Sport
almost everything you ever wanted to know
Sport: Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know tells the story of sport. All sport. Ever. From ancient times to the 21st century. In eight themed parts, Tim Harris describes the triumphs and breakthroughs – as well as the cheating and skulduggery - that have created the modern world of sport. Part One looks at sports grounds, from stadiums to ice rinks, explaining why golf courses have 18 holes, why boxing 'rings' are square and why Woolwich Arsenal ended up in Highbury. Why do wickets have three stumps? Why do we 'serve' in tennis and play soccer in halves? Part Two uncovers the stories behind sporting rules, while the next section, on sports equipment, shows why we row in eights, why cue balls have black dots and golf balls have dimples. Why do teams score more goals at home than away? Why have women got worse at shot putting? A history of sporting drugs reveals all. A swift history of 'speed sports' - from chariot racing to Grand Prix – explains why Formula One races clockwise, why racehorses aren't getting any faster and the odd origins of British racing green. Why compete for 'stakes' and hold 'whip-rounds'? Why doesn't the NFL play on Saturdays? A section on money and sport tells all. Then sport and politics uncovers the reasons why we ten-pin bowl with ninepins, why greyhounds aren't grey and why rowing is so posh. Lastly, a history of games and the media tells of racehorses starring on stage, boxers fighting inside cameras and just why the FA Cup draw uses wooden balls. Dip into it, or read it cover to cover - there's a 'Oh - now I get it' moment on every page. Sport: it's unique, funny, amazingly comprehensive and packed with extraordinary anecdotes to turn any reader into a sporting expert.
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction · Fiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
No specific content concerns can be confirmed from the available English catalog information. Consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Balanced tone · Measured pace
Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.
A good fit if…
Readers looking for a substantial, immersive commitment with room for a world or argument to unfold.
This book's DNA
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This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-2240-8021-7
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL23203608M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
Best when you want to settle into a longer reading experience.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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