Book Description
Since 1926, when the first modern greyhound race was run, "the dogs" has apparently established itself as the nation's second most popular spectator sport. Yet, save for a brief slot on ITV's World of Sport in the 1970s, the cover of Blur's Parklife album and now this excellent book on the subject, it has kept a low media profile, and the governing bodies' attempts to rebrand the tracks in the 1990s largely failed. Thompson describes the history and the appeal of the sport, which is largely born of the fact that the tracks' bends are invariably too tight for the dogs to negotiate, making the result unpredictable. But, as in Hornby's Fever Pitch, the sport's appeal for Thompson is inextricably linked with her childhood and her memories of her father, a successful greyhound owner. The Dogs is about the feeling of petting your dog, the sound of the crowd at the track's edge, the smell of Golden Wonder crisps and Embassy fags in the stadium bar. The very best kind of sports writing, it makes sense of the grandiose emotions and bizarre futility felt by the spectator and the gambler alike. It's perceptive about class, masculinity and economics, and it seems to radiate Thompson's affection for the men and dogs that have made the sport. (The Independent on Sunday)
Publisher comments
Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award (1995)
