Among the Thugs [Import] [Paperback]

Bill Buford (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: ARROW (RAND); New Ed edition (August 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099416344
• ISBN-13: 978-0099416340
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Buford was the fiction editor of the New Yorker for eight years, where he first came upon Walton Ford's work to illustrate some of the stories he published. He is now a New Yorker staff writer. He was also the founding editor of Granta and has written two books, Among the Thugs and Heat: An Amateur's Advantures as a Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany. He lives in New York City with his wife Jessica Green, and their two sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rude, Brittania, April 4, 2000

By 

Fez Monkey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Among the Thugs (Paperback)

Bill Buford, a naive American adrift in England, tackles a very dicey subject: Mob violence by English football fans. He starts out innocently enough, trying to find the allure, cause, nature, basis, and form of England's notorious football hooligans, but soon has difficulty separating himself from his subject matter.

As he relates his journey into the world of the yobs, we get a vivid picture of the people and the events, but no real glimpse into what is behind the football mob violence -- even after Buford spends most of the second half of the book trying to work it out. The only real insight were provided is that the mob becomes greater than the sum of its parts, and that there is a line where a person within the mob ceases to be an individual, and becomes a compnent of a greater organism.

However, questions such as why sporting crowds in the US, Canada, or other countries never reach the level of violence or mob mentality as seen in England are never addressed, nor are questions of why this sort of violent behavior seems to be limited to a very large degree to football (soccer) crowds. Of course, that subject is beyond the scope of any one book.

Still, the snapshot into the seedy world of NF members, jingoistic supporters, drunks and felons provided by Buford is entertaining, in a voyeuristic sort of way. Besides, unless you are intimately familiar with crowds at English, or any European, football matches, Buford's book is best if taken as a sort of superficial sociological travelogue, offering a glimpse into a strange land, complete with foreign customs, traditions, uniforms and etiquette.

Reading 'Thugs' won't provide too much enlightentment on sports violence or the psychology of mobs, but it will entertain. And with the coming Euro2000 tournament, reading this may prove timely, as well.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Read!, April 13, 2005

By 

Diana Mivelli (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Among the Thugs (Paperback)

When my friend recommended this book, I was skeptical. I didn't believe an American journalist could successfully infiltrate a gang of European football hooligans. I was introduced to the notoriety of hooligans when I attended a match in Turkey. There I witnessed 200 soldiers armed with assault rifles and riot gear, lined up behind the goalie. This severity made me believe what I'd heard about fans ending up trampled, stabbed, beaten, and killed in the aftermath of a match.

Starting with a few lukewarm leads, Bill Buford, a true journalist, is relentless. He transports the reader to England, Germany, and Italy as he tries to understand what fuels hooligans. You experience the helplessness of being caught in a body-crushing crowd, being ambushed by the brutal mobs after the match, and riding the fan-crammed trains. His characterizations are so vivid, you can almost smell the charged atmosphere in the streets and in the stadiums.

This book is about violence. The descriptions are fierce and don't let up. The history behind the European football fury is discussed. Even if you aren't a fan of football (better known to Americans as soccer), this book is an excellent read on the sociology of mob mentality. You become aware of what propels crowd violence and its devastating effects on the victim, whose only blunder might be unfortunate proximity and timing.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ultra violence at its best, April 21, 2005

By 

superbadd "andy" (Long Beach CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Among the Thugs (Paperback)

The old saying of "don't judge a book by its cover" does not apply here. I saw this book, its cover and title, read the back and bought it. It did not dissapoint.

If anybody is looking for insight into soccer hooliganism, then this is the book for you. Buford, an American ex-pat, infiltrates the Manchester United hooligans. At first he attempts to share their perspective in his book, but as the story unravels, he becomes one of the hooligans. This gives readers a first hand account of their lives.

The scenes are ultra violent. This book is truly a modern day Clockwork Orange and the Man U fans are so crazy and violent that they make the Raider Nation look like a Girl Scout Troop.

GREAT BOOK!!