On Snooker (Yellow Jersey Shorts S.) - Softcover

Richler, Mordecai

Softcover

ISBN 10: 022406150X ISBN 13: 9780224061506

Publisher: Yellow Jersey Press, 2002

Synopsis

Mordecai Richler honed his cueing action in the pool halls of Montreal where he misspent his teenage years hustling. He was addicted to the game and its grownup cousin - snooker - ever after. This book traces the history of snooker from its nineteenth-century origins to the tobacco-sponsored world of today's game. Richler visits the craftsmen who make the cues, the agents who control the sport, the groupies who obsessively follow the circuit and the millionaire players themselves. The 'bad boys' from Alex Higgins to Ronnie O'Sullivan, his fellow countrymen Cliff Thorburn and Kirk Stevens and, the central figure of the book, Stephen Hendry, the game's most talented exponent ever. A brilliant, witty and compact look at the game, On Snooker is sports writing at its best. It is a book that transcends its subject in unexpected and fascinating ways.

About this title

Review:

'An engrossing read - a love letter to spott penned by a great writer' Glasgow Herald 'The book's strength lies in Richler's rich exuberance' Observer

From the Back Cover:

Outrageously funny, passionate and thoroughly researched on snooker tables from Montreal's The Main to Dublin, On Snooker is a book that lovers of Richler and of great sports writing will cherish. It is not just a lifelong fan's memoir: it takes us on an entertaining journey through the story and world of snooker, from the odd origins of the game - born the illegitimate child of billiards on a British Indian Army base in the nineteenth century - to the now wildly popular World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield, England (even at its first televised inception in 1985, 18.5 million viewers stayed up past midnight to watch). On the way we meet the great players - the central figure of the book is Stephen Hendry, probably the most talented snooker player ever - and snooker's bad boy champions. On Snooker is a brilliant, witty and compact look at the game of snooker - past and present - from a masterful storyteller. (6 1/4 x 9 1/4, 214 pages)

About this edition

• Publisher: Yellow Jersey Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 022406150X
• ISBN 13: 9780224061506
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208