Where Am I And Who's Winning [Paperback]

The brilliant comic debut from one of the country's best sports writers

To the armchair fan, the life of the sports writer is one of unalloyed joy: all-expenses-paid trips to the most exciting events in the world, the best seats in the house, and one-on-one interviews with Anna Kournikova - Well, up to a point. Where Am I And Who's Winning? describes what it's really like to make your way through the world of sport, always on deadline, always between time zones, on a frantic, chaotic and hilarious tour of the planet's most famous and most bizarre sporting venues. There's football to be watched. And Formula One. And tennis. And two Olympics, two Commonwealth Games, ocean racing, tropical cricket, curling, and of course the queen of sports - synchronised swimming. But every minute of every day there's copy to file, editors to be appeased, and daughters wanting to know when Daddy's coming home. Permanently handicapped by jet-lag and incompetence, Andrew Baker travels by bullet train, bobsled, go-kart, and (most dangerous of all) bus in his constant quest to arrive at the match/race-meeting/mountain-top on time. Between soul-enhancing visits to the Dead Goat Saloon and the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum, he breakfasts with Steve Redgrave, pub-crawls with Audley Harrison, discovers the unexpected affinity between Michael Schumacher and a brown slug - and even takes in a game or two. Because nothing - not Brazilian muggers, nor Chinese security services, nor Norwegian pornography - shall stand between him and his noble calling: to bring the great British public its daily sporting fix. Andrew Baker's brilliant comic debut will appeal to the armchair traveller and the armchair sports fan alike. But most of all to anyone who enjoys the misfortunes of others... (20031208)

'If you're thinking of getting into sports writing, read this. If you think it will be a piece of cake, read this. If you haven't got a sense of humour, don't read this. A superbly written book.' Des Lynam

To the armchair fan, the life of the sports writer is one of unalloyed joy: all-expenses-paid trips to the most exciting events in the world, the best seats in the house, and one-on-one interviews with Anna Kournikova - Well, up to a point.

Where Am I And Who's Winning? describes what it's really like to make your way through the world of sport, always on deadline, always between time zones, on a frantic, chaotic and hilarious tour of the planet's most famous and most bizarre sporting venues. There's football to be watched. And Formula One. And tennis. And two Olympics, two Commonwealth Games, ocean racing, tropical cricket, curling, and of course the queen of sports - synchronised swimming.

But every minute of every day there's copy to file, editors to be appeased, and daughters wanting to know when Daddy's coming home. Permanently handicapped by jet-lag and incompetence, Andrew Baker travels by bullet train, bobsled, go-kart, and (most dangerous of all) bus in his constant quest to arrive at the match/race-meeting/mountain-top on time. Between soul-enhancing visits to the Dead Goat Saloon and the Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum, he breakfasts with Steve Redgrave, pub-crawls with Audley Harrison, discovers the unexpected affinity between Michael Schumacher and a brown slug - and even takes in a game or two. Because nothing - not Brazilian muggers, nor Chinese security services, nor Norwegian pornography - shall stand between him and his noble calling: to bring the great British public its daily sporting fix.

Andrew Baker's brilliant comic debut will appeal to the armchair traveller and the armchair sports fan alike. But most of all to anyone who enjoys the misfortunes of others...

Andrew Baker has been a sports feature writer for Daily Telegraph for the last seven years. In that time he has covered more than 60 sports, flown more than 250,000 miles, and been insulted in 43 languages. This is his first book. (20031208)