Walter Hammond, English batsman par excellence, was a complicated figure and this book, imaginatively entitled "Walter Hammond" attempts to cover those complications.

I have to say that while I certainly learnt a lot about Hammond's life inside and outside his cricketing career, it was sadly a dry account (a situation not unusual amongst cricket books). And while Howat has undeniably heavily researched his subject sometimes we don't need the minutiae of Hammond's life, such as his car licence plate number. Still, you could do much worse than "Walter Hammond" if you want to learn about Walter Hammond. ( )