Manchester United: The Biography: The complete story of the world's greatest football club

Excellent read. One of the best books I've read on Utd and I've read many over the years. Well paced, interesting, informative. A must read for all United fans.

Its easy to get cowed into being a sycophant of Manchester United, given their dominance of the modern era and their larger than life presence: and that is what is preached the whole time, that the club is bigger than any individual. It also shows how players born into the club and raised to be fantastic footballers by the youth system are worth more than the mercenaries bought in. The value of home grown players cannot be underestimated, and this book proves it. All the time, we can see an honest analysis of the club and how it has evolved into a financial powerhouse of the modern game. We see how the sport has evolved into a money making machine,and how the club has evolved with it, in fact even driving it. And therein lies the conundrum: how the club, perhaps, has ditched some of its old values in favor of new cash generating principles. A good read for anyone looking to know more about the games' evolution as well as the evolution of this history changing club.

This book does a great job of telling the tale of Manchester United - warts & all. Obviously this is a great story no matter if you are a fan of United or not. It is unbiased in the sense that the author isn't afraid to critize ownership, both past and present, team icons and the fans themselves in some cases.Unlike most fans there is not the fear to remark that Cantona, Keane, Ferguson, Ruud, Meredith weren't always so great towards the club. However, there is a notable shift in these criticisms that start from when the author was no longer a fan just attending games in the 70s and 80s to when he became a journalist covering the team in the 90s and beyond. While he does point out that the mid-80s drinking culture of Ince, Whiteside and Robson hurt the team in terms of winning the league, he never questions these players' dedication to the club. By comparision, he consistently questions the spirit of several notable players that are some of the most decorated players in club history: David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.In the case of Beckham it is hard to defend his more prima donna actions off the field during the latter stages of his United career, but you can't possible ever question his dedication to the team both while at Old Trafford and since leaving. In Ronaldo's case, it is easier to understand -- this book was published just after Ronaldo's acrimonious exit and any wounds that United fans felt were still very fresh. I would hope that the author, like myself and many other United fans, has moved on and can appreciate Ronaldo for what he brought to the table and the class he has shown towards United and its fans since. You can't fault the guy for wanting to play for his favorite team after he had achieved everything there was to in Manchester. The remark about Ronaldo probably have a glittery pair of stiletto heels was too much and is very petty.This pettiness is also amusing throughout the book in terms of his true fandom. Make no mistake this isn't some polished up, politically correct "official" history that says all the right things about Liverpool, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Roman Abramovich, John Terry, Leeds, etc. While the United official illustrated history speaks highly of other teams and can be read by fans of other teams, I wouldn't recommend this book to any fans of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City or Real Madrid but somehow I don't think they'd be too interested lol.All that said this is a great read for any United fan -- new or old to either study the club's history or remember past glories you hadn't thought of in awhile. It doesn't shy from such incidents as Keane's exit, Rock of Gibraltor, Ruud and Ronaldo's fight, the plc, the Glazer takeover, the 70s hooliganism, the aforementioned 80s drinking culture, FC United of Manchester or the club's failure to do everything right by the Busby Babes that survived. This combination makes this an essential read for any fan of Manchester United.

There are many books out there about MUFC, but this one is an excellent overview of the history of this wonderful club. (Yes, my opinion is perhaps very biased!) I've read numerous books on the Red Devils, but what I particularly liked about "Manchester United: The Biography" is the organized statistics and photos. It is fairly up to date and goes into club's recent history. The writing style is neither boring nor academic; rather it reads like a fascinating detective novel---turning the page is irresistible! I think I finished the book in two days...I just couldn't put it down! For any non-United fans, well if you want to learn the history of the club and have interest in English football then this is also a pleasant read.

An awesome look at where United came from and what makes the club special. Would loved for the book to have gone through the end of the Ferguson era but still great.

My nephew really enjoyed the book and found it to be an interesting read.

Awesome book for Man U fans wanting to know more history about their team!! My husband was pleased!!

new kindle purchase made my reading selection easy - biography about my favourite football team - very interesting in relation to the happenings at the club. hightly recommended.