Mystery Spinner

Author: Gideon Haigh
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 1925626261
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 399

Book Description
‘[An] unconventional journey...brilliantly documented.’ Courier Mail ‘So you want to know something about this funny old bowling of mine. Well, there’s nothing to it. It’s really very simple—in fact, at times, I do not know much about it myself.’ In 1950, aged in his mid-thirties, ‘tall, shy, shambling’ Jack Iverson burst forth from obscurity in suburban Melbourne, ‘bowled like no man before’ and became a national sensation, then faded from view almost as swiftly. He died in obscurity, in tragic circumstances. In the enthralling Mystery Spinner, first published in 1999, one of the world’s best cricket writers goes in search of an enigma: an ordinary man in whom lurked the extraordinary. Gideon Haigh has been a journalist for three decades, writing mainly about sport and business. He is the author of more than thirty books, among them the award-winning On Warne, Certain Admissions and Stroke of Genius. He lives in Melbourne. ‘One of the best cricket biographies I have ever read.’ Wisden Cricket Monthly ‘Even if you don’t care for the game you might enjoy it...Not your standard sporting biography.’ Guardian ‘A delight, a gripping (no pun intended) read, and an object lesson to anyone tempted to try their hand at biography.’ ESPN cricinfo ‘Magnificent.’ Roar

Mystery Spinner

Author: Gideon Haigh
Publisher: Aurum
ISBN: 1845138414
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 376

Book Description
It is no mystery that today the name of Jack Iverson is virtually unknown. For most of his life he was an unexceptional estate agent in Australia. He died in obscurity, by his own hand, at the age of only 58. He was a clumsy fielder, and a hopeless batsman. But for four years he was the best spin bowler in the world. The story of Jack Iverson is one of the most remarkable in the history of cricket. ‘Every now and then,’ wrote one journalist, ‘there comes a man who can do the right thing the wrong way round.’ Iverson took up cricket, at the advanced age of 31, as capriciously as he left it – joining a club 3rd XI in Melbourne one day, and instantly announcing himself as the most prodigious and improbable spinner of a cricket ball. Using a unique technique he appears to have perfects with a ping-pong ball during wartime service in Papua New Guinea, he doubled back his middle finger and found he could bowl leg breaks, top spinners and googlies, every one dropped on a perfect length and impossible to pick. Within four years he was bowling the Australian Test side to victory over England in the Ashes series of 1950-51. Then, in his moment of triumph, he retired from international cricket, and was never the same bowler again. Mystery Spinner is more than that beautifully written life of an elusive and forgotten hero who, after his brief burst of celebrity, has left strangely little trace in posterity. It is also the utterly compelling story of Gideon Haigh’s quest to solve the enduring riddle of Jack Iverson’s life – a quest which led him across Australia following tenuous clues in school registers and county records. And above all it is a moving study, for an age that presumes sporting prowess to be the ultimate definition of personal identity, of how skill is only half the battle in sport, and how it takes an extraordinary individual to cope successfully with extraordinary achievement.

The Tencyclopedia

Author: Gideon Haigh
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 1920885358
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 156

Book Description
Nine? Eleven? Bah! Bosh! Give us tens, and in plenty! At last, a book that has never before existed, by the only author to have written it. Gideon Haigh's The Tencyclopedia-a tribute to the thrall of the decimal. Here, grouped as never before, Ten Affairs, Aunts, Masses, Mice, Methods, Plans, Principles and Penises. Here, as you have never seen them, Ten Indian Traffic Signs and Ten Flags That Feature Weapons. Here, as you have never read them, a History of Airline Food in Ten Paragraphs and a History of Chopper Read in 10 Chapters. Ten Tens in the Tencyclopedia 1. Ten Anagrams of American Presidents 2. Ten Avatars of Vishnu 3. Ten National Flags That Feature Weapons 4. Ten Slurs of the Dutch 5. Ten Indian Traffic Signs 6. Ten Fictional Mice 7. Ten Works Not Written by Coleridge 8. Ten Bildungsromans 9. Ten Philanthropic Enterprises of Andrew Carnegie 10. Ten Pirates

Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans

Author: Russell Ginns
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN: 152472002X
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 258

Book Description
Get ready for round-the-world adventure with Sam Spinner and her brother Nipper in the first book in a new hilarious, puzzle-packed series filled with super-secret messages! Perfect for fans of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library and classics like Holes. Samantha Spinner's uncle Paul disappeared, and here's what he left: * Samantha's sister got a check for $2,400,000,000. * Samantha's brother got the New York Yankees. * And Samantha got a rusty red umbrella with a tag hanging off its worn handle. The tag says "Watch out for the RAIN." Thanks a lot, Uncle Paul. After all the strawberry waffles, stories, and puzzles they've shared, how could he just leave without saying goodbye? And what is the meaning of that mysterious message? The answer is simple. Sam knows in her heart that Uncle Paul is in danger. And if he taught her anything, it's that not everything is exactly what it seems. Which is why we should pay close attention to that rusty red umbrella, and never trust a monkey at a hula-hoop contest. The RAIN is coming and Samantha Spinner is about to find herself mixed up in some super-important, super-dangerous, super-secret plans. Praise for Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans: "A winning mix of fast-paced action, fascinating facts, bathroom humor, and hidden puzzles...[that is] sure to please action-loving middle-grade readers." --Kirkus Reviews "Full of adventure and survival,...[and with] characters [that] are likable, realistic, and well rounded...[Samantha Spinner and the Super Secret Plans is] great for [readers of] series like The 39 Clues." --School Library Journal

On Warne

Author: Gideon Haigh
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1471101126
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Book Description
'A superb portrait of the most brilliant cricketer of his generation' Mike Atherton Shane Warne dominated cricket on the field and off for almost thirty years - his skill, his fame, his personality, his misadventures. His death in March 2002 rocked Australians, even those who could not tell a leg-break from a leg-pull. But what was it like to watch Warne at his long peak, the man of a thousands international wickets, the incarnation of Aussie audacity and cheek? Gideon Haigh saw it all, still can't quite believe it, but wanted to find a way to explain it. In this classic appreciation of Australia's cricket's greatest figure, who doubled as the nation's best-known man, Haigh relieves the highs, the lows, the fun and the follies. The result is a new way of looking at Warne, at sport and at Australia. 'Bloody brilliant... As good as anything I have read on the game' Guardian Winner of The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year

The Nutcracker

Author: Stephanie Spinner
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375984615
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 41

Book Description
Christmas just isn’t Christmas without The Nutcracker! This beautiful book, which includes a fully orchestrated CD of the score, invites children to dance, prance, and relive the ballet long after the tree comes down. Peter Malone’s exquisite illustrations capture all the magic of The Nutcracker’s most memorable scenes: the Christmas Eve party, Godfather Drosselmeyer’s spellbinding visit, and the ferocious battle between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker. Marie’s journey to the Land of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy welcomes her with exuberant dancers from around the globe—and toothsome desserts—springs to life as never before. Stephanie Spinner’s lyrical text, Peter Malone’s jewel-like artwork, and a sparkling performance of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable music make this a gift to inspire even the very youngest dancer.

Samantha Spinner and the Boy in the Ball

Author: Russell Ginns
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 1984849220
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
Get ready for more round-the-world adventure with Samantha Spinner and her brother, Nipper, in the third book in this hilarious, puzzle-packed series filled with super-secret messages! Perfect for fans of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library and classics like Holes. At last! Samantha Spinner tracked down her uncle! Now it's her big chance to learn everything. And now that he's safe and sound, it's time to get some answers. There are so many questions to ask--it's almost impossible to know where to start. Where did the RAIN come from? And what about the SUN? Who made the umbrella and all the incredible ways to travel? What did Uncle Paul mean when he told her to watch out for the... Wait a minute. Nipper's missing. Where did he go? What's that strange trail of yarn? Can't a girl take her eyes off her super-annoying little brother for ten minutes? (If you've been paying attention, then you know that the answer to that last question is "No! Of course not!") Praise for the Samantha Spinner series: "A winning mix of fast-paced action, fascinating facts, bathroom humor, and hidden puzzles . . . [that is] sure to please action-loving middle-grade readers." --Kirkus Reviews "Wild, wacky, and occasionally gross." --The Bulletin

Quicksilver

Author: Stephanie Spinner
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
ISBN: 0307433641
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Hermes—also known as Mercury, Wayfinder, and Prince of Thieves—has many talents. Wearing his famed winged sandals, he does the bidding of his father Zeus, leads the dead down to Hades, and practices his favorite arts of trickery and theft. He also sees the future, travels invisibly, loves jokes, and abhors violence. And he’s an entertaining and ideal narrator on a fast-paced journey through ancient Greek mythology—from Medusa’s cave to Trojan War battlefields to the mysterious Underworld. Stephanie Spinner brings the famous messenger—and the best-known gods and mortals of mythology—to life with high action and spare, powerful prose.

Racing Savannah

Author: Miranda Kenneally
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402284772
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
They're from two different worlds. He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries. With her dream of becoming a jockey, Savannah isn't exactly one to follow the rules either. She's not going to let someone tell her a girl isn't tough enough to race. Sure, it's dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack.. Praise for Miranda Kenneally: "Kenneally's books have quickly become must-reads."—VOYA "Fresh, fearless, and totally romantic."—Sarah Ockler, bestselling author of Twenty Boy Summer and Bittersweet on Stealing Parker

Spin

Author: Lamar Giles
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 1338219235
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 405

Book Description
Even in murder, the music lives on. When rising star Paris Secord (aka DJ ParSec) is found dead on her turntables, it sends the local music scene reeling. No one is feeling that grief more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and ParSec's chief groupie, Fuse -- two sworn enemies who happened to be the ones who discovered her body. The police have few leads, and when the trail quickly turns cold, the authorities don't seem to be pushing too hard to investigate further. But nobody counted on Paris's deeply loyal fans, ParSec Nation, or the outrage that would drive Fuse and Kya to work together. As ParSec Nation takes to social media and the streets in their crusade for justice, Fuse and Kya start digging into Paris's past, stumbling across a deadly secret. With new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that will stop at nothing in their obsessive quest for answers, not even murder...