Snapshot
Scenes and Stories from the Heartlands of Scottish Football
Published on 1. October 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-913759-00-1 (ISBN)
Description
From the lonely pitches of Eriskay to the great stadiums of our cities, Snapshot captures the gritty, alluring essence of Scotland's national game.
Alan McCredie's photographs combine with Daniel Gray's words to accompany the reader on a charismatic tour of Scottish football from Selkirk to Stornoway. Here is a rarely seen version of the country and its football culture, rich in detail, charm and eccentricity. It is a prolonged love letter to floodlights in Ayr, ghost stadiums in Glasgow, pitch-invading oystercatchers in Grantown and all the rest.
From Border to island, Premiership to Highland, here are the people and places that make Scottish football - old pal fans in the rain, park players kicking and dreaming, fathers and daughters trudging dejectedly from the match, proud club shop proprietors, scraggy but loveable grounds with one grandstand and bustling stadiums of noble vintage.
Snapshot is a celebration of football and a portal into a different kind of Scotland.
Alan McCredie's photographs combine with Daniel Gray's words to accompany the reader on a charismatic tour of Scottish football from Selkirk to Stornoway. Here is a rarely seen version of the country and its football culture, rich in detail, charm and eccentricity. It is a prolonged love letter to floodlights in Ayr, ghost stadiums in Glasgow, pitch-invading oystercatchers in Grantown and all the rest.
From Border to island, Premiership to Highland, here are the people and places that make Scottish football - old pal fans in the rain, park players kicking and dreaming, fathers and daughters trudging dejectedly from the match, proud club shop proprietors, scraggy but loveable grounds with one grandstand and bustling stadiums of noble vintage.
Snapshot is a celebration of football and a portal into a different kind of Scotland.
Reviews / Votes
'Shines a light on the beating heart of the game, the people who keep it alive, and the romantic - if often basic - charm of grounds where generations have stood, watched and cheered' * Sunday Herald * 'A love letter to the beautiful game, just as at home at Shielfield Park, Berwick, as it is at Ibrox or Celtic Park (actually maybe more). Alan McCredie's photographs and Daniel Gray's essays offer a window into a world of football at grass roots level (often literally)' * Herald Gift Guide * 'The warmest love letter to cold terraces, burger stalls and social clubs. It's a journey across the length and breadth of Scottish football from the borders to the islands, Alan McCredie having taken beautiful pictures before anyone had the time to tidy their hair or wipe the pie grease from their chin. The photography and Daniel Gray's accompanying text are a joy/ A book which delights in the nooks and crannies' -- Michael Grant * Times Scotland * 'From the Borders to the Outer Hebrides, Snapshot captures a spirit and love for the game across 14 very different chapters. The book is a collaborative effort, bringing together Alan McCredie's stunning photography and Daniel Gray's lovely words, laid out beautifully by Ally Palmer' * The Scotsman, Best Sports Books of 2020 * 'A great read for all football fans, but especially those with a soft spot for how the game was before TV money turned it into big business. There is humour, nostalgia and emotion in spades' * *Press and Journal, Scottish Book of the Week *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Birlinn General
Illustrations
photographs throughout
Dimensions
Height: 280 mm
Width: 210 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
749 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-913759-00-1 (9781913759001)
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
Persons
Alan McCredie has been a professional photographer for 20 years. He is the author of 100 Weeks of Scotland, This is Scotland, Scotland the Dreich and Scotland the Braw (all Luath Press) and he worked with the writer Val McDermid on her book My Scotland (Sphere). He lectures in photography at Edinburgh College. A Perthshire lad lost to Leith, Alan is a St Johnstone supporter.
Ally Palmer is the publisher and designer of Nutmeg: The Scottish Football Periodical. He launched the quarterly print publication in 2016 after a career in newspapers and magazines where he won numerous national and international design awards. He is a lifelong Ayr United fan.
Daniel Gray is the author of ten books on football, politics, literature, history and travel. His recent work has included screenwriting for the BBC, presenting social history on television, and writing across a number of national titles. He is the Editor of Nutmeg magazine, and hosts and produces their podcast as well as that of When Saturday Comes. An Englishman in Scotland, he is hopelessly devoted to Middlesbrough F.C.
Ally Palmer is the publisher and designer of Nutmeg: The Scottish Football Periodical. He launched the quarterly print publication in 2016 after a career in newspapers and magazines where he won numerous national and international design awards. He is a lifelong Ayr United fan.
Daniel Gray is the author of ten books on football, politics, literature, history and travel. His recent work has included screenwriting for the BBC, presenting social history on television, and writing across a number of national titles. He is the Editor of Nutmeg magazine, and hosts and produces their podcast as well as that of When Saturday Comes. An Englishman in Scotland, he is hopelessly devoted to Middlesbrough F.C.