BobHarris.com - More reason to love rugby union

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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More reason to love rugby union

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Saturday, 10 December 2005

When you're sick, it's always there. Unlike baseball and football and such, rugby union simply never ends.

Between Super 14, Six Nations, Tri-Nations, NPC, Currie Cup, Celtic League, Guinness Premiership, IRB Sevens (returning to L.A. in February!), and a gazillion other competitions, not to mention test tours and the quadrennial World Cup, somebody is playing. Always.

(It helps to get Setanta, which will also flood you with images of Irish people kicking things, throwing things, and whacking each other with sticks.)

Since I have to be on my back today, I have the Heineken Cup going while trying to work and rest at the same time. (And you wonder why I never get better...) Ronan O'Gara, the fine Irish fly-half (pictured), is leading Munster against a struggling Dragons side from Wales. Later on, if I'm still awake, I'm looking forward to seeing how Jonah Lomu does in his return for the Cardiff Blues. (I got to walk around the Blues' field last year, so I enjoy their games particularly.)

I know this is total gibberish to most of you (although more visitors from rugby-speaking and cricket-fluent bits of the planet seem to be wandering in). Precisely my point. If you love sport and enjoy international competition, cultivate rugby love. You will never lack diversion again.