Manchester United have been well served by some great sportswriters down the years, and this list could easily have been a lot, lot longer. But these ten are the books that were the most helpful and inspiring to me when writing Munichs.
A Strange Kind of Glory by Eamon Dunphy
A biography of both Matt Busby and Manchester United, this remains the best book written on Busby and his time at United, and the benchmark for all other books about the club. In a word: essential.
The Day a Team Died by Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor was the only journalist to survive the disaster, and for many years this was one of the few books written about what had happened. But one of the most fascinating aspects of researching the events of February 1958 is how often people’s recollections vary . . .
Harry’s Game by Harry Gregg
. . . and goalkeeper Harry Gregg’s annoyance at some of the passages in Frank Taylor’s telling prompted him to write his own account. True to the man himself, this is a combative and provocative book that is often scathing of the way Manchester United treated the survivors and families of the dead.
United in Triumph and Tragedy by Bill Foulkes
Like Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes walked away from the crash and was playing again within two weeks, and along with Bobby Charlton was part of the side that finally won the European Cup in 1968. A more measured telling of the story than Harry Gregg’s account, this book still lays bare the trauma Foulkes felt for many, many years after.
The Lost Babes by Jeff Connor
This book focuses on the ‘forgotten victims’ of the disaster: the players who survived but – unlike Foulkes and Charlton – would not play again, or had their careers curtailed or were transferred away from Old Trafford. Painful but poignant reading.
Manchester’s Finest by David Hall
David Hall was an eleven-year-old fan living in Manchester at the time of the disaster, and this is a wonderful and very moving account of what it was like to be in Manchester in the aftermath of the crash, and the effect of the disaster on the city and the fans.
When You Put on a Red Shirt by Keith Dewhurst
Keith Dewhurst is better known for his later work in theatre and in television, but he began as a sportswriter on the Manchester Evening Chronicle, covering United after the death in the crash of their reporter Alf Clarke. Dewhurst became good friends with Jimmy Murphy, and this book provides a fascinating window into both Old Trafford and the Manchester press in the aftermath of Munich.
Matt . . . United . . . and Me by Jimmy Murphy
If Munichs has a hero, then it would be Jimmy Murphy, who, as assistant manager, had to try to keep United going after the disaster, and somehow managed to guide the team to the FA Cup Final of 1958. There are a couple of good biographies of Murphy, most recently one by Wayne Barton, but this is his own account.
Matt Busby by Harold Riley
Salford-born artist Harold Riley played as a junior for Manchester United before attending the Slade School of Fine Art. This small, beautiful book is a record of his conversation with Matt Busby during a sitting for a portrait in 1987.
Best and Edwards by Gordon Burn
No writer has had a greater influence upon my own work than Gordon Burn, and Best and Edwards was integral to the genesis of Munichs. Gordon’s penultimate book is a haunting meditation on the changing nature of football and fame, and on mortality and immortality, with unforgettable cameos from ‘Gazza’ and Bobby Charlton.
Munichs by David Peace is out now in hardback, audiobook and ebook.
From the acclaimed and prize-winning author of The Damned Utd and Red or Dead comes another extraordinary novel about Britain, sport and the formative scars of our collective past.
