{"title":"Andrew Webster","description":"\u003cp\u003eAndrew Webster's works delve into the compelling world of sports, offering readers a rich blend of biography and memoir. Through evocative storytelling, he captures the emotional highs and lows behind the headlines, revealing the personal journeys of athletes and the lives intertwined with the sporting world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExpect narratives that are both insightful and intimate, where the passion for sport meets the nuanced complexity of human experience. Webster's writing invites readers to explore not only the triumphs but also the challenges faced by his subjects, making each book a captivating reflection on resilience and identity.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-voice-my-story-by-andrew-webster-9781863957496","title":"The Voice: My Story","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere, for the first time, Ray reveals the man behind the microphone. He speaks of the great highs and devastating lows of his career and life in the same way he calls every sporting event—with great passion, colour, and candour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRay 'Rabbits' Warren is the legendary voice of Australian sports commentary. People tell him he must have drunk a bottle of scotch and smoked a packet of cigarettes every day to have the voice that he has. That's not the case—at least, not anymore...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe son of a railway worker, Ray placed his first bet on a horse called Playboy at the age of just six and won. A lifelong love of the track—and the punt—was born.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDuring his remarkable broadcasting career, which has now spanned almost five decades, Ray has called three Melbourne Cups, Commonwealth and Olympic Games swimming, and countless rugby league matches alongside his mates Fatty, Sterlo, and Gus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Voice: My Story\u003c\/em\u003e, Ray reveals the man behind the microphone. He speaks of the great highs and devastating lows of his career and life in the same way he calls every sporting event—with great passion, colour, and candour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'When it comes to rugby league commentary, there is little dispute that Ray Warren is the best in the business... I know you'll enjoy his story.' – Allan Jones AO\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'It's not the vision that sells this game. It's not just the amazing feats of these mighty players. It's the way Ray Warren calls the action. The sense of theatre he brings to the call. Ray makes the game better. He brings it to life in lounge rooms all over the country. Ray Warren is the voice of rugby league.' – Phil Gould\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46380262654188,"sku":"9781863957496","price":41.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/17787673482851.jpg?v=1744850300"},{"product_id":"if-these-walls-could-talk-by-andrew-webster-9780648733140","title":"If These Walls Could Talk","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery sporting fan, young and old, who has been to the Sydney Cricket Ground has a fond recollection of a day or night, or days and nights, from the ground that captured the unique appeal of top-level sport at such a sacred venue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMemories live longer than dreams,\u003c\/em\u003e says 90-year-old Alan Davidson, one of the all-time greats of Australian cricket. \u003cem\u003eThat's the biggest thing about coming here. I can remember every game that I ever played, every incident, every shot.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDavidson was sitting in the home dressing room, looking out on the Cricket Ground's hallowed turf, the same emerald green ground trodden on by so many of Australia's sporting champions over the last 140 years. He was in the company of his friend and old teammate Neil Harvey, and also Andrew Webster, Sydney's No.1 sportswriter. The three of them, masters of their trades, were just yarning, about the glory days and what this great sporting cathedral means to each of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis revealing conversation opens \u003cem\u003eIf These Walls Could Talk\u003c\/em\u003e, Webster's very personal look at what sets the Ground—and sport at the highest level—apart. Some famous names jump from the pages, including Steve Waugh, Tony Lockett, Mark Ella, Ray Baartz and Steve Mortimer. There is controversy, too, and the overwhelming sadness of the death of Phillip Hughes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWebster focuses on ten moments that hugely impacted him, as a journalist and fan, in a way that will resonate with everyone who cherishes their own special memories of the SCG.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48242408947948,"sku":"9780648733140","price":57.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780648733140-if-these-walls-could-talk-1.jpg?v=1787972555"},{"product_id":"the-wolf-you-feed-by-andrew-webster-9781761268601","title":"The Wolf You Feed","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'The greatest coach in Australian sports history . . . an extraordinary man'\u003c\/em\u003e – Matthew Johns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWayne Bennett is the greatest rugby league coach Australia has ever had. He has won seven premierships and is the greatest man manager the game has known.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe is a living contradiction: a self-professed introvert who can hold an audience in the palm of his hand; an autocrat on a humanitarian mission to make good men of his young charges; a devoted husband (and father of the year) who left his wife after 42 years of marriage. Other coaches decry his tactics then attempt to imitate them. Players are desperate to work with him but are left feeling deceived when he cuts them loose. The media disparages him then lavishes him with praise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSo who is the real Wayne Bennett?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCelebrated sports journalist Andrew Webster has been on a mission to find out. For two years, he has interviewed family, close friends, sworn enemies, colleagues, coaches and players, as well as Bennett himself, and trawled through acres of print and recordings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWebster shows us a complex, brilliant and difficult man. We come to admire the good wolf of Bennett's nature – the genius who transforms young unformed players into titans of the game. And the bad wolf – the wrangler who plays the dark arts of football politics with obsessive determination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eExpertly written and compulsively readable, Webster's account of Bennett is not unlike the man himself: controversial, combative, and impossible to ignore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48244775911660,"sku":"9781761268601","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781761268601-the-wolf-you-feed-1.jpg?v=1788012709"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/andrew-webster.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}