One of the good moments of last season was the eventual arrival of John Crooks' Official History of the Bluebirds. Suffice to say my copy of the book was still hot from the presses when I picked it up from Lears in Cardiff. But delight turned to agony during a sickening incident. I had finished my opening perusal of the book and was sat with my feet up and a cup of coffee about to begin a more measured appraisal when tragedy struck. My mug leapt from my hand and my book was suddenly awash with coffee. It was as if some Swansea supporting poltergeist was taking revenge for their 1-0 fold-up at the Vetch in the Welsh Cup.

Vigourous mopping with a damp cloth and treatment with a hair drier did nothing to help. My pristine copy was besmirched, its pages all dirty and stuck together like a discarded porn mag up an alley. At £16.95 a copy it was a difficult cross to bear.

I can only hope that this incident does not affect my appreciation of the book. This is Crooks' fourth book about the City, following the "Chronology", the "Who's Who" and the "Diary of a Promotion and Cup Double' of 1988. Firstly, Crooks is an excellent statistician but it is a shame that his writing style leaves much to be desired. He lacks the hard-nosed hack's ability to ferret out a story or to attempt a meaningful portrait of a character. We never really discover what made any of the characters in the history of Cardiff City tick, not Bartley Wilson, not Fred Dewey, not David Goldstone and certainly not Tony Clemo.

It comes as no surprise then that the most successful section of the book is where the players speak for themselves, with the Harry Parsons contribution especially amusing. The season by season account tends to degenerate into a simplistic listing of results, information that is available in the statistical section.

Although even Crooks' tepid style manages to make the chapter on the early 1980's intensely depressing. But there are only tantalising glimpses of the behind the scenes bickering, bitching and backbiting as if Crooks believes they are only peripheral to the history of the Oub. To me they are central. Relegation isn't only achieved just by losing 20 games a season - why a tearn loses 20 games a season is more interesting. Crooks would have done well teaming up with a more experienced writer, someone like Peter Jackson who back in 1974 had a good stab at writing a history of the Club . (Incidentally, when I tracked down Jackson's book at the Central Library a few years ago it took the best part of the afternoon. It was like finding a long-lost manuscript).

Crooks' statisticai section, although good, is not entirely flawless. It's marred by a few typesetting errors and it's also a shame that many of the attendance figures quoted have been rounded up and a few, you feel, have been plucked out of mid-air. The players Who's Who in this book is largely a disaster. Crooks was evidently anxious not to make his official "Who's Who" completely obsolete.

Everyone who has turned out for the City gets a mention but all we get is their birthday and the years they spent at the Club. This might be handy if you're thinking of sending Ernie Curtis a birthday card but useless if you're interested in how many games he played and goals he scored. Such details are essential,a record of transfer fees would also have been a welcome bonus. The potted biographies on some of the more illustrious Bluebirds, lifted directly from the "Who's Who" hardly compensate.

The book is handsomely illustrated with some excellent photographs. Despite the criticisms a good book but not a great one.