Two Brothers
Published on 7. September 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-349-14482-5 (ISBN)
Description
'A powerful chronicle of the transformation of English football and society through the prism of two very different characters' Irish Times
Jack was open, charismatic, selfish and pig-headed; Bobby was guarded, shy, polite and reserved to the point of reclusiveness. Jack was a gangling central defender who developed a profound tactical intelligence; Bobby an athletic attacking midfielder who disdained systems. Yet the Charlton brothers both enjoyed great success as football players and together, for England, they won the World Cup.
Two Brothers is both the story of the most famous football players of their generation and an account of late-twentieth-century English football: the tensions between flair and industry, between individuality and the collective, between right and left, between middle- and working-classes, between exile and home.
'Wilson is meticulous in providing all manner of nuggets' Sports Books of the Year, The Times
'Gripping' Daily Mail
'Moving... chronicles two remarkable lives' Guardian
Jack was open, charismatic, selfish and pig-headed; Bobby was guarded, shy, polite and reserved to the point of reclusiveness. Jack was a gangling central defender who developed a profound tactical intelligence; Bobby an athletic attacking midfielder who disdained systems. Yet the Charlton brothers both enjoyed great success as football players and together, for England, they won the World Cup.
Two Brothers is both the story of the most famous football players of their generation and an account of late-twentieth-century English football: the tensions between flair and industry, between individuality and the collective, between right and left, between middle- and working-classes, between exile and home.
'Wilson is meticulous in providing all manner of nuggets' Sports Books of the Year, The Times
'Gripping' Daily Mail
'Moving... chronicles two remarkable lives' Guardian
Reviews / Votes
Razor-sharp tactical analysis and an intriguing angle of its own * Irish Independent * Gripping * Daily Mail * Wilson is a fine, nuanced writer * TLS * Compelling... gets to the heart of Bobby and Jackie * Late Tackle Magazine * This is a social history, yet surprisingly moving as it chronicles two remarkable lives * Guardian * A powerful chronicle of the transformation of English soccer and society through the prism of two very different characters * Irish Times * Tells a familar, yet extraordinary, tale exceptionally well, illuminated and refreshed by Wilson's particular perspectives and insights * When Saturday Comes Magazine * A book that Jonathan Wilson was born to write... He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the game... There is much poignancy in their stories -- Books of the Year * Irish Examiner * Explores the careers and personalities of Bobby and Jack Charlton, who we discover could not have been more different, and Wilson is meticulous in providing all manner of nuggets -- Sports Books of the Year * The Times * Wilson skilfully interweaves the stories of brothers with polar opposite personalities who also happened to be two of the most iconic footballing figures in the last century, using their respective career trajectories to tell a broader story of what it said about English and (sometimes) Irish society of the time of their heydays * The 42 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
Approx. 32 photographs
Dimensions
Height: 127 mm
Width: 196 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
322 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-349-14482-5 (9780349144825)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Jonathan Wilson is the editor of the Blizzard and a freelance writer for the Guardian, World Soccer and Sports Illustrated. He is the author of eleven books, including Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics, Behind the Curtain: Football in Eastern Europe, Angels with Dirty Faces: The Footballing History of Argentina, The Barcelona Legacy and The Names Heard Long Ago.