Boomerang Books Info Bank - Sports Book Reviews

Sports Book Reviews

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:28:57 UT

Good Luck and Good Punting: Memoirs of a Racing Tragic by Ken Callander

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:00:00 UT

Interestingly for someone reviewing a book about a ‘racing tragic’, I know almost nothing about racing, and generally choose my horse in the Melbourne Cup by picking the best looking jockey, or the prettiest silks. However, I found Good Luck and Good Punting a reasonably entertaining read.

The World’s Weirdest Sports by Paul Connolly

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:00:00 UT

Ever wanted to go Bog Snorkelling? How’s about a match of Dwile Flonking? Care for a vigorous game of Uppies and Doonies? These are the names of just some of the sports listed in this fascinating and informative compendium of the strange things people do in the dark corners of the sporting world (quite often, it must be said, fuelled by copious amounts of alcohol).

Andrew Johns autobiography to be released by HarperCollins

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:00:00 UT

HarperCollins Publishers is delighted to announce that Rugby League great Andrew Johns has signed up to do his end-of-career autobiography.

The Champions: Conversations with Great Players and Coaches of Australian Football by Ben Collins

Sun, 28 May 2006 01:00:00 UT

This new football book from GSP interviews 24 AFL/VFL players about their Australian Rules football experiences. From Ron Barassi and Bob Davis to current footy stars such as James Hird and Robert Harvey, this book gleans information from the players about their football careers and where their lives have led to after football. This book will appeal to readers who are 40 or older—younger readers may find the format a little dry and regimented.

A Fair Field and No Favour by Gideon Haigh

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 01:00:00 UT

If the prospect of reading numerous newspaper reports about the Australian cricket team’s recent downfall in the Ashes series fills you with dread, fear not. Gideon Haigh not only has a commanding knowledge of cricket and its intricacies, but also possesses the rare ability to convey hours of cricket coverage and make it sound like something spectacular.

Waves: Great Stories from the Surf, edited by Tim Baker

Sun, 11 Dec 2005 01:00:00 UT

I’d love to find this book in my Christmas stocking! Here’s the perfect gift for your favourite Gidget or Moondoggy. From the full-on surf journalism of Nick Carroll, Matt Griggs and Sean Doherty to the lyrical writing of Tim Winton and Fiona Capp, Waves is a terrific collection of surf stories, recollections, profiles and articles that will be sure to please all surfers, from the weekend warrior to the committed ‘I’ll surf in winter hail if the waves are there’ grommet.

Streeeeeeeeeeeeetch

Fri, 13 May 2005 01:00:00 UT

After a day of tapping away at a keyboard and going cross-eyed looking at a computer monitor, this writer feels more like a mildly achy, slightly crumpled gnome than a poised, elegant and graceful dancer, so the arrival of Bodywise (ABC Books) was initially a little disheartening.

Shirtfront by Paula Hunt

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 01:00:00 UT

As we launch into another season of football, it’s a good time to reflect on where the game has come from, and just how much it is interwoven with the fabric of the Australian cultural identity. Self-confessed Carlton supporter Paula Hunt has done a remarkable job of presenting a potted history of this uniquely Australian pastime in Shirtfront.

Kicking goals

Sun, 20 Mar 2005 01:00:00 UT

The allure of football (by which this southern writer means Aussie Rules of course!) may be entirely mysterious to many of us, but it seems that football publishing = sales. With this in mind (and the fact that these books have lots of appeal for reluctant, often boy, readers) Geoff Slattery Publishing and Penguin each have a new book for the footy fanatic.

Marcos Ambrose: The Devil Race by Marcos Ambrose with Sean Callander

Sat, 26 Feb 2005 01:00:00 UT

Tasmanian Marcos Ambrose is the public face of Stone Brothers Racing in Australia’s premier motor-racing category—the V8 Supercar Championship. He comes across as a likeable young man who has managed to reach the pinnacle of his sport rapidly, and this is his story.

Rod Marsh: A Life in Cricket by Mark Browning

Wed, 16 Feb 2005 01:00:00 UT

The Chappell Years by Mike Coward

Steven Pellitt — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 01:00:00 UT

Australia has just won the 2003 One-Day World Cup and in doing so its 17th one-day match in a row, successfully defending its 1999 title. Most experts of the game believe that the Australian Test team is also the best in the world today. The present state of Australian cricket has not come about by good luck or accident - it is as the result of those that fought so hard for better pay and conditions resulting in our country developing best cricketing infrastructure in the world.

1500 by Mike Colman

Sat, 13 Mar 2004 01:00:00 UT

Nations become most attached to those sports and Olympic events in which they are most successful. This is how Mike Colman explains Australia’s fascination with a 30-lap swimming race—the men’s 1500 metres. Rather than writing a biography of one of the current crop of swimming stars, his book opts to tell the story of how Australia came to be the most successful country in this Olympic discipline from 1908 to the present day.