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nickedkins's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes I get a bit worried about how much real estate cricket takes up in my head. At those times, I have often been reassured by the knowledge that the Trinidadian Marxist and historian C. L. R. James was afflicted with the same condition and still managed an intellectual career.
Having actually read the book now, it's clear that there were some kind of spatial contortions going on in James' head that gave him about a hundred times the mental real estate that I'm working with. The man appears to have thought more about cricket than I've thought about everything combined in my entire life. And it's been productive thinking!
We're always hearing that what you see out in the middle is a microcosm of the world, but I've never seen anyone spell this out in such fine detail as James. The book isn't a gimmick where he's challenged himself to draw links between the struggle for West Indian independence, English schoolboy sports etiquette, and the narcissism of small differences. The links essentially draw themselves when you lay out the history in the right way.
My ultimate takeaway from reading this is that it is immensely valuable to be constantly questioning how things are and why things are, and that this process should not be restricted to its traditional targets, but applied to basically everything.
Having actually read the book now, it's clear that there were some kind of spatial contortions going on in James' head that gave him about a hundred times the mental real estate that I'm working with. The man appears to have thought more about cricket than I've thought about everything combined in my entire life. And it's been productive thinking!
We're always hearing that what you see out in the middle is a microcosm of the world, but I've never seen anyone spell this out in such fine detail as James. The book isn't a gimmick where he's challenged himself to draw links between the struggle for West Indian independence, English schoolboy sports etiquette, and the narcissism of small differences. The links essentially draw themselves when you lay out the history in the right way.
My ultimate takeaway from reading this is that it is immensely valuable to be constantly questioning how things are and why things are, and that this process should not be restricted to its traditional targets, but applied to basically everything.
smummadi's review against another edition
5.0
As a child who grew up in the immediate heady days of the post-1983 cricketing revolution in India, this book and its author CLR James provided me with an account of what the great sport of cricket meant to a native population (Caribbean). This book will remain my eternal favorite and its sayings continue to ring true in the post-liberalization (IPL riches) era of Indian cricket as well. A must reading for every true fan of this great sport.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
4.0
As has been discussed better elsewhere, this is perhaps the finest book on cricket. It covers also aspects of the author’s life and interests. Energetic and illuminating.
ajkhn's review against another edition
3.0
I'm clearly not in a position to question James. But I was hoping this book would help me get into cricket, and in honesty I really needed to know a ton more about cricket in order to appreciate the book.
The early stark prose describing James' family was fantastic, and there's some great vignettes of West Indian life both in Trinidad and in England. England 50 years ago seems like just such a different place. There's a decent chunk of fascinating stuff in the book.
But it's mostly about cricket, and I just don't know enough about cricket. That's on me, not James, but it made large chunks of the book tough to enjoy.
The early stark prose describing James' family was fantastic, and there's some great vignettes of West Indian life both in Trinidad and in England. England 50 years ago seems like just such a different place. There's a decent chunk of fascinating stuff in the book.
But it's mostly about cricket, and I just don't know enough about cricket. That's on me, not James, but it made large chunks of the book tough to enjoy.
dhanushgopinath's review against another edition
4.0
For me West Indies cricket was all about the force they were a while ago. Ambrose, Walsh, Richards, Lara, Hooper, Greenidge, Marshall, Haynes etc. There are many of those from late 80s to 2000. This book is an eye opener for me w.r.t the West Indian cricket's history and politics. About the clubs, about the icons, about their rich history and conflicts with the English. A must read for cricket fans.
One of the best sports book I have read.
One of the best sports book I have read.
rose_purdy's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
wickedtreasury's review
wanted to read for casual game studies reasons but there is too much insider cricket content for me to follow
davidfranklin88's review against another edition
4.0
This ambitious book interweaves cricket with politics, history, literature and art in a way I have never seen before. What do they know of cricket who only cricket know? James argues that sport cannot be taken in isolation from the influences around it, and spins a fascinating narrative that jumps one way and another. For the most part it is convincing, and his examination of cricket as an art form is an eye-opening piece of writing. Having watched cricket for nearly thirty years, my experience will be richer for having read this book. I hope to read more books with similar ambition in connecting fields that others would leave separately enclosed.
That said, it is not perfect. Even though the book’s purpose is to make links to the outside world, the writing is at its most fluid when centred around cricket. The rambling section on what James calls the ‘prolegomena’ to the success of W.G. Grace never really hits the mark, and one suspects that the denseness of the prose betrays a lack of hard evidence. The idea that the style of cricket mirrors the political context is appealing, but it’s a claim around which evidence can easily be cherry-picked. Politics, history, literature and art add important texture to our understanding of the game, but they do not explain everything.
That said, it is not perfect. Even though the book’s purpose is to make links to the outside world, the writing is at its most fluid when centred around cricket. The rambling section on what James calls the ‘prolegomena’ to the success of W.G. Grace never really hits the mark, and one suspects that the denseness of the prose betrays a lack of hard evidence. The idea that the style of cricket mirrors the political context is appealing, but it’s a claim around which evidence can easily be cherry-picked. Politics, history, literature and art add important texture to our understanding of the game, but they do not explain everything.