In this episode, I discuss the best football writing out there with Paul Hatt from FootballBookReviews.com. We look at how Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch changed the perception of football books in 1992 and opened the door for more academic exploration of football. We divide this podcast into history, autobiography/biography, and politics.
Just a heads up that I’ve got a new book out on the roots of the game – Origin Stories: The Pioneers Who Took Football to the World. If you like football history, please check it out!
Here’s a list of some of the books we discuss in the podcast:
Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby
Breaking Ground, Neville Gabie and Jason Wood
A Straggling Life, Llew Walker
Football’s Black Pioneers, Bill Hern and David Gleave
Angels with Dirty Faces, Jonathan Wilson
The Ball is Round, David Goldblatt
The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, Joe McGinniss
A Season with Verona, Tim Parks
1312: Among the Ultras, James Montague
A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke, Ronald Reng
Football Against the Enemy, Simon Kuper
Where the Cool Kids Hung Out, Steven Scragg
A Tournament Frozen in Time, Steven Scragg
The People’s Game, Alan McDougall
My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes, Gary Imlach
St. Pauli, Another Football is Possible, Carles Vinyas and Natxo Parra
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