Product Description

In the summer of 2003, Dave Hadfield, perhaps Britain's best-known writer on rugby league, set out on a 200-mile walk from Hull to Widnes, taking him through the heartlands of the game he loves. In the course of his meander, places he thought he knew already were revealed in a different light: from the Humber to the Mersey, he made fresh discoveries about the sport in which he has immersed himself and the landscape in which it has struggled and thrived. Along the way he met the people whose enthusiasm for the game has made it so durable - current and former internationals as well as others involved at all levels - as well as a few miserable old gits for balance. In this intimate account, Hadfield observes the way rugby league fits into the history and sociology of towns like Wigan and Castleford, with which it is synonymous. His record of the journey is in the great tradition of writers from Wordsworth to Laurie Lee, who found in long walks the perfect medium to explore and reflect upon their surroundings. Up and Over is the definitive book about the game and the local passions it engenders, as Hadfield seeks out the poignant and the humorous on a personal journey of discovery. For those who follow rugby league, it will give a unique perspective on the parts of the world they know intimately; for others it will be an introduction to a different world, seen via one of the elements that gives it its identity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70084 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Dave Hadfield has been the rugby league correspondent for The Independent since 1990. He is also the author of XIII Winters: Reflections on Rugby League and XIII Worlds: Pursuing Rugby League Around the Globe. He currently lives in Bolton.

Customer Reviews

Offside ....Referee...
A glorious book. That not only chronicles a trek through Rugby League land, but also through the spirit and history of the glorious game. It's a game I have watched played and loved for 38 years and this tome by Dave Hadfield is a gem. The author like his newspaper articles pulls no punches and it refreshing read some of the insightful comments about the games up's and its one or two downs. For myself now exiled in Illinois USA seeing such names as Greetland, Leigh Miners and Simms Cross, it brings a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye... just like a Paul Davidson tackle. Plus the whole thing raised a whole bundle of money for a good cause ... you cannot say fairer than that.

Best non-fiction book for years
I couldn't put it down and basically read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Brilliant, funny and evocative.

I've had to re-define my "favourite book" to "favourite books" so now I have two categories, fiction and non-fiction,and this is up there with Catch 22!

Some of the discriptions of the journey had me laughing out loud and in tears of nostalgia all at the same time
I can recommend "Up and Over" to anyone who has an affection for Rugby League and the people who play and watch the game at whatever level, and for anyone who just enjoys good writing.
Magic stuff.