Penguins Stopped Play and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £1.68

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading Penguins Stopped Play on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World [Paperback]

Harry Thompson
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.29 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.70 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 9 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Tuesday, 21 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £5.98  
Hardcover --  
Paperback £6.29  
Audio, CD, Audiobook £12.74  
Audio Download, Unabridged £7.12 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

5 April 2007
It seemed a simple enough idea at the outset: to assemble a team of eleven men to play cricket on each of the seven continents of the globe.

Except - hold on a minute - that's not a simple idea at all. And when you throw in incompetent airline officials, amorous Argentine Colonels' wives, cunning Bajan drug dealers, gay Australian waiters, overzealous American anti-terrorist police, idiot Welshmen dressed as Santa Claus, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and whole armies of pitch-invading Antarctic penguins, you quickly arrive at a whole lot more than you bargained for.

Harry Thompson's hilarious book tells the story of one of those great idiotic enterprises that only an Englishman could have dreamed up, and only a bunch of Englishmen could possibly have wished to carry out.

Frequently Bought Together

Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World + Rain Men: Madness of Cricket + Zimmer Men: The Trials and Tribulations of the Ageing Cricketer
Price For All Three: £20.37

Buy the selected items together


Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: John Murray; Reprint edition (5 April 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0719563461
  • ISBN-13: 978-0719563461
  • Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 1.9 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 62,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

Praise for Harry Thompson and Penguins Stopped Play:

(. )

'Actually completely brilliant'

(Ian Hislop )

'A real gold standard sense of humour'

 

(David Baddiel )

'Rare, clever, creative ... a maverick, pushing boundaries with outrageous jokes'

(Guardian )

'Crammed with sharp observation, comic and cruel characterisation and a great many very good jokes... Gloriously funny and life-affirming'

(Daily Telegraph )

'Surely the funniest book ever written about the English addiction to cricket...a beautiful tale of classic British humour, self-deprecation, great courage'

(Daily Mail )

'Even people who despise cricket will adore this'

(Times )

'Isn't only a marvellous read but in many ways captures the very essence of the game'

(Observer )

'Very funny . . .he fills his warm-hearted book with a satisfying selection of tales'

(Sunday Times )

'Funny and inspiring...Thompson writes with a novelist's sympathy about a wonderfully mixed bunch of characters' - Hugh Massingberd

(Literary Review )

'As funny as you would expect from the writer of Have I Got News For You'

(Daily Express )

'Harry Thompson wrote with such verve and wit that he could have made a trip round a multi-storey car park into an adventure'

 

(Celia Brayfield, The Times )

'A very funny, peculiarly British travel book'

(Markus Berkman, Daily Mail )

'A rip-roaring and at times touching account of a global tour by a bunch of village cricketers'

(Oxford Mail )

Book Description

Eleven village cricketers take on the world! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 63 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A hilarious read 22 Nov 2006
Format:Hardcover
This is a great book. From start to finish it holds the reader's thrall. It is well written and engaging whether you like the game of cricket or not, it is a funny account of the experiences of a less than professional cricket XI as they attempt to play the game on evry continent in the world over a limited time. It is worth mentioning however that although it offers much to the general reader, the most satisfaction and enjoyment will be had by those with an appreciation and an understanding of the little nuances, subtleties and terms inherent in the game of cricket, after all "tickling it down to fine leg" and "firing it in just short of a length" is not in everyone's natural parlance!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
33 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Cricket 24 April 2006
Format:Hardcover
Penguins Stopped Play is a remarkable account of the infamous Captain Scott XI which has already featured in 'Rain Men' & 'Zimmer Men' by Marcus Berkmann.

This time the focus is on the over seas tours the team embarked upon and the hilarious, embarrassing and awful situations that followed them around the globe. (I particularly enjoyed the withering attack on BA).

If you enjoy Cricket & travel then this book is a must. It is constantly laugh out loud funny with great stories on travel, sport & friendship. Well written and observant not only on foreign lands & cricket but also on the people that participate and play this silly game.

The books conclusion is particularly moving and poignant with the author facing the challenges of a terminal illness, which is met with much bravery and a straight bat. Penguins Stopped Play is a great book and Harry Thompson will be missed even by those who didn't know him! Thanks Harry!
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful read 27 Sep 2006
Format:Hardcover
'Penguins Stopped Play' is an utterly eccentric but delightful tale, filled with humour and pathos. If you want to undertand the mind of an Englishman, this is the book for you.

Driven to make the journey of a lifetime, Harry Thompson and his team conquer the world in pursuit of cricket. There's good chunks of travel writing here, some brilliant characterisation, and a good many jokes. It's a refreshing read, which you'll polish off in a session. The book's haunting ending will remain with you for a long, long time.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars A little like its cricket - less than perfect
Follows a long line of very British literature with a strong Private Eye sense of humor. Sadly it struggles to find a pitch that develops the rather pedestrian stroll through the... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Laurence Short
3.0 out of 5 stars Funny. Ish.
This is a reasonably entertaining read, along the lines of Fatty Batter and The Rain Men. However it strains a little too hard for comic effect, and somehow manages to irritate... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. J. McGowan
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant read
i read this book a little while ago ,and always wanted to own it ,and read it again ,such a good boook a lovely read and it made me laugh and cry ,it is a must read .
Published 5 months ago by trixie
5.0 out of 5 stars Right off the middle of the bat
Excellent, hilariously funny, poignant, all in all a rare combination of all of these.

Written in an engaging style the reader is allowed into the trials and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Barrington Blythe
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb - witty and insightful
I'm 42 years of age and could count of two hands how many adult books I've read all the way through. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. Richard S. Cave
5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and funny
A delightful picture of amateur enthusiasm and the incredible frustration of trying to organise any project based upon people giving their time voluntarily. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. P. Mowatt
4.0 out of 5 stars Penguins Stopped Play
Anyone who has ever played the more casual type of club cricket or who merely loves the game will enjoy this witty, readable book.
Published 13 months ago by Strephon
5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Harry
I started to read this book first in 2008, but only got through 100 pages before losing it in a box-o-stuff while relocating contintents. Read more
Published 15 months ago by David Nicol
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the great cricket books
There are a large number of books about cricket teams and tours, many amusing but often formulaic. This is one of the best but it is more. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Ashencrump
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite ever books
I have read a few similar Cricket books and would strongly recommend this alongside Rainmen and Fatty Batter. But I think this remains my favourite. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. J. Clune
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges