Abysmal beyond belief
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This is, without exception, the worst book I have ever read. There is absolutely no insight whatsoever into either of the two subjects Ludden chose to write about; the details of Maradonna's life, such as his estranegment from childhood friend and manager which is covered in one page with no actual information regarding the financial irregularities that led to the split, are worse than vague and the rivalry with the North that supposedly drives Neapolitan passions for their club is pitiful, with a brief nod to the club's formation taking the place of any social or historical background to support Ludden's constant harping about Southern antagonism toward the North. Both Maradonna's life and the history and society of Naples are appalingly researched, if at all. The salient details such as match results or Napoli's fortunes during the Maradonna era could just as easily be found on wikipedia and without the unsupported assertions of Ludden as his inept and leaden turns of phrase. Not only is his writing style an embarassment to the rules of the English language but his proof-reader was either distracted with other business or failed to graduate high school. Commas are dotted around seemingly at random, semi-colons are either entirely absent or replaced by, surprise surprise, a comma, and the only time a colon makes an appearance is when Ludden for some reason or other begins a new paragraph with a summation heading that is only separated from the following sentence by this ill-judged token gesture at employing basic English grammar. Slightly less forgiveable but even more irritating is Ludden's constant use of exclamation points. Like an over-excited pre-schooler he supplants concise and convincing arguments with an exclamation point in order to convince the reader of a particular event's importance. In both content and presentation then, this book is an absolute disgrace and a fifteen year-old with access to wikipedia and an infant's grasp of grammar could have produced a more fitting tribute to a marvellous footballer and my own favourite city.
Oh, and my personal favourite line of the book? "Come the 1997-98 season it turned critical as each week they were beaten almost on a weekly basis." Just one of many.
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Diego meets the Godfather !
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This is a very well written book and one which i enjoyed hugely. Although i feel its appeal may well be limited to us the Diego fanatics, the author manages to produce a real page turner. Once upon a time in Naples reads like a cross between a footballing classic and the Godfather. The best book i have read this year.
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could have been much better
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I couldn't believe there was enought people interested in Maradona and Napoli as me for this to be so widely available so naturally I couldn't wait to read this and learn more of El Diego having already read Jimmy Burns biography and the recently released English version of El Diego. As people have said the enthusiasm shines through which is good however it quickly becomes annoying, read how many times the cliche 'crown of thorns' appears and see what I mean. Although always interesting and to a hardcore fan dare I say unmissable it does amaze you some of the errors, for example Argentina do not play in hoops (apart from the Rugby Union Team) and not even getting the correct year for the Heysel disaster! These errors start to make wonder just what exactly is correct as the book progresses. Also the mistakes on the Italian and Spanish words are evident to those even with the most basic grasp of either language.
I don't feel good poking mistakes at someones work when its clearly been a labour of love and you naturally feel a bit of jealousy that a fellow fan has produced this whilst you are stuck on a bus in gateshead whilst it's lashing down outside. However any serious fan of Diego and the Argentinian game in general will feel a bit deflated by the book, but will want to finish it none the less. I bought this at the same time as Shane Warnes book and sadly this was the weaker of the two.
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fantastico !
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I have waited fifteen years for a book like this. Diego Maradona gave me the best years of my life and once upon a time in Naples brings so many memories flooding back. Salut and viva Diego!
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A superb read !
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The subject of Diego Maradona's time with Napoli has been touched on many times in books that i have read, but none have impressed me like Once Upon a time in Naples. The author's enthusiasm and love for the subject shines though in every line. A writing style which at times threatened to explode carries the reader along breathlessly. A hugely enjoyable book. An amazing story well told.
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