C L R James, one of the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century, was devoted to the game of cricket. In this classic summation of half a lifetime spent playing, watching and writing about the sport, he recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race and politics that surround it.

Part memoir of a West Indian boyhood, part passionate celebration and defence of cricket as an art form, part indictment of colonialism, Beyond a Boundary addresses not just a sport but a whole culture and asks the question, 'What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?

Print length

368 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Yellow Jersey
Publication date

7 July 2005
Dimensions

13 x 1.91 x 19.69 cm
ISBN-10

9780224074278
ISBN-13

978-0224074278
See all details

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Product description

Review

"Great claims have been made for [Beyond a Boundary] since its first appearance in 1963: that it is the greatest sports book ever written; that it brings the outsider a privileged insight into West Indian culture; that it is a severe examination of the colonial condition. All are true" (Sunday Times)

"To say "the best cricket book ever written" is piffingly inadequate praise. A mental landscape triangulated by literature, socialism and cricket represents an ideal we should all aspire to, and this ennobling and beautifully written book should be read by anyone with the slightest interest in any one of the above" (Guardian)

"Anyone who has not encountered [Beyond A Boundary] should seize the chance now" (Sunday Telegraph)

"Years ago I had presumed, on being repeatedly told that C L R James' Beyond A Boundary was the finest sports book ever written, that it was the opposite; in fact, James' erudite tale probably warrants that label" (Independent)

"An innovative mixture of autobiography, sports journalism and political philosophy" (Daily Telegraph)

From the Publisher

One of the greatest of all sports books, now reissued with a new introduction.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 022407427X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yellow Jersey; Reprint edition (7 July 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780224074278
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0224074278
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13 x 1.91 x 19.69 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 247,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 213 in Cricket Player Biographies
- 448 in Cricket (Books)
- 981 in British Historical Social & Urban History Biographies

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2 star		6%
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Rob Peach

Filled with Humour as well as imaginative metaphors.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2019

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James is a cricket-centric author par excellence. The prompt to read this book came from its being mentioned by Ed Smith in his book “What Sport teaches us about Life.
He also mentioned William Makepeace Thackeray and Vanity Fair, a book on Victorian and earlier Vanity.
The cricket book is peppered with wonderful paragraphs lifted from the CLR James’ diaries. The central theme is “tales of cricket’’ and it is ...

2 people found this helpful

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Paul WS Bowler

Can't recommend highly enough

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 June 2013

Verified Purchase

I ordered this book on the strength of a blog post by Kenan Malik. I'm not a huge fan of cricket and reading this book was sometimes like reading a Patrick O'Brien novel (a lot of jargon) but it did not interfere with my enjoyment of the book. Though it did make me somewhat jealous of the affection, the knowledge and the passion, the author had for the game of cricket. It's difficult to say exactly what this book is about as it is parts autobiography, biography, paean to the game of cricket, a treatise on art, a social history of England, Trinidad & Tobago, an introduction to a national awakening and flowering, a literary review, a philosophical commentary, a window into the gradations of racism, the degradations caused by racism and the sun setting on an imperial power. I've never had the pleasure of reading something so eclectic and yet so informative.

15 people found this helpful

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The greatest cricket book ever written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2008

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This is the greatest cricket book ever written. It's amazing. Because it's not about cricket. It's about life, about class, about politics, about colonialism, about racism. Because James realises you can't talk about cricket without talking about these things. As he says, "what do they know of cricket that only cricket know?"

Cricket books seem to work better than many other sport books because the game has only just started to change. There's been no new equipment to revolutionise the game, no huge influxes of obscene money (until this year); Bradman would have scored runs by the hatful today, and Warne would have taken wickets by the bucketload then. Which is lovely and means that this book feels almost as relevant now as when it was written.

If you know a cricket fan (or a sports fan, for that matter) who hasn't read this book, buy it for them. They will thank you

4 people found this helpful

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Mr. T. M. Lazarus

Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand cricket - and politics - in the West Indies

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2019

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James's book is perhaps best known for the quote "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?" This book should be required reading for anybody aspiring to write or talk about the game. Thought provoking, funny and angry by turns, this is masterful writing by an intellectual and political activist who sees his - and his nation's cricketing development as inextricably linked with the politics and self-identify, not only of his home country of Trinidad, but of the entire Caribbean.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2020

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The best book ever written about cricket? Certainly.

The best Marxist analysis of colonialism? I'd say so.

A glorious piece of prose? Oh yes.

Set aside some time and savour this, the defining work of a great mind.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2012

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This book is unique - the work of a unique author. A person who can write with equal authority, wit and - on occasion - poignancy on cricket (this book) and on the Haiti slave revolt (The Black Jacobins) deserves respect and gratitude. 'Beyond a boundary' is a cricket book for the cricket enthusiast, but it's frame of reference is so much wider than cricket. A classic.

2 people found this helpful

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Lueana Cox

The author CLR James is from the same country where I'm from Trinidad & Tobago, beautiful islands.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2020

Verified Purchase

This book was purchased for my husband as a Christmas gift. He loves Cricket and is a big fan of West India Cricket.

I know he will enjoy his read.

Thank you

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 June 2014

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This is an exquisitely evocative memoir full of poetic language and compelling encomia about cricket and life in colonial Trinidad. CLR's style is magnanimous and warm making it an easy book to read despite some significant intellectualism. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to English cricket fans and social historians. Magnificent.

One person found this helpful

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