Chase Your Shadow: The Trials of Oscar Pistorius
John Carlin
Guardian's Best Sports Books
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSS BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2015
LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015
In Chase Your Shadow, journalist and author John Carlin tells the gripping story of Oscar Pistorius's tragic journey from sporting icon to accused murderer.
Before Valentine's Day of 2013, Pistorius was best known as an extraordinary athlete, the 'Blade Runner' who became the first amputee in history to compete in the Olympics. Everything changed after he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead in the early hours of 14 February. Overnight, the Olympian's status as a role model was replaced by tales of erratic behaviour and a violent dark side.
His seven-month trial was broadcast live around the globe, its twists and turns captivating millions. Carlin, who followed the drama inside the courtroom, provides a vivid first-hand account of Pistorius's wrenching emotional breakdowns, the merciless interrogation to which he was submitted by the prosecutor, and the highly controversial judgment.
Carlin paints a portrait of a complex personality, a man whose life story reveals extremes of courage and insecurity, ambition and vulnerability, generosity and dangerous hot-headedness.
Not since the O. J. Simpson case has the world been more riveted by a champion's heroic rise and calamitous fall.
Product Details
About John Carlin
Reviews for Chase Your Shadow: The Trials of Oscar Pistorius
Matthew Syed
The Times ‘Book of the Week’
Reads like a taut courtroom drama... Vivid, gripping and illuminating... For those in search of a full rendering of the case in all its complexity, Carlin goes a long way to delivering the goods.
Justice Malala
Sunday Times
Impressively up-to-the-minute... The Pistorius case will continue to divide opinion and Carlin's book is unlikely to be the last word on the matter. But his evident fairness, cool objectivity and robust scepticism will make it a hard act to follow.
Simon Shaw
Mail on Sunday
Carlin's account is framed by the progress of the Blade Runner's trial, but it's also a de facto biography that exposes his psychological incongruities
Independent
The strongest of the accounts... and the best at supplying a context for what unfolded... Carlin, a fine journalist, is clearly aware of the filmic potential of the tale... and his recreation of that Valentine's Day morning has the pace and energy of a movie script
Observer
The best account we are likely to get of the tragedy and its aftermath, with proper attention to the role of the remarkable judge
Richard Williams
Guardian, Best Sports Books of 2014