{"product_id":"9781781311769","title":"A Social History of English Cricket","description":"\u003cp\u003eAcclaimed as a magisterial, classic work, \u003ci\u003eA Social History of English Cricket\u003c\/i\u003e is an encyclopedic survey of the game, from its humble origins all the way to modern floodlit finishes. But it is also the story of English culture, mirrored in a sport that has always been a complex repository of manners, hierarchies and politics. In just under 400 pages Sir Derek Birley takes us through a rich historical tapestry: how the game was snatched from rustic obscurity by gentlemanly gamblers; became the height of late eighteenth century metropolitan fashion; was turned into both symbol and synonym for British imperialism; and its more recent struggle to dislodge the discomforting social values preserved in the game from its imperial heyday. Superbly witty and humorous, peopled by larger-than-life characters from Denis Compton to Ian Botham, and wholly forswearing nostalgia, \u003ci\u003eA Social\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eHistory of English Cricket\u003c\/i\u003e is a tour-de-force by one of the great writers on cricket.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Aurum Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47042770239728,"sku":"9781781311769","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781781311769_p0.jpg?v=1763715430","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781781311769","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}