Must-Read Books

Top 45

Top 45

How to distil over a century of cricket literature into half a bookshelf's worth? A recap of our series on recommended cricket literature

06-Dec-2008•Suresh Menon

Speed read

Speed read

Frith's history of fast bowling is encyclopaedic, but also fittingly brisk and concise

29-Nov-2008•Steven Lynch

The first word

The first word

Rosenwater's books lacks Bradman's input - maybe that's why it's the best of the biographies of the great man

22-Nov-2008•Gideon Haigh

The paradox of Sir Geoffrey

The paradox of Sir Geoffrey

Leo McKinstry provides a balanced, nuanced view of one of cricket's most complex characters

15-Nov-2008•Steven Lynch

The old order yieldeth

The old order yieldeth

Marqusee places cricket's evolution in a historical perspective and reveals the inevitability of the changes the sport has gone through in recent times

08-Nov-2008•Suresh Menon

Flawless and felicitous

Flawless and felicitous

Cardus may not have been the best cricket writer ever, but his autobiography certainly is the best-written cricket book of them all

01-Nov-2008•Scyld Berry

Embracing the East

Embracing the East

Coward's book played a significant part in demystifying the subcontinent for Australian cricketers and cricket watchers

25-Oct-2008•Suresh Menon

Uncovered

Uncovered

Gideon Haigh's biography of Iverson painstakingly unearths the story of a talented misfit

18-Oct-2008•Steven Lynch

Player pages

Player pages

Reading David Foot's warm, conversational profiles of cricketers is like sharing in the camaraderie of a dressing room

11-Oct-2008•Gideon Haigh

Caribbean context

Caribbean context

A perceptive, prescient look at West Indies cricket and its decline

04-Oct-2008•Rob Steen

The anti-romantic movement

The anti-romantic movement

In an attempt to separate cricket reality from myth, Derek Birley ruthlessly questions, if not busts outright, many of the game's idyllic beliefs

27-Sep-2008•Suresh Menon

Torrential eloquence, concealed sadness

Torrential eloquence, concealed sadness

In his writing Robertson-Glasgow always toiled for the right word and the arresting simile, evoking a world of grace and ease

20-Sep-2008•Gideon Haigh

Fun and games

Fun and games

Unlike far too many cricket writers, Johnson refuses to take the game too seriously - and thank goodness for that

13-Sep-2008•David Frith

Big pictures, artfully painted

Big pictures, artfully painted

Alan Ross is often classed as a cricket belletrist - with good reason. And this book is among his finest works

06-Sep-2008•Gideon Haigh

Plum postings

Plum postings

Wodehouse didn't write too much on the game, but what there is is an unalloyed delight

30-Aug-2008•Suresh Menon

Cricket minus the cliches

Cricket minus the cliches

In this narrative of the 1996 World Cup, context means more than the final wicket

23-Aug-2008•Rob Steen

In the name of the father

In the name of the father

Arlott wasn't perfect and this book, by his son, readily admits so

16-Aug-2008•David Frith

Local colour

Local colour

Cardus' account of the 1936-37 Ashes tour gives rein to his desire to write about more than just the cricket

09-Aug-2008•Scyld Berry

The whole story

The whole story

An admirable attempt to "tell the full history of the game"

02-Aug-2008•Suresh Menon

The good doctor in full

The good doctor in full

Serious scholarship and unflagging zest make this biography one of cricket's best life stories

26-Jul-2008•Gideon Haigh

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