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Keane: The Autobiography
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.80
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 Product Description
The most talked about, written about and argued over sports autobiography of 2002, Keane: the Autobiography does not disappoint. This story of Manchester United and Ireland captain Roy Keane's brilliant and controversial career, written in collaboration with Irish journalist and former professional footballer Eamon Dunphy, crackles with score-settling vigour. It presents a revisionist view of a life in football that has had tabloid editors rubbing their hands with glee almost from the moment the fiery, confrontational midfielder made his British debut for Nottingham Forest under arch eccentric Brian Clough right through to his sensational bust-up with international boss Mick McCarthy and subsequent departure from the 2002 Irish World Cup squad on the eve of the finals. Amid all the wrangling and point-scoring Dunphy and Keane have written a rags-to-riches review of Keane's journey from a poor, battling background in Cork to the £50k a week highlife at Old Trafford. It's very entertaining, although an independent biographer would doubtless have put a less heroic spin on proceedings. The two key headline-grabbing stories--the war with McCarthy and the allegedly deliberate injuring of Alfie Haaland--read somewhat differently in the book from the way they did in the papers. Make no mistake about it, Keane is frank about his own failings, franker about the failings of others and prepared to spill the beans to some extent about being the odd-man-out in the Old Trafford glam-fest. But this is very much his side of the story. --Alex Hankin
Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Fever Pitch
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £0.60
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Product Description
Fever Pitch is both an autobiography and a footballing bible rolled into one. Nick Hornby pinpoints 1968 as his formative year--the year he turned 11, the year his parents separated, and the year his father first took him to watch Arsenal play. The author quickly moved "way beyond fandom" into an extreme obsession that has dominated his life, loves, and relationships. His father had initially hoped that Saturday afternoon matches would draw the two closer together, but instead Hornby became completely besotted with the game at the expense of any conversation: "Football may have provided us with a new medium through which we could communicate, but that was not to say that we used it, or what we chose to say was necessarily positive." Girlfriends also played second fiddle to one ball and 11 men. He fantasises that even if a girlfriend "went into labour at an impossible moment" he would not be able to help out until after the final whistle. Fever Pitch is not a typical memoir--there are no chapters, just a series of match reports falling into three time frames (childhood, young adulthood, manhood). While watching the May 2, 1972, Reading v Arsenal match, it became embarrassingly obvious to the then 15-year-old that his white, suburban, middle-class roots made him a wimp with no sense of identity: "Yorkshire men, Lancastrians, Scots, the Irish, blacks, the rich, the poor, even Americans and Australians have something they can sit in pubs and bars and weep about." But a boy from Maidenhead could only dream of coming from a place with "its own tube station and West Indian community and terrible, insoluble social problems." Fever Pitch reveals the very special intricacies of British football, which readers new to the game will find astonishing, and which Hornby presents with remarkable humour and honesty--the "unique" chants sung at matches, the cold rain- soaked terraces, giant cans of warm beer, the trains known as football specials carrying fans to and from matches in prison-like conditions, bottles smashing on the tracks, thousands of police officers waiting in anticipation for the cargo of hooligans. The sport and one team in particular have crept into every aspect of Hornby's life--making him see the world through Arsenal-tinted spectacles. --Naomi GesingerFever Pitch is both an autobiography and a footballing bible rolled into one. Nick Hornby pinpoints 1968 as his formative year--the year he turned 11, the year his parents separated, and the year his father first took him to watch Arsenal play. The author quickly moved "way beyond fandom" into an extreme obsession that has dominated his life, loves, and relationships. His father had initially hoped that Saturday afternoon matches would draw the two closer together, but instead Hornby became completely besotted with the game at the expense of any conversation: "Football may have provided us with a new medium through which we could communicate, but that was not to say that we used it, or what we chose to say was necessarily positive." Girlfriends also played second fiddle to one ball and 11 men. He fantasises that even if a girlfriend "went into labour at an impossible moment" he would not be able to help out until after the final whistle. Fever Pitch is not a typical memoir--there are no chapters, just a series of match reports falling into three time frames (childhood, young adulthood, manhood). While watching the May 2, 1972, Reading v Arsenal match, it became embarrassingly obvious to the then 15-year-old that his white, suburban, middle-class roots made him a wimp with no sense of identity: "Yorkshire men, Lancastrians, Scots, the Irish, blacks, the rich, the poor, even Americans and Australians have something they can sit in pubs and bars and weep about." But a boy from Maidenhead could only dream of coming from a place with "its own tube station and West Indian community and terrible, insoluble social problems." Fever Pitch reveals the very special intricacies of British football, which readers new to the game will find astonishing, and which Hornby presents with remarkable humour and honesty--the "unique" chants sung at matches, the cold rain- soaked terraces, giant cans of warm beer, the trains known as football specials carrying fans to and from matches in prison-like conditions, bottles smashing on the tracks, thousands of police officers waiting in anticipation for the cargo of hooligans. The sport and one team in particular have crept into every aspect of Hornby's life--making him see the world through Arsenal-tinted spectacles. --Naomi Gesinger
Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Might be the best book ever dealing with football, 23 Jul 2008
Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of English football in his last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.
Unique and interesting., 02 Jan 2008
'Fever Pitch' is an interesting and captivating book, I recently read it and would read it again. I am not a football fan but came closer to understand what it feels like to be one, which was very insightful - you needn't be into football to enjoy this book because football is only the backdrop to discussing relationships and issues in life.
The Pandora's box was open...., 12 Sep 2007
This was it, the book that opened up the floodgates for "footie" to become the supposed obsession of the chattering classes. All over Hampstead, Notting Hill and Camden middle-class, Grammar-school educated chaps like Nick Hornby were suddenly given wings, free to fly everywhere expressing the love for "the beautiful game" that previously had dare not speak its name for fear of inspiring dinner-party sneers. The media was thus annoyingly overrun by David Baddiel types who previously had not given a damn about football. What had previously been a sport for the genuine working class, lower middle class office workers and a few crazed public school eccentric maths masters was depressingly hijacked by Jeremys, Edmunds, Rachels and Sophies everywhere. This was all down to Nick Hornby and his accursed book.
Not that it is bad first offering from a writer who has now become the virtual personification of the North London "metrosexual" new man, dressed in his shoe-style Doc Martens and skinny black jeans, his prematurely balding hair close shaven to avoid a "comb-over" and just as happy to change nappies as he is to sink a pint of best. It is just so indulgent, so self-obsessed, so (at times) smug. It is as if Hornby is constantly telling his audience "look at me, I'm educated, middle-class, articulate, literate, yet my passion is football - how cool is THAT ?".
Many of Hornby's reminiscences are bona fide and certainly strike a chord with someone such as myself who is of exactly the same generation and background. However, it is extremely irritating to read of Hornby's self-glorified schoolboy/student encounters with a seeming string of fragrant home counties university girls. Again, it is a ham-fisted way of Hornby saying that not only was he the salt of the earth but he couldn't half pull posh totty as well. Yes, Nick, we know you've had a few girlfriends, most of us have, but really, we're not actually interested in "Carol Blackburn" or whether or not she let you under her cream cashmere sweater.
By all means read this book, as it is socially, culturally and chronologically very important, but, please, do not bestow it with a classic status it simply does not deserve.
Fever Pitch, 01 Sep 2007
If you're a football fan this is a must read. As a Liverpool supporter I found the description of the Michael Thomas goal particularly painful but still enjoyed the book. Hornby describes the blind devotion you have to your club extremely well. It's a fantastic read about the 'beautiful game' that most football fans will relate to.
Disappointing, 22 Aug 2006
I finally got found to reading this book recently and I wasn't that impressed. Although Hornby sums up a lot of the experiences of being a football fan well, something doesn't work; he never really gets to the bottom of the pain of defeat (and particularly relegation). OK so he's an Arsenal fan and so he's not experienced this, but this is still a book written resolutely from a successful, big club perspective. This, for me, is the main drawback with the impact of this book; it is only really 'true' to the experiences of a very few fans - those of the elite 6 or 7 perenially successful English football teams. But because its influence was so broad it has been adopted as the standard 'excuse book' for newcomer, fairweather fans.
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Four Iron in the Soul
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £2.95
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Product Description
Lawrence Donegan's tale of life as a golf caddy is a refreshing look at sport through the eyes of neither a star, a fan nor an outside observer. Four-iron in the Soul is told from a fresh angle--that of a newcomer to golf and all its to-ings and fro-ings--a tale expertly told by the amusing ramblings of a man well travelled in his own chosen profession. Donegan, a musician of "Lloyd Cole and the Commotions" and "Bluebells"(remember the staccato "Young at Heart"?) fame, and later journalist with the Guardian, put down his bass guitar and tucked his quill in his pocket to caddy for pro golfer Ross Drummond on the European Tour. Donegan's childhood dream had been to become a professional footballer or golfer but after a brief flourish in his early years he abandoned his sporting aspirations. That was until Drummond--by his own admission one of the competitors present more to make up the numbers in most tournaments--grudgingly agreed to let Donegan be his caddy. Donegan points out that he was more of a bag carrier for the player ranked towards the bottom half of the world's top 500. He tells of the day when, researching an article, he first met Drummond and got bitten by the caddying bug. Four-iron in the Soul is open and witty, blunt and hilarious all at once. It is an enjoyable read and a crisp, original insight into the game of golf. --Andrea Thursday
Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Might be the best book ever dealing with football, 23 Jul 2008
Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of English football in his last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.
Unique and interesting., 02 Jan 2008
'Fever Pitch' is an interesting and captivating book, I recently read it and would read it again. I am not a football fan but came closer to understand what it feels like to be one, which was very insightful - you needn't be into football to enjoy this book because football is only the backdrop to discussing relationships and issues in life.
The Pandora's box was open...., 12 Sep 2007
This was it, the book that opened up the floodgates for "footie" to become the supposed obsession of the chattering classes. All over Hampstead, Notting Hill and Camden middle-class, Grammar-school educated chaps like Nick Hornby were suddenly given wings, free to fly everywhere expressing the love for "the beautiful game" that previously had dare not speak its name for fear of inspiring dinner-party sneers. The media was thus annoyingly overrun by David Baddiel types who previously had not given a damn about football. What had previously been a sport for the genuine working class, lower middle class office workers and a few crazed public school eccentric maths masters was depressingly hijacked by Jeremys, Edmunds, Rachels and Sophies everywhere. This was all down to Nick Hornby and his accursed book.
Not that it is bad first offering from a writer who has now become the virtual personification of the North London "metrosexual" new man, dressed in his shoe-style Doc Martens and skinny black jeans, his prematurely balding hair close shaven to avoid a "comb-over" and just as happy to change nappies as he is to sink a pint of best. It is just so indulgent, so self-obsessed, so (at times) smug. It is as if Hornby is constantly telling his audience "look at me, I'm educated, middle-class, articulate, literate, yet my passion is football - how cool is THAT ?".
Many of Hornby's reminiscences are bona fide and certainly strike a chord with someone such as myself who is of exactly the same generation and background. However, it is extremely irritating to read of Hornby's self-glorified schoolboy/student encounters with a seeming string of fragrant home counties university girls. Again, it is a ham-fisted way of Hornby saying that not only was he the salt of the earth but he couldn't half pull posh totty as well. Yes, Nick, we know you've had a few girlfriends, most of us have, but really, we're not actually interested in "Carol Blackburn" or whether or not she let you under her cream cashmere sweater.
By all means read this book, as it is socially, culturally and chronologically very important, but, please, do not bestow it with a classic status it simply does not deserve.
Fever Pitch, 01 Sep 2007
If you're a football fan this is a must read. As a Liverpool supporter I found the description of the Michael Thomas goal particularly painful but still enjoyed the book. Hornby describes the blind devotion you have to your club extremely well. It's a fantastic read about the 'beautiful game' that most football fans will relate to.
Disappointing, 22 Aug 2006
I finally got found to reading this book recently and I wasn't that impressed. Although Hornby sums up a lot of the experiences of being a football fan well, something doesn't work; he never really gets to the bottom of the pain of defeat (and particularly relegation). OK so he's an Arsenal fan and so he's not experienced this, but this is still a book written resolutely from a successful, big club perspective. This, for me, is the main drawback with the impact of this book; it is only really 'true' to the experiences of a very few fans - those of the elite 6 or 7 perenially successful English football teams. But because its influence was so broad it has been adopted as the standard 'excuse book' for newcomer, fairweather fans.
A Great Humorist, 25 Aug 2008
I don't play golf and I hardly ever watch it, but I picked up Lawrence Donegan's book because I have to write speeches for golfers every once in a while, and I was looking for something to give me some inspiration and insight. This was a great choice. I loved reading Donegan, who is wry, self-deprecating and intelligent.
It's a great story about being a caddy, and the ups and downs of Drummond, his professional. Donegan tells some excellent anecdotes and describes the underside of the glamorous world of golf. I felt I learnt something about what it's like to compete in top level sport. I'll certainly be keen to buy more of his books.
living the dream, 02 Sep 2006
i am not a golf fan and the closest i have ever got to the game,is the pitch and put at whitby,but never the less,i am a fan of lawrence donegans books.
all his books are about living the dream,from california,to ireland to being a caddy at a golf tournament.four iron in the soul,captures a moment in a mans life when,he actually pushes himself to something he always wanted to do,to partake in a pro golf tournament,sadly not as a golfer,but as the next best thing,a caddy.
even if you are not a golf fan,you can relate to moments in this book,as its a travelling life,interspersed with characters ,you can only meet in a life style like caddying.the books an eye opener,an emotional roller coaster of laughs and tantrums,its a book ,that once you pick up,you won,t put it down till you have read the last page.
Great Title Better book, 16 Nov 2002
If you have ever wanted to get inside the mind of a tour caddy or professional read this book now. All aspiring professionals should be forced to read this book before committing to a life on tour. If you are a golf fan this book is a must. If however you just want a good , interesting and insightful read again this book will hit the spot. Follow this up bt reading "A good walk spoiled by John Feinstein" A great present for someone
Book dreams are made of., 02 Jul 2002
This book is a golfing dream. Any golfer dreams of being a tour caddy. It tells of the highs and lows, funny and sad. For those of us who cant be out there carrying a bag....this book allows us to be there, feeling every shot , every missed putt and missed cut. This book is what my dreams are made of....read it Gary
Enjoyable insight into the life of a caddy, 11 Jun 2002
I couldn't put this book down. As a very keen golfer it was very interesting to find out how the other half live. I've often fancied life as a caddy but not any more! One thing I did realise is, if you do fancy it have a go Lawrence proved it is possible.
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Giggs: The Autobiography
Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
*Best price found from Amazon Marketplace seller
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*Amazon: £3.97
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Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Might be the best book ever dealing with football, 23 Jul 2008
Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of English football in his last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.
Unique and interesting., 02 Jan 2008
'Fever Pitch' is an interesting and captivating book, I recently read it and would read it again. I am not a football fan but came closer to understand what it feels like to be one, which was very insightful - you needn't be into football to enjoy this book because football is only the backdrop to discussing relationships and issues in life.
The Pandora's box was open...., 12 Sep 2007
This was it, the book that opened up the floodgates for "footie" to become the supposed obsession of the chattering classes. All over Hampstead, Notting Hill and Camden middle-class, Grammar-school educated chaps like Nick Hornby were suddenly given wings, free to fly everywhere expressing the love for "the beautiful game" that previously had dare not speak its name for fear of inspiring dinner-party sneers. The media was thus annoyingly overrun by David Baddiel types who previously had not given a damn about football. What had previously been a sport for the genuine working class, lower middle class office workers and a few crazed public school eccentric maths masters was depressingly hijacked by Jeremys, Edmunds, Rachels and Sophies everywhere. This was all down to Nick Hornby and his accursed book.
Not that it is bad first offering from a writer who has now become the virtual personification of the North London "metrosexual" new man, dressed in his shoe-style Doc Martens and skinny black jeans, his prematurely balding hair close shaven to avoid a "comb-over" and just as happy to change nappies as he is to sink a pint of best. It is just so indulgent, so self-obsessed, so (at times) smug. It is as if Hornby is constantly telling his audience "look at me, I'm educated, middle-class, articulate, literate, yet my passion is football - how cool is THAT ?".
Many of Hornby's reminiscences are bona fide and certainly strike a chord with someone such as myself who is of exactly the same generation and background. However, it is extremely irritating to read of Hornby's self-glorified schoolboy/student encounters with a seeming string of fragrant home counties university girls. Again, it is a ham-fisted way of Hornby saying that not only was he the salt of the earth but he couldn't half pull posh totty as well. Yes, Nick, we know you've had a few girlfriends, most of us have, but really, we're not actually interested in "Carol Blackburn" or whether or not she let you under her cream cashmere sweater.
By all means read this book, as it is socially, culturally and chronologically very important, but, please, do not bestow it with a classic status it simply does not deserve.
Fever Pitch, 01 Sep 2007
If you're a football fan this is a must read. As a Liverpool supporter I found the description of the Michael Thomas goal particularly painful but still enjoyed the book. Hornby describes the blind devotion you have to your club extremely well. It's a fantastic read about the 'beautiful game' that most football fans will relate to.
Disappointing, 22 Aug 2006
I finally got found to reading this book recently and I wasn't that impressed. Although Hornby sums up a lot of the experiences of being a football fan well, something doesn't work; he never really gets to the bottom of the pain of defeat (and particularly relegation). OK so he's an Arsenal fan and so he's not experienced this, but this is still a book written resolutely from a successful, big club perspective. This, for me, is the main drawback with the impact of this book; it is only really 'true' to the experiences of a very few fans - those of the elite 6 or 7 perenially successful English football teams. But because its influence was so broad it has been adopted as the standard 'excuse book' for newcomer, fairweather fans.
A Great Humorist, 25 Aug 2008
I don't play golf and I hardly ever watch it, but I picked up Lawrence Donegan's book because I have to write speeches for golfers every once in a while, and I was looking for something to give me some inspiration and insight. This was a great choice. I loved reading Donegan, who is wry, self-deprecating and intelligent.
It's a great story about being a caddy, and the ups and downs of Drummond, his professional. Donegan tells some excellent anecdotes and describes the underside of the glamorous world of golf. I felt I learnt something about what it's like to compete in top level sport. I'll certainly be keen to buy more of his books.
living the dream, 02 Sep 2006
i am not a golf fan and the closest i have ever got to the game,is the pitch and put at whitby,but never the less,i am a fan of lawrence donegans books.
all his books are about living the dream,from california,to ireland to being a caddy at a golf tournament.four iron in the soul,captures a moment in a mans life when,he actually pushes himself to something he always wanted to do,to partake in a pro golf tournament,sadly not as a golfer,but as the next best thing,a caddy.
even if you are not a golf fan,you can relate to moments in this book,as its a travelling life,interspersed with characters ,you can only meet in a life style like caddying.the books an eye opener,an emotional roller coaster of laughs and tantrums,its a book ,that once you pick up,you won,t put it down till you have read the last page.
Great Title Better book, 16 Nov 2002
If you have ever wanted to get inside the mind of a tour caddy or professional read this book now. All aspiring professionals should be forced to read this book before committing to a life on tour. If you are a golf fan this book is a must. If however you just want a good , interesting and insightful read again this book will hit the spot. Follow this up bt reading "A good walk spoiled by John Feinstein" A great present for someone
Book dreams are made of., 02 Jul 2002
This book is a golfing dream. Any golfer dreams of being a tour caddy. It tells of the highs and lows, funny and sad. For those of us who cant be out there carrying a bag....this book allows us to be there, feeling every shot , every missed putt and missed cut. This book is what my dreams are made of....read it Gary
Enjoyable insight into the life of a caddy, 11 Jun 2002
I couldn't put this book down. As a very keen golfer it was very interesting to find out how the other half live. I've often fancied life as a caddy but not any more! One thing I did realise is, if you do fancy it have a go Lawrence proved it is possible.
For real Giggsy fans only, 29 Jan 2008
Ryan Giggs is my favourite player on the planet and always has been so I enjoyed his book but if you're not a fan then look elsewhere for football drama, revelation or controversial opinion. Perhaps because he's still under contract, Giggs comes across as very much a 'company man', unwilling to express any opinion that his club has ever treated a player badly, or that his team-mates have ever been in the wrong when involved in fights. "It was the oppo who started it, our players are as pure as the driven snow!" This definitely detracts from the credibility of the anecdotes.
Giggs comes across as a nice but uncharismatic guy. When he's not working his magic on the pitch he goes home to his family, keeps his head down and doesn't rock the boat. And this book reflects it, that's all.
reply to not impressed, 29 Oct 2007
whoever wrote "not impressed" is 100% wrong about this giggs autobiography. Im a young footballer myself and giggs is one of my favourite alltime manchester united players. I found his autobiography extremely interesting and i felt it gave a real insight into the lives behind famous footballers. I dont read much at all but when i picked up this book i didnt put it down very often. I think that if you had been through such amazing experiences such as winning the premiereship and the trebel that you would probably remember atleast most of the big dates or venues. even if he couldnt remember all of them what does it matter if he asked someone to find out for him? the book is still about him, his experiences and his life no matter who wrote it. This was one of the first autobiographies i read and because of it i now own numerous footballers stories. I really enjoyed it and i recomend this book to any football fanatic
Giggsy does it again!, 06 Sep 2007
An amazing read people may say thers a lot of results but he uses them to show his emotion after each one with many stories about growing up all the way to winning the treble an outstanding read one of my favourite books from one of my heroes if you have any interest in giggs ignore reviews complauining about results an get this!
A cracking read 10/10!
Thanks for a great read....., 03 Apr 2007
What a great book among many of rubbish autoboraphies! This man has done it all and this is the book that he officially tells us all about. From signing his first contract at 16 to winning the infamous treble in 1999, he leaves no stone unturned.
This is a genuinley brilliant bloke who hasn't been changed by fame and fortune. He's my hero, let him be yours!
Buy it now!
err no, 03 Oct 2006
"We won the game at Sunderland, but performed at Newcastle. Then I played well against... blah blah" yeah I wanna know ur life mate not ur bloody stats
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Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Might be the best book ever dealing with football, 23 Jul 2008
Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of English football in his last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.
Unique and interesting., 02 Jan 2008
'Fever Pitch' is an interesting and captivating book, I recently read it and would read it again. I am not a football fan but came closer to understand what it feels like to be one, which was very insightful - you needn't be into football to enjoy this book because football is only the backdrop to discussing relationships and issues in life.
The Pandora's box was open...., 12 Sep 2007
This was it, the book that opened up the floodgates for "footie" to become the supposed obsession of the chattering classes. All over Hampstead, Notting Hill and Camden middle-class, Grammar-school educated chaps like Nick Hornby were suddenly given wings, free to fly everywhere expressing the love for "the beautiful game" that previously had dare not speak its name for fear of inspiring dinner-party sneers. The media was thus annoyingly overrun by David Baddiel types who previously had not given a damn about football. What had previously been a sport for the genuine working class, lower middle class office workers and a few crazed public school eccentric maths masters was depressingly hijacked by Jeremys, Edmunds, Rachels and Sophies everywhere. This was all down to Nick Hornby and his accursed book.
Not that it is bad first offering from a writer who has now become the virtual personification of the North London "metrosexual" new man, dressed in his shoe-style Doc Martens and skinny black jeans, his prematurely balding hair close shaven to avoid a "comb-over" and just as happy to change nappies as he is to sink a pint of best. It is just so indulgent, so self-obsessed, so (at times) smug. It is as if Hornby is constantly telling his audience "look at me, I'm educated, middle-class, articulate, literate, yet my passion is football - how cool is THAT ?".
Many of Hornby's reminiscences are bona fide and certainly strike a chord with someone such as myself who is of exactly the same generation and background. However, it is extremely irritating to read of Hornby's self-glorified schoolboy/student encounters with a seeming string of fragrant home counties university girls. Again, it is a ham-fisted way of Hornby saying that not only was he the salt of the earth but he couldn't half pull posh totty as well. Yes, Nick, we know you've had a few girlfriends, most of us have, but really, we're not actually interested in "Carol Blackburn" or whether or not she let you under her cream cashmere sweater.
By all means read this book, as it is socially, culturally and chronologically very important, but, please, do not bestow it with a classic status it simply does not deserve.
Fever Pitch, 01 Sep 2007
If you're a football fan this is a must read. As a Liverpool supporter I found the description of the Michael Thomas goal particularly painful but still enjoyed the book. Hornby describes the blind devotion you have to your club extremely well. It's a fantastic read about the 'beautiful game' that most football fans will relate to.
Disappointing, 22 Aug 2006
I finally got found to reading this book recently and I wasn't that impressed. Although Hornby sums up a lot of the experiences of being a football fan well, something doesn't work; he never really gets to the bottom of the pain of defeat (and particularly relegation). OK so he's an Arsenal fan and so he's not experienced this, but this is still a book written resolutely from a successful, big club perspective. This, for me, is the main drawback with the impact of this book; it is only really 'true' to the experiences of a very few fans - those of the elite 6 or 7 perenially successful English football teams. But because its influence was so broad it has been adopted as the standard 'excuse book' for newcomer, fairweather fans.
A Great Humorist, 25 Aug 2008
I don't play golf and I hardly ever watch it, but I picked up Lawrence Donegan's book because I have to write speeches for golfers every once in a while, and I was looking for something to give me some inspiration and insight. This was a great choice. I loved reading Donegan, who is wry, self-deprecating and intelligent.
It's a great story about being a caddy, and the ups and downs of Drummond, his professional. Donegan tells some excellent anecdotes and describes the underside of the glamorous world of golf. I felt I learnt something about what it's like to compete in top level sport. I'll certainly be keen to buy more of his books.
living the dream, 02 Sep 2006
i am not a golf fan and the closest i have ever got to the game,is the pitch and put at whitby,but never the less,i am a fan of lawrence donegans books.
all his books are about living the dream,from california,to ireland to being a caddy at a golf tournament.four iron in the soul,captures a moment in a mans life when,he actually pushes himself to something he always wanted to do,to partake in a pro golf tournament,sadly not as a golfer,but as the next best thing,a caddy.
even if you are not a golf fan,you can relate to moments in this book,as its a travelling life,interspersed with characters ,you can only meet in a life style like caddying.the books an eye opener,an emotional roller coaster of laughs and tantrums,its a book ,that once you pick up,you won,t put it down till you have read the last page.
Great Title Better book, 16 Nov 2002
If you have ever wanted to get inside the mind of a tour caddy or professional read this book now. All aspiring professionals should be forced to read this book before committing to a life on tour. If you are a golf fan this book is a must. If however you just want a good , interesting and insightful read again this book will hit the spot. Follow this up bt reading "A good walk spoiled by John Feinstein" A great present for someone
Book dreams are made of., 02 Jul 2002
This book is a golfing dream. Any golfer dreams of being a tour caddy. It tells of the highs and lows, funny and sad. For those of us who cant be out there carrying a bag....this book allows us to be there, feeling every shot , every missed putt and missed cut. This book is what my dreams are made of....read it Gary
Enjoyable insight into the life of a caddy, 11 Jun 2002
I couldn't put this book down. As a very keen golfer it was very interesting to find out how the other half live. I've often fancied life as a caddy but not any more! One thing I did realise is, if you do fancy it have a go Lawrence proved it is possible.
For real Giggsy fans only, 29 Jan 2008
Ryan Giggs is my favourite player on the planet and always has been so I enjoyed his book but if you're not a fan then look elsewhere for football drama, revelation or controversial opinion. Perhaps because he's still under contract, Giggs comes across as very much a 'company man', unwilling to express any opinion that his club has ever treated a player badly, or that his team-mates have ever been in the wrong when involved in fights. "It was the oppo who started it, our players are as pure as the driven snow!" This definitely detracts from the credibility of the anecdotes.
Giggs comes across as a nice but uncharismatic guy. When he's not working his magic on the pitch he goes home to his family, keeps his head down and doesn't rock the boat. And this book reflects it, that's all.
reply to not impressed, 29 Oct 2007
whoever wrote "not impressed" is 100% wrong about this giggs autobiography. Im a young footballer myself and giggs is one of my favourite alltime manchester united players. I found his autobiography extremely interesting and i felt it gave a real insight into the lives behind famous footballers. I dont read much at all but when i picked up this book i didnt put it down very often. I think that if you had been through such amazing experiences such as winning the premiereship and the trebel that you would probably remember atleast most of the big dates or venues. even if he couldnt remember all of them what does it matter if he asked someone to find out for him? the book is still about him, his experiences and his life no matter who wrote it. This was one of the first autobiographies i read and because of it i now own numerous footballers stories. I really enjoyed it and i recomend this book to any football fanatic
Giggsy does it again!, 06 Sep 2007
An amazing read people may say thers a lot of results but he uses them to show his emotion after each one with many stories about growing up all the way to winning the treble an outstanding read one of my favourite books from one of my heroes if you have any interest in giggs ignore reviews complauining about results an get this!
A cracking read 10/10!
Thanks for a great read....., 03 Apr 2007
What a great book among many of rubbish autoboraphies! This man has done it all and this is the book that he officially tells us all about. From signing his first contract at 16 to winning the infamous treble in 1999, he leaves no stone unturned.
This is a genuinley brilliant bloke who hasn't been changed by fame and fortune. He's my hero, let him be yours!
Buy it now!
err no, 03 Oct 2006
"We won the game at Sunderland, but performed at Newcastle. Then I played well against... blah blah" yeah I wanna know ur life mate not ur bloody stats
An endurance test!, 16 Jul 2008
First up, I have a great deal of respect for Dunphy. I have enjoyed plenty of his other writing. In this book though, I really tried to like it but found myself just wanting it to end.
His account of his playing days is just ... well ... miserable. I found myself reading this and thinking again and again, why on earth would anyone bother to go through this? I guess he writes from his own realistic perspective, but the book itself is essentially one long moan about the trials of being a professional footballer. He talks at length (and repetitively) about his personal stresses and fears, his lack of connection with fans and board, the insecure bubble he felt he lived and worked in, the striving and slog with little reward. One minute the fans don't appreciate the players, the next vice versa. Don't get me wrong, this book is not badly written and I am sure it is accurate, but I did breathe a sigh of relief when I realised that I was nearing the end as I really couldn't take any more of Eamonn's gritty writing. It is filled too much with his own anger and angst. Football is a sport, not a war! As for his so called "insights" into the inner workings of the psychology of football, I hate to disappoint but they honestly could have been written by any experienced Sunday League player.
To sum up, any worried parent just needs to let their budding young footballer offspring read this book just once, confident in the knowledge that they will get straight back to the school books! Just not enjoyable for me.
sublime, 28 Feb 2008
This is one of, if not the best book ever written about Football. Like the cantankerous one or not (Mr Dunphy), you have to admire his writing panache and passion for the sport, even if his skills on the pitch were never amazing. He takes the mundane and elevates it to something approaching religious fervour. An absolute ripping read for anyone who has ever wondered what it was like to play the beautiful game back before it became glam and corporation infested.
A classic of the genre, 07 Jan 2003
Until recent years there was a scarcity of good writing on football. Anodyne biographies and glossy club histories were pretty much all one could find. However, there was one book that broke the mould of football writing and which has been extremely influential on many of the best books on football today: Eamonn Dunphy's Only A Game. Dunphy was a much-travelled, hardworking and relatively skilful midfielder. Only A Game is his account, in diary form, of the 1973/4 season at Millwall, then in the old second division. The season began with great optimism as Dunphy, realizing that he had not too many years left in football, saw this as perhaps his final opportunity to achieve something significant in his career. His account of how the season quickly turned sour is compelling, and if the end to the ‘story’ is in some ways unsatisfying it is because this is not a fairytale but a slice of reality. Throughout it is clear that Dunphy has literary aspirations, and he is indeed a good writer. Above all, however, the book has all the best qualities of a personal diary: honesty, frankness, occasional contradictions, and immediacy. Only A Game provides a particularly fascinating insight into a time when professional footballers earned similar salaries to the rest of us, when the game was not awash with money, glamour and foreign stars, and when the ‘hard men’ ruled and matches frequently descended into muddy pitched battles – in this respect the book has genuine historical value. Dunphy is very good when discussing the nature of his profession, and he brilliantly conveys the unglamorous side to the game. As an antidote to the numerous showbiz biographies of footballers, Only A Game is perfect. Only A Game can be recommended both to football fans and to those who have only a passing interest in the game. By turns it is funny, sad, angry and bitter; but it is unfailingly human. As a work of football writing it is extremely important: Only A Game was one of the earliest books to demonstrate that football could have its own rich literary genre.
Takes footballers as its subject, and then transcends it, 24 Oct 2002
With Only a Game?, Dunphy made his name and his account has had many imitators, the latest being Tony Cascarino. Nick Hornby also picked up the format for Fever Pitch - installments game by game - from this.
He takes the abortive season he spent with Millwall in 1973 and infuses his account with a career's worth of understanding. How a coach can lose the respect of the team, how the manager is weakened by having to accommodate a captain who is fundamentally uncommitted, how the need to impose oneself undercuts the ability to play to one's potential.
Yes, it's lots about football: the mundane details of training, the changing room, the team bus etc, but the acuity of his observation breathes life into it. Moreover, though his subject is footballers, the book has to say has much about any group you may be part of, any office, any team, any group of people. Why respect comes and goes; how a new entrant changes the dynamics of the group; what it's like to go from being near the end of a career to over the hill, and what it's like never to make it at all.
Dunphy is compelling in his insight, deeply sympathetic in his analysis, and - while flawed as a person - somewhat like Alan Clarke, this attracts you more deeply into what he is saying.
Miles above the standard sports book, this is revered as a classic, and deservedly so. Its wisdom stretches far beyond the football field. Whatever you think about the Keane book, this is well worth reading.
Quick, You Have to Read This, 05 Dec 2000
It tells you everything you need to know about pain and the struggle for survival and is full of Dunphy's pearls of wisdom on football and life in the game. The story is compelling, Dunphy's style masterful
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Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Might be the best book ever dealing with football, 23 Jul 2008
Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of English football in his last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.
Unique and interesting., 02 Jan 2008
'Fever Pitch' is an interesting and captivating book, I recently read it and would read it again. I am not a football fan but came closer to understand what it feels like to be one, which was very insightful - you needn't be into football to enjoy this book because football is only the backdrop to discussing relationships and issues in life.
The Pandora's box was open...., 12 Sep 2007
This was it, the book that opened up the floodgates for "footie" to become the supposed obsession of the chattering classes. All over Hampstead, Notting Hill and Camden middle-class, Grammar-school educated chaps like Nick Hornby were suddenly given wings, free to fly everywhere expressing the love for "the beautiful game" that previously had dare not speak its name for fear of inspiring dinner-party sneers. The media was thus annoyingly overrun by David Baddiel types who previously had not given a damn about football. What had previously been a sport for the genuine working class, lower middle class office workers and a few crazed public school eccentric maths masters was depressingly hijacked by Jeremys, Edmunds, Rachels and Sophies everywhere. This was all down to Nick Hornby and his accursed book.
Not that it is bad first offering from a writer who has now become the virtual personification of the North London "metrosexual" new man, dressed in his shoe-style Doc Martens and skinny black jeans, his prematurely balding hair close shaven to avoid a "comb-over" and just as happy to change nappies as he is to sink a pint of best. It is just so indulgent, so self-obsessed, so (at times) smug. It is as if Hornby is constantly telling his audience "look at me, I'm educated, middle-class, articulate, literate, yet my passion is football - how cool is THAT ?".
Many of Hornby's reminiscences are bona fide and certainly strike a chord with someone such as myself who is of exactly the same generation and background. However, it is extremely irritating to read of Hornby's self-glorified schoolboy/student encounters with a seeming string of fragrant home counties university girls. Again, it is a ham-fisted way of Hornby saying that not only was he the salt of the earth but he couldn't half pull posh totty as well. Yes, Nick, we know you've had a few girlfriends, most of us have, but really, we're not actually interested in "Carol Blackburn" or whether or not she let you under her cream cashmere sweater.
By all means read this book, as it is socially, culturally and chronologically very important, but, please, do not bestow it with a classic status it simply does not deserve.
Fever Pitch, 01 Sep 2007
If you're a football fan this is a must read. As a Liverpool supporter I found the description of the Michael Thomas goal particularly painful but still enjoyed the book. Hornby describes the blind devotion you have to your club extremely well. It's a fantastic read about the 'beautiful game' that most football fans will relate to.
Disappointing, 22 Aug 2006
I finally got found to reading this book recently and I wasn't that impressed. Although Hornby sums up a lot of the experiences of being a football fan well, something doesn't work; he never really gets to the bottom of the pain of defeat (and particularly relegation). OK so he's an Arsenal fan and so he's not experienced this, but this is still a book written resolutely from a successful, big club perspective. This, for me, is the main drawback with the impact of this book; it is only really 'true' to the experiences of a very few fans - those of the elite 6 or 7 perenially successful English football teams. But because its influence was so broad it has been adopted as the standard 'excuse book' for newcomer, fairweather fans.
A Great Humorist, 25 Aug 2008
I don't play golf and I hardly ever watch it, but I picked up Lawrence Donegan's book because I have to write speeches for golfers every once in a while, and I was looking for something to give me some inspiration and insight. This was a great choice. I loved reading Donegan, who is wry, self-deprecating and intelligent.
It's a great story about being a caddy, and the ups and downs of Drummond, his professional. Donegan tells some excellent anecdotes and describes the underside of the glamorous world of golf. I felt I learnt something about what it's like to compete in top level sport. I'll certainly be keen to buy more of his books.
living the dream, 02 Sep 2006
i am not a golf fan and the closest i have ever got to the game,is the pitch and put at whitby,but never the less,i am a fan of lawrence donegans books.
all his books are about living the dream,from california,to ireland to being a caddy at a golf tournament.four iron in the soul,captures a moment in a mans life when,he actually pushes himself to something he always wanted to do,to partake in a pro golf tournament,sadly not as a golfer,but as the next best thing,a caddy.
even if you are not a golf fan,you can relate to moments in this book,as its a travelling life,interspersed with characters ,you can only meet in a life style like caddying.the books an eye opener,an emotional roller coaster of laughs and tantrums,its a book ,that once you pick up,you won,t put it down till you have read the last page.
Great Title Better book, 16 Nov 2002
If you have ever wanted to get inside the mind of a tour caddy or professional read this book now. All aspiring professionals should be forced to read this book before committing to a life on tour. If you are a golf fan this book is a must. If however you just want a good , interesting and insightful read again this book will hit the spot. Follow this up bt reading "A good walk spoiled by John Feinstein" A great present for someone
Book dreams are made of., 02 Jul 2002
This book is a golfing dream. Any golfer dreams of being a tour caddy. It tells of the highs and lows, funny and sad. For those of us who cant be out there carrying a bag....this book allows us to be there, feeling every shot , every missed putt and missed cut. This book is what my dreams are made of....read it Gary
Enjoyable insight into the life of a caddy, 11 Jun 2002
I couldn't put this book down. As a very keen golfer it was very interesting to find out how the other half live. I've often fancied life as a caddy but not any more! One thing I did realise is, if you do fancy it have a go Lawrence proved it is possible.
For real Giggsy fans only, 29 Jan 2008
Ryan Giggs is my favourite player on the planet and always has been so I enjoyed his book but if you're not a fan then look elsewhere for football drama, revelation or controversial opinion. Perhaps because he's still under contract, Giggs comes across as very much a 'company man', unwilling to express any opinion that his club has ever treated a player badly, or that his team-mates have ever been in the wrong when involved in fights. "It was the oppo who started it, our players are as pure as the driven snow!" This definitely detracts from the credibility of the anecdotes.
Giggs comes across as a nice but uncharismatic guy. When he's not working his magic on the pitch he goes home to his family, keeps his head down and doesn't rock the boat. And this book reflects it, that's all.
reply to not impressed, 29 Oct 2007
whoever wrote "not impressed" is 100% wrong about this giggs autobiography. Im a young footballer myself and giggs is one of my favourite alltime manchester united players. I found his autobiography extremely interesting and i felt it gave a real insight into the lives behind famous footballers. I dont read much at all but when i picked up this book i didnt put it down very often. I think that if you had been through such amazing experiences such as winning the premiereship and the trebel that you would probably remember atleast most of the big dates or venues. even if he couldnt remember all of them what does it matter if he asked someone to find out for him? the book is still about him, his experiences and his life no matter who wrote it. This was one of the first autobiographies i read and because of it i now own numerous footballers stories. I really enjoyed it and i recomend this book to any football fanatic
Giggsy does it again!, 06 Sep 2007
An amazing read people may say thers a lot of results but he uses them to show his emotion after each one with many stories about growing up all the way to winning the treble an outstanding read one of my favourite books from one of my heroes if you have any interest in giggs ignore reviews complauining about results an get this!
A cracking read 10/10!
Thanks for a great read....., 03 Apr 2007
What a great book among many of rubbish autoboraphies! This man has done it all and this is the book that he officially tells us all about. From signing his first contract at 16 to winning the infamous treble in 1999, he leaves no stone unturned.
This is a genuinley brilliant bloke who hasn't been changed by fame and fortune. He's my hero, let him be yours!
Buy it now!
err no, 03 Oct 2006
"We won the game at Sunderland, but performed at Newcastle. Then I played well against... blah blah" yeah I wanna know ur life mate not ur bloody stats
An endurance test!, 16 Jul 2008
First up, I have a great deal of respect for Dunphy. I have enjoyed plenty of his other writing. In this book though, I really tried to like it but found myself just wanting it to end.
His account of his playing days is just ... well ... miserable. I found myself reading this and thinking again and again, why on earth would anyone bother to go through this? I guess he writes from his own realistic perspective, but the book itself is essentially one long moan about the trials of being a professional footballer. He talks at length (and repetitively) about his personal stresses and fears, his lack of connection with fans and board, the insecure bubble he felt he lived and worked in, the striving and slog with little reward. One minute the fans don't appreciate the players, the next vice versa. Don't get me wrong, this book is not badly written and I am sure it is accurate, but I did breathe a sigh of relief when I realised that I was nearing the end as I really couldn't take any more of Eamonn's gritty writing. It is filled too much with his own anger and angst. Football is a sport, not a war! As for his so called "insights" into the inner workings of the psychology of football, I hate to disappoint but they honestly could have been written by any experienced Sunday League player.
To sum up, any worried parent just needs to let their budding young footballer offspring read this book just once, confident in the knowledge that they will get straight back to the school books! Just not enjoyable for me.
sublime, 28 Feb 2008
This is one of, if not the best book ever written about Football. Like the cantankerous one or not (Mr Dunphy), you have to admire his writing panache and passion for the sport, even if his skills on the pitch were never amazing. He takes the mundane and elevates it to something approaching religious fervour. An absolute ripping read for anyone who has ever wondered what it was like to play the beautiful game back before it became glam and corporation infested.
A classic of the genre, 07 Jan 2003
Until recent years there was a scarcity of good writing on football. Anodyne biographies and glossy club histories were pretty much all one could find. However, there was one book that broke the mould of football writing and which has been extremely influential on many of the best books on football today: Eamonn Dunphy's Only A Game. Dunphy was a much-travelled, hardworking and relatively skilful midfielder. Only A Game is his account, in diary form, of the 1973/4 season at Millwall, then in the old second division. The season began with great optimism as Dunphy, realizing that he had not too many years left in football, saw this as perhaps his final opportunity to achieve something significant in his career. His account of how the season quickly turned sour is compelling, and if the end to the ‘story’ is in some ways unsatisfying it is because this is not a fairytale but a slice of reality. Throughout it is clear that Dunphy has literary aspirations, and he is indeed a good writer. Above all, however, the book has all the best qualities of a personal diary: honesty, frankness, occasional contradictions, and immediacy. Only A Game provides a particularly fascinating insight into a time when professional footballers earned similar salaries to the rest of us, when the game was not awash with money, glamour and foreign stars, and when the ‘hard men’ ruled and matches frequently descended into muddy pitched battles – in this respect the book has genuine historical value. Dunphy is very good when discussing the nature of his profession, and he brilliantly conveys the unglamorous side to the game. As an antidote to the numerous showbiz biographies of footballers, Only A Game is perfect. Only A Game can be recommended both to football fans and to those who have only a passing interest in the game. By turns it is funny, sad, angry and bitter; but it is unfailingly human. As a work of football writing it is extremely important: Only A Game was one of the earliest books to demonstrate that football could have its own rich literary genre.
Takes footballers as its subject, and then transcends it, 24 Oct 2002
With Only a Game?, Dunphy made his name and his account has had many imitators, the latest being Tony Cascarino. Nick Hornby also picked up the format for Fever Pitch - installments game by game - from this.
He takes the abortive season he spent with Millwall in 1973 and infuses his account with a career's worth of understanding. How a coach can lose the respect of the team, how the manager is weakened by having to accommodate a captain who is fundamentally uncommitted, how the need to impose oneself undercuts the ability to play to one's potential.
Yes, it's lots about football: the mundane details of training, the changing room, the team bus etc, but the acuity of his observation breathes life into it. Moreover, though his subject is footballers, the book has to say has much about any group you may be part of, any office, any team, any group of people. Why respect comes and goes; how a new entrant changes the dynamics of the group; what it's like to go from being near the end of a career to over the hill, and what it's like never to make it at all.
Dunphy is compelling in his insight, deeply sympathetic in his analysis, and - while flawed as a person - somewhat like Alan Clarke, this attracts you more deeply into what he is saying.
Miles above the standard sports book, this is revered as a classic, and deservedly so. Its wisdom stretches far beyond the football field. Whatever you think about the Keane book, this is well worth reading.
Quick, You Have to Read This, 05 Dec 2000
It tells you everything you need to know about pain and the struggle for survival and is full of Dunphy's pearls of wisdom on football and life in the game. The story is compelling, Dunphy's style masterful
A most worthy piece of work, 08 Jul 2008
This is perhaps my favourite cricket autobiography. Naser Hussain wrote the memoirs himself, so there is an agreeable lack of platitudes of the "then we beat Sussex before I headed out to Australia" variety. Hussain, in keeping with his allegedly "difficult" and "bristly" character, pulls no punches in expressing his opinions. His resentment and fall-out with Essex team-mate Ronnie Irani is depicted as a smarting open wound, still to be healed. Hussain makes it quite clear the people he liked in the game and those he did not and those he disagreed with. He always backs his disagreements with solid reasoning though, and he is disarmingly honest about the flaws in his character. For one labelled so many times as "arrogant", Hussain realises his own faults and does not hold back from expressing them.
The book also, surprisingly, has Hussain expressing just how much he actually hated playing top level cricket and how much freer and de-stressed he now feels in his different role as a commentator. Most of us would have loved to play for England at Lord's against Australia but Nasser, bless him, loathed every minute !
An eye-opening and thoroughly absorbing read from a complex but fascinating character.
Great, true, honest reading, 18 Oct 2007
To be fair, loved it, Hussain gritty honest view of everyone he has met in the game, much better than most sports autobiographies coz he does'nt cosy around people he actually does'nt like, brutally honest and difficult to put down, a great read whether you are a fan of the man or not!
A great captain produces a great book., 04 Sep 2006
Nasser Hussain's jouney through English cricket is perhaps more unique than any other. Starting his career at the beginning of Englands demise in 1989, he went on to play through a shambolic era in the mid to late 90's to captaining a side at the turn of the millenium that grew into a world beater, comulating in England regaining the Ashes last year. Well known for his passion and fire in his game, this book portrays everything you would expect from Hussain. His acheivements largley came from utter determination, and his comparrisons with players that (in his words), had more natural ability are intersting. He explains why people like Ramprakash and Hick didn't have the success they should have, and why players such as Stewart, Atherton, and Thorpe sustained a place in a losing England side for so long. His dilema concerning Zimbabwe in the 2003 World Cup sums this book up. An honest and frank view of his feeling's of the sheer pressure he rode as he battled with cricket boards and politicians to help make the right choice for his cricket nation. Hussain write's about his astute retirement from the game, and you feel the release of all his pressures as he reflects up on what was a career that's summed up in his choice of title for the book- playing with fire.
Playing with fire, written with passion, 28 Jul 2006
I always find it fascinating to read the autobiographies of England cricket captains as they have such huge influence on and off the pitch. It's interesting to hear the thought processes behind their decisions and the usually revealing pen portraits of their fellow cricketers.
Nasser Hussain's autobiography has plenty of these revelations but even more, it provides a huge insight into the roots behind the determined, sometimes hot-headed temperament of England's most successful captain for years. Clearly crucial to Nasser's development was his obsessive but loving father who relentlessly pushed his son as a cricketer. With some of his old man's steely determination rubbing off, Hussain's rise and superb career were as much due to his character as his talent as he was not as phenomenally naturally talented as some of his cricketing peers. What comes through in his well-titled autobiography is passion and controversy but also a great tactical brain and an acknowledgment of mistakes made.
Playing With Fire also includes evidence of the politics at play in international cricket with Chapter 1 piecing together the shameful way the England team were treated by the various cricket authorities and UK government over the controversial matches in Zimbabwe in the last World Cup. Nasser records his detailed version of events and provides the definitive account of his career in this brilliant sporting autobiography.
Nasser Hussain's Life - Warts and All, 27 Oct 2005
This book is very easy to read. You don't get bogged down as you can easily find with many other autobiographies. Nasser Hussain's life is presented here, warts and all, for the reader to digest and ultimately you will find yourself passing judgment upon a cricketer who has been hated as much as he has been respected. Personally I found his distaste at the cricketing system refreshing in the pages of this book. He respects those who are up front and honest even if the opinions expressed are against his own, while on the other hand he dislikes intensely those who are two faced and sneaky. Nasser Hussain is a man who obviously put lots of peoples backs up during his career but if he had tried to be Mr Nice Guy it is quite clear he would have failed in his quest to be so successful as a cricketer. There are certain things I personally found quite disturbing. For example the admission that Nasser Hussain's father had had such a huge impact upon Nasser's life and decision to take cricket seriously. One got the impression that this was an example of a classic pushy parent. Nasser Hussain seems to be in fear of upsetting his father, to the point of getting his brother to phone up his father when he stood down as England captain and then again when his career came to an end. Going back to his childhood if Nasser Hussain played well at cricket then the whole family got "chocolate and curry" and his father was happy, but if Nasser Hussain didn't play well then the whole family suffered as a result. Personally I read this, and as a parent, I thought that this is surely unhealthy. This book details the many confrontations that took place during Nasser Hussain's career and he has obviously upset a lot of people along the way. This apparently enabled him to play cricket with fire and passion. This book describes Nasser Hussain as being fiercely loyal to those around him, those who he calls "my boys." There are many examples described where Nasser Hussain stands up for his boys sometimes against fierce opposition. His reputation as a bad boy earlier in his career obviously enabled him to understand other bad boys later on and encourage them to give a lot to the England cause. I felt very sorry for Nasser Hussain when he describes how he found himself betrayed by some he had backed strongly. You get an impression about sportsmen and women by watching their careers as they progress. But this book shows that there is a lot more going on behind the headlines, behind the highs and lows of their career. Nasser Hussain has written a wonderful, frank account of his life - full of exciting highs and depressing lows. Some are disturbing accounts and others describe the wonderful joys of being a sportsman at the top of his profession. If you only ever purchase one autobiography make sure it is this one.
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Product Description
The 2002 edition of cricket's bible marks the second year in Graeme Wright's second stint in the editorial seat, and contains much for readers to ponder. Alongside the usual plethora of facts and figures, the last year has provided much more for Wisden to get its teeth into. Just as the current Australian side has taken Test cricket to new levels, several of the test series covered by the 2002 Almanack seem to have upped the ante in terms of excitement, notably the Aussies' glorious but ultimately unsuccessful rubber in India last year. Meanwhile, despite the disappointing defeat in the home Ashes series the England team has continued to take forward steps under the leadership of Hussain and Fletcher, particularly in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. If they say that a strong Yorkshire side means a strong England, the white rose county's first championship for 33 years should mean more good news for the English. Clearly Wisden has much to cover on the international scene, and it does so with all its usual style. Three major articles on the career of Sir Donald Bradman are included (last year's Wisden was printed too shortly after his death to pay tribute to him properly). Peter Roebuck, meanwhile, looks back on the test career of former England captain Michael Atherton who retired from the international game last summer. As ever, the articles live up to the highest standards. Elsewhere, the usual mine of information seems to get deeper every year, while the five cricketers of the year unusually fail to include an Englishman, but are unsurprisingly dominated by Australians in the form of Gillespie, Gilchrist and Martyn, all performers of the very highest calibre. They are joined in the quintet by Zimbabwean Andy Flower and Indian VVS Laxman, whose epic 281 in Calcutta not only helped end Australia's record-breaking run of test wins, but also enabled India to win the match after following-on, and to turn the tide in that classic series. A fine and correct selection, which encapsulates the judgement of a cricketing institution, the 2002 version will surely proves as popular as its 138 predecessors. And just as the Almanack itself will be treasured, the excellent little paperback which accompanies it will provoke much discussion, purporting as it does to name the 40 leading cricketers in the world today. --Trevor Crowe
Customer Reviews
The Stuff of True Leaders, 21 Jul 2007
You don't have to be Irish, A Man Utd fan or a beer drinker to appreciate the autobiography of a true leader. I'm neither of the above three and yet I found this book compelling reading. Several notable anecdotes including the famous Haaland and Saipan incidents but I will remember this book for a long time because of one popular quote;
"The only thing that goes with the flow is a dead fish."
Not Fit forToilet Paper, 29 Jun 2007
This book is an abosolute discgrace.
Anything that is touched by Eamon Dunphy is a complete disaster.
Eamon Dunphy - Boil on the face of Humanity... TOP, 30 Sep 2006
Best footballers book i have read. He says the brutal true and it is ace couldn't put it down nearly cost me my degree hehe. And i ain't even a Man utd Fan Best book ever!, 21 Mar 2006
I read this book last summer. I think I finished the first two pages and I said to one of my friends "this is the best book I've ever hold in my hands.! Forget the Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter, you have to read this book!" and when I finished it, a week or so later, I was so sorry that it wasn't my book..that I'd just borrowed it... This is the best book ever, no doubt about it! I love this book, you really get a good impression of the Irish man. Everything you might want to know about him, like why he tackled Alfie Haaland and if it was on purpose, you find an answer in this book. READ IT!
Keane: The Autobiography, 06 Jan 2006
THIS IS TRULY A GREAT BOOK. IVE READ A FEW AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND THIS ONE TOPS THEM AS KEANE IS SOO TRUTHFUL IN THISBOOK EXPLAINING HIS ACTIONS CLEARLY AND CAREFULY. HE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS FOOTBALLING CAREER AND DOESNT HIDE AWAY ANY PROBLEMS THAT OCCURRED OVER HIS TIME AT MAN UTD AND IRELAND. GREAT BUY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Might be the best book ever dealing with football, 23 Jul 2008
Nick Hornby's warm autobiographical book deals with his life as a football fan from 1968 (when he was a teenager) until 1992, especifically as he supported his beloved Arsenal during that time. There's some good insights about football culture (for a true football fan, football is not really an entertainment, a concept that is probably hard to understand in the US, where sports are just a part of the entertainment business) as well as football tactics (there are few good passers in the sports, he says, as hard as this might be to believe to outsiders; Liam Brady, one of his favorite players, was that rare player, a great passer). Each of the chapters (so to call them) deals with a particular football match that he remembers during that period. And along football, he also makes comments on his relationships, be it with his family or with girlfriends. What Hornby tells is the story of English football in his last throes, a time when hooliganism ruled, but when it also was a genuine, integral pastime of the English people. When the Premiere League was established (in 1992, the year this book ends), and the megamoney and the huge tv contracts came along, and some clubs (like, say, Arsenal) did not put in the field a single English player, it became more of a commercial business and less of a cultural phenomenon. And while I like football, it's hard not to come out from reading this book with the impression that being a football fan at the level Hornby was is not a colossal waste of time.
Unique and interesting., 02 Jan 2008
'Fever Pitch' is an interesting and captivating book, I recently read it and would read it again. I am not a football fan but came closer to understand what it feels like to be one, which was very insightful - you needn't be into football to enjoy this book because football is only the backdrop to discussing relationships and issues in life.
The Pandora's box was open...., 12 Sep 2007
This was it, the book that opened up the floodgates for "footie" to become the supposed obsession of the chattering classes. All over Hampstead, Notting Hill and Camden middle-class, Grammar-school educated chaps like Nick Hornby were suddenly given wings, free to fly everywhere expressing the love for "the beautiful game" that previously had dare not speak its name for fear of inspiring dinner-party sneers. The media was thus annoyingly overrun by David Baddiel types who previously had not given a damn about football. What had previously been a sport for the genuine working class, lower middle class office workers and a few crazed public school eccentric maths masters was depressingly hijacked by Jeremys, Edmunds, Rachels and Sophies everywhere. This was all down to Nick Hornby and his accursed book.
Not that it is bad first offering from a writer who has now become the virtual personification of the North London "metrosexual" new man, dressed in his shoe-style Doc Martens and skinny black jeans, his prematurely balding hair close shaven to avoid a "comb-over" and just as happy to change nappies as he is to sink a pint of best. It is just so indulgent, so self-obsessed, so (at times) smug. It is as if Hornby is constantly telling his audience "look at me, I'm educated, middle-class, articulate, literate, yet my passion is football - how cool is THAT ?".
Many of Hornby's reminiscences are bona fide and certainly strike a chord with someone such as myself who is of exactly the same generation and background. However, it is extremely irritating to read of Hornby's self-glorified schoolboy/student encounters with a seeming string of fragrant home counties university girls. Again, it is a ham-fisted way of Hornby saying that not only was he the salt of the earth but he couldn't half pull posh totty as well. Yes, Nick, we know you've had a few girlfriends, most of us have, but really, we're not actually interested in "Carol Blackburn" or whether or not she let you under her cream cashmere sweater.
By all means read this book, as it is socially, culturally and chronologically very important, but, please, do not bestow it with a classic status it simply does not deserve.
Fever Pitch, 01 Sep 2007
If you're a football fan this is a must read. As a Liverpool supporter I found the description of the Michael Thomas goal particularly painful but still enjoyed the book. Hornby describes the blind devotion you have to your club extremely well. It's a fantastic read about the 'beautiful game' that most football fans will relate to.
Disappointing, 22 Aug 2006
I finally got found to reading this book recently and I wasn't that impressed. Although Hornby sums up a lot of the experiences of being a football fan well, something doesn't work; he never really gets to the bottom of the pain of defeat (and particularly relegation). OK so he's an | | |