<p><br/> <b>SHORTLISTED FOR THE CHARLES TYRWHITT SPORTS BOOK AWARDS<br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> '</b><br/> <b>Top Bins! A personal best, a lap record and a hole in one for when rain has stopped play.' ALAN DAVIES<br/> <br/><br/> </b><br/> <b>'The trivia book of the season . . . magnificent.' <br/> <i>SPECTATOR</i><br/> </b><br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> <b>Did you know that Henry VIII owned the first pair of football boots? Or that David Attenborough is responsible for yellow tennis balls?</b><br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> <i>A Load of Old Balls</i> is the curious story of us and sport. It's about our mind-blowingly determined attempts to be the fastest, the strongest, the most skilful. In this endlessly entertaining tale of play and belonging, astonishing violence and jaw-dropping cheating, we learn what led ancient Egyptian athletes to have their spleens removed and discover why Michael Palin was disqualified from a conker tournament. Crossing millennia, continents and cultures, Harkin and Ptaszynski - the brainy researchers for BBC's <br/> <i>QI</i> and co-hosts of <br/> <i>No Such Thing As A Fish -</i>show us sport as we've never seen it before.<br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> **<br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> Published in hardback as <br/> <i>Everything to Play For</i>.<br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> **<br/> <br/><br/> <br/><br/> For more from the team behind QI's hit TV show, check out the QI FACTS series of books, @qikipedia, their weekly podcast at nosuchthingasafish.com or visit qi.com.</p>