BobHarris.com - Rugby heals; cricket kills

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

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Rugby heals; cricket kills

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Monday, 13 June 2005

Convalescing at home for a few days. Arm looks a bit more like a human arm of late. Not dead yet. So this is all good.

Out in the world, there are new documents surfacing and fresh evils afoot, and I'll get to all that in a bit if I have the energy. But first things first: there is nothing quite like the healing power of televised rugby.

Spent the weekend semi-consciously watching piles of international sport I've missed in the process of having a life. The Springboks beat Uruguay 134-3, for example, in a match that wasn't as close as it sounds. I was almost ashamed to enjoy it so much. And the NZ Maori beat the touring British and Irish Lions side for the first time ever in King Carlos' last match in New Zealand. (My erstwhile rugby hero has disappointingly signed to play his next three years for a relatively crap team in Northampton. Bummer.) I was feeling like myself again after a few hours of this.

The topper -- and what seems like proof that I'll recover -- is finding a Twenty20 cricket match on the satellite. Australia v. England. Whee!

(Two minutes later, before I've even finished proofreading the entry...)

But Darren Gough has just retired Oz's two top bowlers, Gilchrist and Hayden on consecutive balls, and then Clarke went out two balls later, so Australia's in serious trouble here. Oh, crap. Now while typing this last, Andrew Symonds has just put himself out. Four outs in five deliveries, I think. Oh hell.

And now Gough just got another wicket. Oz is all of 24-5. Which is to say, toast. Two minutes later... 28-6. This is horrible...

I'd best stop watching before I break out in golf balls again... 31-7... aaagggh.

If my arm falls clean off or I suddenly croak from some bizarre spreading septic deal... blame the Aussie cricket team.

UPDATE: As far as I can think of, American sports have simply no equivalent burst of sudden oblivion comparable to losing 4 wickets in 5 balls. Imagine a baseball team in the seventh inning of a tied game giving up 3 grand slams in the space of five minutes. It simply doesn't happen. So Australia went from being competitive in the match to dead, just like that, and they ultimately lost by 100 runs.

Again I say: aaagggh.