Oscar Pistorius' high school head master feared for his pupil's sanity after the teen set a world record in a major race, and a television crew caught the double-amputee sprinter launching into a profanity-laced tirade at his housekeeper.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that a new book about Pistorius, "The Trials of Oscar Pistorius: Chase Your Shadow" by John Carlin, depicts Pistorius with a penchant to fly off the handle and raises questions about his ability to handle notoriety.
Carlin's book focuses on Pistorius and recounts little about Steenkamp. He wrote that members of Pistorius' family refused to accept the accusation that Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp after a lover's quarrel.
But the book also tells an anecdote of an incident caught by an American television camera crew. The crew had arrived while Pistorius away from the home. When Pistorius arrived, he launched into a profanity-laced tirade against his housekeeper, Frankie Chiziweni.
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"With the cameraman and sound-man looking on, (Pistorius) screamed 'What the f--- are you doing? Have I not told you a thousand f------ times to close that garage door? Are you f------ mad?' " writes Carlin. It is a telling insight into the tempestuous nature of Pistorius, the Telegraph adds.
The author interviewed a man in Texas who made Oscar Pistorius' prosthetic legs, traveled to Italy where Pistorius trained for half of the year, and a family that had a baby boy with the same disability as Pistorius. Those interviews spoke of the warmth Pistorius extended.
But the author also spoke to the headmaster at a public school-style boarding school. The headmaster told the Telegraph about his fears for Pistorius after Pistorius set a world record at age 17 in a Paralympics race in Athens, Greece.
"I was exceptionally worried about how he would cope," Bill Schroder, the headmaster, told Carlin as the Telegraph reported. "All the more so because I realized that we in school were the only ones to give him his bearings."
The book does not delve into speculation about Pistorius' though process after he shot Steenkamp.
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