Wisdom

Available as CD (£14.99) and cassette (£9.99), running time 150 mins approx © John Wisden & Co Enlarge

You can buy audio versions of the Bible, Pride and Prejudice, and anything by Shakespeare. So it's about time the Wisden Almanack followed suit, and the recorded version proves to be a comprehensive highlights package of the great book. Editor Matthew Engel is joined by Henry Blofeld, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Barry Norman, Richard Lindfield and Barry Johnston in a cast of voices who do justice to excellent writing. Some of the book's magic is lost when you hear it read by someone else - the audio version doesn't have the same capacity to stop your mind from wandering. But the contents will not disappoint. All of the long essays are there (Scyld Berry's piece on the England team in 2003 losing none of its brilliance on tape), and they are nicely broken up by Cricket around the World and the amusing Chronicle series.

Rating: 4/5

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