Australia's Game: The History of Australian Football

Australia’s Game—the History of Australian Football covers the history of Australian Rules football in fantastic detail. Unlike every other sport that has captured the nation’s interest, Australian football is not a copy, a clone, or a hand-me-down of European culture. Rather, it is a game with special qualities, which arose from a distinctive series of events in the fledgling colony of Victoria, grew rapidly, and is now the most dominant sport in the country: a social, commercial, cultural and—for many—spiritual force. Australia’s Game—the History of Australian Football describes, in forensic detail, the characters that led the way, how crises were faced and overcome, the great players and coaches who have influenced the ways the game has been played, the supporters who have stayed true to their club and have passed on their passion through generations, and most recently how the game has added another dimension with a flourishing national competition for women.

About the Author :
Matthew Nicholson is the Director of the Centre for Sport and Social Impact, and a Professor within the Business School at La Trobe University. Matthew’s expertise is in sport policy, the management of community and state sport organisations, particularly as it relates to the sport-public health nexus, the social impact of sport, recreation and leisure and the representation of sport through the media.   Bob Stewart has been teaching and researching the field of sport management and sport policy for decades. He came to the sports studies field with a strong interest in the commercial and sociological development of Australian football, and since then has critically reviewed its progress. As well as The National Game (2008) he edited The Games are Not the Same: The Political Economy of Football in Australia, (MUP 2007), and co-wrote More than a Game, (MUP, 1998). Associate Professor Rob Hess is one of Australia's foremost sport historians. His PhD was the first ever doctoral study of the history of Australian football, and he has published widely on the history of the code, including an award-winning co-authored book, A National Game: The History of Australian Rules Football, (Penguin/Viking 2008). Rob is also currently serving as the President of the Australian Society for Sports History, and he is the Executive Editor of the Bulletin of Sport and Culture. In addition, he is a member of the Western Bulldogs Football Club Heritage Committee. Other research interests include the 'secret' history of female players, the 'hidden' ethnic dimensions of Australian Rules football, especially the longstanding involvement of the Chinese community in the code, and the history of disability sport in Victoria.    Greg de Moore is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry based at Sydney's Westmead Hospital. Born in Melbourne of parents who migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka, Greg has lived in Sydney for over 20 years. He has combined his medical interests with Australian history to write and co-write two previous books—Tom Wills, First wild man of Australian Sport (Allen & Unwin, 2011) and A National Game (Penguin Viking 2008). The biography of Tom Wills was based on ten years of research unearthing original medical records, letters, textbooks and notes previously believed to have been lost or destroyed. This book won numerous awards and was short-listed for the National Biography Award.

Review :
‘Australia's Game provides a valuable reference if only to understand how the game dealt with similarly big matters in the past’ – Ashely Browne, AFL Record.