Books Reviews

Can We Have Our Balls Back Please? – Book Review

By Angela Youngman Oct 29, 2012, 17:18 GMT

Long before Drake refused to interrupt his game of bowls when the Armada was sighted, the British have had a passionate relationship with sport. Julian Norridge goes through the stories of fourteen major sports from cricket to boxing to football, from their very beginning and throughout the British Isles, whether it\'s Welsh inventor and tobacco enthusiast Major Walter Clopton Wingfield coming up with a game that could use those new ...more

Most sport books published this year around the Olympic theme are already being forgotten. This book is set to become a classic, perfect for sports fans, historians and anyone who enjoys reading something just that bit different. Norridge sets out to show just how the British invented sport - and then almost forgot to play it! 

Everything from rowing to boxing, pub games and sailing are considered - as well as the most well known ones football, rugby and cricket.

Nowadays Baseball is thought of as an all American game - but it originated in England. Why is the Dogget the oldest sporting race? Some interesting social history links are made - the arrival of mowing machines making smooth lawns leading to the arrival of croquet. 

The English influence can be found even on sports like Bobsleigh and figure skating.  At times amusing, but always very informative, this is a book which everyone can enjoy.