A fascinating account of how two BBC broadcasters battled for the soul of English cricket during a time of great social change
Stephen Fay has written extensively on finance, the theatre and cricket. His books include Tom Graveney at Lord's, and he is a former editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly. David Kynaston has written twenty books, including Austerity Britain, Family Britain and Modernity Britain. His most recent cricket book is WG's Birthday Party, an account of the historic 1898 Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's.
Those old enough will welcome a wonderful insight into the
cricketing voices of their childhood. Arlott, Swanton and the Soul
of English Cricket reflects upon two titans of cricket journalism
and broadcasting. Youngsters can discover them for the first time.
Stephen Fay and David Kynaston combine seamlessly to produce a gem
of a book -- Vic Marks * Observer 'Books of the Year' *
Magnificent ... One of the best cricket books I've read in years:
it makes long-forgotten matches live and breathe as though they
were played yesterday -- Marcus Berkmann * Daily Mail 'Books of the
Year' *
A chronicle of 20th-century class difference, elegantly observed
through the lives of the two men and their attitudes towards their
beloved sport -- Emma John * Guardian 'Books of the Year' *
A wonderfully readable and illuminating account of the game in the
last half of the 20th century ... Beautifully written, meticulously
researched and stuffed with rich sporting and social history, this
must already be a candidate for Sports Book of the Year.
Unputdownable -- Michael Simkins * Mail on Sunday *
A triumph ... [Kynaston and Fay] both have inside-outside
sensitivities that keep this near-seamless collaboration shrewd,
worldly, balanced and fresh * Times Literary Supplement *
[A] delightful and thoughtful book ... A nostalgic delight *
Standpoint *
John Arlott and EW Swanton defined cricket commentary in the second
half of the 20th century ... As this wonderful biography shows,
they were united by their love of the spirit of cricket, and stood
together in resisting anything that compromised it, from bullying
moguls to racism * Daily Telegraph *
An important account of English cricket through the post-war
decades from the glorious summer of 1947 to one-day cricket and
Packer ... Cricket has always produced literature that weaves
together sport and society and this book certainly presents an
insight into post-war England that reaches far beyond the boundary
rope * Country Life *
A historian of peerless sensitivity and curiosity about the lives
of individuals -- Praise for David Kynaston * Financial Times *
John Arlott and EW Swanton were the voices of English cricket for
much of the post-war years. This insightful, provocative book
gently teases out the differences in their styles, backgrounds and
personalities and shows why all this mattered in a society defined
by class and in a sport riven by it -- Hugh MacDonald * Herald *
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