Book review

by SEAN GORMAN

Reading the Game: An Annotated Guide to the Literature and Films of Australian Rules Football by Tim Hogan.

read game

AS vanity would have it with my first perusal of Reading the Game I sped through the book to see if my book Brotherboys had been included and indeed annotated. The reason for this was not just vanity alone but a chance to see what other academically inclined football people thought of it. This, I thought, was much more than just the chance to have a reviewer nibble at the text and dismiss or delight in the work. I was far more intruiged as I believe an annotation, as a genre, requires a specific skill that must be succinct yet lucid and not just a page filler as so many reviews often are.

As I flicked through the book I was becoming increasingly frustrated and fearful that my book was not in Reading the Game. I began to sweat and a sinking feeling started to grip me, the kind that re-boots all those old schoolyard memories of being the last kid picked for a football match at lunch time. I put the book away for a few minutes then slowly and calmly went through it again. The first five chapters in the Table of Contents were not the haven for my book as they dealt with humour, clubs (both major and minor), business and legal works. I looked under 'cultural and social aspects'; nothing. 'General and historical works'; zip. Here we go 'literary and dramatic works'; zero. I felt like Shackleton staring out over a frozen tundra. In my confusion I did not go back to the book for a few days and then late Sunday afternoon over a hot cup of tea I processed the book in a much easier manner. I went all the way to chapter 18 'Unpublished Theses' and there was my doctorate with a reference to the book, a little bit strange considering it had been published. Surely it should have been the other way round. I then trawled through chapter 15 'Personalities' and there it was. But sadly my joy turned another corner as no annotation accompanied it. I rationalised that neither did Warwick Capper's book or Tony Lockett's in the same section.

The most obvious thing about this book is that it is a great resource for anyone wishing to find or seek out a specific book, book chapter, film or manual about football and for this we should be grateful. It also deals with trends in football writing and it has been honest in saying what has been omitted and the reasons behind it. Hopefully there will be regular updates that will allow for new works to be included and those texts that have not been annotated to be done so. Also perhaps as a means to really streamline for the reader the content perhaps the book needs to include an index of all authors and page numbers. If these things can be done then this text will be the truly valuable text that it deserves to be and a welcome purchase to all who follow 'the game'.

To purchase Reading the Game go to www.sporthistory.org and click on publications. Reading the Game was published by the Australian Society for Sports History.

Editor's note: Sean Gorman's book Brotherboys was published by Allen & Unwin. Type Brotherboys in the Google search panel below and you'll be led to our stories about it from last year.

26 August 2006

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