Book Review: Breaking Ground: Art, Archaeology & Mythology (edited by Neville Gabie, Alan Ward & Jason Wood.

Definition: Breaking (new) Ground

 – the first excavation of a site in a project or

 – an initiative that is new and ground breaking

In all honesty this outstanding publication, shortlisted for the 2017 William Hill Sports Book of the Year, couldn’t be more aptly titled, not only in terms of its content, but the way it was funded and its collaborative approach.

At the heart of this beautifully constructed book, both in terms of words and images, is the story of an abandoned football ground, reclaimed by nature and the remarkable work to carry out an archaeological dig on the site of Bradford Park Avenue’s former home. The results of an initial excavation in November 2013 and another two years later are recorded in the book and accompanying DVD.

In the pages of the book and through the video footage the reader is treated to essays and images that tell the story of not only what the dig produced, but of the people who once stood on the now wooded terraces of the Horton Park End and the demise of the once proud Football League club.

It is a publication that wonderfully brings together art, whether that be in the form of football memorabilia or the skillfully drawn sketches of the trees and shrubs that now stand amongst the terraces, the scientific analysis and painstaking work involved in archaeology and the mythology and folklore of the Bradford Park Avenue club and its supporters.

In addition, it has a wonderfully ethereal feel, with the terraces last occupied over 40 years ago, briefly exposed and fleetingly stood upon as the fans of the club today looked out one last time reliving their memories of Park Avenue.

It is in no sense a run-of-the-mill football story; indeed, it is a book that will be picked up and put down as the pages are revisited time and time again. Quite simply it is a unique addition to the William Hill Sports Book competition and really is a contender to take the top prize which is announced on Tuesday 28 November.

The book is available through selected bookshops or directly from AXIS PROJECTS on-line:

http://www.axisgraphicdesign.co.uk/portfolio/recent/breaking-ground-art-archaeology-mythology

2017 William Hill Sports Book of the Year: Shortlist

Having reviewed the 16-strong Longlist, the panel has now announced the 7-strong Shortlist for 29th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, which are the following books:

  • Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig (Simon & Schuster)
  • Breaking Ground: Art, Archaeology and Mythology edited by Neville Gabie, Alan Ward and Jason Wood (Axis Projects)
  • Centaur by Declan Murphy and Ami Rao (Doubleday, Transworld)
  • Quiet Genius: Bob Paisley, British Football’s Greatest Manager by Ian Herbert (Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury)
  • Swell: A Waterbiography by Jenny Landreth (Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury)
  • The Greatest Comeback: From Genocide to Football Glory by David Bolchover (Biteback Publishing)
  • Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire by Andy McGrath (Rapha Editions)

 

Football dominates the list with three titles, with one each from the world of boxing, cycling, horse racing and swimming.

The winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2017 will be announced at an afternoon reception at BAFTA, in central London, on Tuesday 28 November 2017.

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2017 William Hill Sports Book of the Year: Longlist

The 16-strong Longlist for 29th William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award has been announced and is as follows:

  • Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig (Simon & Schuster)
  • Breaking Ground: Art, Archaeology and Mythology edited by Neville Gabie, Alan Ward and Jason Wood (Axis Projects)
  • Centaur by Declan Murphy and Ami Rao (Doubleday, Transworld)
  • Connie: The Marvellous Life of Learie Constantine by Harry Pearson (Little, Brown)
  • Feeling is the Thing that Happens in 1000th of a Second: A Season of Cricket Photographer Patrick Eager by Christian Ryan (riverrun, Quercus Books)
  • Four Mums in a Boat by Helen Butters, Niki Doeg, Frances Davies and Janette Benaddi (HQ, HarperCollins)
  • Gambling for Life by Harry Findlay (Trinity Mirror Sport Media)
  • Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story by Judy Murray (Chatto & Windus, Penguin Random House)
  • On Form by Mark Brearley (Little, Brown)
  • Quiet Genius: Bob Paisley, British Football’s Greatest Manager by Ian Herbert (Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury)
  • Redemption: From Iron Bars to Iron Man by John McAvoy and Mark Turley (Pitch Publishing)
  • Swell: A Waterbiography by Jenny Landreth (Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury)
  • The Greatest Comeback: From Genocide to Football Glory by David Bolchover (Biteback Publishing)
  • The Talent Lab: The secrets of creating and sustaining success by Owen Slot (Ebury Press, Penguin Random House)
  • Tom Simpson: Bird on the Wire by Andy McGrath (Rapha Editions)
  • When Lions Roared: The Lions, the All Blacks & the Legendary Tour of 1971 by Tom English and Peter Burns (Polaris Publishing)

 

Shortlisted authors will receive £3,000 cash, a leather-bound copy of their book, and a free £1,000 bet. Longlisted authors will receive a free £500 bet and a certificate.

The 2016 prize was won by Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan