skater
04-04-2005, 07:59 AM
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Amazing story of Bradman from birth to death
By Gulu Ezekiel
The A-Z of Bradman
By Alan Eason.
ABC Books.
The late Sir Donald Bradman — he died in 2001 at the age of 92 — created a mass of records on the field, some never likely to be surpassed. One record off the field of play was the number of books written about him — over 50.
Of these a number have been released after his death, not all of a high quality. Certainly one of the most remarkable is this brilliant and unique effort by Australian author and trivia and crossword guru Alan Eason.
The first edition was self-published and released in 2002. Such was the critical and commercial success of the venture that a second edition has been released recently by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. While on the face of it, the book may appear to be a trivial look at the life and times of the greatest batsman of all time, it is really much more than that.
In hundreds of entries — including two for the letter Z — Eason traces the amazing story of Bradman from birth to death. He goes beyond with a look back at the family roots (they originated in England) and then to his impact after his passing on the eve of that famous India-Australia series which began at Mumbai in February 2001.
Obviously they are numerous entries which can be classified as ‘trivial’, for example the 1936 movie ‘The Flying Doctor’ in which Don plays a bit part. Or ‘Fred’, the alias he used in order to dine incognito with family and friends in an Adelaide restaurant. Then again, these are what give the subject his human dimension while at the same time his cricketing feats are extensively chronicled in numerous entries.
There are also quite a few Indian entries, even though Bradman never played in India and only set foot briefly in Calcutta in 1953 en-route to England. The biggest of these is on Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman Bradman felt most resembled him in stroke-play. Tendulkar and Shane Warne, two of the Don’s favourite players were invited to his home in Adelaide for a private meeting on the occasion of his 90th birthday on August 27, 1998.
The biggest entry of all is understandably on the contentious ‘Bodyline’ series of 1932-33 when England’s captain Douglas Jardine employed intimidatory tactics to quell his run scoring. He still averaged in the 50s. Undoubtedly one of the most thoroughly researched and engrossing cricket books of all time.
Amazing story of Bradman from birth to death
By Gulu Ezekiel
The A-Z of Bradman
By Alan Eason.
ABC Books.
The late Sir Donald Bradman — he died in 2001 at the age of 92 — created a mass of records on the field, some never likely to be surpassed. One record off the field of play was the number of books written about him — over 50.
Of these a number have been released after his death, not all of a high quality. Certainly one of the most remarkable is this brilliant and unique effort by Australian author and trivia and crossword guru Alan Eason.
The first edition was self-published and released in 2002. Such was the critical and commercial success of the venture that a second edition has been released recently by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. While on the face of it, the book may appear to be a trivial look at the life and times of the greatest batsman of all time, it is really much more than that.
In hundreds of entries — including two for the letter Z — Eason traces the amazing story of Bradman from birth to death. He goes beyond with a look back at the family roots (they originated in England) and then to his impact after his passing on the eve of that famous India-Australia series which began at Mumbai in February 2001.
Obviously they are numerous entries which can be classified as ‘trivial’, for example the 1936 movie ‘The Flying Doctor’ in which Don plays a bit part. Or ‘Fred’, the alias he used in order to dine incognito with family and friends in an Adelaide restaurant. Then again, these are what give the subject his human dimension while at the same time his cricketing feats are extensively chronicled in numerous entries.
There are also quite a few Indian entries, even though Bradman never played in India and only set foot briefly in Calcutta in 1953 en-route to England. The biggest of these is on Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman Bradman felt most resembled him in stroke-play. Tendulkar and Shane Warne, two of the Don’s favourite players were invited to his home in Adelaide for a private meeting on the occasion of his 90th birthday on August 27, 1998.
The biggest entry of all is understandably on the contentious ‘Bodyline’ series of 1932-33 when England’s captain Douglas Jardine employed intimidatory tactics to quell his run scoring. He still averaged in the 50s. Undoubtedly one of the most thoroughly researched and engrossing cricket books of all time.