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Beyond A Boundary [Paperback]

Cyril Lionel Robert James (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 7 July 2005

C L R James, one of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century, was devoted to the game of cricket. In this classic summation of half a lifetime spent playing, watching and writing about the sport, he recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race and politics that surround it.

Part memoir of a West Indian boyhood, part passionate celebration and defence of cricket as an art form, part indictment of colonialism, Beyond a Boundary addresses not just a sport but a whole culture and asks the question, 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?

(2004-09-22)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Yellow Jersey; New Ed edition (7 July 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 022407427X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224074278
  • Product Dimensions: 14 x 20.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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› Visit Amazon's C. L. R. James Page
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Review

"Great claims have been made for [Beyond a Boundary] since its first appearance in 1963: that it is the greatest sports book ever written; that it brings the outsider a privileged insight into West Indian culture; that it is a severe examination of the colonial condition. All are true" (Sunday Times)

"To say "the best cricket book ever written" is piffingly inadequate praise. A mental landscape triangulated by literature, socialism and cricket represents an ideal we should all aspire to, and this ennobling and beautifully written book should be read by anyone with the slightest interest in any one of the above" (Guardian)

"Anyone who has not encountered [Beyond A Boundary] should seize the chance now" (Sunday Telegraph)

"Years ago I had presumed, on being repeatedly told that C L R James' Beyond A Boundary was the finest sports book ever written, that it was the opposite; in fact, James' erudite tale probably warrants that label" (Independent)

"An innovative mixture of autobiography, sports journalism and political philosophy" (Daily Telegraph)

Book Description

'The most finely crafted book on cricket ever written' - The Times (2004-09-22)
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Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
12 reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to its reputation 30 Nov 2005
By John E. Davidson
Format:Paperback
Beyond a Boundary reached number 3 in the Observer Sport Monthly’s poll of the best fifty sports books of all time. It is burdened with enormous praise; amongst the quotes included on the cover are: ‘To say “the best cricket book ever written” is pifflingly inadequate praise’ and ‘Great claims have been made for [Beyond a Boundary] since its first appearance in 1963: that it is the greatest sports book ever written; that it brings the outsider a privileged insight into West Indian culture; that it is a severe examination of the colonial condition. All are true.’

The praise is justified. The only way that this is not the best cricket book ever written is if you do not consider it as a cricket book. It is beautifully crafted, transcending the genre: an engaging combination of cricket book, personal memoir and political and cultural commentary. There are other very good books about cricket but this is something more than that. It is a cricket book, a history book, a sociology book and more.

CLR James is a fascinating man: widely travelled, spending long periods in England and the USA as well as Trinidad, an important writer and journalist, a politically active Marxist, instrumental in getting Frank Worrell appointed captain of the West Indies team. The book covers a wide range of subjects including his childhood in Trinidad; great cricketers he has known and watched; Caribbean politics amongst others. For cricket lovers one of the beautiful things about the book is that James loves cricket, he appreciates it as an art form. He possesses the clarity of thought and the prose to convey this love and appreciation to the reader....

In places the book shows its age (it was written in 1963); it is very much of its time: a product of the anti-colonial struggle, and the emergence of West Indies cricket as a serious challenge to the domination of England and Australia. In some places events have overtaken some of his observations and some of the language jars. It is still a fantastic book – amazingly insightful and interesting.

This is a book that no genuine cricket lover should be without. Read more ›

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond comparison - an extraordinary book 16 Jun 2002
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This beautiful, rich, complex and deeply satisfying book still haunts me nearly a year after reading it for the first time. James takes you through his life, the history of West Indian society and the role of cricket in both with a vigour and erudition that lifts the book from the mere 'sports' category.

Cricket, and the power it can have over an individual and a people, is central to his story. The development of cricket, people and politics in the West Indies was intertwined for most of the 20th century. And James does us all an immense favour by untangling these strands carefully, deliberately and intelligently and then for good measure shines a light on England and its' own cricketing heritage. It is a wonderful read.

Read this book if you love cricket, if you're fascinated by political history, if you love writing that is so good it leaves you breathless. Whatever your reason, just read it; and then spread the word.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars beyond classification 9 Aug 2001
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Beyond a boundary is an extraordinary book, CLR James manages to seamlessly interweave anecdotes, cricketing technique, politics, his love for his country and his fellow men (cricketing and otherwise), legends of the game and the deveolpment of the game together with a tremendous sense of the importance of cricket in our culture and civilisation. It is not a light and easy read, or a book I would recommend universally, but the interest that you show in it is well rewarded with the depth of insight that you gain from every single page. I read it six months ago, and it remains in my mind far more vividly than many books I have read since for the renewed interest that it has given me towards a game I have always loved, but now look at with more reverence and understanding. Cricket is not life and death to everyone, but while reading this book it will appear that it could, or even should be.

It is more complex and thought provoking than any other sporting book I have ever encountered, and as such does not deserve the classification of sports book, though I couldn't begin to suggest how it SHOULD be classified!

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest cricket book ever written 29 Sep 2008
By Chris Widgery VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the greatest cricket book ever written. It's amazing. Because it's not about cricket. It's about life, about class, about politics, about colonialism, about racism. Because James realises you can't talk about cricket without talking about these things. As he says, "what do they know of cricket that only cricket know?"

Cricket books seem to work better than many other sport books because the game has only just started to change. There's been no new equipment to revolutionise the game, no huge influxes of obscene money (until this year); Bradman would have scored runs by the hatful today, and Warne would have taken wickets by the bucketload then. Which is lovely and means that this book feels almost as relevant now as when it was written.

If you know a cricket fan (or a sports fan, for that matter) who hasn't read this book, buy it for them. They will thank you
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars It IS the best ever 23 Sep 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Known as a classic title by anyone with even a passing interest in cricket, I wasn't sure 'Beyond a Boundary' could live up to the hype. Certainly, reading it does require effort; this is no instant feel-good cosy reminiscence. But it is pure joy. Ostensibly a memoir about cricket and criecketers, it mixes personal anecdote, literary allusion and political maxim with the technical detail of techniques and scores, and makes you understand and enjoy all these far more than you imagined possible. He deftly explores inter-island rivalry in the Caribbean, and the tensions between clubs on the same island who would only take players of a certain class and race. He challenges with his love of reading, which was clearly a life-long passion. And he inspires with his big vision of a world which can be improved, and a game which (as all cricket fans know) is more than a game and plays its part in the problems and the solutions. Cricket is made to seem at once gloriously important and appropriately small. If you enjoyed 'Fever Pitch', this is the original - harder work, but grander. A beautiful, amazing book.
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