Sad Men

It's advertising, but not as you know it: the warmly nostalgic and brilliantly depicted story of a life a world away from Mad Men by the acclaimed author of 32 Programmes and The Bromley Boys.

Told with wit, warmth and an obsessive eye to detail that I have not seen since Nick Hornby was writing about pop music, Sad Men is both a brilliant memoir about a lifetime obsession with advertising and a heartfelt, curiously moving book that roams the world but always returns to the fantasies that were created by smart people trying to sell us stuff. Forget Don Draper - Dave Roberts is the world's favourite ad man.

An insightful, eye-opening and often eye-wateringly funny tale.

If you wish to discover what kind of mad man becomes an ad man, the answers are to be found in Sad Men.

Genuinely enlightening... what is most surprising about the book, and the "obsession" detailed within, is just how moving and sympathetic it proves. There's a tendency to think of advertising as an intensely cynical industry, but what Roberts' story illustrates is that there is often an artistic impulse and integrity at play as well. More than this, Sad Men takes one of the bugbears of contemporary entertainment, product placement, and uses it in the most sincere and even heartfelt fashion.

Brilliant... always hilarious, and often wonderfully English. You'll love Dave... he's got real passion and drive. Funny and heartfelt.

Within the first few pages I was hooked... hard to put down.

Dave Roberts has been one of those annoying bike couriers, a security guard, a Civil Servant, a KFC chef who was fired for trying to steal a sample of the secret recipe, and a train driver - all before reaching the age of twenty. After that, he settled for a career in advertising, which was eventually cut short by illness, but not before accidentally winning a Silver Lion at Cannes. He now writes books, which all seem to have a theme in common: obsession...

All Dave Roberts ever wanted to do (apart from collect football programmes) was to work in advertising. More specifically, to work for the world's best advertising agency, Saatchi and Saatchi. There was just one problem. Even when he managed to persuade someone to employ him, Dave's copywriting assignments were mainly for second hand car dealers and double glazing companies. And Leeds, Manchester and, bizarrely, New Zealand were a long way from Charlotte Street and Madison Avenue. This was the world of the Sad Men. 
 
In his sparkling new memoir, Dave tells the story of a life shaped by his love of adverts, from seeing the PG Tips chimps at the age of three to writing infamous ads such as the Westpac Rap and having David Jason plug a family restaurant. Bursting with brilliant ideas - and some pretty daft ones - it is the cautionary tale of a quest for advertising glory... and not quite ever getting there.

32 Programmes

The hilarious and moving story of a man called Dave (a football fan) and his most precious possessions...

Funny and well-paced. The reader is in the hands of a skilled story-teller. This is not a book aimed at anoraks; it’s a memoir filled with wit and emotion.

A little gem... a brilliant way to reflect on his love affair with football

Very funny in wry, Nick Hornby-esque fashion... This memoir will gain a lot of fans

Remarkable... A book that every woman should study, for the unique insight it offers into the impenetrable enigma of the male mind

A brilliant idea nicely executed, it's certainly the funniest sport-related read this Christmas

A wistful evocation of the author's early life told through a vast accumulation of football programmes he was forced to cull

Imagine loafing in your favourite armchair, old mates around, beers and bites on hand, humour high, watching and discussing re-runs of memorable football matches. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it's not far off what you get with Dave Roberts' delightful homage to the beautiful game, and the part his life has played in it... A book full of the joys, miseries, near-misses, hopes, failures and fun of life, in this case a football obsessive's, but it's one we can all find something to identify with. A heart-warmer

Hugely enjoyable, poignant book... Dave Roberts' wonderful series of tales explain why every one of the programmes made it into the box; each is infused with a mixture of touching reminiscence or laugh-out-loud anecdote

Deliriously enjoyable... utterly engaging

Nostalgically warm in its tender recall of the way things used to be, this is a book for the true football follower, whose life has been shaped by the game and doesn't mind admitting it

Duncan Hamilton, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award

Wonderful, hilarious and moving. 32 Programmes is not just a football memoir but a delicious slice of the 1960s and 1970s, a razor-sharp and achingly evocative social history. This brilliant memoir will resonate with all of us who have ever supported a football team, listened to music and fallen in love.

Charlie Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping

I loved this book. If you know a man in his forties or fifties, please give him this book

A funny, charming and heart-warming tale of obsession

I fail to believe that anyone who reads Dave Roberts' new book 32 Programmes cannot relate to his thinking as a football fan. It traces his life as a football fan through 32 chapters in his life, going into the bitter-sweet details of growing up in the 1970s and '80s via 32 football matches. Building on and around his first book, The Bromley Boys (soon to be released as a film, no less), Dave introduces us to his career, his attempts to find a soul mate and finally in a twist his life changing circumstances that will have you reaching for a tissue. If you read one new book on your holidays this summer, choose this one. And then you try and detail 10, let alone 32, games that mark the milestones in your life

Entertaining, heart-warming and expertly executed, this book is certain to strike a chord with anyone who's ever loved the game. Engrossing and enjoyable... funny and charming

An entertaining read, rich in nostalgia and reminiscent of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, this offers an insight into the power of obsession and how the beautiful game has changed. Moving and amusing

Dave Roberts has been one of those annoying bike couriers, a security guard, a Civil Servant, a KFC chef who was fired for trying to steal a sample of the secret recipe, and a train driver - all before reaching the age of twenty. After that, he settled for a career in advertising, which was eventually cut short by illness, but not before accidentally winning a Silver Lion at Cannes. He now writes books, which all seem to have a theme in common: obsession ...

When Dave Roberts relocates to the USA, his wife informs him that they can only take what is 'absolutely essential'. Packing his collection of football programmes (1,134 of them - football fans are sticklers for statistics), Dave is aghast to be informed that the programmes do not fall into that category. He must whittle down his treasured archive to only what will fit inside a Tupperware container the size of a Dan Brown hardback. 
 
32 Programmes tells the story of how Dave made the selection of his most important programmes, and how the process brought back a flood of nostalgia for simpler times. As the sights, sounds and smells of those 1,134 football matches return, the choices Dave makes reflect the twists and turns that life takes. Finally, with just hours to go before the flight, the container is full to the brim. One more programme will be added to the collection - one that Dave never thought he would see and which means more to him than any other. 
 
32 Programmes is the story of youthful football obsession, crushes on disinterested girls, rubbish jobs and trying to impress skinheads. But most of all, it is the story of a man's life and loves, of family, friends and football.

Dave Roberts

A glowing testament to the camaraderie and inclusiveness of supporting a team lower down the football pyramid. Everyone is welcome in this uplifting book that celebrates the happiness to be found in reconnecting with your friends, your team and your home.

Pure gold... A brilliant book that all football fans can relate to.

A wonderfully warm-hearted book, which gives the beautiful game a good name.

Funny, well-paced, engaging and at times touching. It's a personal book for Dave. At first glance it looks like a book about Bromley's first season in the Vanarama National league, but dig a bit deeper and other themes emerge. Without oversharing, Dave gives us an insight into his emotions not just about his team, but about the feeling of home, family and hope. In summary: buy this book.

Endearing and engrossing... what this book does beautifully is affirm that the enjoyment of football isn't so much about the game or the result, it's about the journey we, as supporters, take in the process.

A timely celebration of non-league football... provides a great antidote to sport as big business.

Football books can be a mixed bag, but Dave Roberts really hits the target with Home and Away.

A cracking, beautifully-observed pilgrimage.

A really good read. You don't have to be a Bromley fan to enjoy it.

A great read for anyone who loves football.

Roberts perfectly captures what it is to follow your team and the lengths that fans go to in order to get their football fix. And from these journeys it can be seen how Roberts' writing has been compared to Bill Bryson, with wit and warmth.

If ever there was an author that could capture the love for the non-league game then that man is Dave Roberts.

Getting the tone just right, the author's good humour shines throughout... there's a fresh-eyed quality to his observations.

Round Britain in Search of Non-League Football Nirvana

Dave Roberts was, for once, almost lost for words as the news sank in. Perennial underachievers Bromley, in the vertigo-inducing fifth tier of English football? It was the greatest achievement in the club's 130-year history and, by extraordinary coincidence, Dave had decided to spend the next 12 months in the UK, after an absence of 35 years, deciding whether he and his wife Liz could live there. And what better way to explore modern day Blighty than by following a roadmap based on the fixtures in the Vanarama National League? It was like the ultimate package holiday; well, for Dave at least. 
 
Home and Away takes Dave - and occasionally Liz too - the length and breadth of the land on a journey of discovery, with Bromley games thrown in. So from the White Cliffs of Dover and the English Riviera (Torquay) through the timeless charm of the Cotswolds (Forest Green, Cheltenham) to towns steeped in history (Lincoln, Chester), faded seaside resorts (Southport, Barrow) and fallen giants of the game (Grimsby, Wrexham, Tranmere - OK, pushing it there), the season unfolds, and the ultimate 'home or away' decision approaches. 
 
Against the odds, the season also proves not to be full of the endless disappointments football fans are conditioned to expect. Unfancied Bromley are on a mission, they have a man called Moses up front, and the promised land of the Football League might not be beyond their capabilities...

Dave Roberts

Praise for Home and Away

Excellent.

A glowing testament to the camaraderie and inclusiveness of supporting a team lower down the football pyramid. Everyone is welcome in this uplifting book that celebrates the happiness to be found in reconnecting wit ...

Pure gold... A brilliant book that all football fans can relate to.

Excellent.

A glowing testament to the camaraderie and inclusiveness of supporting a team lower down the football pyramid. Everyone is welcome in this uplifting book that celebrates the happiness to be found in reconnecting wit ...

Pure gold... A brilliant book that all football fans can relate to.

Excellent.

A glowing testament to the camaraderie and inclusiveness of supporting a team lower down the football pyramid. Everyone is welcome in this uplifting book that celebrates the happiness to be found in reconnecting wit ...

Pure gold... A brilliant book that all football fans can relate to.

Books by Dave Roberts

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