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Steve Davis, London, Ebury Press, 2015. ISBN 9780091958640
The book not only charts Steve Davis’s life and career but also is in effect a history of professional snooker in the UK. For those of us used to the high profile World Championship on TV every May, it is hard to believe that at the beginning of Davis’s career BBC 2’s Pot Black was the only snooker on TV.
The book is at its best when Davis is analytical, for example his feelings about winning: “The euphoria that comes with winning the World Championship – or any prestigious title for that matter – doesn’t last forever. I found that afterwards, when I was on my own, it could all feel like a bit of an anti-climax to be honest. I felt flat. I did seem to get quite down on occasions during those long summers that followed because all the excitement; connected to winning the world title had gone”.
Steve Davis dominated the 1980s, winning the World Championship six times including finishing the decade with three in a row (1987-89) and feeling invincible, confident that he could and would beat anyone. Then Stephen Hendry won seven World titles in the 1990s and Davis never won it again. The chapter “End of an era” is very powerful as Davis admits openly that he struggled to come to terms with no longer being the dominant player.
He says that he “explored every possible technical adjustment” to his game without success. As he struggled in vain to regain his dominance, he says “The general standard was improving and maybe I had got to the stage where I just wasn’t able to improve any more… Perhaps I had reached my limit of performance and I couldn’t get any higher?...Maybe I had already made the most of everything I had?”
His analysis of Alex Higgins, Stephen Hendry and the rest is excellent. He marvels at how the modern player is that bit more positive than he would have been, opting for safely when in doubt. Who is is the best player ever – probably Stephen Hendry but he adds “I would say that Ronnie [O’Sullivan] is the most naturally gifted player of them all”.
If you are interested in the technical side of snooker, his analysis of the effects of the change in the miss rule is, well, interesting!
The weakest part of the long book is the accounts of matches – I started with a break of 87, then he make 78, 105 and 92; the fifth frame went to the black but a got it and was only 2-3 down at the break etc etc.
It is a very private book. On page 306 we read: “I got married and my life changed”. That is the only reference to his wife, whose name is not even mentioned. There is a photo of him with his two sons but that the sum of the references to his own family.
The book is a good read and gives insights into his professional if not private life. It will also be an excellent source for anyone who wants to put together a history of the development of professional snooker.