sieramae's review
4.0
I finished Among the Thugs on the day of the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Argentina Vs. France. This book opened up a part of the world I had never seen before.
Buford introduces us to the world of football with a simple observation - ‘Lads go to matches on Saturday’.
He pens A thrilling journalistic insight into football hooliganism, violence, and crowd psychology. Buford’s inquiries into the culture go deep, and he holds nothing back about his experiences.
A snippet of his perspective: “It is the modern and modernist view that sees violence as a continuation: that it is a manifestation of inherently unchanging patterns - sociological, biological, psychological - something, in any event, beyond our controlling”.
This was a fantastic read that came at a really good time ⚽️
Buford introduces us to the world of football with a simple observation - ‘Lads go to matches on Saturday’.
He pens A thrilling journalistic insight into football hooliganism, violence, and crowd psychology. Buford’s inquiries into the culture go deep, and he holds nothing back about his experiences.
A snippet of his perspective: “It is the modern and modernist view that sees violence as a continuation: that it is a manifestation of inherently unchanging patterns - sociological, biological, psychological - something, in any event, beyond our controlling”.
This was a fantastic read that came at a really good time ⚽️
coreyinscoe's review
4.0
A terrifying look at soccer hooligans in England. You simply won't believe some of the things that happen in this book.
erndixon's review
4.0
The most incredible thing about this book is the character studies. Mick, Harry, Roy, etc. Learning about these people lends individual characteristics to the faceless crowd that Buford finds himself slowly orbiting. These are normal, working people who seem to leave the confines of civilized behavior on a weekly basis as if they were just stepping out for air. Their alcohol-fueled ragers are both unbelievable and at the same time rendered mundane by their transition into writing. Out here in the "normal" world, drinking 8 liters of wine in the morning, attending white power discos, and throwing bricks through windshields all seem outlandish. By the end of the book, however, you are also unperturbed by a night out with the lads glassing folks on the street because you have already read it 30 times. I think it gives insight into how these people also end up viewing violence as something ordinary.
Buford's writing and philosophical musings are just OK, but the subject matter and the willingness he showed in placing himself in these situations are what makes this such a great read.
Buford's writing and philosophical musings are just OK, but the subject matter and the willingness he showed in placing himself in these situations are what makes this such a great read.
adam0k's review
4.0
Exhausting, honest, beautiful, raw. What an upsetting book that only somehow manages to get worse. Mamma Mia.
redroofcolleen's review
3.0
Gosh, this was a tough one. Fascinating, gripping, unnerving, and infuriating. That there are people who are "not hooligans," that pride themselves on nationalism when it suits them, and even worse, violence, is entirely foreign to this reader. Though, I am certainly appreciative to have the opportunity to enter a world so thoroughly (and sometimes bravely - he doesn't come out unscathed) researched by the author.
I thought the book, overall, was a bit long; I had had enough about fifty pages before it was done, but I suppose that might be part of the point, that the violence and the folly of it all continues, to this day.
I thought the book, overall, was a bit long; I had had enough about fifty pages before it was done, but I suppose that might be part of the point, that the violence and the folly of it all continues, to this day.
dkaps89's review
4.0
Terrific book but at times incredibly disturbing. Kind of makes me question further my already diminishing interest in sports in general.
nrosenbloom's review
4.0
This is a gripping and fascinating look at hooligan culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As someone who was born during this time, I was largely unaware of the truth of hooligan culture and just how dangerous it could be to go see a soccer match in Europe at this time. The book is part first-hand account of some truly terrifying violence between fans (and police), part sociological analysis of what drove young men in England to act in such a way. My only critique is that the author tends to bring himself into the narrative and story line more than I felt was necessary. He goes out of his way to make it clear that while he did what was necessary to imbed himself with the hooligans, he doesn't agree with their worldview, and in fact finds it abhorrent. He seems to find it necessary to draw this distinction repeatedly, and to point out how little he looked forward to his foreign trips to observe and report on the behavior.