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8 reviews for:
War Minus The Shooting: A journey through South Asia during the 1996 Cricket World Cup
Mike Marqusee
4.23 AVERAGE
8 reviews for:
War Minus The Shooting: A journey through South Asia during the 1996 Cricket World Cup
Mike Marqusee
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A superb journalistic account of the 1996 Cricket World Cup, sprinkled with some half baked political views. Must read for cricket fans!
Put everything down and read this book. Apart from an entertaining look back at the '96 WC, the writer takes one back to a point in time when the combined forces of globalisation, commercialisation & nationalism (with a tinge of communal tensions) were about to seep into mainstream subcontinent cricket.
Mike is as adapt at narrating cricket passages as he is exploring the socio economic conditions of the 3 subcontinent countries.
It's a fascinating look but an outsider, who is repulsed by the brands & sponsors (selling nationalism in the form of ads - coke/pepsi running respective ads in pak/india) & vips (hoarding tickets from the associations) hijacking the cricket experience.
Cricket needs to stay among the people -> rowdy, vulgar & democratic. But unfortunately, with satellite tv spreading everywhere around the globe in 96, mike saw how this could make the spectators in the stands irrelevant.
Mike figured the basic fight for the spirit of cricket was between the crowds & those elite who wanted to use cricket for their own buisness/political ends.
Mike is as adapt at narrating cricket passages as he is exploring the socio economic conditions of the 3 subcontinent countries.
It's a fascinating look but an outsider, who is repulsed by the brands & sponsors (selling nationalism in the form of ads - coke/pepsi running respective ads in pak/india) & vips (hoarding tickets from the associations) hijacking the cricket experience.
Cricket needs to stay among the people -> rowdy, vulgar & democratic. But unfortunately, with satellite tv spreading everywhere around the globe in 96, mike saw how this could make the spectators in the stands irrelevant.
Mike figured the basic fight for the spirit of cricket was between the crowds & those elite who wanted to use cricket for their own buisness/political ends.
Firstly, I need to thank Sid and the team at "81 all-out"(https://www.81allout.com/) for re-publishing this book after 25 years and talking about it in all their podcasts in the last six months. After hearing about it constantly, I ordered it when I was visiting India. Turns out, that was a great decision since this is one of the best books I've read in the last two years.
The book itself is a first-person account of the 1996 Cricket world cup held in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka by a journalist name "Mike Marqusee". Mike does not have any of the cultural derisions that we have come to expect of British/American journalists when visiting the Indian sub-continent, especially considering that this account was from 1995-96 when the level of facilities in India was nothing close to what is available now. He comes across as a genuine fan of cricket and connects with journalists and fans from all the different host countries in this case. He equally points out the hypocrisies of the English-speaking countries (Aus and Windies boycotting the games in SL) and the others (Ind and Pak with their nationalistic jingoisms). He covers the entire world cup really well while providing a special focus on the important games (Quarters, Semis, and finals).
There are many themes that Mike sticks to in this book -- the increase in nationalism, ill-effects of money pouring into the one-day game, multi-national companies using the world cup to their advertising gains, politicians in all the countries scooping up the majority of the tickets, the inefficiency of the organizing stadiums, etc. They all seem extremely familiar even to this day although they seem to be applicable to the T20 games that are organized now (IPL etc) along with the international games.
To me, the 1996 WC just evoked extreme nostalgia given the way Sachin dominated that tournament and how India beat Pakistan in my home ground (Prasad v/s Sohail still gives me goosebumps) but Mike goes beyond the on the field incidents and describes how it was to actually get into the stadium(it was really hard) and then observer how different parts of the crowd behaved(some rowdy elements constantly shouted 'Pakistan hai hai!' even if they weren't playing the game).
Some of the changes that the ODI game underwent in the 90s are what the T20 game is now undergoing. Private companies pour a lot of money into the game causing players to associate themselves with these entities (t20 leagues) rather than their national teams. It almost seems like Mike predicted this 25 years ago!
This book is a treasure for any cricket fan but would particularly be enjoyed by 90s kids who loved and followed cricket growing up.
The book itself is a first-person account of the 1996 Cricket world cup held in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka by a journalist name "Mike Marqusee". Mike does not have any of the cultural derisions that we have come to expect of British/American journalists when visiting the Indian sub-continent, especially considering that this account was from 1995-96 when the level of facilities in India was nothing close to what is available now. He comes across as a genuine fan of cricket and connects with journalists and fans from all the different host countries in this case. He equally points out the hypocrisies of the English-speaking countries (Aus and Windies boycotting the games in SL) and the others (Ind and Pak with their nationalistic jingoisms). He covers the entire world cup really well while providing a special focus on the important games (Quarters, Semis, and finals).
There are many themes that Mike sticks to in this book -- the increase in nationalism, ill-effects of money pouring into the one-day game, multi-national companies using the world cup to their advertising gains, politicians in all the countries scooping up the majority of the tickets, the inefficiency of the organizing stadiums, etc. They all seem extremely familiar even to this day although they seem to be applicable to the T20 games that are organized now (IPL etc) along with the international games.
To me, the 1996 WC just evoked extreme nostalgia given the way Sachin dominated that tournament and how India beat Pakistan in my home ground (Prasad v/s Sohail still gives me goosebumps) but Mike goes beyond the on the field incidents and describes how it was to actually get into the stadium(it was really hard) and then observer how different parts of the crowd behaved(some rowdy elements constantly shouted 'Pakistan hai hai!' even if they weren't playing the game).
Some of the changes that the ODI game underwent in the 90s are what the T20 game is now undergoing. Private companies pour a lot of money into the game causing players to associate themselves with these entities (t20 leagues) rather than their national teams. It almost seems like Mike predicted this 25 years ago!
This book is a treasure for any cricket fan but would particularly be enjoyed by 90s kids who loved and followed cricket growing up.
One of the best cricket books that I have read in my lifetime. For someone who did not watch the events of the 1996 Cricket World Cup, this book provided a great substitute for living through those days. Detailed description of events on and off the cricket ground, ranging from the greed of the multinational companies in emerging markets to the systemic plagues and inefficiencies associated within any organization, this was a solid read.
fast-paced
Easily one of the best books I have read. Will try to write a detailed review.
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
One of the best pieces of cricket writing I've read. Marqusee dazzles the page with his verve for capturing the beats of the sport and the depth he gives its commercial and socio-politics interests. There is tinge too much of mentioning the title, and he is, like most 20th century Americans would be, partisan in the Indo-Pak conflict space, but those are points upon which one can debate a hell of a lot.