Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in excellent condition. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> the A-Z of Bradman? Why it’s so obvious: a concept that falls intothe ‘wish-I’d-thought-of-that’ category of publishing ideas. Theana totality of knowledge can be captured contained and classifiedidea I might say that seldom fails to suck me in. On my own bookshelvesrepose titles from The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers (1994) to TheEncyclopedia Sherlockiana (1977) from The A-Z of Hitchcock (2001) toElvis: His Life from A-Z (1988) the last brimming with such priceless detailas the King’s army serial number (53310761) and the licence plate of hishearse (1-C5652).Then there’s Bradman whose record seems to encourage filing andordering with its relentlessly steady accumulation and sense of in-builtconstraint – not quite an average of 100 not quite 7000 Test runs a duckas its denouement. Of how many cricketers I wonder would an A-Z be ofinterest or of use? Surely not many. The mingling of familiar referencepoints with information less well-known seems to be a prerequisite of asuccessful A-Z: thus in Alan Eason’s book citations for both 99.94 thetalismanic average and ’96cm the Don’s chest measurement in 1930. Andof even W.G. Grace it cannot be said there is quite enough knowledge incommon circulation to make the task a rewarding one: the Old Man bettersuits the majestic sweep and minute detail of J.R. Webber’s 1100-pageChronicle of W.G. (1998).Nor does The A-Z of Bradman stop there for it is replete with thestatistics that no compilation concerning the cricketer can be without. 163?The average length of his Test innings in minutes. 164? His number of first-class hundred-run partnerships. 165? His slowest first-class fifty inminutes. Quaint? Dotty? Ah yes but Bradman provides to quote oneformer Australian treasurer a beautiful set of numbers’: it is like studyingthe track record of a great portfolio investor consistently beating the indexa Warren Buffett or a Peter Lynch or perusing the specifications of a hugemanmade structure like the Hoover Dam or the Pyramids. The exerciseundertaken by B.J. Wakley in Bradman The Great (1959) which truly putsthe ?anal in ?analysis is almost unthinkable in the context of anotherplayer.