From the Bookshelf: Helicopter Dreams

Title: Helicopter Dreams
Author: Ron Ferguson
Publisher: Famedram Publishers
First published: 2006

Some thirteen seasons after his previous book on the plight of Cowdenbeath FC, Ron Ferguson’s Helicopter Dreams tells the story of Cowdenbeath’s Championship winning season of 2005/06.

Back in 1992/93, Ferguson intertwined the story of Cowdenbeath’s miserable season with the rich and largely ignored story of this maligned town in the Kingdom of Fife in Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil. Having being prompted into reading BDBB by Daniel Gray, author of Stramash, I was taken aback by the warmth, wit and fantastic story that unfolded over every page. It is a book that will stand the test of time and should be required reading of all football fans, but especially those in Scotland – it tells the story of certain aspects of Scotland’s history than any mighty tome or historian ever could.

In that regard, Helicopter Dreams had a lot to live up to and sadly it was found wanting. Where BDBB was almost perfect in its balance between the history of the town and the football club, Helicopter Dreams suffers from having less historical material to draw from and the sadly, less interesting narrative (peculiarly, most sports books are better when the team is going through a crisis rather than a journey to the summit).

I was at Central Park on the final day of the season where Cowdenbeath defeated Elgin City 2-1 to clinch the Third Division Championship and there is no doubt it was a historic moment in the club’s history – grown men were weeping, the pitch was invaded and there was a sense of jubilation in the air, but Ferguson, who so mastered his narrative structure in BDBB lets the reader down by using messages from forums and then having supporters describe the final day of the season. It sadly becomes repetitive and makes the size of the achievement, a once in a generation championship winning team, seem dull. The book could also do without the final third – a Question and Answer section with the players, manager Mixu Paatelainen, chairman, backroom staff and fans – fashioned into a narrative and having such unfettered access Ferguson, who is capable of elegant prose, could have made this very interesting but sadly it came across to this reader as ‘bonus chapters’ rather than enhancing the first section of Helicopter Dreams.

However, readers should not feel Helicopter Dreams is a waste of your time – it very much is not, but in comparison to his previous piece of work, Ferguson hasn’t made Helicopter Dreams as readable as his 1990s classic.

Buy Helicopter Dreams here.