As others have stated what makes this book stand out is that it is written from a neutral perspective. For more than a decade, buford was also the editor of the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. He lives in cambridge and edits granta, perhaps englands most distinguished literary journal. Frightened, buford watched as police contained the supporters, barely, and prevented a violent situation. An amateurs adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pastamaker, and apprentice to a dantequoting butcher in tuscany. Buford uses his narrative to avoid the greatest weakness of postmodern writing.
There are two kinds of violence in among the thugs. From one of our most interesting literary figures, former editor of granta, former fiction editor at the new yorker, acclaimed author of among the thugs, a sharp, funny, exuberant, closeup account of his headlong plunge into the life of a professional cook. The experience, and the seduction, of crowd violence is a 1990 work of journalism by american writer bill buford documenting football hooliganism in the united kingdom buford, who lived in the uk at the time, became interested in crowd hooliganism when, on his way home from cardiff in 1982 he boarded a train that was commandeered by supporters coming from a football match. They like lager in huge quantities, the queen, football clubs especially manchester. He is also the author of among the thugs norton, 1992. A horrific and almost unbearably upclose look at british football soccer fan violence. Among the thugs by bill buford, 9780679745358, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Buford is the author of the books among the thugs and heat. On page 182 buford begins a historiography of crowd psychology and physiology. Among the thugs is a terrifying, malevolently funny, supremely chilling book about the experience, and the eerie allure, of crowd violence and football culture. Jan 25, 2011 among the thugs is, by some distance, the best book ever written about football violence. What sort of man spends his saturday afternoons with people named bonehead, paraffin pete and steamin sammy. Buy a cheap copy of among the thugs book by bill buford.
He has written a work of investigative journalism and a meditation on the violence that lies just beneath the surface of english life. Get an answer for what is a summary of among the thugs by bill buford. See all books authored by bill buford, including heat, and among the thugs, and more on thriftbooks. Among the thugs by bill buford, 9780099416340, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. He was born in baton rouge, louisiana, grew up in california, and was educated at uc berkeley and kings college, cambridge, where he was awarded a marshall. Among the thugs 9780679745358 by buford, bill and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. He was editorinchief for granta magazine for sixteen. So maybe bill buford s remarkable book about soccer violence is a quixotic effort. He was born in baton rouge, louisiana, grew up in california, and was educated at uc berkeley and kings college. The main person is the author himself, who wants to get to know and analyse the reasons for violence.
Nov 16, 2011 the words look silly now, buford writes on the first page of among the thugs, but they did not sound silly. For eight years the years of riots on channel ferries, streetfighting outside britains football grounds, and the heysel and hillsborough disasters bill buford, an american, travelled with football hooligans up and down britain, and to italy, turkey, greece and germany. Welcome,you are looking at books for reading, the among the thugs, you will able to read or download in pdf or epub books and notice some of author may have lock the live reading for some of country. Among the thugs by buford, bill and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. This book is essential for anyone who cares to understand mass movements and the motivations for so much of our behavior, regardless of whether one cares about soccer.
They have names like barmy bernie, daft donald, and steamin sammy. We see also buford s own journey into and out of the world of the thugs as he tried to put it all into context. It grabs the readers attention like a headbutt to the cakehole. Before that he was the editor of granta magazine for sixteen years and, in 1989, became the publisher of granta books. The front cover features a picture of one of these thugs, a skinheaded english bloke halflidded smoking a cigarette whose visage gives off the impression of a personality barely connected to the reality around him, yet who also gives the impression that hes about. Buford, who lived in the uk at the time, became interested in crowd. Among the thugs, the testosteroneprimed anatomy of soccer hooliganismis the real thinga primal ritual dance driven by a vibrating brain and a steadily injected stream of nearpsychotic behaviorplaywright tom szentgyorgyi has created a remarkable stage adaptationthat uses just ten hypercharged actors to suggest a thundering. Bill bufords among the thugs is the most remarkable book i have ever read. Bill buford has been a writer and editor for the new yorker since 1995. Bill buford books list of books by author bill buford.
He attended a national front disco and witnessed the robbing of a pub. A stunning work of nonfiction, among the thugs chronicles bufords attempts to understand the english phenomenon of soccer hooliganism by immersing himself into its characters, events, and lifestyles. Bill buford is a staff writer for the new yorker, where he was previously the fiction editor for eight years. Before that he was the editor of granta magazine for sixteen years and, in 1989, became the publisher of. Bill buford born 1954 is an american author and journalist. The wisest of the thinkers buford references in the book seem to have been right. In normal life, simplicity is synonymous with easy to do, but when a chef uses the word, it means takes a lifetime to learn. The words look silly now, buford writes on the first page of among the thugs, but they did not sound silly. He starts as an outsider, an american living in london for many years without ever attending a soccer game. Among the thugs is, by some distance, the best book ever written about football violence. Written by bill buford, audiobook narrated by bill buford.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading among the thugs. Rights and availability this title can be licensed and sold throughout the world. Before that bill edited granta magazine for 16 years and, in 1989, became the publisher of granta books. Its hard to think of someone so removed from the british workingclass as bill buford, a scholar and an academic from louisiana. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today.
Bill buford among the thugs this book does not deal with the violence and the gangs in the streets, in fact it s a book about the hooligan scene before and after football matches. Oct 01, 2001 as others have stated what makes this book stand out is that it is written from a neutral perspective. The author, an american wunderkind who edited granta, approaches the mob phenomenon with a mix of terror, fascination, revulsion, and curiosity. Among the thugs by bill buford and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Bill is also the author of among the thugs, a highly personal nonfiction account of crowd violence and british soccer hooliganism. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Buford s examination of mob violence in late1980s and early1990s british soccer fans deserves to be regarded as some kind of classic.
Bill bufords acclaimed among the thugs is a book about the experience, and the attractions, of crowd violence. Among the thugs quotes showing 17 of 7 the crowd is not us. The experience, and the seduction, of crowd violence is a 1990 work of journalism by american writer bill buford documenting football hooliganism in the united kingdom. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of among the thugs by bill buford. What is a summary of among the thugs by bill buford. The work helped established buford as the father of dirty realism. The americanborn editor of the british literary magazine granta presents a horrifying, searing account of the young british men who turn soccer matches at home and abroad into battlegrounds and slaug. The best of granta travel, the best of granta reportage, and the granta book of the family.
Among the soccer thugs buford met was an engineer for british telecom, an accountant, a bank clerk. There was a moment when i feared for the quality of the book. Among the thugs by bill buford penguin books australia. I have read several books detailing the heydey of football hooliganism, but none come close to among the thugs. There was henry, an employed husband and father whose idea of fun on weekends was to attend a. In among the thugs, bill buford embeds himself in the lad culture that prevailed in european soccer in the late 80s and early 90s to provide a unique perspective of what fuels the crowd. Among the thugs download pdfepub ebook gets free book. Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. Their dislike encompasses the rest of the known universe, and englands soccer thugs express it in ways that range from mere vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities. Now bill buford, editor of the prestigious journal granta, enters this alternate society and records both its savageries and its sinister allure with the social imagination. The crowd is a wild animal, a pack of wolves, the scum that boils up the surface of the cauldron of a city, even a bunch of little ss. Referring to among the thugs, danzig states that one of the best books ive.
The novel among the thugs by bill buford is a novel about the sociological concepts of the mob mentality and the anger of youth. Bill buford could stand the heat, so hes back in the kitchen other books heat. The author of this book has spent most of his spare time among the thugs, the hooligans whose violence scars the face of english football. Intelligent, succinct, and always in the thick of it, it reads as a bloodfuelled ode to english football, and as a primer for what will be when russia hosts the world cup. Buford inserts himself into scenarios and situations in which he has no business being in, often with surprising results. Joel bakans book is a brilliantly argued account of the. Adapted by tom szentgyorgyi from the book by bill buford product code. An amateurs adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pastamaker, and apprentice to.
The best of granta travel, the best of granta reportage, and the granta book of. He was the fiction editor of the magazine for eight years, from april 1995 to december 2002. Because while the narrative structure of among the thugs is built around bufords soccerthug anecdotes, the book is more concerned with a. The violence exhibited by supporters of the top flight soccer before, during, and after the matches was in many ways a feature of game for many in the 1980s. And it is this fish out of water factor which makes among the thugs such an enjoyable read. Bill buford is a staff writer and the european correspondent for the new yorker. Among the thugs study guide by, consists of approx. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read among the thugs. They like lager in huge quantities, the queen, football clubs especially manchester united. May 17, 2018 bill buford has been a writer and editor for the new yorker since 1995. But his curiosity had been engaged, and he would go on to spend most of the 1980s immersed in english hooligan culture.