Rating: 
Summary: Football violence, just crowd culture ?
Review: It was Bill Shankly, ex Liverpool manager, who said "Football is'nt a matter of life and death, it's more important than that". This book goes someway to capture the passion and importance of Football in English culture, and the extreme lengths that some so called supporters go to feel that they belong. As a true English Football supporter, I felt somewhat annoyed that readers of the book from other countries would feel that all English Football supporters behave in this manner, this is NOT true. But this book does accurately portray the minority who caused and still cause the atrocities described. The book works on two levels, to shock with horrific stories of brutal violence, and at a much deeper level to explain crowd behaviour and how this can be manipulated. Overall this is a valiant attempt by an American to explain English Football violence, which to my suprise was successfull.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining/fascinating on many different levels
Review: Bill Buford's "Among the Thugs" is one of the most engaging books I've read in a long time. The first thing that is fascinating was his ability to "infiltrate" and gain the trust of the Manchester United supporters. This trust was not easily gained, but once attained it took him into several unforgettable situations. Looking at the book within the wider scope of mob & crowd violence is an interesting point of view. Buford argues that once one person crosses the "threshold of violence" in a group then everyone feels like its okay. The larger the group is the easier it is to negate an individual's responsibility. He talks at length about the phenonmenon of the crowd taking on its dynamic and how the individual gets sucked into the moment and passion. Anyone that has ever attended a sporting event, a large concert or a street festival can surely attest to the excitement that exists when vast numbers of people are assembled. Add violence to that recipe of large crowds and excitement and you have a potential disaster on your hands. His tales of people that engage in violence as a form or recreation are befuddling and fascinating. Buford's writing draws you into the fervor of the crowd and you find yourself always wondering if "its going to go off." (A phrase used throughout the book.) Aside from looking at the book in a larger sociological frame of reference, it is also quite enthralling as personal anecdote. Buford goes to Italy (twice) and all over England with a bunch of rowdy bruisers and other places in Europe. It is interesting to see how someone with such a good education and an upbringing different from the other supporters (Buford is American) could so easily get swept along in all the excitement. He never participates in the violence himself (although some could argue repeatedly witnessing this behaviour with no intervention would be a form of violence) he eventually pays the price for running "among the thugs." I HIGHLY recommend this book as a sociological study, a travel diary of sorts, as well as just a fine piece of writing. I wanted to comment on the one reviewer that mentioned that he thought these things weren't possible to get away with or that they are exaggerated. Either the whole country of England has got the rest of the world duped or these things really happen. I've talked with several people from the UK that don't know each other and they all have stories to tell of things they've either witnessed or participated in at football (soccer) matches. Not only that, but this behaviour (which is only engaged in by a SMALL PORTION of fans) is a great source of embarrassment for the rest of the honest sport loving supporters of the UK.
Rating:
Summary: A journey into the dark heart of England
Review: Buford's book is the definitive work on football crowd violence. He ran with the right firms (Chelsea, West Ham, ManU) and described a truely horrifying period in English football history.
As an American I loved the fact that Buford even took time out to acknowledge our own football in a very brief, but hilarious chapter.
The chapter on Hillsborough stands out overall. Buford's description of the disaster is equal to that of Nick Hornby's in Fever Pitch. The scenes in Turin are also of note. The passages read like Orwell's Homage to Catalonia.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book.
Review: In the series of narratives contained in Among The Thugs, Bill Buford provides a stimulating first-hand account of English football hooliganism in late 80's. If you're are interested in learning about the various subcultures that rose out of England/Europe during the second half of the 20th century, this is a book you should definitely read. No question about it.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling account of soccer hooliganism
Review: Bill Buford's rejection of or distancing from violence in the latter part of this fine piece of journalism--a safari into the world of British soccer hooligans--is unconvincing. "Among The Thugs" is weakened by Buford's unwillingness to face his attraction to violence. He gets sort of halfway there & it's as though he's just unwilling to go further & frantically backpedals. That he joins in does not come as a surprise, & it's to Buford's credit that he's at least willing to acknowledge it.
At the same time that Buford seems unwilling to fully explore his attraction, it is a definite shortcoming of the book that he doesn't show that much concern for the random victims, who are not humanized. It would have been sobering--& very worthwhile--to have found a victim & painted a strong portrait in the same way he paints strong portraits of the thugs. It would have been a good balance.
The book is sometimes unexpectedly anti British. It's a complex society. Buford sometimes paints it with an overly broad negative brush (I write this as a Brit by birth).
Buford inserts his (drinking--is this an excuse?) self into his reportage but then is unwilling to fully explore what he finds.
Buford also strives too hard to explain violence. This may be a red herring--maybe it defies rational explanation.
"Among The Thugs" is an important contribution to the topic, alongside others as diverse as "On Killing," "Fight Club," "In Cold Blood," "Clockwork Orange" & "Hitler's Willing Executioners," all of which shed light in different ways on different aspects of the same thing (in fact, they add up to a curriculum on violence). At its deepest level, it comes down to questions about why we are ever good & why we are ever evil & the nature of the struggle between the two. Also, the struggle between civilization & barbarism or between order & chaos.
I'm not at all sure that social issues are an explanation (or an excuse?) for what Buford documents here. Plenty of other places in the world have logarithmically worse social problems that don't result in similar behavior (but, then again, maybe the crowd behavior in Mogadishu is just further out on the same spectrum? See "Blackhawk Down.")
As a journalist, I have no problem beliving Buford attained the access he said he did. It's an art, but there's no doubt it can be done.
Buford's description of a National Front disco is one of the highlights of the book unmentioned by other reviewers. Its got a dark humor to it, too. Surprisingly, I laughed aloud several times during the book, to Buford's credit.
Well-written, excellent reporting, important topic, significant contribution to subject. A worthwhile read.
Do not read this if you find violence & anti-social behavior offensive subjects or if you are offended by graphic descriptions of same. This is not a pleasant read, but it is worthwhile. A brave and original book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Social Commentary
Review: I thought this book would simply be a blow-by-blow recitation of the crimes and violence perpetrated by Britain's soccer "hooligans." I was very pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be much, much more. Mr. Buford gives a very nice discussion of the crowd mentality and explains from a first-hand perspective how quickly a large event can turn violent. He also does a nice job of explaining how the social environment in Britain led to the conditions that allowed large number of disaffected young men with few other outlets for their frustrations than Saturday games and riots.
Rating: 
Summary: More than soccer hooligans; a discussion of violence
Review: Although Buford concentrates on the frighteningly brutal antics of British "soccer hooligans," his book ventures into something deeper, societal violence. It seems that Buford uses the British soccer scene as his own private laboratory in which to study violence and crowd behavior. He attempts to discover the meaning and reasoning behind the escapades of these young men by studying them as individuals, then as societal groups, and finally, as a mass of humanity that evolves into an unrelenting mob certain to cause unprovoked violence. Buford attempted to infiltrate these groups in order to gather a better understanding of these young men as individuals. He learned that most are uneducated and unemployed, and if employed, usually in menial, low-paying jobs. They are the dregs of society, without much hope of improving their station. This theme was continuous throughout the work, be it in reference to "soccer hooligans," or skinhead fascists. By coming together in a loosely organized fashion, with a common rallying point, these men find their niche. They are no longer pariahs, but rather one powerful body. Then, this powerful body feels the need to exercise its new found strengths. It exercises its vengeance upon the same humanity that banished them from a respectable place. Buford offered no answers the problems of societal violence, but did provide some reasons. Throughout the work he makes reference to class struggle and the discrepancies between rich and poor. No work, and no opportunity leads to a stressful situation. A boiling point appears and the pressure must be relieved. For many of the younger generation, the pressure is relived in random street violence under the guise of European football rivalries.
Rating:
Summary: Skeptical
Review: Bill Buford's book makes for an interesting read, no doubt. And kudos go to whoever designed the cover jacket. That picture has no doubt sold thousands of additional copies over the years. But I will admit to reading these tales with a healthy bit of skepticism. An American-born and bred editor of a sober literary journal gaining access to the very heart of these groups? It stretches the imagination. I have to take Buford at his word, but I read the book with a very arched eyebrow. Especially the parts where he gets carried away by the goings-on and partakes in some violence himself. I laughed at that point; surely, not the reaction the author intended.
Rating:
Summary: Hypocracy for lunch
Review: First, I'd like to draw attention to the very interesting fact that the vast majority of reviews posted on this book are written by Americans. I find this "interesting" because it is indicative of a class of sordid fascination that many Americans have with violence as a spectator sport, so long as they do not have to experience it personally. Fan-based violence is in many ways a concept alien to American culture. Perhaps the closest thing we have to it is the "Raider Nation," which consists of a handfull of Oakland Raiders fans who, when their team is in the NFL playoffs, are from time to time inclined to burn and pillage a few city blocks in Oakland. Too, there are Chicago Bulls fans who have been known, during NBA playoffs, to do the same. The point here is, that it's the degree and commonality of these episodes that differentiate them from English Football violence. Major sporting events in the US are not typically surrounded with the potential for crowd violence. This is not a part of our culture, and this is something that readers of Buford's work need to understand. That said, it is useless and self-defeating to even attempt to apprehend what Buford writes of from an American perspective. We do not have a cultural analog to the English football firm. This being the case, as a professional journalist with a background in anthropology, I can assure readers of Buford's work, that he comes as close to objectivity in his reporting as is possible. --It should be noted here that objectivity is a goal, something to be strived for, and not an end in and of itself, for it is ultimately unattainable. It is through the process of seeking objectivity, and not through its actual attainment, that we accomplish truly fine journalism.-- All of the above being so, it is my measured opinion that Bill Buford is successful in "Among The Thugs." While there are portions of the book that are cumbersome, do not read easily, for the most part it is a powerful and telling account of what Buford was able to find, one that is written and reported with the greatest degree of objectivity possible given the circumstances.
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