Whirlwind

Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White is Britain's best-loved snooker player. A one-time ragamuffin straight out of the pages of Charles Dickens, he has enthralled audiences worldwide for three decades with his electrifying brilliance, winning ten world-ranking events - although, heartbreakingly, he has lost six Crucible World Championship finals. In this in-depth, warts-and-all biography, die-hard fan Aubrey Malone examines White's background, his illiteracy, drinking and tempestuous relationship with his wife Maureen, set against his incredible rise to the top in snooker's halcyon days of the 1980s. There are tales of Jimmy using a walking stick to make a century break at his local snooker hall, his battles with the twin demons of drink and the yips, and how he nearly lost the world trophy, despite never having won it! But in the end it is White's obsession with winning, and his astonishing ability on the baize, often against all the odds, that shines through.