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Simon Hughes
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Ring of Fire: Liverpool into the 21st century: The Players' Stories Kindle Edition

by Simon Hughes (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 289 ratings
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Following the success of Simon Hughes’ Red Machine and Men in White Suits, books which depicted Liverpool FC’s domination during the 1980s and its subsequent fall in the 1990s, Ring of Fire focuses on the 2000s and the primary characters who propelled Liverpool to the forefront of European football once again. With a foreword by Steven Gerrard, this is the third edition in a bestselling series based on revealing interviews with former players, coaches and managers.

For Liverpool FC, entry into the 21st century began with modernisation and trophies under manager Gérard Houllier and development was then underpinned by improbable Champions League glory under Rafael Benítez. Yet that is only half of the story. The decade ended with the club being on the verge of administration after the shambolic reign of American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

In Ring of Fire, Hughes’ interviewees – including Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso and Michael Owen – take you through Melwood’s training ground gates and into the inner sanctum, the Liverpool dressing room. Each person delivers fascinating insights into the minds of the players, coaches and boardroom members as they talk frankly about exhilarating highs and excruciating lows, from winning cups in Cardiff and Istanbul to the political infighting that undermined a succession of managerial reigns.

Ring of Fire tells the real stories: those never told before by the key players who lived through it all.

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  1. Print length
    319 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Transworld Digital
  5. Publication date
    25 Aug. 2016
  6. File size
    2799 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product description

About the Author

Simon Hughes is a journalist and author. He covers Merseyside football for the Independent and goes elsewhere for the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph. His book Red Machine won the Antonio Ghirelli Prize for Italian Soccer Foreign Book of the Year 2014. His other titles include Secret Diary of a Liverpool Scout and Men in White Suits. He lives in Liverpool.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B019CGXNZG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transworld Digital; Reprint edition (25 Aug. 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2799 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 319 pages
  • Customer reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 289 ratings

About the author

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Simon Hughes

Simon Hughes

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
289 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book a brilliant read with great insight into the 00's decade. They also say it's an enjoyable read with a great story.

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Reading experienceContent
13 customers mention ‘Reading experience’13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book brilliant, interesting, and terrific. They also mention that it provides an in-depth view of a fantastic Liverpool season.

"...Another in-depth and interesting view of a fantastic Liverpool season, with a great interweaving of Liverpool past seasons and history" Read more

"A terrific read and if you enjoyed Simon's other books then you'll definitely love this one...." Read more

"Great insight and thoroughly enjoyable read. Probably could have done with the Benitez interview, as acknowledged...." Read more

"...The Torres chapter I particular is excellent and shines a light on an area that remained unclear for a long time." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Content’5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content great and enjoyable.

"Best Liverpool writer out there. Another in-depth and interesting view of a fantastic Liverpool season, with a great interweaving of Liverpool past..." Read more

"Great insight and thoroughly enjoyable read. Probably could have done with the Benitez interview, as acknowledged...." Read more

"Very good insite on players thoughts on certain situations.would love to have gotten Rafas side also however good book. YNWA" Read more

"What a fantastic insight into Liverpool life back then...genuine questions get given genuine answers..a must read for all Liverpool fans" Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Steve Bradburn
5.0 out of 5 stars Another belter
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2019
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Best Liverpool writer out there. Another in-depth and interesting view of a fantastic Liverpool season, with a great interweaving of Liverpool past seasons and history
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Andrew S Bolton
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific read, some great stories here. Simon really gets the best out of his interview subjects. Loved the Torres chapter in
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2016
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A terrific read and if you enjoyed Simon's other books then you'll definitely love this one. He really gets the best out of his interviews and I particularly enjoyed the Torres chapter, helps if you're a Liverpool fan but any football fan would enjoy this.....Buy it and if you like it check out the Anfield Wrap for more excellent football writing
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Mr N P Robson
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2020
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Some golden nuggets from those closest to the club. The Torres interview especially revealing leaving the impression he didn't really want to leave
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M3
5.0 out of 5 stars Simon Hughes delivers once more
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2016
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If you're a fan of Simon Hughes' previous books, Red Machine and Men In White Suits, this picks up where they left off.

Each chapter is a different character who marked a certain part of Liverpool's history between 2000 and 2009, with the author making some fairly brave decisions about who to interview. Steven Gerrard, for instance, writes the foreword but doesn't get a chapter of his own. Simon Hughes explains why at the beginning and, honestly, it's fair enough. Players like Danny Murphy, Michael Owen, Neil Mellor, Didi Hamann, Xabi Alonso, Albert Riera, Fernando Torres and Jamie Carragher are mixed with Phil Thompson, Gerard Houllier and Rick Parry to give an all-round story.

Simon Hughes gets some real exclusives, too - especially from Owen and Torres. I won't spoil them here.

The author's greatest skill in these books is a lack of ego. For lesser writers, it'd be all too easy to make it about them, not the interviewee. Sports writers fall foul of this all too often - but Simon Hughes always gets this right. It's the players and the officials who count - and the result is a fascinating insight into a turbulent 10 years at Anfield.
6 people found this helpful
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MikeyH77
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and well-written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2017
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Great insight and thoroughly enjoyable read. Probably could have done with the Benitez interview, as acknowledged. Appreciate that this was tricky to coordinate though.
3 people found this helpful
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Andrew Fee
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 July 2019
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Fantastic insight into LFC during the 00's decade, a brilliant read! The Torres chapter I particular is excellent and shines a light on an area that remained unclear for a long time.
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Robert Beakhurst
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2017
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Very good insite on players thoughts on certain situations.would love to have gotten Rafas side also however good book. YNWA
One person found this helpful
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anne chamberlain
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Book for football fans
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 August 2017
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It looks fine thank you just read bits as its a Christmas present for our son . Anything to do with Liverpool will be fine . We have not lost our marbles we start Christmas shopping in January .
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Top reviews from other countries

GKW
5.0 out of 5 stars YNWA
Reviewed in Canada on 30 March 2018
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I was engaged from the off.
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Juha Joki
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating book about LFC
Reviewed in the United States on 7 December 2016
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This is a must-read for any Liverpool fan. The book offers really interesting, candid and interesting interviews from players, coaches and executives from the Houllier/Benitez -era. The great thing about the book is that the time period is covered from different viewpoints. It's really fascinating to read about the different takes from people from different positions about the same events. It really gives a good insight about the happenings of LFC during 1998-2010.
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Umang Jethva
5.0 out of 5 stars Offers great insight
Reviewed in India on 7 October 2016
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This book offers great insight about LFC during the first decade of 21st century from various players' (including Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres) point of view. Interview with Gerard Houllier and Rick Parry are also included in the book. I bought this book just to read about Fernando's side of the story (about his leaving the club) and it was deeply satisfying.
3 people found this helpful
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Siddharth Shukla
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for any Liverpool supporter
Reviewed in the United States on 28 December 2017
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Simon Hughes has written an engrossing book containing first hand accounts of some of the best modern players to play for LFC. The tone of the book is effective and the pace is fluid, and you are left thinking- what could have been had DIC purchased the club instead of the cowboys?
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 16 November 2016
Verified Purchase
interesting read - great insight from former players and staff
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