The Natural

“An outstanding book, this labour of love provides a wonderful insight into one of snooker’s great mythical characters. It’s also a time capsule and piece of social history, bringing to life characters and places from and places from a bygone age.” – Nick Metcalfe * Talking Snooker podcast *“This was such an enjoyable read and an educational experience at the same time. Not only about the life and times of Patsy Houlihan, but how snooker as a sport evolved and also a social history, specifically of south London. Told with an obvious warmth and passion by the author, and told through the wide range of people he spoke to about Patsy.” – Phil Haigh * Talking Snooker podcast *“Five stars. Fantastic book… As a work of biography, Williams has done a great job capturing the essence of Houlihan as a man, a friend, a father and a snooker player. Williams has done a wonderful job in bringing Patsy Houlihan to life in this entertaining, excellent book.” – Brendan Crawley * All Sports Book Reviews *“This is a vivid, impeccably researched account of a gifted player who never got a proper chance to show the world how good he was. Full of interesting details and brimming with anecdotes, ‘The Natural’ does justice to Patsy Houlihan and evokes a time long before snooker was a respectable staple of the television schedules.” – David Hendon * snooker writer and Eurosport commentator *

“This green baize belter is a 147 of a Snooker story that’s also a riveting read and a superb slice of social history. Luke Williams effortlessly pots the black with this brilliant book.”

Luke G. Williams is the author of three books including Richmond Unchained and President of Pandemonium. He writes regularly for the website Boxing Social and has been published in the Guardian, Independent, Boxing Monthly, Snooker Scene and many other outlets. His work was nominated for a British Sports Book Award in 2016 and his previous snooker book, Masters of the Baize, was named Book of the Week by the Sunday Times.