Part biography, part personal reflection and part investigation, Chasing Shadows: The Life And Death Of Peter Roebuck will celebrate Roebuck’s immense achievements as a player, captain, writer, broadcaster and philanthropist, but not shy away from the controversies that plagued his life and hang so darkly and with such uncertainty over his shocking death. Initial investigations have already uncovered details previously unknown to the public, while some of the cricket world's giant figures have volunteered due praise - and criticism - for this remarkable figure.
Tim Lane and co-author Elliot Cartledge will explore the `Roebuck phenomenon’, how this seemingly awkward and eccentric intellectual giant became, briefly, an English cricket captain, was embroiled in a long-standing feud with the likes of Ian Botham and Viv Richards, gained adulation throughout the sub-continent and Australasia and established what was essentially a homespun charity to put scores of impoverished Africans through secondary schooling and university.
Along with the recollections and revelations of colleague and confidante Tim Lane, the book will feature in its telling the likes of Ian Botham, Viv Richards, Ian Chappell, Mark Nicholas, Steve Waugh, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Kerry O’Keefe, Martin Crowe, Mike Coward, Jim Maxwell and many others, including members of the Roebuck family.
"The book has one supreme quality: it is fair-minded" - Martin Flanagan, Sydney Morning Herald
"This first-class work of investigative reporting tracks down key figures who shed crucial light on Roebuck’s life, while resisting pat conclusions." - Steven Carroll, Canberra Times
"This tantalising kaleidoscope of a book, which honours the complexity of the man while rigorously pursuing the truth." - Steven Carroll, Canberra Times
"There could be no more difficult person to interperet" - Tim Lane, Sunday Age