Ashes To Ashes: 35 Years of Humiliation (And About 20 Minutes of Ecstasy) Watching England v Australia

Description

The Ashes may be the longest and fiercest sporting soap opera the world has known. The anticipation is always intense, expectations are high and, for England fans, disappointment is almost inevitable, as we usually lose. But it s a drug we can never kick. How have we got into this state? Can we ever break free? Marcus Berkmann knows he can t and has stopped even trying. ASHES TO ASHES is the first emotional history of the contest, shamelessly eschewing balance and objectivity to give the punter s view of every series since 1972. This new edition updates the tale to the victorious 2009 series, while remaining brutally realistic about our chances in 2010 and beyond . . .

Marcus Berkmann writes for the DAILY MAIL and a monthly pop music column for the SPECTATOR, and has written columns on sport for the INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY and PUNCH.

** Very perceptive, and very funny LITERARY REVIEW ** The book oozes a laddish solidarity. . . Berkmann s wit lays bare the painful vicissitudes of hoping for English success INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ** Did Berkmann waste his time watching all those Ashes games? This lovely book is proof he did not DAILY MAIL ** By far the best gentle, bleakly comic take on the series OBSERVER ** ' Both informative and terrifically funny, Berkmann has written what may be the cricket book of the summer WBQ