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Thierry Henry is not a controversial character so the failure to dig any dirt comes as no surprise and in this edition our hero's private life stays pretty well private. Which is maybe a shame because he happens to be married to a seriously beautiful woman and more of Nicole Merry (Mrs. H) wouldn't have gone amiss. The fact that he turned down high priced magazine offers for wedding photos from crass ‘celebrity' magazines came as no real surprise because you just don't get the impression that the perfectionist in him could see how it could enhance their big day. Quite apart from which the mere accumulation of wealth has never appeared to be Thierry's major goal in life. Even though with the additional help of sponsorship and advertising to boost his salary he's doing seriously well for a boy from the Paris suburb of Les Ulis.
His early years may be somewhat unfamiliar to Arsenal fans and these are covered quite adequately. The pre-Arsenal chapters also show just how aware Arsene Wenger was of his continued development. The story of his early years in youth football imply that his father was always a major driving force. Having been totally convinced that Thierry was going to be a star footballer his farther Antoine did his upmost to ensure that it happened. Whether in fact it was Antoine's pressure or Henry's obvious love of the game that gave him the leg up on his way to fame and fortune probably only Henry really knows. What is quite clear is that a lot of people always felt that he had special abilities even when these were not perfectly channelled. Having ability and bringing it to fruition on the big stage however is a different kettle of fish and how it came about forms an interesting first section to the book.
From Thierry's arrival at Highbury to date the coverage is more in depth with almost a blow by blow account of his playing career involving his matches for both France and Arsenal. If you are familiar with the Arsenal story over the same time span then this will be well-known territory and the majority of the story has quite naturally been well covered elsewhere. The misuse of the word Gooner at one juncture points to the author not being entirely au fait with his understanding of The Arsenal, but he's done a pretty decent job without exactly setting the world on fire. If you're happy reading run of the mill soccer biographies this one meets the bill. Should you demand a bit more for your money you might just wait until the official biography hits the press - if indeed that is ever to happen.
If you are expecting a rash of Arsenal action photographs you may be disappointed. The majority of photographs in this volume are primarily of TH14 in French kit, an very important part of his Footballing career of course. But the problem is that most football books not granted the status of approved Club publications suffer from this problem due to the way that the Premiership authorities have stitched up the photographic rights. Champions League pictures are fortuneately not a problem, nor are pictures of players holding trophies whist wearing a suit or leather jacket.
Personally I look forward to the day that Titi demolishes Wrighty's Club record and also ultimately to his difinitive biography in the far distant future, which I hope will include many additional happy endings in a red and white shirt.
Thierry Henry: The Biography by Oliver Derbyshire
Published by John Blake Publishing
Retail Price £17.99
You can of course order this title from any decent bookstore if you quote the following reference: ISBN 1 84454 089 8. The book is also available from your favourite online bookstore and can also be purchased much cheaper on matchdays from the Fanzine Stall in Gillespie Road - just tell them Brian sent you.