Blue blood: the mike doyle story

[BTH]

Doyle's was bad but Colin Bell's was worse. Like someone has said most footballers biographies are shit because they don't have a story to them and 98% of the time sound like mard arses about how they were treated by managers/clubs/supporters etc. The only thing they can tell you is bits of gossip about certain aspects of the club you might not know about, wow!

Bert Trautmann's is the best but really that has nothing to do with football or City; it's a history book with a continuous feature of a guy who became famous. Bert's book has real stories and is emotive. In a book of about 330 pages he only starts talking about City after about 250 and even then it doesn't last long. It shows how eventful his life was and is.

Spot on Jay. I find it usually helps if a book's written by an author, especially when it retails at £15.99!

 

[Blue Streak]

I got Buzzers & Big Joes the other chrimbo! I read Buzzers first and frankly didn't enjoy it half as much as Corrigans which I felt was far better written.

I liked Rodders though. I saw my Dad the night before and he gave it to me, went home and woke at about 7am, started reading and had finished it totally by early evening.

I want to read Lakeys book! Whens it due out?

 

[NPBlue]

But let's have it right, there isn't one single decent biography around of any ex-City player.

Applies to 98% of all football biographies. I use to go into Borders and scan read new ones.It would only take a page or two to realise they wouldn't be worth buying...no wonder Borders went out of business!

However, I did really enjoy Alan Rowlands' Bert Trautmann biography. Has anyone read the more recent Trautmann book? Also, I haven't yet got round to getting Gary James's revised Joe Mercer book. I'd be surprised if that isn't up to scratch.

Trautman's Journey by Catrine Clay is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It is not really about Bert Trautman. It's about the problems of growing up in Germany in the 30's and being in the Hitler Youth, then coming to terms with normality after the war.

It may not be of interest to you, I don't know, but as a bit of a student of the 2nd world war, it really is one of the most enlightening books I have read about that side of Germany's history.

I recommend it, but on a history level rather than as a Bert Trautman biography.

 

[Damocles]

But let's have it right, there isn't one single decent biography around of any ex-City player.

Applies to 98% of all football biographies. I use to go into Borders and scan read new ones.It would only take a page or two to realise they wouldn't be worth buying...no wonder Borders went out of business!

However, I did really enjoy Alan Rowlands' Bert Trautmann biography. Has anyone read the more recent Trautmann book? Also, I haven't yet got round to getting Gary James's revised Joe Mercer book. I'd be surprised if that isn't up to scratch.

Gordon Strachan's and Bobby Robson's were both quality, as were Ferguson's season diaries.

Kevin Keegan's was diabolically shit.

 

[Gareth Barry Manilow]

Applies to 98% of all football biographies. I use to go into Borders and scan read new ones.It would only take a page or two to realise they wouldn't be worth buying...no wonder Borders went out of business!

However, I did really enjoy Alan Rowlands' Bert Trautmann biography. Has anyone read the more recent Trautmann book? Also, I haven't yet got round to getting Gary James's revised Joe Mercer book. I'd be surprised if that isn't up to scratch.

Trautman's Journey by Catrine Clay is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It is not really about Bert Trautman. It's about the problems of growing up in Germany in the 30's and being in the Hitler Youth, then coming to terms with normality after the war.

It may not be of interest to you, I don't know, but as a bit of a student of the 2nd world war, it really is one of the most enlightening books I have read about that side of Germany's history.

I recommend it, but on a history level rather than as a Bert Trautman biography.

Cheers for that, I'm studying Nazi Germany as part of my History A2 next year, i'll give it a read

 

[jay_mcfc]

Cheers for that, I'm studying Nazi Germany as part of my History A2 next year, i'll give it a read

Make sure you do, Catrine Clay is a historian and has worked for the bbc for decades. She has made a number of historical and WW2 documentaries and obviously knows her stuff. Bert's book is very well researched and took 3 years to write, you'll have no worries quoting her stuff. Like the guy before said there's not much in it about City but anyone who wants to read a book about a proper hero and survivor then Bert's book is the one.

 

[Phuk Tifano]

I got Buzzers & Big Joes the other chrimbo! I read Buzzers first and frankly didn't enjoy it half as much as Corrigans which I felt was far better written.

I liked Rodders though. I saw my Dad the night before and he gave it to me, went home and woke at about 7am, started reading and had finished it totally by early evening.

I want to read Lakeys book! Whens it due out?

Me too. Spoke to him at a recent supporters' club meeting and IIRC it's out next year sometime. Some big London publisher has taken it on so it must be half-decent.

 

[Gary James]

But let's have it right, there isn't one single decent biography around of any ex-City player.

Applies to 98% of all football biographies. I use to go into Borders and scan read new ones.It would only take a page or two to realise they wouldn't be worth buying...no wonder Borders went out of business!

However, I did really enjoy Alan Rowlands' Bert Trautmann biography. Has anyone read the more recent Trautmann book? Also, I haven't yet got round to getting Gary James's revised Joe Mercer book. I'd be surprised if that isn't up to scratch.

Thanks for the mention of my Mercer book (Joe Mercer, OBE: Football With A Smile). It's received some excellent reviews from fans (and from the MEN & Everton's mag) but to date hasn't received the coverage most modern football biogs get by the national media/footballing press (despite sending out review copies to all the main nationals and ALL the football mags).

So any mention is appreciated.

I've posted some reviews and images on <a class="postlink" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Ward-Publishing/266700661882" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-War ... 6700661882</a>