Cricket book hits Beyond a Boundary
One of the most celebrated and influential sports books of modern times is to be the focus of a major conference that will take place at the University of Glasgow. It is exactly fifty years since Beyond a Boundary written by the West Indian novelist, critic and historian CLR James, was first published. It is widely regarded as one of the best cricket books ever written. Beyond a Boundary is a classic sports biography and has been ranked 36th in Sports Illustrated's list of the greatest 100 sports books and 3rd in the Observer Sports Monthly top 50 sports books. However by James' own admission, it is about far more than cricket. Developing a concern to understand sport as part of a much wider social and political context (a concern first articulated in his earlier writings for the Glasgow Herald ), James' study is part-autobiography, part-historical study and part-political-call-to-arms written against the backdrop of the decolonisation struggles. He recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race and politics that surround it.
