A social history of English cricket

Birley, Derek2013

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Summary

Presenting cricket as more than a game, this book investigates the sport's role as art form, as cult, as ceremony, as passionate addiction and source of hero-worship. Winner of the William Hil Sports Book of the Year and acclaimed as a magesterial, classic work, A Social History of English Cricket is an encyclopaedic survey of the game, from its humble origins all the way to modern floodlit finishes. But, it is also the story of English culture, mirrored in a sport that has always been a complex repository of our manners, hierarchies and politics. Sir Derek Birley's survey of the impact on cricket of two world wars, Empire and 'the English caste system', will, contends Ian Woolridge, 'teach an intelligent child of twelve more about their heritage than he or she will ever pick up at school'. Superbly witty and humorous, peopled by larger-than-life characters from Denis Compton to Ian Botham, and wholly forswearing nostalgia, A Social History of English Cricket is a tour-de-force by one of the great writers on cricket. In the last 10 years Aurum has published a number of prize-winning classic sports titles. At a time when the sports book market is growing exponentially, it is time to introduce these classics to a new generation of readers and sports fans. These six titles will be beautifully repackaged in a uniform series design as b-format paperbacks with flaps to enhance the collectors-item appeal, and will cross-promote the series. The sports covered include: Cricket, Football, Rugby, Motor Sports, Baseball and Boxing. There will be a further six titles published as part of the series in 2014. The full list of titles to be published in August 2013 includes: A Social History of English Cricket, by Sir Derek Birley The Football Man, by Arthur Hopcraft Bluebird and the Dead Lake, by John Pearson How We Beat the All Blacks, edited by John Reason The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn The Hurt Business, edited by George Kimball