Chase Your Shadow audiobook

Before reading this excellently reported book, I always assumed Oscar Pistorius got away with intentional homicide. I didn't believe his version of the night that ended with his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead -- that he accidentally shot her four times, through a closed toilet door, because he believed he heard an intruder in his home. However, the author does a great job of presenting both sides, and all the evidence, and it really makes you wonder.... The book also is a biography of sorts of Pistorius, who was born with congential defect in both legs and underwent amputation at 11 months old ... a decision made by his parents and that led to him becoming one of the world's most recognizable athletes. He never would have had the tremendous success as a Paralympian -- and Olympian -- had his parents chosen corrective surgery instead. For all his talent, though, Pistorius also struggled with anxiety, largely because of his limitations when not wearing his prosthetic legs. One of his greatest fears was having his house being broken into....and that's what he believed was happening the night that Reeva was killed. The book details his long trial and the judge's decision to find him guilty of culpable homicide...saving him many years in prison....but at any rate, Pistorius' career is over and his life will never be the same. The book also is a great study of the politics and social fabric of South Africa, which also had a great influence on the man once called the Blade Runner.

A ciertas personas las endiosamos como si fueran parte del Olimpo pero al final de cuenta no sabemos si son buenos o malos. Oscar Pistorius, el único discapacitado que pudo correr en unos JJOO asesinó a su novia. Pero más allá, hay un hombre lleno de inseguridades y miserias. Un niño que vivió con una madre alcohólica y paranoica que dormía con un arma debajo de su almohada. Un padre ausente. Una doble amputación de piernas. En esta excelente crónica de John Carlin se evidencia que más allá del bien y el mal somos humanos con fortalezas y debilidades, inseguridades y certezas. Si el asesinato fue con o sin intención sólo lo saben dos personas, él y Reeva. Siempre quedará la duda.

This book was a comprehensive account of Oscar Pistorius’ trials, fame, catastrophe and psychology.I had the esteemed privilege of meeting the author himself at the Johannesburg book launch in 2014 who signed my own copy😃.The author’s assiduous extrapolation of the key players in the trial itself, Mandela, South Africa’s political landscape, Pistorius’ upbringing, character biographies and the complexities of Pistorius’ character was truly remarkable. A highly recommended read for those who wish to learn more about this contentious topic in finer detail.“As hero and anti-hero, he offers an archetype to which all people can relate. He is an extreme case of an individual who has made the best of the cards that life has dealt him, but he has revealed himself to possess to an equally extreme degree the insecurities that all are prey to”.

This is a fascinating book, both as a profile of a very unstable famous athlete and as an ethnography about South Africa. I didn't realize the degree of misogyny in S. Africa; acc. to this book, the society really regressed after Nelson Mandela. But it still sounds like a place a woman shouldn't want to ever live. Pistorius is a complex and tormented creature. Why did he sleep with a gun under his bed? Did he really think that he had to blast away at every noise he heard in his house? He was a pretty scary guy in relationships--very dominating of women. He always wanted to keep his celebrity afloat. If you fire a pistol four times into a bathroom door, you have to pay for it somehow. The fact that people run around S. Africa packing heat as an ordinary way of doing business creeps me out.

Finally a non biased third party look into what exactly happened that night in Oscar Pistorius apartment. Not only specifically what happened that night, but what led up to Oscars actions. Now I know he has wrote a book basically defending himself; but I’m glad I chose to read this one. Oscar admits to killing his girlfriend that’s not the issue here. The issue is, was the story he gave to be believed. If this would have happened anywhere else in the world to anyone else would they have been treated as well as Oscar has in South Africa? This is an incredible study into the trial and life of Oscar Pistorius and I would like to believe this is the most accurate coverage of those things. I’m a huge fan and reader of true crime but this was so much more than that. This was part biography, part true crime, and most importantly part sociological study of the place and people of South Africa. A tormented geographical area had just as much to do with this shooting as anything else did. If you really like to go deep into something and really feel some resolve once you’re done; this is it. This book brings all of those satisfactions forward, if only all stories of crime were told in this voice and style.

** spoiler alert ** This is an account of the extraordinary life of the world's best known paralympian. Oscar Pestorius overcame a debilitating disability to become the poster boy for post-apartheid South Africa. After Mandela he was the biggest hero in a country more used to being ridiculed than celebrated on the global stage; someone an entire nation could be proud of. And then, less than six months after hitting his peak at the London 2012 Olympic Games - where he was the first 'disabled' person in history to compete against 'able bodied' athletes - everything came crashing down. The morning after Valentine's Day the following year, the news broke that Pestorius had shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.This book tells the story of Pistorius's incredible rise and even more dramatic fall. There were appeals and re-sentencing afterwards, but this ends when Pistorius is acquitted on the count of murder.

** spoiler alert ** 'Chase your Shadow: The Trials of Oscar Pistorius' is not only an excellent account of the trial itself but also of contemporary South Africa. The book reads very well and has led to rumblings that it will be adapted into a movie (John Carlin's book, 'Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation' was later turned into the movie 'Invictus'). I personally enjoyed this novel having been to South Africa and the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Port Elizabeth in particular (These cities feature prominently in the book) as well as having done academic work on the country. The insight into Pistorius's life prior to the shooting as well as the background of other key figures was very effective and intriguing. I would highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading more John Carlin books in the future.

Un libro muy bien contado. Narra los entresijos de la vida de una estrella de rock venida a menos.También, en mi opinión, el escritor nos da una muestra del sistema judicial sudafricano como una radiografía de la sociedad de esos lares.

"Cuanto más triunfa, más grande es el ídolo; pero cuando comete un error y se cae, mayor es el monstruo en el que se convierte. Cuando las cosas funcionan, todo el mundo aplaude y eres un héroe; pero cuando van mal, aparecen los invidiosi , los envidiosos, y ahora gritan con fuerza, celebrando su fracaso." -Paolo Urbani.Solo Oscar Pistorious a ciencia cierta sabe que paso realmente la noche del 13 de febrero de 2013, en lo personal no pude armar un juicio de 'el si queria matarla' o 'el es inocente'. Estoy totalmente en contra de aquellos que con los ojos cerrados culpan a un hombre o lo defienden porque realmente no saben que paso y cuales eran los motivos lo unico cierto es que el apreto el gatillo y solo eso asumo en lo personal como verdad.El libro me parecio ¡excelente! presenta de forma detallada pero sin resultar tedioso todos los detalles del juicio, de la vida de Pistorius y su entorno, es el primer libro que leo de John Carlin y creo que quede enganchada a leer sus otros textos.

Fair play to John Carlin – he really has pulled out all the stops to be fair in this account of Pistorius's life and crimes, assembling witnesses who have nothing but good things to say about the so-called Blade Runner. Having spent time in South Africa, Carlin is also good on local detail but, in my humble opinion at least, his main drawback is that he's a man.Having spent more than a decade living in Johannesburg I am fairly aware of the type to which Pistorius conforms and, sorry as I am to resort to David Attenborough style language, the old-style Afrikaner is a riot of fine manners and courtesy when he feels that he has found a woman from whom he can extracted a regular supply of sex. When this situation changes, however, the gloves are off.I don't think that I'm the only woman in the world to suspect that Oscar Pistorius murdered Reeva Steenkamp in a fit of rage after an argument. The man was a hair-trigger accident ready to happen and not all the people in the world saying that he would walk on water to breastfeed a disabled child are going to change my mind.Carlin does put up a good fight, however and this is well worth reading, mostly impeccably researched and grippingly written.

The very public trial of Oscar Pistorius, accused of killing his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013 was subject to a worldwide media frenzy. Not least, because here was a man who had seemingly triumphed over adversity to become a sporting hero in the eyes of many, only to complete destroy his life and that of the Steenkamp family on that fateful night.In this book, John Carlin presents a thorough, almost biographical portrait of Pistorius, from his early days as a child in South Africa right through to the intricacies of the lengthy trial. Opinions remain extremely divided as to Pistorius' guilt or innocence despite the trial outcome but Carlin strives to present all sides of the argument, leaving the reader to form their own verdict.Oscar's vulnerabilities and flaws are explored in equal detail, building up a perfect portrait of the athlete as a powerful and determined man, yet as a soul plagued by fear and insecurity as a result both of his upbringing and disability.Incredibly well-researched and balanced and drawing on many personal testimonies, this is a gripping and fascinating insight into the life of the "Blade Runner".

I recommend this book to anyone who has a interest in law .I won this book from the reading room.it gave me pause to be appreciative of the American Justice system where your fate lies in the hands of a jury rather than a judge that may be biased for or against you based on racial lines. I think the author while doing his best to convey how the environment is in South Africa post apartheid may placed more emphasis on racism than was necessary.Oscar Pistorius left me scratching my head at his lack of common sense with the gun that killed his girlfriend Reeva .why would you shoot off a gun in your bathroom in the first place? the explanation did not make sense ! certainly he knew that his bathroom door was not "bullet Proof and that a bullet could travel though the door and still have enough velocity to cause serious harm or death to anyone on the other side of that door. this is as much a must read for the facts as it is for explanations that leave you scratching your head at the utter lack of common sense .

Muy buen libro. Aunque lo terminé así medio apurada, de verdad que vale la pena interesarse por este caso, no solo por el personaje -que era un total desconocido para mí, que a veces me abstraigo mucho del mundo- si no por el manejo del caso, la pluradidad de las fuentes, la manera en cada capitulo era un aspecto diferente.Es bastante evidente de que lado esta el periodista, no lo voy a ocultar, pero aun se puede tolerar que bañe de gloria a Pistorius más de una vez, quien escribe tambien es un ser humano, no critico eso.Se lo recomiendo mucho a quienes estudien leyes, o se interesen por estos casos actuales. Yo no me manejo mucho en ese mundo legal, pero quizas pueda ser interesante ver como la jurisdicción sudafricana manejo este caso.Sin nada más que agregar, valió la pena leerlo.