Customer Reviews
a car boot wonder - By: M. French, 07 Dec 2008 
I was given this from a car boot travel & little did I think it would be the fantastic read that it turned out to be.As a Wimbledon supporter the lure of the underdog is strong & this book gives it an American -Italian twist. Buy it & enjoy it while it lasts
Bellisimo - By: Mr. J. R. P. Bibby, 17 Apr 2008 This is a book for anyone who has lost faithin the ability of football to amaze you. It is a wonderful account of joy, pain, scorn, fear, humiliation, anger, corruption & all the other things we love about football. Just read it & enjoy. Se molto buono!
Gripping and shocking - By: Richard Hammond, 17 Oct 2007 This unique bit of sports journalism follows the fortunes of a tiny Italian town whose heroic football team pull-off a remarkable promotion into Serie B. McGinniss--an American with little prior knowledge of football & even less understanding of Italian--chose to livein Castel di Sangro for more than a year while the team played out its story, which he writes-upin beautiful warm, honest prose as he becomes incredibly close to the club, the players & their families - which serves to make the final chapter a true gut-wrenching shock...
Bella! - By: Napolean, 30 Oct 2006 This is a fantastic read & literally has you sat on the edge of your seat trying to guess what will happen next. The first season of lowly Castel Di Sangroin Serie B of the Italian football league is a roller coaster ride & ends with a fantastic twist. The reviews of each league game are brilliantly written & really do have you screaming for the final whistle & a win for Castel.
The book goes into slightly too much detail about the basics of football at times but this obviously increases its target audience to those who don't know too much about the game. It really is a great read & a fascinating true story. The only blemish is the author who clearly knows little about European football & the passion which surrounds it. It is almost embarrassing at times to listen to his opinions & points of view as he is very often misguided & uninformed. Saying that, it adds a bit extra to the story as you get sucked into the politics & passion of Italian football.
The beautiful game? - By: , 18 Aug 2005 The first season spentin the dizzy heights of Serie B,in their entire history, by Castel Di Sangro is shared by American writer Joe McGinnissin this fascinating book.
McGinniss spends the entire 1996/97 seasonin the small hamlet of Castel Di Sangro. It's calcio (football to you & me, maybe soccer to the author) club is at the very heart of this remarkable tale of survival. The author gets so close to the team though that the book is about far more than football. Lies, deception, scandal & tragedy all come to the fore whilst the footballing miracle unfolds.
In fact, so much unfolds between September 1996 & May 1997, that you will not want to do anything else but read on. The book, by & large, seems to be written with the American audiencein mind, whichin actual fact helps the tale have small respites for avid football followers. The season is described chronologically, which again makes the story very readable.
The only negative is that the author, despite by his own admission being new to the sport, seems to consider himself an expertin the game. Frequently he describes how he told the manager to do this or that, & seems genuinely surprised when the experienced Italian coach rebuffs his ideas.
Overall, a fascinating tale of an almost surreal season for Castel Di Sangro. Joe McGinniss is welcomed so much into the heart of the community & club, that we find out a great deal about the activities of a small Italian football club,in this intelligently written story.
