Product Description

This book offers a very personal look at 'the beautiful game' and its greats by one of football's most respected ambassadors.Bob Wilson's "Life in The Beautiful Game" sees the Arsenal legend and veteran BBC presenter takes a long and personal look back at a sport that has kept him busy in one form or another for over half a century. During his career, he has played alongside or against, coached, interviewed, become friends with, or at least met pretty much every great name the game of football has ever produced. Needless to say, he has picked up some pretty good stories along the way. From Busby to Beckham, Garrincha to Gazza, Puskas to Pele, no one escapes Wilson's entertaining dissection of the game.Discover why the great Bill Shankly once locked him in a room at the Liverpool training ground and wouldn't let him out, why the legendary Brian Clough once insisted on getting him drunk before an interview, and what really happened in that infamous Arsenal and Man Utd tunnel punch-up between Vieira and Keane.It's clearly a sport he loves, and there is no question that reading his book will leave you remembering why football acquired the moniker 'The Beautiful Game'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #291745 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
"* 'A great insight into a great game from a great man' Arsene Wenger"

About the Author
Bob Wilson was awarded an OBE in 2007 for services to football and his charity, the Willow Foundation, which he founded in memory of his daughter, Anna, who died of cancer aged 31, and which receives royalties from the sale of his books.

Customer Reviews

Normally a football autobiography reader
My normal reading is footballers autobiographies from pre 1980.
However my daughter bought this from a local shop signed by Bob Wilson.

The style was different for me, instead of a stream of games with who did what and how many times, Bob has set this out as small reads!

Effectively you get a couple of pages on a player that Bob met with some personal insights. Often the two page chapter is led off by some well know quote from the player or personalities of the day, I started to look forward to these, and being over 50 remembered some of them!

In between the player bits you get up to a couple of pages of facts, again depends on how much of a football anorak you are, needless to say I enjoyed them!

I would probably describe the book as a good bed time read, do a couple of chapters, few quotes, and facts and then put it down for another night.
Very enjoyable no problem at all in recommending it to fellow anoraks

Excellent collection of pieces.
This book was a remarkably well structured set of episodes that covered different aspect of the game, players and places. Bob has a very readable style and it is such a refreshing change to see someone involved in football who can express themselves so clearly and interestingly. Wilson explores many of the myths that surround the game and explains them with concise skill. Highly recommended.

For all footie fans
This is not just a book for Arsenal fans, it's for all football fans as Bob Wilson takes a look at the game through the personalities that live and work in that profession. These are the people he has worked alongside or played against and there are some wonderful stories of the great and the good. In between the profiles are small chapters on interesting aspects of the game. It's a book you can pick anywhere at anytime and discover another bit of information you never knew. A great present for a footie fan.