I bought this book hoping it would be an undiscovered gem by the writer who gave us About A Boy and High Fidelity. I am a late-middle-aged American with no particular interest in British football. The book is, at heart, an autobiography of Mr. Hornby as an obsessive football (soccer) fan growing up in the London area, and, in terms of word count, the emphasis is decidedly on "football" over "autobiography".While there were nuggets of self-revelation, there was much more of cavilling over the performance minutiae of players in whom I have no interest. And not football players in general, but-primarily- players for Arsenal, which I presume to be based in or near London. Who cares? I was much more intrigued by Among the Thugs, which at least had some visceral violence.