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What Sport Tells Us About Life (Paperback)

by Ed Smith (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £5.38 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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  • This item: What Sport Tells Us About Life by Ed Smith

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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: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 23,564 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Recommended to anyone interested in sport, history, or simply human nature (Mark Lawson, Front Row )

I could eat this stuff up with a spoon (Nick Hornby )

A book that everyone with a serious interest in sport needs to read. Don't miss it (The Times )

A terrific book - Smith has distilled into 200 pages things that took me fifteen years of playing to work out (Mike Atherton )

An exceptional book: lucid, thought-provoking, informative and fair. Outstanding (The Times )

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.
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 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.
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3 of 3 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'...
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Title the wrong way round., 27 Jan 2010
By Big Jim "Big Jim" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Don't get me wrong, this is an enjoyable if slight book, but most of the essays here describe what life tells us about sport, not the other way round. Or have I missed the point?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Man Thinks Deeply About Sport, Writes Engaging Book
Being both an intelligent bloke and having been within touching distance of the highest reaches of international cricket, Ed Smith is an ideal author of a book that attempts to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Andy

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