Moneyballs

I think I've already burbled about Ed Smith's books and how after I'd found 'Playing Hardball', about baseball, so good I'd been disappointed by 'What Sport teaches us about life'. Anyway in one of these two he refers to Moneyballs by Michael Lewis (see right) about a player who found managing so much more satisfying than playing so retired from the latter early. He's Billy Beane and has been able, over several seasons and on a low budget, to make Oakland Athletics seriously competitive in Baseball leagues in America.

His secret is that, armed with a wealth of statistics, he has worked out what are the important attributes of players in terms of getting results; it seems that his views differ from the standard view so that he is able to trade players with other teams to his benefit.

It's brilliant even if like me you have little understanding of baseball and there are analogies relevant to football and cricket (particularly when he talks about batter's eyes lighting up when the slow pitcher is in action!)

Highly recommended.