Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World (Paperback)

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• This item: Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World by Harry Thompson

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• Not Dark Yet: A Very Funny Book About a Very Serious Game by David Lloyd

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• Fatty Batter: How Cricket Saved My Life (then Ruined It) by Michael Simkins

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Review
'A comic gem' -- Ultratravel Praise for Harry Thompson and Penguins Stopped Play: -- . 'Actually completely brilliant' -- Ian Hislop 'Hilarious' -- Sunday Telegraph 'A real gold standard sense of humour' -- David Baddiel 'Rare, clever, creative ! a maverick, pushing boundaries with outrageous jokes' -- Guardian 'The first chapter deserves to be anthologised alongside the funniest passages of cricket writing in the game's rich literary history, and what follows is crammed with sharp observation, comic and cruel characterisation and a great many very good jokes...It is a gloriously funny and life-affirming book, and if you know anyone who plays cricket and can read you should buy it for them' - Andrew Baker -- Daily Telegraph 20060413 'Surely the funniest book ever written about the English addiction to cricket...a beautiful tale of classic British humour, self-deprecation, great courage and one of the best accounts ever of the obsessive appeal of our summer game to those whose lives revolve around it' - Tom Rosenthal -- Daily Mail 20060414 'Engaging and full of humour, though it ends with an abrupt shift in tone when Thompson discovers that he has inoperable lung cancer' - Ludovic Hunter-Tilney -- FT magazine 20060415 'As funny as you would expect from the (sadly deceased) writer of Have I Got News For You' -- Daily Express 20060414 'A hilarious, eccentically English memoir.' -- Sainsbury's Magazine 20060501 'In the whirl of hangovers, jetlag, sleeplessness and general unreliability, humour was the saviour.' -- The Week 20060422 'Delicious...This book is the perfect tribute to his greatest enthusiasm: a delivery which spins delicately past the straight bat of our expectations' - Pete Clark -- Evening Standard 20060410 'Funny and inspiring...Thompson writes with a novelist's sympathy about a wonderfully mixed bunch of characters' - Hugh Massingberd -- Literary Review 20060410 'Let's get one thing clear from the off - I don't get cricket...The fact that I loved Penguins Stopped Play" can only be testament to Harry Thompson's brilliant writing, sardonic humour and English love of farce' - Lizzie Matthews -- Wanderlust (Book of the Month) 20060410 'An eccentic, funny and very English story' -- Traveller 20060410 'Part travelogue, part tale of the sporting underdog, and with its combination of frustration and wit, this is a book British cricket lovers will adore this summer' -- Waterstone's Books Quarterly 20060410 'Hilarious' -- The Bookseller 20060410 'The writing is crisper than a Gower cover drive and as witty as any of the Tales from the Long Room.' -- Wisden Cricketer 20060601 '[Thompson] writes with wit, verve, and a genuine love of the use of language shines through! superb observational comedy writing.' -- AND Magazine 20060501 "Rarely has there been a funnier cricket book" -- Yorkshire Evening Post 20060429 'This will make you laugh out loud as you enjoy the "best of British", while lamenting the passing of this coming genius.' -- The Resident 20060501 '[Thompson] excels as a travel writer.' -- South China Morning Post, Alex Price 20060611 'This will make you laugh out loud while lamenting the passing of this comic genius.' -- Rise, Robert Gwyn Palmer 20060501 'Thompson's prose is vividly conversational! very funny.' -- Guardian: Tim de Lisle 20060617 'Very funny it is too ...he fills his warm-hearted book with a satisfying selection of tales' -- Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times 20060514 'A highly entertaining account of one man's sporting obsession' -- Father's Quarterly 20060531 'This is a beautiful tale of classic British humour, self-deprecation, great courage and one of the best accounts ever of the obsessive appeal of our summer game to those whose lives revolve around it' -- Daily Mail 20060401 'Even people who despise cricket will adore Penguins Stopped Play.' -- Times 20060701 'Thompson! maintains a witty narrative! Despite his cynical eye, Thompson is never afraid to show his love of the game' -- Observer / Sports Monthly 20060701 '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 20060701 'A very funny, peculiarly British travel book' -- Markus Berkman, Daily Mail 20060701 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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 )

See all Product Description

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt

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48 Reviews 5 star:  (39) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (3) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.6 out of 5 stars (48 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   53 of 55 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A hilarious read, 22 Nov 2006 By  Mr. A. S. T. Bateman (Halifax, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World (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 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   27 of 28 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Cricket , 24 April 2006 By  M. Prisco (Surrey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World (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 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   22 of 23 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful read, 27 Sep 2006 By  D. Moles (London and Strasbourg) - See all my reviews This review is from: Penguins Stopped Play: Eleven Village Cricketers Take on the World (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 Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 48 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Batter-sweet It's rather mixed emotions I have after finishing this book on the train this morning. Cricket is probably the game I have spent the longest playing in my life and I have enjoyed... Read more Published 25 days ago by Rob Sawyer 5.0 out of 5 stars If you have any interest in cricket you should read this This book is sharply observed and extremely funny. A close look at the world of club amateur cricket. Read more Published 2 months ago by Comical Engineer 5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun! If you've ever wondered quite what it is that makes grown men (and women) take up the strange and absorbing game that is cricket, then this book might go some way towards... Read more Published 3 months ago by Emanon 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic - superbly funny Very funny book, not only about cricket. Anyone who has travelled internationally especially with British Airways, tried to organise something on behalf of others or who has... Read more Published 4 months ago by Mr. LGD Williams 5.0 out of 5 stars Want to make someone laugh? I bought this book for my partner as a recommendation and I have never seen someone laugh out loud so uncontrollably and with so much joy! Read more Published 5 months ago by Cris 5.0 out of 5 stars Top man It's worth buying this book just for the mental picture of Ian Hislop waist deep in manure. That, I admit, isn't much of a review, but it still brings a smile to my... Read more Published 5 months ago by S. Wilson 5.0 out of 5 stars From Tears of Laughter, to tears of sadness. Close of play. Having read similar books (Zimmermen/Rain men) I was keen to step into the troubles of a cricket team - as a player of some 20+ years and now into my 40s, increasingly the trials... Read more Published 9 months ago by Sr Luckhurst 5.0 out of 5 stars Close of play. I have read a few cricketing books - those by Simon Hughes, Fatty Batter etc. - but I have to say that this is the best of them all. Read more Published 9 months ago by I. Price 5.0 out of 5 stars hilarious , even for a non cricket fan I found this book in a holiday flat I'd rented, I couldn't put it down . I frequently laughed so loudly that I had to explain to my husband why the tears were rolling down my... Read more Published 13 months ago by Mrs. J. Peel 3.0 out of 5 stars Gets better I almost gave up on this book several times as it appears, to me, to be nothing more than an account of Trustafarian, old-etonian, Hugo and Marcus types galavanting around the... Read more Published 13 months ago by N. C. Moore Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 48 customer reviews...

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