About a Boy

Once upon a time, there was a prince. He was handsome, good-hearted, successful in what he did. The king loved him, the subjects loved him, ...

Once upon a time, there was a prince. He was handsome, good-hearted, successful in what he did. The king loved him, the subjects loved him, his siblings loved him. He met his princess; she, too, was pretty and successful. She inspired him to more success, gave him two children and helped him conquer foreign fields.

But there was a price to pay: the King threw his son out, the subjects turned against him and even many of his siblings didn8217;t seem to like him any more. It8217;s not the end of the story; as you read this, there are people who feel the prince and princess may not, after all, live happily ever after together.

Welcome to Planet Beckham. A fairy tale world out of Disney with more ups and downs than a Disneyland rollercoaster. It makes a compelling story but, unfortunately, on this evidence Beckham is not the best person to tell it. Beckham is a celebrity, and one with more real achievements than most of today8217;s 15-minute breed; he8217;s been there, done that, signed the autograph too. But the greatest irony in the Life of Beckham is that he8217;s a celebrity in spite of himself.

And it8217;s that trademark inhibition which prevents the subject from revealing too much. It8217;s almost as if Beckham is overawed by his own achievements, much as any of his young fans are. So this is a safe, occasionally revelatory plod through Bubble Beckham, as he calls his world. True to its title, the book comes across as his explanation of every incident he8217;s been criticised for, every time he8217;s made headlines for the wrong reason. But his defence fall into two categories: his love of football and his love of his family.

There is lots on life at Manchester United 8212; too much, perhaps, for a lay reader 8212; and, cloyingly, on life with Victoria and his children. There are glimpses of the relationship he shared with his Svengali Alex Ferguson 8212; who treated the player as a son before, apparently fed up with his celebrity and the influence of Victoria, getting rid of him.

But no mention of thongs, or Goldenballs, or indeed what he feels about his wife 8212; dubbed 8216;Yoko8217; by United fans 8212; telling the world about their private life. And little on being Metrosexual a word probably created for him. Not enough, indeed, on how he managed to balance two completely different worlds at no apparent cost whatever Ferguson felt to either.

There are, though, a couple of tales that offer a fascinating insight into his life and personality. One is an incident where the Beckhams and a close friend dine at a posh London restaurant; at another table, they realise, is Michael Jordan. Beckham 8212; whose Real Madrid jersey number, 23, is what Jordan used to wear 8212; and friend then wonder whether they should go up and ask for his autograph. 8216;8216;They don8217;t allow that here,8217;8217; the friend says, a moment of great irony and one that reveals Beckham for what he is. Eventually Jordan comes over and Beckham8217;s day is made.

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The other is, of course, the sheer hell he went through after that sending-off in the 1998 World Cup. Much of it is known but there is one frightening incident of a man throwing a brick through his window at midnight and just standing outside in the dark, not saying anything.

But there8217;s little else that you haven8217;t already read about. Perhaps this book should have been a biography, that could explain the impact Beckham has made on sport, fashion, youth and celebrity, putting the sportsman in social context. But the cash registers have been ringing non-stop. Beckham has taken the shot, and he8217;s scored again.