). The final day of shooting was a tad hard on Radcliffe. "It was a very emotional day," he remembered. "Not because I was thinking, 'Oh God, what am I going to do now?' but more about how much I am going to miss the experience." He also knows the end of the Harry Potter series will hit hard on the million of fans who have followed the adventures of the boy wizard. "I know it is going to be odd for people when Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 winds up, so I do feel their pain in advance for them," the affable actor said. He assured fans that the Potter's final journey is one not to be missed. "I felt the pressure of making this film more than I have ever had on the other films because it is the last one. We definitely recognised the responsibility to the fans to make it right." Read Galaxie's exclusive cover story on Harry Potter, featuring special photo shoot of cast members – Radcliffe, Grint, Watson and Tom Felton (who plays bad boy Draco Malfoy). To celebrate the end of a magical era that is Harry Potter, Galaxie presents a special collector's edition two-page cover inside the magazine. Apart from wizards, Galaxie's July 17-31 issue, out on newsstands now, also features interviews with David Archuleta, who is scheduled to perform in a concert in Kuala Lumpur on July 26, as well as Cory Monteith and Leighton Meester who can be seen in the comedy Monte Carlo. Homegrown talent Yuna took some time off her busy schedule to talk about her collaboration with Pharrell Williams and how she's getting used to people staring at her all the time in public. On the gossip front, find out if Edison Chen is the reason behind the break-up between Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse; why Selena Gomez refuses to don on bikinis and why some filmmakers are furious with Aishwarya Rai's pregnancy! Voted Entertainment Magazine of the year, Galaxie is published fortnightly by The Star Publications (M) Bhd. For a daily dose of gossip and entertainment news, head to www.galaxieblog.com.my or follow us on Twitter (@galaxiemag) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/GalaxieMagazine). – Gordon Kho Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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