My Story Paperback – October 1, 2016

Overall, this is a good fun read. Gerrard tells a good story inside the life of a world class footballer at a top club such as Liverpool. He talks about the pressure, the expectation, the emotions, and the behind the scenes of some of the most exciting football matches.The only downside it that it focuses a bit too much in the season when Luis Suarez stayed at Liverpool and they were pushing for the Premier League title. Then in Gerrard's last season. I would have loved to hear a bit more about his England debut, other epic matches (Germany 1-5 England), Istanbul 2005, West Ham FA Cup final.But it was a good book

Five stars for the player and the subject matter. Three and a bit for the ghost writer, who is apparently an Arsenal supporter.There are a couple of inexplicable errors. For example, in the section on the World Cup Group, Costa Rica is described as a “tiny island.” Of course, it’s not an island at all. It’s located on the Central American isthmus, between Nicaragua and Panama, as one look at Google Maps could have told the author.Certain sections describing famous passages of play read as though the author has simply watched the clips on Youtube and attempted to describe them. He even includes sections of the television commentary. Even then, there are odd ambiguities. For example, in describing Gerrard’s famous goal against Olympiakos there is the following passage: “it was about to bounce again when, running at speed, I hit it on the half volley.” Isn’t a half volley hit right after the bounce when the ball is rising, as in tennis or cricket? Is this described as a half volley because the ball had already bounced, even though the ball was apparently coming down and thus was hit like a volley? Admittedly, this is a pedantic criticism, although Gerrard’s famous second goal in the 2006 FA Cup Final when the ball bounced twice is simply described as “I caught it on the rise.” Perhaps this goal then might have better been described as a true half volley in all senses of the term? It was certainly one of the greatest goals in history, but after watching it, it’s unclear to me whether it was, in fact, struck “on the rise.”More importantly, I found the tone to be slightly ill-judged. Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I don’t see the need to include profanity, especially when many kids will likely read the book. It’s been while since I read the 2007 book, but my recollection of the difference can be summed up in contrasting anecdotes. The story in the earlier book about the garden fork and Gerrard’s toe was genuinely dramatic. The story in this book about Gerrard getting cut in a sensitive area away at Bournemouth and the playing the derby game with four stitches was overdone.It must have been a little tricky ghost writing a Gerrard autobiography when the previous version came out in 2007, after what he identifies as the two main peaks of his career had already passed: Istanbul 2005, and Cardiff 2006. Nevertheless, I think a better version could have been written. There are bits of the previous autobiography reheated, such as the passage about Basel 2002, Gerard Houllier, and his parents’ divorce. However, I suppose including this in order to compare and contrast with Basel 2014 is fine. There are also strange omissions. For example, there is nothing about Gerrard's second half hat trick as a substitute against Napoli in the Europa League in November 2010.There are also some good chapters. The section on injuries and surgeries is painful to read, not because of the writing, but because the gruesome detail. The section about Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist, the theory of the inner chimp, and Gerrard’s thirty-eight seconds of crazy genius and madness in his last game against Manchester United, is also an entertaining read. It was interesting to read about him heading to Monaco with his wife right after the slip against Chelsea during the tilt at the title, and to Dubai with the players after the extended retirement celebrations, and the calamity at Stoke. For me, the slip and the flight to Monaco only served to make a hero more human. I don’t blame Gerrard one iota for taking his family to Los Angeles to have a break from all the attention and pressure he has to put up with on Merseyside, and the abuse he gets from jealous rival fans.The book ends with a line that Gerrard’s dad often said to him when he was a child: “This is where it starts. Everything you’ve done before this has gone.” As Gerrard’s career continues in Los Angeles, and as he completes his coaching qualifications, I am sure there will be very many more entertaining chapters ahead.

It’s a book that every soccer fan should read.

This is a must read for Liverpool fans on their greatest player ever. A lot of events that we're familiar with or curious about are narrated first hand: the Suarez/Torres transfer, the UCL/FA cup finals, his temptations to leave for Chelsea , his relationships with the managers and his deep love for the club. This is an emotionally charged book from someone who loves football and someone who loves playing football for both his club and country. He mentions that the 4 best players he has played with are Suarez, Torres, Alonso and Rooney, and shares a lot of content about Brendan Rogers, Suarez and Alonso in particular about their characters and how much he admires them.

Absolutely amazing! I received it two days ago and I love it! My day never passes away without reading it.The book has everything.The reader will enjoy every piece of it and believe me who ever buys this book will experience the most incredible moments of Steven Gerrard's life!

I enjoyed hearing Gerrard's accounts of the highs and lows of his career. Some aspects were repetitive but overall it was ok.

This guy is a lot more interesting than he probably has come across on the surface . The book gives a lot of insight into the pressures of a player at a high level and of his role in Liverpool in particular. Of course is mostly focused on the soccer less on personal life .

Very interesting. Steven Gerrard is one of my favorite players, and I am happy that he was able to share his life, a deeper meaning, through this book. YOU WIILL NEVER WALK ALONE

Es genial poder adquirir libros en esta tienda que no se consiguen fácilmente de lugares de dónde no se comercian. El contenido del libro te lleva a conocer mejor a Steven

As before im nit a reader but Always nice to read about liverpool and there great players

Great autobiography of a world class player. Stevie G is one of the all time greats. YNWA!

Aux inconditionnels fans

This book is a must read not only for every Liverpool fan but for every football fan out there, even if you are a hater. In-depth details about one of the best players in PL history. A very intersting read. Inspirational through and through.As an ardent Liverpool fan myself, I had to read this. YNWA. ❤️