After all, three books have been written so far about this most talented all-round athlete, and there are many more about this man whose elite career spanned a total of 37 years.
The answer is well within this beautifully and skillfully written book by five-time National Book of the Year winner Stephen Chalk.
Titled “One Hell of a Life” (a sentence Close came up with himself while filming an interview with the author), Chalke struggled to come up with an alliterative subtitle that summed him up.
After much thought, he came up with Daring, Defiant, and Daft.
He had the audacity to take on a great team of West Indies fast bowlers not once, but twice, when he faced Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths in 1963, and at the age of 45 – Particle The grainy color footage of Still Scares Me – Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel in 1976.
Close and 39-year-old young pup John Edrich bounced back from the West Indian pace attack for 70 minutes at Old Trafford to finish the day 21-0. The Crows' contribution was one not out, but decisively they did not concede any wickets to the Crows, including by hooks, despite suffering many blows to the body.
One shot hit him in the ribs and the other in the stomach, but he was forced to stagger away from the wicket, knowing that Close didn't want to show his pain.
England captain Tony Greig said the rearguard's actions were excellent.
Crows was defiant in that he defended at short leg with no protection, and defiant in that he bounced back after many setbacks in his career.
It was foolish of him to open his mouth and get himself into trouble, but to be fair to Old Bald Breiter, it wasn't necessarily his own fault.
And his unique driving style, which included making himself a cup of tea while behind the wheel, often speeding down the road, and looking at the horse racing newspaper to figure out who to back off that afternoon. Don't forget. his passengers.
Just when things seemed to be going Close's way, circumstances and his own failures led him down the wrong path, and Close described his life as “a series of turmoil.” Glory and disaster were never far apart.
Close was selected for England when he was just 18 years old, but he was badly treated on tour to Australia in 1950-1951, showing a sensitive side that was not always obvious, and it took him many years to recover.
The same was true when he lost the captaincy of England and later as leader of Yorkshire, revealing a sensitive side to Close that was unknown to many, except his wife Vivian. I showed it.
However, he bounced back from the latter to play a key role at Somerset University, where he was a huge influence on cricketing greats Viv Richards and Ian Botham.
As England's captain, Close, who took over in desperate circumstances, was the most successful with six wins and one draw.
He won six trophies in his eight years in charge of the White Roses.
This wonderful book relies less on Close himself and more on other people's recollections of him, and as Chalke says, everyone has a story to tell about DB Close. .
The book is a mix of humor and sadness, but like Duncan Hamilton's book about football manager Brian Clough, who admired Crows, it's a hell of a ride.
I would like to leave the final words to Times cricket writer Alan Gibson.
Historians will be puzzled about all this in the future. Was it his own fault? It's quite possible, but other people may also be at fault. ”
* One Hell of a Life: Brian Close Daring Defiant and Daft by Stephen Chalke, published by Fairfield Books, retail price £20.