The Racing Tribe: Watching the Horsewatchers - Softcover

Fox, Kate

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1843581566 ISBN 13: 9781843581567

Publisher: Metro Books, London, 2005

Synopsis

Anthropologists are supposed to do their research in uncomfortable parts of the world but for Kate Fox, investigating the Racing Tribe meant wandering around nowhere more inhospitable than racetracks. It's here that she saw a tribal subculture with distinctive customs and rituals. Kate gives a witty description of the strange ceremonies observed by racegoers and their special codes of behaviour. The personal story of interviewing half-naked jockeys in weighing rooms, overcoming a fear of the scary trainers and struggling to understand the tribe's strange dialect gives this book an endearing human dimension. A day at the races will never seem the same again.

About this title

Review:

"Kate Fox consistently reveals us to ourselves. She is meticulous. illuminating, and very funny indeed."

"A delightful new way of looking at a familiar world--a day at the races will never be the same again"

--Desmond Morris

"Kate Fox consistently reveals us to ourselves. She is meticulous, illuminating, and very funny indeed."

--Times Literary Supplement

"A delightful new way of looking at a familiar world--a day at the races will never be the same again"

--Desmond Morris

"Kate Fox consistently reveals us to ourselves. She is meticulous, illuminating, and very funny indeed."

--Times Literary Supplement

-A delightful new way of looking at a familiar world--a day at the races will never be the same again-

--Desmond Morris

-Kate Fox consistently reveals us to ourselves. She is meticulous, illuminating, and very funny indeed.-

--Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher:

The tribe
‘A delightful new way of looking at a familiar world – a wonderfully fresh approach to the pleasures of a day at the races’ Desmond Morris

Anthropologists are supposed to do their research in remote, uncomfortable, unpronounceable parts of the world - places with monsoons, mud-huts and malaria. Kate Fox was given an altogether more enjoyable assignment:- to study the arcane world of horseracing - the whole racing tribe, from race-goers, jockeys, trainers, bookies and stewards. An unexpected world is revealed from an entirely different perspective - instead of an amorphous racing crowd, Kate sees Enthusiasts, Horseys, Addicts, Anoraks, Socials, Pair-bonders, Suits and Be-seens. Among the racing professionals, she identifies Shamans and Warriors, Scribes and Elders, Connections and Sin-eaters.

Clad in appropriate tribal costume (frivolous hat, mini-skirt, high heels), Kate ventured where no ‘manwatcher’ had gone before – she spends time with each of these groups, finding out how to identify them from their dress, body-language and behavioural quirks; learning about their position in the social structure of the tribe, their attitudes and beliefs, their territories and habits.

The Racing Tribe is also a refreshingly candid account of anthropological fieldwork, including all the embarrassing mistakes, hiccups, short-cuts and guesswork that most social scientists keep very quiet about. Kate’s findings are fascinating in themselves, but the personal story of how she found them – trying to interview half-naked jockeys in weighing rooms; overcoming her fear of the big, scary trainer David Nicholson; struggling to understand the tribe’s strange dialect – gives this book an endearing human dimension.

Every kind of racegoer - armchair fans included - will be intrigued and entertained by this fascinating book; Kate Fox does for the racing world what Desmond Morris and David Attenborough have done for the animal kingdom

About this edition

• Publisher: Metro Books, London
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1843581566
• ISBN 13: 9781843581567
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288