Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil

Book excerpt: 21 years after its publication, a new edition is being published with updated text and new chapters as well as a new Introduction, written by one of the book’s many fans and the biggest name in British football, Sir Alex Ferguson. But this is a book about much, much more than football It is loved not only by Sir Alex but also by Gordon Brown, Alistair Campbell, Ian Rankin and the Rev Kathy Galloway and it was a huge favourite of poet, George Mackay Brown. So why have the trials and tribulations of Cowdenbeath football club – one of the most unsuccessful football clubs in Britain - excited the imagination even of those who have no interest in football and who have never been to Cowdenbeath? Cowdenbeath’s story is set against the rise and decline of the local mining industry and the life after mining. It is very funny, deeply spiritual, moving and also a little bit political. But what makes it so interesting to so many groups is the uplifting story of a real community spirit throughout all of the ups and downs of a town and a football club that is at its social heart and core. It is also the most autobiographical book that Ron Ferguson has written, never taking himself very seriously. The book’s quirkiness appeals across the religious, local, national, and footballing worlds. Long out of print, this is the new and updated 21st-anniversary edition.