And the lesson is ,don,t listen to psychics . - Rated 
Two of my favourite non-fiction subjects to read about are cricket and travel so Slogging The Slavs which is essentially a book about a bloke from Scotland (Originally ,though he actually resides in Canada with Candy ,a chocolate heiress) who travels throughout Eastern Europe trying to gets games of cricket with the locals should be right up my boulevard. And it is an enjoyable lightweight read but some of the claims on the books cover(Claims on book covers like those on movie posters are best taken with crane size pinches of salt) about it being hilarious, splendidly humorous etc are so far wide of the mark they could have been delivered by Steve Harmison at the start of an ashes series. Slogging The Slavs is wryly amusing in parts and some of the situations are empathically droll but this is no work of comic genius.
Angus Bell conceived the idea for his cross European trip after a trip to a psychic convention in Montreal leads to an encounters where an impromptu encounter with a clairvoyant leads him to accept that his next job is going to involve a lot of travel and that he will be guided by the ghost of an uncle. Motivated by this and the fact that he has travelled extensively in the past Angus Bell organises a roster of contacts who are interested in cricket in countries like Serbia, Belarus, Romania , Austria , Hungary , Ukraine. He even travels to Istanbul , namely so he can hit a six from one continent into another.
This is as much a book about a bloke trying desperately to make his mark by doing something absurd as anything and good luck to him. By far the most fascinating and entertaining sections of the book are those dealing with the peculiarities, idiosyncrasies and sheer mind numbing beaurocracy he stumbles upon as he crosses borders and attempts to get beds for the night, eat or just make calls or find internet cafes. Thanks to his cricket contacts he meets some interesting characters(Mike The Irishman is tremendous) but the cricket is actually the least interesting bit about the book .
Angus Bell comes across as a thoroughly nice chap as Tim Nice But Dim would have put it and it's almost a relief when near the end of his trip he finally completely loses his rag with some unhelpful jobs worth and lets rip with an expectative ridden tirade. A decent enough book about a completely pointless trip but it's comforting to know that people like Angus Bell are dreaming up these hair brained schemes and having the bottle to follow them through so boring gits like me can read about them and then claim they are not funny enough.
Travel and cricket combined to excellent effect - Rated 
Very, VERY good. I had not thought to ever see someone combine cricket with Eastern Europe - two things which fascinate me, and I had long assumed that they were mutually exclusive!
Angus Bell writes well, whether descriving an unlikely cricket match in Vilnius, hostel shenanigans or border-crossing mayhem in a clapped-out Skoda. One of those travelogues which one can read safe in the knowledge that you never quite know what's going to happen next.
More, please.
Funny, moving, and about cricket - a dream - Rated
I loved this book! I'm cricket obsessed so have a natural bias to any book about it, but this book is much more than that. It describes the writer's travels through eastern Europe to places where you would never imagine cricket being played, and the stories of how the players found the game and fell in love with it are really quite moving. If anything there's almost too much story to pack in - I wouldn't have minded more detail about the games or about the places - which shows how rich the story is. And how much fun the writer must have had.
A welcome spin on the travel book genre - Rated
To label this book as simply about 'cricket' is to do it a great disservice. It's first and foremost a travel book, from its wonderfully bizarre beginnings in the world of Montreal psychics to a Skoda-powered odyssey across the lesser-travelled paths of eastern Europe.
The difference-maker with this book is not only its once-in-a-lifetime subject matter, but its intensely witty sense of humour. It's side-splittingly funny throughout, but it's also painfully honest in its painting of the Balkan underworld in all its dodgy-dealing glory.
From the uniqueness of its achievement to the pantomime cast of characters we meet along the way, Slogging the Slavs is a must for anyone interested in travel off the beaten track. Cricket fans from pitch to armchair will lap it up, but then again so will anyone who's ever had a hard time crossing the border into parts unknown.
Nothing to do with the paranormal - Rated 
At first I thought this was to do with parapsychology and then found it wasn't. A great read if you're a cricketing fan but less so if you're not.
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