Customer Reviews
Great book, - By: Gogol, 03 Aug 2008 
As a previous reviewer pointed out; this is not a typical hooligan book its a biography of Cass one of the main members of the IFC one of the most famous hooligan gangs of the 70s & 80s.
The book covers his childhood, being a black child adopted by a white couple & raisedin an all white area, the racism he encountered as a kid & how his foster parents taught him pridein who he was & to stand up to anyone. The book then goes into how he got hooked up with the IFC & hooked on the violence that went with it.
The many trials he went through, how he went into bouncing post jail time, how he met his future wife & finaly got his life together meeting up with his natural parents backin Jamacia.
Realy interesting read especially his connections with Frank Bruno & Lenny Henry.
Honest book, highly recomended.
an interesting story - By: charlie ming, 03 Aug 2008 
cass pennant has an interesting life story & this book is a good read for that reason alone. unfortunately as with many autobiographies from the criminal world, the author can't resist the temptation to paint himself as the misunderstood good guy, which is quite a difficult task for somebody who openly admits to knives & axes being his weapons of choice. enjoy the story but remember who's writing it.
No hype... - By: tygris, 17 Jan 2008 
Forget the rose-tinted reverse view of the numerous football "offs" where a tiny group of invincible ICF members saw off thousands of opposition lads, & the selective memory of the farcical "You have just met the ICF" football-factory fiction - being present at several of the incidents describedin that book I can only say that my recollection differs to such a degree that maybe I came up against a different WHU firm with the same name?
What sets this title apart from the usual ICF dross is that it actually gives an insight into the man rather than the self-publicising industry that Cass Pennant has become.
This is a well written & well edited biography of Cass the person presented without comment, blame, sensationalism, rancour, or bitterness.
-in particular the account of the Sheffield stabbing, his subsequent inprisonment & eventual release, with the devastating psychological effect on Cass is superbly insightful, sympathetically written, & factually presented.
There is also an excellent profile of the times & culture of the Club Scenein London, with many glimpses of the dark side of Door Management, plus a honest look at the drug & alcohol induced excesses perpetrated by both customers & security staff at many venues.
The final chapter appears to be both an ending & a beginning for Cass Pennant, & the whole book is uncomfortable yet fascinating reading, mainly due the factual presentation & lack of sensationalism.
If you are going to buy or read just one book on Cass Pennant then this should be it - highly recommended.
Don't bother with disclaimers - By: Reality Checker, 05 Sep 2006 Why bother with the disclaimer that books like this are not meant to glamourise football violence? You know it's a pretense. What this book serves up, like the others, are exciting stories of rucks & rows which serve as testosterone cocktails for emasculated office boys grown upin an era of political correctness & close-circuit TVs. Football hooligans caused misery & fear - that's the truth. And then when they "turn their life around" they want credit. Well, listen my friends - here's some news - you're not meant to go on the rampage & terrify innocent folk, you're not meant to get banged up, you're not meant to incite violence. So don't try to earn credit when you start living a normal life. This recent fascination with hard men is sad. There's a lot of insecure men out there if this stuff sells so well.
Cass is a true great - By: , 05 Jan 2006 I brought this book whilst waiting at the airport & i can safely say it is one of the best books i have ever brought. I think that Cass is slightly different to all the other hooligan books as it contains personal stuff about his life & i have a great repect for that. also the way he helped frank bruno is something else. i would say that this book is for anyone who is a fan of football. all i can say is that the book is gripping & you really understand this guys life
