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1
Steve Fist was the football hooligan's football hooligan. Between the years 1975 and 1991, not one day went by when he didn't beat the absolute living crap out of at least one person for being another team's fan. Bottle is a story about the extreme end of extreme violence, and a tale about the worst excesses of brutality, sadism, and senseless bloodshed. more Steve Fist was the football hooligan's football hooligan. Between the years 1975 and 1991, not one day went by when he didn't beat the absolute living crap out of at least one person for being another team's fan. Bottle is a story about the extreme end of extreme violence, and a tale about the worst excesses of brutality, sadism, and senseless bloodshed. less 
David BaddielThis book is by my brother and is a parody of the hooligan’s memoir, which, as you probably don’t know, is a genre and there is a quite a big market for hooligans’ memoirs. (Source)
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2
2018
Brian Glanville | 3.89
Brian Glanville's dramatic history of the world's most famous football tournament has become the most authoritative guide to the World Cup. His classic, bestselling account is a vivid celebration of the great players and legendary matches in the competition from Uruguay in 1930 to Brazil in 2014 - as well as a bold attack on those who have mismanaged the 'beautiful game'. Fully revised and updated in anticipation of Russia's hosting of the event in 2018, this is the definitive book on the World Cup for football fans and novices alike. more Brian Glanville's dramatic history of the world's most famous football tournament has become the most authoritative guide to the World Cup. His classic, bestselling account is a vivid celebration of the great players and legendary matches in the competition from Uruguay in 1930 to Brazil in 2014 - as well as a bold attack on those who have mismanaged the 'beautiful game'. Fully revised and updated in anticipation of Russia's hosting of the event in 2018, this is the definitive book on the World Cup for football fans and novices alike. less David BaddielWe should have this in Five Books before the World Cup just because Brian Glanville is a very good sports writer. He is old now and a most esteemed journalist who always wears a big hat. He was born in 1931 and spent a lot of his career in Italy working for Corriere dello Sport. He first wrote this book in 1973 and it was originally called The Sunday Times History of the World Cup. It’s... (Source)
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3
Paul Canovilles story is one of extreme racist bigotry, shattering career-ending injury, a decline into drug abuse, battles against cancer, family tragedy and a determination to beat the odds. Canoville was Chelsea's first black first-team player, making his debut in 1982. But as he warmed up on the touchline, his own supporters began chanting 'We don't want the nigger!' The racist bile continued whenever he played, but within a year he had won over the terraces with his explosive pace and skill. Canoville fell out with the Chelsea board and moved to Reading in 1986, where injury suddenly... more Paul Canovilles story is one of extreme racist bigotry, shattering career-ending injury, a decline into drug abuse, battles against cancer, family tragedy and a determination to beat the odds. Canoville was Chelsea's first black first-team player, making his debut in 1982. But as he warmed up on the touchline, his own supporters began chanting 'We don't want the nigger!' The racist bile continued whenever he played, but within a year he had won over the terraces with his explosive pace and skill. Canoville fell out with the Chelsea board and moved to Reading in 1986, where injury suddenly ended his career at the age of 24. This started a downward spiral including the death of his baby in his arms, two bouts of life-threatening lymph cancer, drug abuse and homelessness. But Canoville fought back. In this explosive and shocking story, Paul finally explains why, despite everything, he is more positive than ever and has remained a fervent Chelsea fan all his life. This is a story of hope - eventually - overcoming adversity. less David BaddielI met Paul Canoville at the FA Cup semi-final and, you know, heads up to him. He was the first black player at Chelsea [debuted in 1982]. He has ten kids by ten different women, which is also impressive. He’s 50 now and really looks very well, considering that racism, drugs and cancer almost destroyed him. I remember when a black player would get a lot of stick from the terraces, even from their... (Source)
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4
The memoir behind the documentary One Night in Turin, the inside story of a World Cup that changed our footballing nation forever
It was the World Cup semi-finals. On 4th July, 1990, in a stadium in Turin, Gazza cried, England lost and football changed forever.
This is the inside story of Italia '90 - we meet the players, the hooligans, the agents, the journalists, the fans. Writer Pete Davies was given nine months full access to the England squad and their manager Bobby Robson. One Night in Turin is his thrilling insider account of the summer when... more The memoir behind the documentary One Night in Turin, the inside story of a World Cup that changed our footballing nation forever
It was the World Cup semi-finals. On 4th July, 1990, in a stadium in Turin, Gazza cried, England lost and football changed forever.
This is the inside story of Italia '90 - we meet the players, the hooligans, the agents, the journalists, the fans. Writer Pete Davies was given nine months full access to the England squad and their manager Bobby Robson. One Night in Turin is his thrilling insider account of the summer when football became the greatest show on earth.
'This could well be the best book ever written about football' -
Time Out
less 
Simon KuperIt’s gripping and it’s written in a very sort of populist, laddish style, but it works. The characters make it work, and the setting of Italy during the World Cup. It doesn’t matter that that World Cup is now history. (Source)
David BaddielThe cover is Gazza crying, which is now rather clichéd, but then it was an icon of the change in attitude towards football and men, and how emotional they can be about football. (Source)
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5
The Twentieth Anniversary Edition
*WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR*
Fever Pitch
is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic
'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' Independent
For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself.
But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one... more The Twentieth Anniversary Edition
*WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR*
Fever Pitch
is Nick Hornby's million-copy-selling, award-winnning football classic
'A spanking 7-0 away win of a football book. . . inventive, honest, funny, heroic, charming' Independent
For many people watching football is mere entertainment, to some it's more like a ritual; but to others, its highs and lows provide a narrative to life itself.
But, for Nick Hornby, his devotion to the game has provided one of few constants in a life where the meaningful things - like growing up, leaving home and forming relationships, both parental and romantic - have rarely been as simple or as uncomplicated as his love for Arsenal.
'Hornby has put his finger on truths that have been unspoken for generations' Irish Times
Brimming with wit and honesty, Fever Pitch, catches perfectly what it really means to be a football fan - and in doing so, what it means to be a man. It sits side by side with the very finest football classics of the last twenty five years, from The Damned United by David Peace to A Life Too Short by Ronald Reng, but it is ultimately a book that defies categorization and can be enjoyed by all.
'Funny, wise and true' Roddy Doyle less 
David PapineauSporting fandom is very interesting philosophically: it’s a case of partiality, partisanship, valuing something when you can see that what you value isn’t going to be valued by other people. (Source)
Simon KuperNick Hornby doesn’t revel in, ‘Oh I’m such a football geek, isn’t that funny?’ He treats it as something suspect. (Source)
David BaddielIn about 1990 there was this sea change in the way people expressed themselves about football – more emotionally. Nick’s book sets the stall out for that. (Source)
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