Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

Proof copy. 8vo. Pp. [viii], 260. Yellow printed wraps.

Inscribed by Author to title-page.

As with his previous book, Round Ireland with a Fridge (1998), this book is the result of a wager with alternative comedian Arthur Smith. This time, Hawks bets he can beat all eleven members of the Moldovan football team at tennis. The loser must perform the Moldovan national anthem bollock-naked on Balham High Road, with a pixie hat on.

A film adaptation starring Hawks with Anatol Durbala, Steven Frost, Angus Deayton, Morwenna Banks and Laura Solon with Pat Cash as the commentator, was released in 2012. All profits from proceeds of the sale of the DVD, available on the author's website, benefit the Tony Hawks Centre for children with cerebral palsy in Moldova, which was started with royalties from this book. "This is an extremely entertaining book... A real treat for fans of the weird, the silly, and the out-of-left-field." –Booklist (starred review)