Play On (includes Loose Men Everywhere)

 

 

Play On front cover final

 

 

Play On is the omnibus edition of John Harms’s three funny and insightful books:

Loose Men Everywhere – about footy and why it means so much, and how it family and footy are so connected

Memoirs of a Mug Punter – about horse-racing, mug punting, a syndicate called SAMRA and their horse Courting Pleasure.

Confessions of a Thirteenth Man – a road trip story of driving around Australia to attend each Test match in the summer of 1998-99.

 

Buy a copy of Play On HERE. ($30.00 which includes postage)

 

When Confessions of a Thirteenth Man, Memoirs of a Mug Punter and Loose Men Everywhere first came out they received outstanding reviews. Here are some of the comments as collated by Text Publishing at the time:

 

“Nick Hornby for Australian conditions…a craftsman of rare skill, a national treasure in the making.” Geelong Advertiser

 

Loose Men Everywhere

“Well-written…funny…gloriously, quintessentially Australian – capturing the great Aussie game endearingly and personally.” Courier Mail

“A Very funny book.”   Sunday Tasmanian

“A complete delight.”   Australian Financial Review

 

Memoirs of a Mug Punter

“Delightful…light of touch, unsentimental, shrewdly paced.” Canberra Times

“It’s impossible not to share Harms’ enthusiasm for the horse, and impossible not to take a liking to the writer…Truly enjoyable.” Australian Bookseller and Publisher

“Anyone who likes a good laugh will enjoy this book.” Brisbane News

 

Confessions of a Thirteenth Man

“Funny…Profound…genuinely touching.”   Who Weekly

“Engaging and witty…should be in every cricket lover’s library.”   Inside Sport

“[This book] is no dry dissection of the [98-99] Ashes’ Tour…[It] is a primer for those who understand that to love and understand cricket is to love and understand life. Even more, it’s an entertaining and perceptive cultural portrait.” The Australian

 

From Justin Murphy:

 

I think I know what makes John Harms tick – he is fascinated by people and loves the way their passions and pastimes create communities and reveal the human condition. He needs to know why the world is as it is, and he’s prepared to have a damned good time on this journey of discovery. If you join him on his quest, wonderfully revealed in his first three books, you will certainly be entertained, you will definitely be delighted, and you may even be enlightened…

 

Buy a copy of Play On HERE. ($30.00 which includes postage)

Comments

  1. I was fortunate enough to purchase a rare first edition of Play On in the local Salvation Army second-hand store for $3. A bargain.

  2. DBalassone says

    It’s a great read indeed. I had read/owned copies of Loose and Confessions many years ago, but got the omnibus last year and reread them, as well as Memoirs of a Mug Punter for the first time – I have no passion for racing, but reading Memoirs suddenly makes it interesting to me.
    The account of the ’89 GF in Loose is as good as I’ve read on the subject (also have a soft spot btw for JTH’s account of the 2007 GF in TFA when the match ball lands in his hands). Also could feel the mangled hand injury in the first few seconds of his first game in 7 or 8 years. Reality bites.

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