Nevil Shute

Gideon Haigh

On the Beach

Make way for this defiantly idiosyncratic, hilariously illuminating compendium of curiosities you never knew you wanted to know! How do you flirt in Turkish? How do you dump someone in Japanese? What are the names of all the animals ever sent into space? These are just some of the fun and insightful oddities that made Gideon Haigh's The Uncyclopedia a hit overseas. The first ever encyclopedia for the curious, The Uncyclopedia is a compendium of illuminating knowledge and a delight for all inquisitive readers. As proved by Schott's Original Miscellany and the enormous rise in popularity of quiz and trivia nights, arcane knowledge and non-essential facts have never been so popular. At last in one convenient volume, everything for knowledge-hungry readers: --Lists of Norse gods --Suicide notes of the famous --All anyone needs to know about --How to toast in 10 languages? --A list of all the men to walk on the moon --Twenty Latin mottoes --Fortune-telling techniques Neither trivial nor essential, yet always engaging and illuminating, The Uncyclopedia is the reference book referred to purely for the purposes of amusement -- and readers just can't put it down!

The Uncyclopedia

Inciclopédia

Veteran journalist Gideon Haigh assesses the future of news media in light of the internet's effects on traditional forms of publishing and broadcasting. In the last decade, customary news media have crumbled before the effects of the internet on advertising, circulation and viewership. In the next decade, they will be supplemented, if not supplanted, by new news media. In this insightful, informative and candid survey of possible futures, veteran journalist Gideon Haigh considers the options for his industry and his craft. Who wins? Who loses? What are the implications for practitioners, professionals, politicians and the public? Gideon Haigh is the author of twenty-six books. The five sections that comprise The Deserted Newsroom first appeared as individual pieces in Crikey's Brave News World series.

Penguin Special

The Deserted Newsroom: Penguin Special

In May 1977, the cricket world woke to discover that a 39-year-old businessman called Kerry Packer had signed thirty-five elite international players for his own televised World Series Cricket. The Cricket War, now published with a new introduction and afterword, is the definitive account of the split that changed the game on the field and on the screen. In helmets, under lights, with white balls and in coloured clothes, the outlaw armies of Ian Chappell, Tony Greig and Clive Lloyd fought a daily battle of survival. In boardrooms and courtrooms, Packer and cricket's rulers fought a bitter war of nerves. A compelling account of top-class sporting life, The Cricket War also gives a unique insight into the motives and methods of the tycoon who became Australia's richest man.

The Cricket War

Longlisted for the 2022 Indie Book Awards In a quiet Sydney street in 1937, a seven year-old immigrant boy drowned in a ditch that had filled with rain after being left unfenced by council workers. How the law should deal with the trauma of the family’s loss was one of the most complex and controversial cases to reach Australia’s High Court, where it seized the imagination of its youngest and cleverest member. These days, ‘Doc’ Evatt is remembered mainly as the hapless and divisive opposition leader during the long ascendancy of his great rival Sir Robert Menzies. Yet long before we spoke of ‘public intellectuals’, Evatt was one: a dashing advocate, an inspired jurist, an outspoken opinion maker, one of our first popular historians and the nation’s foremost champion of modern art. Through Evatt’s innovative and empathic decision in Chester v the Council of Waverley Municipality, which argued for the law to acknowledge inner suffering as it did physical injury, Gideon Haigh rediscovers the most brilliant Australian of his day, a patriot with a vision of his country charting its own path and being its own example – the same attitude he brought to being the only Australian president of the UN General Assembly, and instrumental in the foundation of Israel. A feat of remarkable historical perception, deep research and masterful storytelling, The Brilliant Boy confirms Gideon Haigh as one of our finest writers of non-fiction. It shows Australia in a rare light, as a genuinely clever country prepared to contest big ideas and face the future confidently. 'Gideon Haigh has always been an exquisite wordsmith, and he proves here that he is also an intuitive historian and acute biographer with a masterful control of the broad sweep and telling detail’ AFR Books of the Year 'Here is a master craftsman delivering one of his most finely honed works. Meticulous in its research, humane in its storytelling, The Brilliant Boy is Gideon Haigh at his lush, luminous best. Haigh shines a light on person, place and era with the sheer force of his intellect and the generosity of his words. The Brilliant Boy is simply a brilliant book.' Clare Wright, Stella-Prize winning author of The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka ‘Gideon Haigh has a nose for Australian stories that light up the past from new angles, and he tells this one with verve, grace and lightly worn erudition. I couldn’t put it down.’ Judith Brett, The Saturday Paper ‘An absolutely remarkable, moving and elegant re-reading of the early life of an extraordinary Australian. Gideon Haigh is one of Australia's finest writers and thinkers … mesmerizing … one of the best Australian biographies I have read for a long time.' Michael McKernan, Canberra Times

Doc Evatt and the Great Australian Dissent

The Brilliant Boy

In Gideon Haigh's latest book, one of cricket's finest writers turns his subject Inside Out, examining those aspects of cricket that distinguish it from other games, from the centenary of Sir Donald Bradman and the cult of the baggy green cap to the threat and promise of the Twenty20 revolution. This is cricket not only as it is played, but as it is seen, run, commercialised, codified, promoted, politicised and also written about by others, with a detailed introduction to the distinguished literary traditions of which Gideon Haigh now forms part.

Writings on Cricket Culture

Inside Out

One of The Times' 50 Greatest Sports Books In May 1977, the cricket world awoke to discover that a thirty-nine-year-old Sydney Businessman called Kerry Packer had signed thirty-five elite international players for his own televised 'World Series'. The Cricket War is the definitive account of the split that changed the game on the field and on the screen. In helmets, under lights, with white balls, and in coloured clothes, the outlaw armies of Ian Chappell, Tony Greig and Clive Lloyd fought a daily battle of survival. In boardrooms and courtrooms Packer and cricket's rulers fought a bitter war of nerves. A compelling account of the top-class sporting life, The Cricket War also gives a unique insight into the motives and methods of the man who became Australia's richest, and remained so, until the day he died. It was the end of cricket as we knew it – and the beginning of cricket as we know it. Gideon Haigh has published over thirty books, over twenty of them about cricket. This edition of The Cricket War, Gideon Haigh's first book about cricket originally published in 1993, has been updated with new photographs and a new introduction by the author.

The Story of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket

In May 1977, the cricket world woke to discover that thirty - nine - year - old Sydney businessman Kerry Packer had signed thirty - five international stars for his own televised 'World Series'. The Cricket War, revised and updated in this edition, is the definitive account of the split that changed the game on the field and on the screen. In helmets, under lights, with white balls and in coloured clothes, the outlaw armies of Ian Chappell, Tony Greig and Clive Lloyd fought a daily battle for survival. In boardrooms and courtrooms, Packer and cricket's rulers fought a bitter war of nerves. It was the end of cricket as we knew it - and the beginning of cricket as we know it.

The Inside Story of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket

‘The year’s best cricket book’ Daily Telegraph ‘Well researched and engagingly written, this exemplary work reveals a hidden history…superbly told story’ Sunday Times ‘Easily the cricket book of the year, of the century…It extends the possibility of cricket-writing-as-literature’ Suresh Menon, The Hindu It is arguably the most famous photograph in the history of cricket. In George Beldam's picture, Victor Trumper is caught in mid stroke, the personification of cricketing grace, skill and power, about to hit the ball long and hard. Yet this image, 'Jumping Out', is important not only because of who it depicts, but also what it illustrates about the changing nature of the game and how it has been seen. Now, in Gideon Haigh's brilliant new book, Stroke of Genius, we learn not only about the man in the picture but also the iconography of Trumper's powerful position in cricket's mythology. For many, Australian batsman Trumper was the greatest ever. Neville Cardus wrote: 'I have never yet met a cricketer who, having seen and played with Victor Trumper, did not describe him without doubt or hesitation as the most accomplished of all batsmen of his acquaintance.' Like Lionel Messi or Roger Federer today, he defied the obvious bounds of affiliation. Unlike the current generation of sporting stars, however, there were no memoirs or papers, very few interviews, no action footage - even his date of birth is a matter of debate and conjecture. What isn't in doubt, though, is the impact he had on the game and on his nation. Haigh reveals how Trumper, and 'Jumping Out', helped to change cricket from the Victorian era of static imagery to something much more dynamic, modern and compelling. As such, Trumper helped not only transform cricket but even the way his country viewed itself.

Victor Trumper and the Shot that Changed Cricket

Stroke of Genius

In Bad Company Gideon Haigh scrutinises the way we have turned CEOs into tin gods. Is moral outrage the appropriate response to the collapses of Enron or HIH or are we all implicated in a crazy system? Haigh argues that the attempt to create great entrepreneurs of the new caste of CEOs by giving them shares is doomed to failure and inherently absurd. In a tough-minded, vigorous demolition job on the culture that produced the cult of the CEO, Haigh writes a mini-history of business and shows how the classic traditions of capitalism are mocked by the managerialism of the present. ‘The making of the modern CEO has been a story of more: more power, more discretion, more ownership, more money, more demands, more expectations and, above all, more illusions. More, as so often, has brought less ...’ —Gideon Haigh, Bad Company ‘The world where the CEO is deemed to be a 'genius' at least equal to a great actor or a great sportsman is a world in which ... Gideon Haigh refuses to believe.’ —Peter Craven ‘Of all the extraordinary corporate stories of the 1990s, none has been more powerful than what Gideon Haigh wants to call the cult of the CEO.’ —Sydney Morning Herald ‘Haigh should be showered with blessings for producing a book which not only says boo to these geese, but has the figures and the historical perspective to back itself up. There’s even some good business advise in there.’ —Nicholas Lezard, the Guardian ‘A cogent and elegant argument.’ —Business Review Weekly Gideon Haigh has worked as a journalist for the Bulletin, the Guardian, the Australian, the Times and the Monthly. As an author he has written books on business, including Quarterly Essay 10: Bad Company – The Cult of the CEO, The Battle for BHP and One of a Kind: The Story of Bankers Trust Australia 1969–1999, and on cricket: Silent Revolutions, Game for Anything, The Green and Golden Age.

The Cult of the CEO

Quarterly Essay 10 Bad Company

Gideon Haigh has written numerous acclaimed books on both cricket and true-crime – now he’s unearthed a gripping story that combines the two, in a masterpiece of historical detective work that ties back to the origin of the Ashes … On the night of 23 September 1910, on a station 500km west of Brisbane, farm hand John Neil was beaten to death with a cricket bat. The prime suspect, George Vernon, was the fresh-faced twenty-four-year-old son of one of England’s most famous amateur cricketers, and part of an Australian rural dynasty. The murder trial became one of Queensland’s most sensational, for Vernon did indeed harbour a secret – but not a secret anyone suspected. And the crime was to have a shocking sequel. The Night was a Bright Moonlight and I Could See a Man Quite Plain concerns a brutal murder, but also the dark parts of empire, the blind side of justice and the sensational end of media – all linked back to the origin story of cricket’s Ashes. Sparely written and copiously illustrated, it will keep you guessing to the end.

An Edwardian Cricket Murder

The Night was a Bright Moonlight and I Could See a Man Quite Plain

• The biography of perhaps the most original and the most elusive character in Australian sporting history, by renowned cricket writer Gideon Haigh. • Jack Iverson took up cricket in 1946, at 31, walking into a cricket club just to have a go. Just four years later he was the best spin bowler in the world. • Iverson developed his own kind of grip on the ball, adapted from wartime games played with ping pong balls, that imparted a huge amount of spin. • Iverson quit while he was at the top of his game, and went on to live an ordinary suburban life until his death in tragic circumstances, believing he and his brief flare of brilliance had been forgotten. Mystery Spinner is Gideon Haigh's masterful attempt at unravelling the mystery surrounding this man's life. • Published during the Test cricket season, this Text Classics edition will be introduced by former deputy Sports Editor for Guardian Australia, Russell Jackson.

Text Classics

Mystery Spinner

Ray Robinson

This work chronicles in detail the careers and lives of the men who have led Australia in Test match cricket since 1877. This new version has been fully updated by Gideon Haigh and includes all 39 captains from Dave Gregory to Mark Taylor. Includes several photographs and diagrams, a foreword by Ian Chappel, a table of captains and an index. The authors have both written several cricket books, including Gideon Haigh's 'The Cricket War' and Ray Robinson's 'Between Wickets'.

Australia's Cricket Captains

On Top Down Under

An irresistible book for cricket fans - Australia's leading cricket writer on the tour of a lifetime. The 2006-07 Ashes tour is the most feverishly anticipated in many years. An English team will meet an Australian one determined to take back the Ashes on its home turf. Sparks will fly, in front of massive crowds. This book will be the definitive record of that encounter - the thrills, clashes and key events. It will contain all of Gideon Haigh's day-by-day writing for the Guardian- match reports, profiles, analyses and more.

The Ashes 2006-07

All Out

Few journalists exemplify the creed ‘without fear or favour’ like Gideon Haigh. Shelf Life selects from twenty-one years of writing on myriad subjects by one of our clearest thinkers, sharpest stylists and most curious journalists. Architecture and airline food. Depression and doodling. Goya and Grossman. Weegee and Wire. When not wiring about cricket, Gideon Haigh has enjoyed taking journalism on unexpected journeys, where curiosity calls, into the past and future as well as the present. Edited by Russell Jackson, Shelf Life samples his work from the last two decades: essays, reportage, reviews, crisp analyses, deep dives into history, of no camp, and independent of the news cycle, from his shelves to yours.

Journalism 2000-2021

Shelf Life

'The year's best cricket book' Daily Telegraph 'Well researched and engagingly written, this exemplary work reveals a hidden history...superbly told story' Sunday Times 'Easily the cricket book of the year, of the century...It extends the possibility of cricket-writing-as-literature' Suresh Menon, The Hindu It is arguably the most famous photograph in the history of cricket. In George Beldam's picture, Victor Trumper is caught in mid stroke, the personification of cricketing grace, skill and power, about to hit the ball long and hard. Yet this image, 'Jumping Out', is important not only because of who it depicts, but also what it illustrates about the changing nature of the game and how it has been seen. Now, in Gideon Haigh's brilliant new book, Stroke of Genius, we learn not only about the man in the picture but also the iconography of Trumper's powerful position in cricket's mythology. For many, Australian batsman Trumper was the greatest ever. Neville Cardus wrote: 'I have never yet met a cricketer who, having seen and played with Victor Trumper, did not describe him without doubt or hesitation as the most accomplished of all batsmen of his acquaintance.' Like Lionel Messi or Roger Federer today, he defied the obvious bounds of affiliation. Unlike the current generation of sporting stars, however, there were no memoirs or papers, very few interviews, no action footage - even his date of birth is a matter of debate and conjecture. What isn't in doubt, though, is the impact he had on the game and on his nation. Haigh reveals how Trumper, and 'Jumping Out', helped to change cricket from the Victorian era of static imagery to something much more dynamic, modern and compelling. As such, Trumper helped not only transform cricket but even the way his country viewed itself.

Victor Trumper and the Shot That Changed Cricket

It is no mystery that today the name of Jack Iverson is virtually unknown. For most of his life he was an unexceptional estate agent in Australia. He died in obscurity, by his own hand, at the age of only 58. He was a clumsy fielder, and a hopeless batsman. But for four years he was the best spin bowler in the world. The story of Jack Iverson is one of the most remarkable in the history of cricket. ‘Every now and then,’ wrote one journalist, ‘there comes a man who can do the right thing the wrong way round.’ Iverson took up cricket, at the advanced age of 31, as capriciously as he left it – joining a club 3rd XI in Melbourne one day, and instantly announcing himself as the most prodigious and improbable spinner of a cricket ball. Using a unique technique he appears to have perfects with a ping-pong ball during wartime service in Papua New Guinea, he doubled back his middle finger and found he could bowl leg breaks, top spinners and googlies, every one dropped on a perfect length and impossible to pick. Within four years he was bowling the Australian Test side to victory over England in the Ashes series of 1950-51. Then, in his moment of triumph, he retired from international cricket, and was never the same bowler again. Mystery Spinner is more than that beautifully written life of an elusive and forgotten hero who, after his brief burst of celebrity, has left strangely little trace in posterity. It is also the utterly compelling story of Gideon Haigh’s quest to solve the enduring riddle of Jack Iverson’s life – a quest which led him across Australia following tenuous clues in school registers and county records. And above all it is a moving study, for an age that presumes sporting prowess to be the ultimate definition of personal identity, of how skill is only half the battle in sport, and how it takes an extraordinary individual to cope successfully with extraordinary achievement.

The Life and Death of an Extraordinary Cricketer

Most people gave England a modest chance of success. Some, like Glenn McGrath, insisted that history would repeat itself and Australia would administer another 5-0 whitewash. What no-one anticipated was that the 2010-11 Ashes Tests would see one of the most complete performances ever by an England touring side, the first Ashes victory on Australian soil for 24 years, with, uniquely, three innings victories. It was a series, indeed a tour, full of remarkable records, from the bats of Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, and the ball of James Anderson and Graham Swann. Every member of the side made crucial contributions – even those like Chris Tremlett and Tim Bresnan who had not originally been first choices for the Tests. Now, Gideon Haigh, ‘one of the best living writers on cricket’ (Daily Telegraph), tells the full story of this amazing sporting achievement. Beginning with the build-up to the series - Australia going into it on the back of an uncharacteristic losing run, England after a year of quietly solid consolidation – he covers each Test, day by day, in pithy match reports and elegant analyses. Ashes 2011 is the perfect way to re-live a memorable sporting triumph.

England’s Record-Breaking Series Victory

Ashes 2011

"In Crossing the Line, Gideon Haigh conducts his own cultural review. Studying the cricket team across a decade of radical change, he finds an accident waiting to happen, and a system struggling to cope with self-created challenges, on the field and in the boardroom. Crossing the Line is the first instalment in Slattery Media Group's Sports Shorts collection, a new series of sports essays published as small-format books. Sports Shorts has been created as a home for ambitious, lively and engaging writing and journalism on sport--work of a scale and scope not suited to the confines of day-to-day journalism."--Provided by publisher.

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