Among the Thugs Audiobook By Bill Buford cover art

Among the Thugs

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Among the Thugs

By: Bill Buford
Narrated by: Bill Buford
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

They have names like Barmy Bernie, Daft Donald, and Steamin' Sammy. They like lager (in huge quantities), the queen, football clubs (especially Manchester United), and themselves. Their dislike encompasses the rest of the known universe, and England's soccer thugs express it in ways that range from mere vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities.

Now, Bill Buford, editor of the prestigious journal Granta, enters this alternate society and records both its savageries and its sinister allure with the social imagination of a George Orwell and the raw personal engagement of a Hunter Thompson.

©1990, 1991 William Buford (P)2018 Random House Audio
Europe Freedom & Security Great Britain Organized Crime Politics & Government True Crime England Soccer
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

“A grotesque, horrifying, repellent and gorgeous book; A Clockwork Orange come to life.” (John Gregory Dunne)

"An important, perhaps prophetic, book...both exciting and sad at the core.... [Buford is] a superbly talented reporter." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Animated, witty, and so pungent you can taste the stale lager." (Washington Post Book World)

Featured Article: The Best Soccer Audiobooks for Avid and Prospective Fans


Soccer definitely has game. It’s played by more than 200 million people around the world, and it's the world's most-viewed sporting event. If you're in America, Canada, Ireland, or Australia, you probably call it soccer, and if you live in most other parts of the world, you call it football. Whether you're a casual player, a serious fan, or just interested in learning more about the game and its staying power, these audiobooks capture what makes soccer such a sensation.

Insightful Cultural Exploration • Vivid Violence Descriptions • Delightful Performance • Dry Subtle Humor
Highly rated for:
Most relevant  
If you are interested in European Futbol, the pathology of mobs, the social science of the disaffected, the draw of identity, gangs, history, policing, gratuitous violence, or whimsical story telling, this is a recommended read! Highly resonant over 30 years later, this book has something to reveal about topics as diverse as East London gentrification, south Central LA gang life, and the MAGA movement. A person could read it and make a strong argument against the 2nd amendment and another read and make a strong defense of it. It should be more talked about, because it is prepared to talk to us.

Wow…!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. It’s not often you hear an educated description of violence, mix in an honest account of its motivation and attraction, top it off with a dry subtle humor and you get this great book. The author narrates it perfectly.

Thoughtful, eloquent, humorous, honest.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I couldn’t stop listening, from the beginning to the end! Fantastic book. If you are someone who knows a bit about the world of hooligans, football fan violence and are interested in the psychology of the crowds, this is a perfect choice. Loved it!

Absolutely fantastic!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Was very happy to hear the author himself narrate and give perspective to this wild time in football history.

Best book about Football Hooliganism

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great store, worth listen too, and well read by author!! Time well spent . Must Listen

Great store, worth listen too, and well read by author!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I can’t imagine this book being a bad read, but listening to the narrator is simply candy. Non-stop humor on a little understood and seldom witnessed topic as English Football violence to an American’s ears, the book serves as a vivid insight into this quintessentially British cultural carnage as witnessed by a Yank. Highly recommended in Audio.

Riveting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Bill Buford is one of the better non-fiction writers going today. Even if you don’t like football, this book is well worth your time.

This book is expertly done.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I originally read this in 1992 or so, on paper— it was thrilling then— but as I know now many years later about the social strife in England at the time, it’s a testament to its era.

I learned a lot more now, many years later with hindsight by responsibly following closely to global politics and machination of despair, anger, violence among common people— even here in America 2024.

I think in my youth I glorified the anarchy of the supporters, but now know it is better how the story actually closes. No spoiler, highly recommended.

It holds up

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

very enjoyable. I like Mr. Buford's writing very much. probably the best of the three books I've listened to of his. I enjoyed him reading it. well worth the time.

very vivid and gripping

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A very raw and uncomfortable look into a world Bill Buford could almost made me understand.

Wow, just wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews