{"title":"Duncan Stone","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuncan Stone’s books offer a compelling dive into the world of sports, blending insightful analysis with rich storytelling. Readers can expect narratives that explore the passion, drama, and cultural impact sports hold beyond the pitch or court.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith titles like \u003cem\u003eDifferent Class\u003c\/em\u003e, Stone captures the nuances of athletic competition and the human stories behind it. His work is ideal for those who appreciate thoughtful sports writing that transcends scores and statistics.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"different-class-by-duncan-stone-9781913462802","title":"Different Class","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShortlisted for the Cricket Writers Club 'Book of the Year' 2022 and the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards 'Cricket Book of the Year' 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn telling the story of cricket from the bottom up, \u003cem\u003eDifferent Class\u003c\/em\u003e demonstrates how the \"quintessentially English\" game has done more to divide, rather than unite, the English.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1963, the West Indian Marxist C.L.R. James posed the deceptively benign question - \"What do they know of cricket, who only cricket know?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA challenge to the public to re-consider cricket and its meaning by placing the game in its true social, political and economic context, James was, all too subtly, attempting to counter the game's orthodox history that, he argued, had played a key role in the formation of national culture. As a consequence, he failed, and the history of cricket in England has retained the same stresses and lineaments as it did a century ago - until now.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn examining recreational rather than professional (first-class) cricket, \u003cem\u003eDifferent Class\u003c\/em\u003e does not simply challenge the widely accepted orthodoxy of English cricket, it demonstrates how the values and belief systems at its heart were, under the guise of amateurism, intentionally developed in order to divide the English along class lines at every level of the game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf the creation of opposing class-based cricket cultures in the North and South of England grew out of this process, the institutional structures developed by those in charge of English cricket continue to discriminate. But, as much as the exclusion of Black and South Asian cricketers from the recreational mainstream is the most obvious example, it is social class that remains the greatest barrier to participation in what used to be the national game.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Random House New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47424043450604,"sku":"9781913462802","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781913462802.jpg?v=1774769330"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/duncan-stone.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}