Customer Reviews
"No Retreat" - great read !! - By: Regular Guy, 24 Sep 2008 
There's not alot I can add to the reviews already posted except to say that the handful of negative reviews are transparent in their illiteracy & hostility (ie - it's patently obvious the negative comments were written by fascist sympathisers). Alongside works like the superb Morris Beckmann & Vidal Sassoon account of the anti-fascist "43 Group", this book is a fantastic read & a real insight into activities I didn't know much about. In terms of placing militant anti-fascism in context & explaining why the authors believe violence against the extreme right IS not only justifed but sometimes also necessary the book's introduction is worth the asking price in its own right. I don't agree with everything the book says but it's fascinating, well-written, & highly relevant in these times of heightened BNP activity. The paradox is that people who kid themselves fascism isn't a threat can afford to do so because of the actions described by the anti-fascists who wrote this book. Recommended.
Fascinating read. - By: Gogol, 25 Aug 2008 
A book published by the same company which churns out endless "hoolifan" books from West Ham to Celtic is hardly one you would imagine publishing anything or any worthy political content but this book, charters the history of two anti fascists who during the 80s & 90s were involved in a series of physical fights against their political opponents.
The book charters the lives of the two authors one from the North (Manchester) & the other from the South (London) both of a working class background who became involved in anti fascist politics in the 70s with the Socialist Worker anti Nazi league. Both expelled from that group along with a number of others due to their militant methods in dealing with their opponents, one being sentenced to a prison sentence (In the book "When we touched the sky" it is also mentioned) the two quickly joined the group 'Red Action' & the umbrella group 'anti fascist action' who sought to physicallly confront the National Front/BNP & later the group Combat 18.
The book in parts does read like your typical 'hoolifan' book "Went to such & such town, did their pub, job well done" But the political overtones of the book do give it another dimension. The author mentions the fights with Manchester Cities National Front supporters in the 70s & early 80s (Interesting in that he mentions how the NF were attacked once by Cities mixed race 'Cool Cats' firm something that Mickey Francis also mentions in his book Guvnors (Though he makes no mention of any left wing/political involvement just that the two firms were at loggerheads with each other)
The book for the large part talks about the fight in the Greater Manchester area & Lancashire only once touching on Leeds, never on Merseyside. It mentions various confrontations in London such as the 'Main Event' & the 'Battle of Waterloo' & also the various fights during confrontations at the 'Bloody Sunday' marches. While the author mentions for the large part the victories of the group it seems for the most part they were on the wrong end of pitch battles during the bloody Sunday marches. The author also points to the involvement of Chelsea's 'Headhunters' hooligan firm in a great many of the far rights attacks against their opponents though mentions that Millwalll were something of mixed (Neither for nor against, he mentions one Millwalll 'main face' actively fighting against the far right at the 'Battle of Waterloo')
An interesting book though does have a number of flaws.
Badly written and historically nonsense - By: Richard, 10 Dec 2007 
Silly. This book is completely pointless. It bares no relation to the events of the time & should be consigned to the bin. If you are seeking to research this subject & this period, don't bother with this nasty little pot-boiler. Author is barely literate & is involved is some strange fantasy in which he imagines himself to be a sort of `revolutionary' warrior. This book is a pathetic waste of time & money
Real Life Politics - By: Nick Moran, 07 Aug 2007 This story of how a plasterer & a fishmonger helped change the course of political life in the UK is truly inspiring. This is a violent book with plenty of tales of blood-curdling battles with various far-right gangs, & maybe that side got a bit repetitious, but above alll that, its a tale of how ordinary people can influence, & change the enviroment around them. There's no boring, incomprehensible political jargon here, just a real life tale of ordinary folks involved an extraordinary political adventure. This should be compulsory reading for anyone thinking of becoming involved in politics.
An important read - By: anarcho, 15 Jan 2007 Coming from the north i was involved in afa during the 1990's. I was at some of the incidents reported in the book & certainly heard about many of the others at the time. The book is pretty accurate & ties in well with what i remember at the time. It's also good that the book discusses Afa's demise at the hands of Red Action. It would have been interesting to hear more about other groups in the North, such as Leeds & Newcastle, but i guess thats for another book. Well worth a read & a useful document of our country's hidden history.
