Barmy Army

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars as a term paper, 3 as a book
Review: I'll take the blame for not doing my homework. I believe I would have been much more happy had I purchased Brimson's "Every where we go" instead of Barmy Army.

I was looking for a down and dirty tale of hooliganism as I am a major football fan and have been interested in that fanatic angle. I did enough research to know that that "thug" book was probably more fiction than non, so I ended up with the right author, but not the right book.

Barmy Army reads like a magazine article or high school term paper. Although there are several mentions of high profile incidents, I never got inside the hooligan's head, even though there are several chapeters with headings (Who? Why? etc.) Again, more my fault than the author. I get the feeling though that he has milked this subject matter for all its worth as there was a lot of "...as I mentioned in my best selling book, Every Where We Go" and "You'll have to read England, my England if you want that story..." type comments.

Again, if you're looking for a behind the scenes account, Barmy Army has a few incidents of this, but the focus is to analyze hooliganism and try to draw some rationale for it. You won't find much of that first person account of action, reasoning, conflict, obervations, etc.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars as a term paper, 3 as a book
Review: I'll take the blame for not doing my homework. I believe I would have been much more happy had I purchased Brimson's "Every where we go" instead of Barmy Army.

I was looking for a down and dirty tale of hooliganism as I am a major football fan and have been interested in that fanatic angle. I did enough research to know that that "thug" book was probably more fiction than non, so I ended up with the right author, but not the right book.

Barmy Army reads like a magazine article or high school term paper. Although there are several mentions of high profile incidents, I never got inside the hooligan's head, even though there are several chapeters with headings (Who? Why? etc.) Again, more my fault than the author. I get the feeling though that he has milked this subject matter for all its worth as there was a lot of "...as I mentioned in my best selling book, Every Where We Go" and "You'll have to read England, my England if you want that story..." type comments.

Again, if you're looking for a behind the scenes account, Barmy Army has a few incidents of this, but the focus is to analyze hooliganism and try to draw some rationale for it. You won't find much of that first person account of action, reasoning, conflict, obervations, etc.

Rating:
Summary: OK read...
Review: One reviewer mentions in a positive light that this book is everything that Among the Thugs is not. I agree, but with a different take on it. This book is more of an academic essay on what hooliganism is about, its causes, and how to stop it. Among the Thugs is a first person account of a journalist who followed some hooligans. Barmy Army is good if you want pseudo-academic opinion. Among the Thugs is great if you want to hear details of football violence- it satisfies the voyeur in all of us. I preferred Among the Thugs, whether it is well-researched and accurate or not.
One major flaw in this book is Brimson's referances to his other books. Just when he builds up to any particularly infamous example of hooliganism to make a point, he says something like "This has already been explored in (insert one of his other book titles here)..." and then tells you nothing about the incident. I haven't read these other books, so it left me hanging.
This book is interesting, but not a real page-turner.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book is everything Among The Thugs is not: accurate, brilliantly researched and absolutley rivetting.

The chapters dedicated to the history of hooliganism in England are possibly the best I have ever read on the subject whilst Brimson's typical 'in-your-face-style' of commenting on the media and the police are perfectly observed.

If you love sport, you will love this book. It is awesome!