Has anyone read this book about El Gran Derbi and if so would they recommend it?
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Yes! I would absolutely recommend it. Really goes in depth about the history of both teams and what makes El Gran Derbi so special.
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I have it, but I havenāt read it yet. I started it when it came out, but got distracted and keep forgetting to make time.
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I may download the ebook version.
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Iāll post some photos of the paperback tonight when I get home. If I recall there are some really nice photos inside.
I tried to google it, but canāt find any inside photos. Anyway, I did find this review:
āI had been looking forward to this book. Unfortunately it turned out to be another leftist piece of crap. I decided to throw the book in the garbage bin after the first six chapters. It really sucks that leftist writers canāt write about ANY subject without trying to indoctrinate the reader with their communist ideas.
So the Soviet Union was OK, and General Franco was not? Well guess what Mr. Writer, you wouldnāt even have been able to go and live - and donāt even think about writing a book - in Seville, had it not been for General Franco. Because without him Spain would have been a communist country Ć la Romania : a third world country and Seville would have been in ruins.
My advice: Go to Cuba, North Corea, Venezuela or Red-China and write about football in one of these āparadiseā countries. My guess is that you would end up in jail before you could even talk to a publisher.ā
WTF?
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I would discount that review to be honest. Iāve heard a few interviews with the author who seems well informed on all things football in Seville. He does however appear to be a Beticoā¦
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Iāve read and enjoyed The frying pan of Spain. I wouldnāt base too much on that review
I would also recommend another couple of books on my shelf.
āLife in La Ligaā by R. MacWilliam
āMorboā the story of Spanish football by Phil Ball.
Both give a more wider view on the history of Spanish football in more detail with chapters on Sevilla & :poop:
Ps
Iām not getting into a discussion about Franco butā¦
I have Visited both Cuba (twice) & Venezuela (4 times) and never ended up in jail once. 
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Me too, I went to Venezuela in 1984 and Cuba 2007 and 2015.
These arenāt normal holiday destinations for a Brit, how come?
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We just got tired of visiting the ānormalā holiday spots and started choosing our trips based more on places featured in National Geo magazine rather than the holiday brochures. 
Booked flights to Caracas and took it from there armed with only a guide book.
Ended up spending 6 weeks on one trip exploring the Amazonas, sleeping in hammocks deep in the rain forest with a couple of local guides who had a boat,
Cuba was just a couple of package deals.
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Two guys from Sheffield that ended up Sevillistas in Spain, might not be such a coincidence when you see all the Southerners and Londoners that end up in Malaga, they just donāt have class.
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Franco was bad but did more for Spain than anyone else in the last 500 years. It takes some understanding to square that circle.
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I just thought the review was so out of this world. Iām sure Colin touched on the Franco years and how it impacted Sevilla and the derbi and he should have. Just nuts.
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Colin is great. Iāve tried to get him on the podcast once, but our schedule just couldnāt line up. Iāll try again.
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I canāt recommend this book enough. Really well written. Very informative. Definitely an essential read for any Sevillista or BĆ©tico for that matter.
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I downloaded the ebook version. A few chapters in. So far so good.
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He was a General, his job description had āBomb thingsā and āShoot peopleā in it. When a guy has a hammer everything looks like a nail. If the Communists hadnāt started burning Churches the military wouldnāt have budged. The military were/are fiercely Catholic, it was a colossal error by the Anarquistas and Communistas.
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Finished the book this morning. A good read in my humble opinion. It makes you realise just how big and important the city of Seville and its two clubs are and have been in the overall context of Spanish football.
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