Product Description

This book contains a collection of footballing anecdotes from George Best recounting his experiences during the 1960s and 1970s.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #232344 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Review
'One last look back at the tortured life of the most charismatic footballer of our generation', Guardian .'Best's love letter to the Beautiful Game and to his own youth', Irish News .'A great read', Sunday Sport .'A complete history of the sport before money and marketing took over', Mirror

From the Publisher
An insider's view of the glory days of British football from one of the country's greatest ever players

About the Author
Epitomising football's new-found glamour in the 60s as a Busby protégé at Manchester United, George Best dazzled on the pitch and lived the high life off it. Christened the Fifth Beatle at his peak, Best was the first pop star footballer. Unable to cope with the success and fame that his talent brought him, Best fell into alcoholism and his life became littered with tales of women, sex and drink. Despite well-documented problems with his health and private life, George Best never lost the passion that made him an icon to his many fans.
Co-writer Harry Harris is the Group Chief Football Writer for Express Newspapers and a regular pundit on TV and radio. Twice British Sports Journalist of the Year and the only sports writer to win Sports Scoop of the Year twice, he is the author of over 30 football books, including the bestselling Pele - His Life and Times and the recent All the Way, Jose.

Customer Reviews

Buyer beware!
Why should you beware of this book? Why worry about George the great footballer, the shy yet lovable Irishman, idol of men and women everywhere? There's his picture on the front cover look ... and on the back cover ... and just in case you haven't got the message there's his picture on the spine of the book as well. The copyright credits George Best as the author and in the Foreword his manager says Best enjoyed writing it in the final months of his life.

There are actually two problems.

First, this is an almost entirely unoriginal account of Best's playing career up to 1975. For example, what do we learn about the European Cup Final of 1968, the night that brought back memories of Munich, when the first English club won the European Cup? George was ecstatic and had a bit too much to drink. Woo, sorry to have spoiled the plot for you there.

Second, this a ghost-written biography - despite receiving almost no credit the title page includes those three little words "with Harry Harris" that tell you what you need to know i.e. that this will be a competent account, that will tick over, and rely heavily on the newspaper archive - so you will be told about the size of the crowd, team changes and the times when the goals were scored. You will also get post-match quotes and players' histories, things Best couldn't possibly know. But as for Best's memories you strongly suspect they were used up in his earlier books "Blessed" and "Scoring at Half Time".

I have no problem at all with Harry Harris writing a book about 1960s football. I didn't find a lot new and the quote on the back cover from the Daily Mirror: "A complete history of the sport before money and marketing took over" is ludicrous. How can one man's account (even if it weren't ghost-written?) be a complete history. Oh, hang on, Harry Harris works for the Daily Mirror ... It's just hard to see who would be interested. If you want to know about Best, read "Blessed". If you want to know about football in this era read "The Glory Game" or Leo McKinstry on the Charlton Brothers or any of the excellent biographies of Bill Shankly.

So, you have been warned: an okay book with Best's face on the cover to sell it to you. Look elsewhere.