Product Description

Tracing the parallel lives of Jack and Bobby Charlton, this book follows them from their schooldays through to the present day. The brothers both played prominent roles in the finest hour of English football, the 1966 World Cup triumph. Each played for the dominant club of their era, and summed up the style of their respective teams. Bobby was at Manchester United during their glory days under Sir Matt Busby. He survived the Munich air crash and went on to become a fast, graceful attacker. Jack came to professional football late, working in a coal mine before Leeds signed him. Don Revie's Leeds side was renowned for its uncompromising and physical style, and Jack was himself a tough, durable and aggressive defender, who once caused uproar by admitting he had a "black book" with a list of footballing enemies who he would target on the pitch. The two retired from football in the same year, and since, the contrast between them has been marked. Bobby's forays into management at Wigan and Preston were distinguished only by their brevity, while "Big Jack" took the Republic of Ireland team to an unprecendented level of success, reaching the quarter finals of the World Cup in 1994. Bobby has been a key figure in the ongoing success of Manchester United over the past decade, working on recruiting players and as an FA diplomat. But, despite their continued successes, the relationship between the two has been strained, sometimes barely even polite, and this book will investigate the reasons for this, including interviews with many of those the two have been in contact with over the years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #339889 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Charlton brothers hold a unique place in the history of football, thanks not least to their roles in England's 1966 World Cup triumph, but, as journalist Leo McKinstry recounts in his biography Jack and Bobby--A Story of Brothers in Conflict, little has previously been written specifically about the pair and their sometimes volatile relationship.

The public image of the two is firmly established. Younger brother Bobby, the dazzling forward with all the natural ability, who would find a place at the heart of the football establishment as roving ambassador for Manchester United and England. And Jack the lad, the gangling hardman defender; a workhorse, and later, voluble, eccentric club and international manager, who could always be counted on for a quote. But while McKinstry reveals there is much truth behind the stereotypes, there has been tension too, with neither brother entirely comfortable with their ascribed roles.

Such reflections are weaved around a traditional biographical narrative, which follows the brothers from childhood through their respective playing careers with Manchester United, and Leeds, their England glory, managerial successes and failures to their current state of semi-retirement, and digs out some illuminating stuff along the way. Neither of the Charltons was prepared to cooperate with this book--but McKinstry has sought out the perspectives of friends, family and colleagues. The story of Bobby's struggles to find a career after playing, where business success outside of football was matched by managerial failure within it, reveals that a man who had so effortlessly drawn on his own sporting talent was all at sea among the less gifted. And Big Jack, the affable saint steering the Irish team out of obscurity, was a somewhat less cuddly character behind the scenes: according to his players, the boss was prone to very human weaknesses, not least an almost incredible "carefulness" with money, a trait that is the catalyst for some of the book's funniest, and oddest moments.

Such humour, enhanced by McKinstry's eye for the tiny details that betray personality and his ability to draw meaningful characterisations from a blend of familiar facts and fresh anecdotal material, lifts the book out of the ordinary. Jack and Bobby succeeds in offering affectionate but convincing portraits of two of English football's most revered and intriguing characters. --Alex Hankin

Review
Traces the parallel lives of Jack and Bobby Charlton from schooldays to the present day.

Sunday Telegraph
'elegantly written and exhaustively researched'

Customer Reviews

Brilliant, one of the best football related books I have read.
Jack and Bobby is an excellent book full of insights into the most successful footballing brothers England has ever produced. It not only deals with their footballing careers but also their personal and private lives and sheds light on why these two legends of the game are not as close as you would think. The part on their careers is very interesting and also suggests why the two are viewed differently partly because of what positions they played, their differing attitudes and temperaments but also which teams they played for. The best part of this book however deals with the early career of Bobby Charlton up to and including the Munich air crash and its aftermath which I feel is one of the most moving things I have ever read. All in all this is an excellent book and I would reccomend it to anyone not just football fans.

Brothers United
One of the better biographies a pleasure to read.

Well written and befitting of the finest brothers to grace english football.

Canny
An interesting book, if a little to dry in places. Enjoyed reading about Jack more than Bobby. Overall not bad for a book about a pair of Mags!