Tom Wills: The First Wild Man of Australian Sport by Greg De Moore (Signed)
The definitive biography of the visionary sportsman who brought us Australian Rules football
This is the story of Tom Wills - flawed genius, sporting libertine, fearless leader and agitator, and the man most often credited with creating the game we now know as Australian Rules football.
Sent to the strict British Rugby School in 1850 at fourteen, Tom returned as a worldly young man whose cricket prowess quickly captured the hearts of Melburnians. But away from the adoring crowds, in the desolation of the Queensland outback, he experienced first-hand the devastating effects of racial tension when his father was murdered in the biggest massacre of Europeans by Aboriginal people. Yet five years later, Tom coached the first Aboriginal cricket team.
Tom Wills lived hard and fast, challenging authority on and off the field. But when his physical talents began to fade, the psychological demons that alcohol and adrenaline had kept at bay surged to the fore, driving him to commit the most brutal of suicides. He was forty-four and destitute.
Greg de Moore has carefully pieced together Tom's life, giving us an extraordinary portrait of the life and times of one of our first sporting heroes, a man who lived by his own rules and whose contribution to Australian history has endured for more than 150 years.
Paperback | 396 pages
128 x 198 x 31mm | 378g
01 Nov 2011
Allen & Unwin
St Leonards, Australia
English
Reprint
Illustrations
1742375987
9781742375984
Condition: Good
A book that has been read but is in good condition. Very minimal damage to the cover including very minor scuff marks along the edges, but no holes or tears. The majority of pages are undamaged with very minimal creasing but no tearing. No pencil underlining of text and no highlighting of text. The first page in the book has been inscribed and signed by the author with the following message in black biro: TO GREG, BEST WISHES, GREG DE MOORE 20/05/13. But no other writing in margins. No missing pages.