One-Eyed: A View of Australian Sport

by Douglas Booth, Colin Tatz

Beyond the hype and dollars, the pomposity and myth, this book tells the story of sport and its importance to Australia. "One-Eyed" covers all States and all major sports; it gives women's sports long-overdue acknowledgment; it charts the growth of community sports and features lively accounts of individual achievements. In examining the way Australians win and lose, it shows how sport reflects (and can influence) the issues that have shaped and will shape Australians' sense of who they are. Neither jocks nor barrackers, cynics nor frenzied fans, Colin Tatz and Doug Booth have taken a long, hard look at Aussie sport. What these two affectionate critics of sport have discovered should surprise, irritate and inform.

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

The myth of the egalitarian Australian sporting nation is unpacked and undermined by Booth and co-author Colin Tatz to show an Australia and its sport that is exclusionary, class ridden, racist, sexist, xenophobic, and that presents and Australia that is, all-in-all, an unpleasant place. Not that this is unique to Australia – but is a characteristic of commercialised, nationalised sport. What is more, Booth and Tatz are leading scholarly sports historians – not ranting anti-sport types. A great introduction for those of us who like sport, but worry that there is just something wrong it.