Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mornington Cresent - a true underground movement., 25 Nov 2003
This review is from: Stovold's Mornington Crescent Almanac 2002 (Hardcover)
This book mercifully avoids the pitfall that has ruined so many other Mornington Crescent books through the ages, which have devoted so much space to explaining every intricacy of the rules in such detail as to leave little room for any analysis or history of the game. Thankfully, “Stovold’s Mornington Crescent Almanac” credits us with a bit of intelligence and assumes we know the rules – after all, it hardly takes a rocket scientist to grasp the basic principles of the game. No, what Stovold has done is to provide a truly universal tome that appeals to both the hard-core Crescent-head and casual player (if such a thing exists). Some fascinating revelations are made in this book, including the discovery of evidence that Stonehenge was built as a primitive Mornington Crescent arena, and that the Chinese invented a much-simplified version of the Game for simpletons, and called it “Mornington Chessent”, which was later abbreviated to “Chess”. Another plus point is that the book does not stick to the ludicrously simple version of the Game popularised by the Radio 4 programme “I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue”. In fact, by contributing to Stovold’s, they have defied much of the criticism that has been hurled their way. Many purists had previously resented their version of the Game, with many observers saying that from listening to them carry on, you’d think they invented the game themselves. As well as the serious business of the Game, the book contains some moments of light relief. For example, did you know that the original 7" version of The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” had a B-side in which the band gave a very convincing argument for why Morton’s Reversal should be limited to Circle Line post-Crabbitt junctions only. This was deemed unacceptable for the pro-Crabitt record company bosses, and was never released. Overall, this is an essential buy for anyone who doesn’t know their Googe Street bi-laterals from their elbows, or who has ever got their Hampton Court in a Shepherd’s Bush loop. However much you thought you knew about Mornington Crescent, this book will increase your knowledge by around 35%.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent guide but a very narrow viewpoint., 24 May 2010
This review is from: Stovold's Mornington Crescent Almanac 2002 (Hardcover)
Dr Garden has failed to mention the schism of 92, when the 92 chairman of the Abercrombie Square Sunday League and Combined Ferret Juggling Search and Rescue Snatch Squad, were so incensed with the re-interpretation of Stovold's 1796 ruling on preliminary greasing that they refused to accept that nirdling was an acceptable side bet in preliminary offset location tampering and formed the breakaway WWMCC organisation. Yet again this is just another example of the breathtaking audacity of the MCC elite to rewrite the future. No mention of harpooning or the use of Wilson leads me to believe that Dr Garden and Stovold's editing staff would prefer to gloss over the MCC's murkier, but less innovative past, when a matt finish would perhaps be more appropriate.
The statistic relating to Broderic Crofford's playing carear also fails to distinguish the 176 games he played whilst experimenting with kilt wearing and the 27 years spent in self imposed exile playing as a semi-professional amateur under the name Mr Doris Higginbottom (Maj). Otherwise an excellently reaserched but entirely inaccurate section well worth the inclusion.
If it weren't for the fact that women may read this, my response of Dr Garden's insensitive handling of minor issues would be: Tooting Bec and be damned sir. May Hitchen forgive me.
Otherwise well worth the money for a sanitised version of the truth.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mornington Crescent!, 5 Aug 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Stovold's Mornington Crescent Almanac 2002 (Hardcover)
For anyone who's ever listened to Mornington Crescent, this book is fabulous! It will considerably improve your game skill, with a witty and informative combination of key games from history, the background to the game, useful recipes (!), and a listing of important rules. For instance, "Crabbit's Law", which dictates "the illegality of vectored access to low coordinates within the Rhombus of Apperley is non-negotiable under any circumference". I agree, whole-heartedly. The forward by Ken Livingston proves just how important a game it has been, revealing how it guided him through the running of London. The editor, Graeme Garden, also wrote the radio series on which the book is based, and this tongue-in-cheek take on the great game is extremely funny, well written and most of all accurate. This book certainly made me chuckle, and so I'd definitely recommend it.
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