Among the Thugs by Bill Buford

This bored, empty, decadent generation consists of nothing more than what it appears to be. It is a lad culture without mystery , so deadened that it uses violence to wake itself up . It pricks itself so that it has feeling, burns its flesh so that it has smell. These words were published in 1990 and are more true than ever now. Woodstock 1999 comes to mind. Among the Thugs is an extraordinary book about soccer hooliganism in England. I haven't had an experience reading a book like this in a long while. It honestly should be one of those books young men carry around like On the Road, Fear and Loathing , and of course Fight Club. I picked up this book because the cover picture of this dead eyed punk skinhead smoking intrigued me. Plus the world cup was going on so i had Soccer on my mind. I know the old joke is that soccer fans riot because the game is so boring that is not the case as the passage above illustrates soccer hooliganism is symptomatic of a greater problem in turning our boys into men. Unlike Fight Club this book does not glorify violence in any manner it understands its allure but and is almost caught up in it. We are human after all but the genuius of the book is in stepping back from the crowd it looks at the punks individually and realizes they are just a bunch of "little shits". Coincidentally I happened to watch Green Street Hooligans while reading this book. Now you might notknow this movie but it came out last year starring Elijah wood as an American getting caught up with a group of boys involved in this. If I hadn't read this book i would have liked this movie but knowing the real story the movie offended me.it made you think these are just abunch of misunderstood boys who fihgt fans of other soccer clubs. It neglects to tell you about the rapes and unbelivable acts of racism committed on an almost daily basis. Every time a black player touches the ball you will hear grunts imitating a gorrilla welling up through the stands. So read this book really.