Throughout the book, Murray does reproduce some cultural and generation-based stereotypes. For example, he accuses ‘[t]oday’s X-generation’ of regarding the social activists of the 1960s ‘with flippant disdain’. However, for the most part, Murray’s observations about Australian culture and history are intelligent and devoid of clichés. I found the sections that addressed the television network SBS the most compelling. Murray provides a thorough explanation of how football ‘got extremely lucky’ with the arrival of SBS in 1980. The game might have been ‘buried in a 2 am timeslot’ on another network due to its initial low ratings. Fortunately, as Murray reports, SBS gave football prime-time coverage and even dubbed it ‘The World Game’.

Overall, By the Balls is fresh and highly engaging. Murray’s enthusiasm for football and his numerous accounts of matches played over the years will make the book appealing to supporters of this game. However, his observations about cultural diversity in Australia since the 1950s will hopefully endear his text to a broader readership.