or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
30 used & new from £3.19
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
What Sport Tells Us About Life
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

What Sport Tells Us About Life (Paperback)

by Ed Smith (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £5.81 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.18 (35%)
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
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
23 new from £3.54 6 used from £3.19 1 collectible from £20.00

Frequently Bought Together

What Sport Tells Us About Life + The Meaning of Sport + Not Dark Yet: A Very Funny Book About a Very Serious Game
Price For All Three: £18.28

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Meaning of Sport

The Meaning of Sport

by Simon Barnes
3.6 out of 5 stars (7)  £6.99
Playing Hard Ball: County Cricket and Big League Baseball

Playing Hard Ball: County Cricket and Big League Baseball

by E.T. Smith
4.2 out of 5 stars (8)  £5.99
On and off the Field: Ed Smith in 2003

On and off the Field: Ed Smith in 2003

by Ed Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars (6) 
A Cultured Left Foot: The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness

A Cultured Left Foot: The Eleven Elements of Footballing Greatness

by Musa Okwonga
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.99
Not Dark Yet: A Very Funny Book About a Very Serious Game

Not Dark Yet: A Very Funny Book About a Very Serious Game

by David Lloyd
3.8 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.48
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; First Edition edition (29 Jan 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141031859
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141031859
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.2 x 1.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
   1 Trick for a Flat Belly: opens new browser window
www.TruthAboutAbs.com  -  I used to struggle with belly fat untiI I found this unique trick 
   History Life opens new browser window
Ask.com  -  Search for History Life Find History life 
  
 

Product Description

Product Description

Why will there never be another Bradman? How do you win 33 games in a row? Why did Zidane lose his rag on the world's stage? Foraying deep into sport's leftfield, Ed smith asks the questions we rarely ask of our teams and players. When is cheating really cheating? Is the free market good for sport? Can talent be a curse? Does luck matter? His answers, often controversial and always thought provoking, will delight anyone who has ever wondered why sport matters.


About the Author

Ed Smith read History at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Having played for Kent and England, he is now Captain of Middlesex County Cricket Club. He has published two highly acclaimed books: Playing Hard Ball, a comparison of baseball and cricket, and On and Off the Field, which was named Wisden Book of the Year, 2004. He writes for many publications including The Times and Sunday Telegraph.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 4 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

What Sport Tells Us About Life
95% buy the item featured on this page:
What Sport Tells Us About Life 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£5.81
Playing Hard Ball: County Cricket and Big League Baseball
2% buy
Playing Hard Ball: County Cricket and Big League Baseball 4.2 out of 5 stars (8)
£5.99
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
1% buy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 4.1 out of 5 stars (268)
£3.96
The Meaning of Sport
1% buy
The Meaning of Sport 3.6 out of 5 stars (7)
£6.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars SPORTING EQUIVALENT OF FREAKONOMICS, 18 Feb 2009
By Peter Hurst "peter hurst" (wigan, england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Imagine if a sequel was written to Freakonomics - a book which attempts to understand and explicate all sorts of things in society by applying economic principles to them - by a well-educated, well-read, erudite former English Crickter-turned journalist and instead of applying economic principles the author seeks to apply lessons from the world of sport instead. Well, if you can imagine that then you have a pretty good idea of the premise of this book.

'Sport is a condensed version of life - only it matters less and comes up with better statistics. Consequently, in this book, I place sport in the widest possible context in order to learn more about the game of real life.'

The premise is an interesting one and the book is an excellent read but it is far from perfect:- (1) It is only 183 pages long. (2) It is really a collection of short essays rather than one coherant book. (3)a) The first half of the book is much better than the second half. (b) A couple of the chapters towards the back of the book end with trite banalities rather than real insight.

Notwithstanding the criticisms that can legitimately be levelled against the book I would still recommend this book to any sports fan, it is well-written, frequently insightful and whilst short it is broad in scope and ambition.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, thought provoking and highly applicable, 18 May 2009
By S. Baker (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
During my year out in Paris I remember being fascinated by a french friend telling me about the symbolism in the 'Jungle Book'; the different characters representing the balance of power between the 'great nations' in 1901.
Ed Smith's book brought back memories of those intellectual discussions about topics that previously I thought were trivial or for children.
Sadly, sports coverage is too often at the level of 'Hello' magazine or tabloid journalism; a re-iteration of 'what' took place on the pitch (or off it) and not 'why' they happened. 'What sport tells us about life' contains that 'value add' and in so doing not only helps you enjoy what you are watching more, but also apply lessons learnt to other aspects of life.
I'm just about to talk to a senior manager (who loves F1) about why our project managers should be less like 'Ayrton Senna'...
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
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
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.