Between 1975 and 1994 the West Indies dominated cricket's empire, feared for their ferocious pace and the brutal beauty of their play. This disparate group of men - labourers, civil servants, sons of fishermen, drivers and prison wardens - from islands across the Caribbean Sea, came together to play for a nation that existed only on a pitch; fighting under a flag that only flew from a pavilion roof. The team dominated for nineteen years. Their success on the pitch went far beyond the game - it gave meaning and liberation to a nation still fighting the legacy of 300 years of slavery, to a people scattered across the globe. Tracing the remarkable journey from the 'Calypso Cricketers' notorious defeat to Australia in 1975 to world dominance shortly after, Fire in Babylon definitively tells the story of how determination, controversy and 'pace like fire' came to change the lives of many, and become one of the great sporting tales. 'A fine book indeed. I doubt there will be a better book written about this period in West Indies cricket history.' Clive Lloyd
