REVIEW QUOTES
These are not dry match reports, rather a vivid snapshot of a lost world
delivered by a writer who developed a memorable and distinctive voice
and who, despite being afflicted by depression and alcoholism,
found humour and generosity in most things on and off the pitch.
Cricket has changed and cricket writing has changed,
and not always, as Gibson shows us, for the better.
Mike Atherton, The Times
A beautiful production and an all-round joy.
Christopher Martin-Jenkins
It occurred to me midway through this book that i might be guilty of reading
too much into Gibson's talents; it is easy for posterity to attach great significance
to the works of those afflicted by tragedy and/or taken too young.
However, there is simply no denying the brilliance of Gibson's rich,
irreverent match reports or the array of essays contained within this volume.
I have rarely enjoyed a cricket book so much.
Ed
Davis, All Out Cricket
Reading Gibson was like watching Gower bat: every bit as elegant,
with a gentle method that concealed the art.
He could convey lightly worn erudition, observation, wit and a deep love of cricket, too.
The book is presented chronologically (handsomely, too) with a section
for each of his years on the county circuit, 1967-86.
But each year also has a commentary, written with affectionate exasperation
by Alan's son Anthony, which provides a muffled drumbeat of impending doom.
How blessed was cricket to attract a man like Alan Gibson.
How delightful that his son has celebrated him with his glorious memorial,
and that Stephen Chalke of Fairfield Books has supported the venture by publishing it so beautifully,
Reward them all, and yourself, bu buying a copy.
Matthew
Engel, The Wisden Cricketer
If Gibson is the undisputed star of this book, credit is also due to the publisher.
Stephen Chalke, of Fairfield Books, seems to continually produce high-class,
delightful books that enrich the game and its literature.
On the face of it, this is a wonderfully uncommercial venture.
The book is a joy. I couldn't recommend it more wholeheartedly.
George
Dobell, Spin
There
was no one I would rather listen to on the radio
when
I was a boy in the 1960s, no one I would rather read
during
my playing days in the ’70s and ’80s.
He
wrote with the simple beauty of a brilliant mind.
Vic Marks