BOOK REVIEW

'Playing It My Way' by Sachin Tendulkar

Name of the book : PLAYING IT MY WAY
Author: Sachin Tendulkar
Co-author: Boria Majumdar
Pubisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Edition: 1st Edition, 2014

About the authors

It is very difficult to mention about Sachin Tendulkar in a limited space.
Undoubtedly he is the most celebrated Indian cricketer of all time. He holds the
international records of maximum runs, maximum centuries in both formats of
the game (Test and One-day). He is the only cricketer to play 200 Test and the
first cricketer two score a limited-over double century. This book is his
autobiography.

Boria Majumdar is a Rhodes Scholar. He completed his doctorate on social

history of Indian cricket from Oxford University. He is presently teaching at
Monash University,Melbourne and is the Consulting Editor, Sports, India Today
Group. His other books on cricket are also widely acclaimed.

Contents
The book has been divided in twenty-eight chapters. Starting from the
childhood, these chapters have described Sachin's journey till the last Test he
played against West Indies on 16th November, 2013 at Wankhade Stadium,
Mumbai. This book has also provided every statistical details of Sachin during
his international cricketing career spanning over 24 years. Not only the
cricketing exploits, the book has mentioned Sachin's family life, his struggle, his
battle against innumerable injuries, some criticisms and controversies, many
acclaims and various interesting anecdotes of his life. This book has also
mentioned about other famous Indian cricketers who played with Sachin.
 BOOK REVIEW
'Playing It My Way' by Sachin Tendulkar
Review
As already mentioned, the narrative starts from Sachin's childhood and travels
through his entire cricketing journey through some of the most glorious
moments of his career. The book is written in strict chronological order. The
English is direct and doesn't contain bombastic words or phrases. Evidently it is
written thinking about the common cricket-loving masses of India and the
world. However, it is to be noted that Sachin has either totally avoided or
mentioned minimally about various controversies during 1989 to 2013. He has
not shown any Indian cricketer in negative light. However, the issue of many
niggling injuries has returned time and again. The reader also comes to know
how Sachin tackled these problems motivated by his love of the game and for
the country. We are simply astonished by his single-minded affection and
dedication to the game of cricket. Fortunately, his parents, brothers, wife and
even children have been his pillars of strength during his long cricketing
journey. Not only injuries, Sachin has time and again mentioned about food of
various countries as well as the food prepared by his mother and wife, in this
book. The compilation of statistical part of the book is simply astounding and
mind-boggling and it covers Sachin's entire international career, series by series,
match by match. This is simply not a mean achievement.

The quality of binding and printing of the book is excellent. It contains some
excellent photos mainly from author's personal collection.

Final comments
Although the book has avoided contentious issues, we must read the book to
know a complete cricketer and a total family man. The book is not only meant
for the cricket-loving people of the world. After reading the book, the reader
understands that complete devotion and firm determination can take a man to
the pinnacle of glory. In that sense it is a motivational book also.