My Sporting Life: Memories, moments and declarations

Reviewed By  Nan van Dissel       December 8, 2022

 

Author  Michael Parkinson

Distributor:      Hachette Australia
ISBN:                 9781399711531
Publisher:         Hachette. Imprint Hodder and Stoughton
Release Date:   November 2022  

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At 87, legendary broadcaster, very successful sports’ columnist for The Sunday Times and Telegraph, Sir Michael Parkinson hasn’t lost his touch with his ninth book. With the assistance of his son Mike, he has created his engaging, insightful sixth book on sport by presenting previously published articles in an imaginative and meaningful way; such that they are still relevant today.

The author, a passionate advocate of the importance of sport in the curriculum, believes that children who grow up with access to sport have a much better chance of fulfilling themselves than those who don’t.

In ‘My Sporting Life’, he relates his remarkable journey from a pit village in Yorkshire, via his early involvement with Barnsley FC and a very short stint as a Yorkshire cricketer with an ambition to play for England, to earning his living watching and writing about his passion -sport. He vividly reminisces about his friendship with the great legends of sport and his admiration for their talent; e.g. Shane Warne, Keith Miller, ‘Dickie Bird’, Geoffrey Boycott, George Best to name but a few.

Through humorous anecdotes, he reflects on what he claims was a lucky, rewarding life. Although ‘My Sporting Life’ is primarily about cricket and football, which captivated his life, he touches on other sports, in order to demonstrate the important lessons learned from his involvement with sport.