Cricket: The Game of Life: Every reason to celebrate by null

Cricket: The Game of Life: Every reason to celebrate Reviews

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  madlibrarian

  This is a terrific book. While it can hardly be comprehensive, it scans cricket across its chronology and geography, from the personal to the national. The author is very present, and his participation in covering (or playing in) the events described lends it immediacy. He also inserts a very great many historical and artistic allusions, which I appreciated. The style is very limpid, like a good journalist. It was welcome to read a Wisden author's work in something other than 2 point type on translucent paper.
  
  Take the subtitle to heart. The basic trend of the book is to show how cricket occupies (or can, or should) occupy our own life and has an important role in society. This is not all good, but then neither is life all good. Cricket (and we) can be corrupt, racist, classist but it can also not be, and can even be an island of meritocracy or a space for racial or national power and pride.
  
  Something else to look out for: the discussion of how cricket talent arises. Not necessarily when it becomes a mass interest across society, but where there are pockets of intense interest. SEE: How millions of American kids play soccer for much of their school years, buthere we are. Go Pulisic!
  
  My background makes a little difference to how I read it. I'm an American who came to cricket under his own power, having never played and not grown up in a cricket watching family. I read this book once I knew some of the old stories, knew how to watch all three formats with a bit of a discerning eye, and could identifywe'll say most of the shots and defensive positions when I read them. I knew that Hansie Cronje was a crook; that Viv Richards batted without a helmet; knew the famous Victor Trumper photograph. (And much else, obviously. Those would be a very strange three things to only know about cricket.) This was a book I learned a great deal from, and the stories I knew were given a fresh spin and new context.
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  Gavin Hogg

  Certainly a well researched trip down memory lane. The parallels of Cricket and life experiences of the individuals and participating societies is articulated brilliantly.
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  Graham of Watton

  There have been many excellent books written about the beautiful game of cricket, and 'Cricket: the Game of Life: Every Reason to Celebrate' is a welcome addition to the list. Scyld Berry has been watching and writing about cricket for some 40 years, and his skill as a writer and his love of the game are evident. Although it will probably only appeal to other cricket lovers, this book looks at the history and psychology of the game, as well as exploring some intriguing philosophical angles. Berry's writing is always interesting and engaging and he manages to avoid sounding nostalgic when writing about some of the past greats of the game.
  I think this book would be enjoyed by all cricket lovers.
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  StephenFH

  Every reason to celebrate says the front of the book and certainly it is impressive in both its scope and detail. The author’s ‘net’ on the game was in the 1960s when John Arlott was the voice of cricket; a man known for his sympathy for the ‘county pro’ and who wrote of his abiding nostalgia for the domestic circuit when he retired in 1980. Those at the top of the game have moved a long way since then and in its own way this book shows just how far.
  
  Much is drawn from long ago history, the development of the game around the world, the 400+ Test Matches the author has attended. This makes it good on, for example, what happened when Captain Gatting met Umpire Rana and why. There is sharp observation on the behaviour of Hans Cronje and the make up of his personality and the extent to which match fixing in the game is kept hidden from view by vested interests. The chapter on the psychological framing and stresses at the top is a good one and rightly applauds Marcus Trescothick for his honesty, although it is not always clear just how much sympathy the author has for his subjects, if any; perhaps it was just intended that the reader should decide when to supply their own.
  
  The account of the match between Kent and the rest of England at the Artillery Ground in 1744, the first match for which an entrance ticket survives, brings history to life. Kent, captained by the Duke of Dorset’s gardener pointing the way for the game to challenge the established social order and arguably thrive because of it. The book also mentions that there were matches between cities in the 19th century, whether the current proposals on that subject just represent the latest challenge to the established order and the game will thrive anew, or the opposite if the elites at the Nursery End have miscalculated an open question now.
  
  For those with the time to read its 400 pages a book to educate and inform, some strong opinions given to make the reader think and agree with or not for which bravo the author
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  Southside John

  This is than just a history of cricket. Scyld Berry has produced a book about cricket but, in each chapter deaing with the key test playing countries, taking the game as a starting point develops links between cricket and a broader social history. The chapters on the development of cricket in India and the West Indies, and the impact of British rule and slavery, are particularly interesting.
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  D. Step

  I enjoyed this although I found it heavy at times. It is exceptionally well written but may not be for everybody.
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  goodreads Customer

  LOOKS GOOD BROUGHT AS A PRESENT