Author:Chris Yates
'Though most of my life seems to have been spent on the banks of lakes and rivers, I have always been drawn to the sea . . .'
Through twenty-two casts, Britain's best-known freshwater fisherman quits land in favour of the sea. There, he discovers the many pleasures of the coast: wild shores, unpredictable waves, the violent collision of the elements, and, of course, fish that glisten and dart beneath a never-still surface.
From childhood remembrances of saltwater escapades to more recent discoveries, Chris Yates brings the sea and its many wonders to scintillating life.
Enlightening and entertaining... The holy trinity of football, fashion and music has rarely been written about so well and it takes a writer from the borderland between cultures like Honigstein to open our eyes to it
—— GuardianHonigstein offers a perspective on England's football and its culture that is stimulating and rather fascinating
—— ObserverHugely entertaining
—— IndependentMeticulously researched
—— Brian Viner , IndependentMarcotti has an unrivalled network of contacts, and writes with authority and style... an intriguing portrait
—— Liam Doyle , The BooksellerInformative, entertaining
—— When Saturday ComesEasily the most successful club manager ever to coach England, Fabio Capello won Italy's Serie A seven times with AC Milan, Juventus and Roma, and Spain's La Liga twice with Real Madrid - nine league titles in 15 seasons. So what led him to oversee a national team without a major trophy for more than 40 years? One of the strengths of this expertly researched biography is that such enigmas are pondered in a very Italian way, which revels in the availability of several answers rather than grasping for a single truth. In this case, Marcotti suggests managing Italy did not appeal, and points to Capello's long-standing affection for English football and his love of big cities. Other puzzles (was he really unaware that Juventus's boss was fixing matches?) receive similarly complex examination. Capello emerges as a pragmatic imitator rather than an innovator, a mix of sophisticate and martinet - padding around art galleries on his days off, but a believer in "putting a razor blade up against players' arses" if they let him down.
—— John Dugdale , GuardianExcellent... an irreverent, entertaining resume of cricket's long history
—— ChoiceBrilliantly retold
—— Mark Perryman , Socialist UnityIf you haven't bought Tom English's book about the 1990 match - The Grudge - then do yourself a favour and get it now. It's terrific
—— Alex Massie , SpectatorTom English's excellent book, The Grudge, revisits an occasion when sport and politics and ancient rivalry came together
—— Chris Foy , Daily MailTrue tales: great stuff
—— Frank Keating , The GuardianShudderingly good ... English has a rare talent for getting to the core of a person
—— Rugby WorldThatcherite politics and rugby come crashing into contact in this rich and textured account
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