Sightlines: A Stadium Odyssey
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Product Description
Book Description
A spectator's personal quest around the stadiums of the world
Product Description
Every city has a stadium and every stadium has a story. In Sightlines author and self-confessed stadium addict Simon Inglis has pursued his obsession to bring us the weird and wonderful worlds of usherettes at the Houston Astrodome, competing architects in Australia, angry neighbours in Auckland and wistful groundsmen in Bombay. Watching live sport as a regular spectator is all very well, reckons Inglis. But stadiums are far more interesting because in a stadium, whether it be a cathedral of sport or a collection of sheds in the back end of town, you can tune in to the mood of a nation or a community. Starting out at Olympia, where it all began, and ending up in Sydney, venue for the 2000 Games, along the way Inglis encounters anarchic bacchanalia in Pamplona's bull-ring, meets priests at a Gaelic Football final in Dublin and Palestinian refugees living within a few metres of a British-built stadium in Beirut. And in an attempt to come to terms with his obsession he tries aversion therapy by visiting 26 Argentinian football grounds in one week, in the company of a football mad psychotherapist. It doesn't work. He has a great time. The perfect companion volume to his popular books on football grounds. Sightlines is full of insight, wit, anecdotes and characters from a world beyond the view of the ordinary spectator. Read it and you'll never look at a stadium the same way again (20000914)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
And he's missed a sitter....,
By
This review is from: Sightlines: A Stadium Odyssey (Paperback)
I am definitely the sort of man who likes well cut grass, I also enjoy watching a vast number of sports, I also believe stadiums to be worth every penny that is ever thrown at them. After all this being said I found myself surprised at my lack of interest when reading this book. Especially as it takes great joy in both historical detail and statistics wherever possible.In summary then this book is about one mans lifelong (career) and obsession with stadiums. Something which most men understand at some base level. He tells us various stories of his exploits around the globe in the pursuit of the perfect stadium. He dips into history, both ancient and modern, to underline the importance of stadia within any civilised society (and Spain). He meets with a mad Argentinean Jewish psychiatrist with a view to visiting an impossible amount of them in Buenos Aires in a limited period of time. All the elements are there for me to really enjoy this book, yet I did not. What is even more disappointing is the fact that I cannot truly explain why this is. This book is relatively funny and insightful, yet I never really connected with it. My only explanation is that it does read like a really, really long magazine article. I do still recommend this book to sports fans of the world, but have my doubts if it would truly interest a wider audience. (Sorry!)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but self-centred,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sightlines: A Stadium Odyssey (Paperback)
Let me start by first saying that I enjoyed the remoteness of the locations, and the detail and uniqueness of some of the stories. I did find the book very interesting to read, as, like the other reviewers here I imagine, I have an almost anorak interest in stadia - and Inglis clearly knows his stuff.But herein lies the problem for me. What I did not like, was the self-centred way in which Inglis approached this book. A comparison for me would be something like The Miracle of Castel di Sangro in which McGinness manages to view the proceedings surrounding him without too much emphasis upon his own role in the story. I personally felt that Inglis took almost every opportunity possible to state how much of an expert and fanatic he was of stadia - ok, we kind of gathered that by his simple choosing to write such a book - we don't need to be told this repeatedly. I don't know, maybe you guys did (this is only my opinion after all). I can see why one reviewer felt that it should have received more acclaim but I can very much understand why it hasn't - basically a very good idea for a book, but Inglis fails to make his subjects special in the way they deserve to be - how could they be seen in such a light when compared to the greatness of Inglis. OK - maybe I've gone a tad over the top - but something about his style really grated with me by the time I finished the book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A really enjoyable read. Amusing and thought provoking.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sightlines: A Stadium Odyssey (Paperback)
Sightlines is an highly entertaining read about stadiums (or is that stadia?) of the world. Simon Inglis looks beyond the events which take part within these structures and tries to explain to the reader why these buildings have become more important than churches and libraries to many. His experiences with the people of various cultures, and the reaction of the people to him as he conducts his research into THEIR stadium, is conveyed to the reader in an amusing style. From state of the art Olympic Stadiums around the world to the run down shanty Pavilions in Argentina, it is likely Simon Inglis has been there researching this book.
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