Fever Pitch

This is the bitter-sweet autobiography which vividly accounts the elation and utter despair of a love affair with a particular soccer team. Hornby pinpoints 1968 as his formative year--the year he turned 11, the year his parents separated, and the year his father first took him to watch Arsenal play. The author quickly moved "way beyond fandom" into an extreme obsession that has dominated his life, loves, and relationships. This book captures the truth and absurdities of the obsessed Arsenal fan's mind, and whether you are interested in soccer or not, this is a study of masculinity, class, identity, growing up, loyalty, depression - and joy.