Out of Time
1966 and the End of Old-Fashioned Britain
Published on 29. June 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-4729-1717-1 (ISBN)
Description
A vibrant and captivating portrait of the summer of 1966 - as a man, a team and a country all teetered on the cusp of momentous change
'This joyous book, a memoir of late adolescence laced with social and football history, is also a catalogue of both the untidiness and the limits of change' Financial Times
'Out of Time is a gentle and affectionate portrait of the capital's gradual awakening to the charm of pop culture at that time.' Economist
London, July 1966. Peter Chapman, a naive 18-year-old from Islington, is on the brink of adulthood. Everything is changing: having failed his A-levels and recently discovered he will not be fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional footballer at Leyton Orient, he is just about to enter the world of work.
The world around him is changing too: Britain is trying to adjust to the beat of the Swinging Sixties - though many ears remain deaf to it, still hoping to re-establish a sense of stability in a time of social, political and cultural flux.
And under the watchful gaze of the wider world, England is about to play host to the football World Cup and have one of the most significant sporting successes in its history.
Focused around that World Cup victory, Peter Chapman's wryly evocative memoir Out of Time captures the spirit of that year and paints a vivid portrait of a young man, a football team and a whole country all trying to find their new place in the world.
'This joyous book, a memoir of late adolescence laced with social and football history, is also a catalogue of both the untidiness and the limits of change' Financial Times
'Out of Time is a gentle and affectionate portrait of the capital's gradual awakening to the charm of pop culture at that time.' Economist
London, July 1966. Peter Chapman, a naive 18-year-old from Islington, is on the brink of adulthood. Everything is changing: having failed his A-levels and recently discovered he will not be fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional footballer at Leyton Orient, he is just about to enter the world of work.
The world around him is changing too: Britain is trying to adjust to the beat of the Swinging Sixties - though many ears remain deaf to it, still hoping to re-establish a sense of stability in a time of social, political and cultural flux.
And under the watchful gaze of the wider world, England is about to play host to the football World Cup and have one of the most significant sporting successes in its history.
Focused around that World Cup victory, Peter Chapman's wryly evocative memoir Out of Time captures the spirit of that year and paints a vivid portrait of a young man, a football team and a whole country all trying to find their new place in the world.
Reviews / Votes
It is a book to read avidly from cover to cover * www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk * Excellent * Choice Magazine * Very enjoyable * The Financial Times * Out of Time describes with charm and self-deprecating humour the attractions of sexual fumbling, holidays abroad, the London music scene, Chinese food and much else. But this joyous book, a memoir of late adolescence laced with social and football history, is also a catalogue of both the untidiness and the limits of change, and a reminder that even in London opportunities were circumscribed and aspirations often throttled. -- Mark Damazer * The Financial Times * I loved it ... brings the year vividly alive -- Jim Crace Out of Time is a gentle and affectionate portrait of the capital's gradual awakening to the charm of pop culture at that time. * The Economist * The most enjoyable of these books -- Richard Williams in his round-up of the latest books relating to England's World Cup year * The Guardian * Chapman is as good on the background - a post-war childhood and adolescence, with bomb sites all around - as he is on the football. -- Richard Williams * The Guardian * An exuberantly brilliant memoir. There's a way we football fans have of clapping with our hands above our heads. There are many passages in Peter Chapman's book - even single sentences - that make me want to do just that in sheer admir-ation. For good measure, perhaps I'd throw in a cheer and an expletive of delight too. -- Adrian Chiles * The Tablet * Peter Chapman's exercise in nostalgia Out of Time reminds us of a year when for England, almost anything seemed possible, on and off the pitch, 1966 * Philosophy Football * This evocative book interweaves Peter's personal memories with recollections of major events of the time and, of course, that World Cup triumph. * Choice *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Weight
207 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4729-1717-1 (9781472917171)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2016
1st Edition
Wisden
€8.49
Available for download
Person
Peter Chapman was brought up in Islington, north London. In the 1960s, he played in goal for Leyton Orient junior and colts teams. He was a correspondent for the BBC and the Guardian in Central America and Mexico from 1981 to 1986. He covered two World Cups - Mexico 1986 and Italy 1990 - for ITV and is now an editor and writer at the Financial Times, where he plays five-a-side football. He lives in Norwood, in south London, where the stolen World Cup trophy was found in March 1966 by a local dog, Pickles, out for his evening walk.