Shortlisted for the Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH) Biennial Book Prize
Unlike every other sport that has captured the nation’s interest, Australian football is not a copy, a clone, or a hand-me-down of European culture. Rather, it is a game with special qualities, which arose from a distinctive series of events in the fledgling colony of Victoria, grew rapidly, and is now the most dominant sport in the country: a social, commercial, cultural and—for many—spiritual force.
Australia’s Game—the History of Australian Football describes, in forensic detail, the characters that led the way, how crises were faced and overcome, the great players and coaches who have influenced the ways the game has been played, the supporters who have stayed true to their club and have passed on their passion through generations, and most recently how the game has added another dimension with a flourishing national competition for women.
Shortlisted for the Australian Society for Sports History (ASSH) Biennial Book Prize
Unlike every other sport that has captured the nation’s interest, Australian football is not a copy, a clone, or a hand-me-down of European culture. Rather, it is a game with special qualities, which arose from a distinctive series of events in the fledgling colony of Victoria, grew rapidly, and is now the most dominant sport in the country: a social, commercial, cultural and—for many—spiritual force.
Australia’s Game—the History of Australian Football describes, in forensic detail, the characters that led the way, how crises were faced and overcome, the great players and coaches who have influenced the ways the game has been played, the supporters who have stayed true to their club and have passed on their passion through generations, and most recently how the game has added another dimension with a flourishing national competition for women.
Matthew Nicholson is the Director of the Centre for Sport
and Social Impact, and a Professor within the Business School at La
Trobe University. Matthew’s expertise is in sport policy, the
management of community and state sport organisations, particularly
as it relates to the sport-public health nexus, the social impact
of sport, recreation and leisure and the representation of sport
through the media.
Bob Stewart has been teaching and researching the field of
sport management and sport policy for decades. He came to the
sports studies field with a strong interest in the commercial and
sociological development of Australian football, and since then has
critically reviewed its progress. As well as The National Game
(2008) he edited The Games are Not the Same: The Political Economy
of Football in Australia, (MUP 2007), and co-wrote More than a
Game, (MUP, 1998).
Associate Professor Rob Hess is one of Australia's
foremost sport historians. His PhD was the first ever doctoral
study of the history of Australian football, and he has published
widely on the history of the code, including an award-winning
co-authored book, A National Game: The History of Australian
Rules Football, (Penguin/Viking 2008). Rob is also currently
serving as the President of the Australian Society for Sports
History, and he is the Executive Editor of the Bulletin of
Sport and Culture. In addition, he is a member of the Western
Bulldogs Football Club Heritage Committee. Other research interests
include the 'secret' history of female players, the 'hidden' ethnic
dimensions of Australian Rules football, especially the
longstanding involvement of the Chinese community in the code, and
the history of disability sport in Victoria.
Greg de Moore is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry based
at Sydney's Westmead Hospital. Born in Melbourne of parents who
migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, Greg has lived in Sydney for
over 20 years. He has combined his medical interests with
Australian history to write and co-write two previous books—Tom
Wills, First wild man of Australian Sport (Allen & Unwin,
2011) and A National Game (Penguin Viking 2008). The
biography of Tom Wills was based on ten years of research
unearthing original medical records, letters, textbooks and notes
previously believed to have been lost or destroyed. This book won
numerous awards and was short-listed for the National Biography
Award.
‘Australia's Game provides a valuable reference if only to understand how the game dealt with similarly big matters in the past’ – Ashely Browne, AFL Record.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
