The Hurricane

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Snooker Icon - Rated
A fascinating and at times frightening account of a man, who more than any other, put snooker on the map. Was he a man who could'nt handle success or just a nutter. Everyone will draw there own conclusions, but this is compulsive reading and a hard book to put down.

Not as good as "A Game of Three Halves" - Rated
Modestly entertaining, I guess, but there are better sports books out there. "A Game of three Halves" springs to mind - which you can probably still buy on Amazon and even mentions Mr WRG Borrows in one of the chapters. I'd get that if I were you...

Funny and realistic look at a troubled sportsman (spoilers) - Rated
This is an excellent book from Bill Borrows, following the life of the snooker genius and loutish drunk that is Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins. Well researched and woven together, it provides a cynically funny look at a deeply troubled individual.

Opening with an excellent "Private Eye" riff on Higgins' clashes with snooker authorities, the first chapter sets up Higgins as he is now: a demented, pathetic but strangely dignified figure, worn from constant boozing, womanizing, smoking, and a recent struggle with throat cancer. It is hooks the reader in to explore the man's history and how he has managed to get to that point, from the early days in working class Belfast, up through the snooker ranks, two world championships, a slow decline, his many drunken rampages, and a litany of damaged relationships.

Despite of a couple of careless editing errors in the later pages of the book, it is still a very well written tome. Borrows has a gift for working in references to newspapers, sports journals and one-to-one conversations into his writing without disrupting from the reading flow.

More important is his attitude towards his subject. This is no hagiography. Borrows demonstrates a keen respect for Higgins' snooker ability, contrasted with a cynically ironic approach to his behaviour off the table. He is unafraid to ridicule Higgins' fundamentally selfish nature, his 'bad boy' reputation and obsessively hedonistic lifestyle. His behaviour towards his fellow professionals in later years, particularly Dennis Taylor, is shocking.

Having said that, it's clear he likes to contrast the renegade Higgins with the stiff, formal and professional image of snooker it's executives wanted to project. Higgins went against everything snooker was meant to stand for. Because of that, he was the game's biggest star and arguably the one who made snooker popular. Borrows shows a low opinion of the Stalin-like operations of snooker administration, particularly it's regulatory body, the WPBSA (World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association).

Borrows' final thoughts are: Higgins is an instinctive, compulsive sporting animal who lives for the moment and puts himself first. This has been the making and undoing of him. He is a participant, sportsman, child, survivor. He is Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins.

Absolutely fantastic - Rated
I got this book for Xmas and read it in one go. The stories are, in turn, heart-breaking and funny and sometimes both at the same time. The story about him falling past a window as seen by his neighbour on the floor below made me cry laughing. 'I'll have to go,' she said on the phone, 'Alex Higgins has just fallen past my window.' There are laods of stories like this but the book is so wonderfully written that you never get tired of them. You get a real idea of what has happened to the Hurricane. I don't really read sports biographies but this has very little to do with snoooker. It's just the best biography I've ever read. Brilliant!!!

A great read - buy it! - Rated
Once you start to read the book, literally you can not put it down for more than a few minutes. Whether you're a snooker fan or not you will find this book fascinating. Reading about some of the things Alex got up to on the snooker tour and away from it will make your jaw drop. Buy this book at all costs, it's simply one of the best biographies you will ever read.