Product Description

November 2006 marks the first anniversary of the death of George Best, the most magical footballer of his generation, and the most notorious and sad example of a great talent gone to waste. Now Aurum's peerless sports list combines with its extremely successful collaboration with the "Guardian" that began with "A Lifetime of Mountains" to produce a unique chronicle of Best's life. His whole career is told through the newspaper reports and features on him that appeared in the "Guardian" and the "Manchester Evening News" from his first appearances for Manchester Utd as a teenage starlet through the glory days of the 6-0 trouncing of Northampton and the European Cup win in 1968 to the long obituary assessing his sad later decline. These compassionate, insightful pieces are written by numerous famous - and unexpected - names, from Hugh McIllvanney to John Arlott. They reflect Best's sad destiny to become more famous for his indiscretions (his drinking, his affairs, his absences-without-leave) than his football. They also trace his transformation from the willowy Belfast boy who become a Manchester man through and through to the rotund and peripatetic football gipsy who drifted from Fulham to the US to Hibernian and even Dunstable Town, and eventually into the sad alcoholic bar habitue in Chelsea. It is a unique chronicle of a life lived, and as a result eventually blighted, in the public eve.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54007 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

THE BEST BEST BOOK...... EVER.
This little book is probably the best ever one written about George, it consists entirely of reports written about him from his early days, through to his pomp and onto his decline. The early part of the book covers match reports whilst the majority of the writing is concerned with his fall from grace. The articles are arranged chronologically and they cover all bases. Funnily enough, alcohol doesn`t get mentioned as the reason for his troubles until relatively late in the book, a sign of how differently the media worked back then compared to nowadays. His problem at the time was regarded as mere truancy. Unlike most books written about Best there are no photographs, only words and what brilliant words they are. The last article is a poignant account of his funeral in 2005. If you never knew anything about the genius that was GB, this book will fill you in. Superb.