“Uncle Jack” was an extraordinary businessman whose avuncular personality masked a ruthless determination. Born in a terraced house in a northern back street, he left school early to work at his father’s tiny sheet metal business. He and his brother Fred went on to build an empire of steel and become two of the twenty-five richest men in Britain. They made a £330 million fortune – and broke pickets along the way.

Walker used his cash to transform the transfer market: suddenly his modest club could afford the best players in the world. Now former players, managers and friends of the Walker family tell for the first time the inside story: the daring initial attempts to sign Gary Lineker and Teddy Sheringham; the shock appointment of Kenny Dalglish as manager; that dramatic Premier League title, won on the final day of the season; and the record-breaking purchases of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton, the famous ‘SAS’.

Author Charles Lambert also unearths the real reason for Dalglish’s departure; how current England boss Sven Goran Eriksson accepted the manager’s job and then went back on his word; the unhappy reigns of Ray Harford, Roy Hodgson and Brian Kidd; the dressing room strife and on-field punch-ups that undermined morale and saw the club slump to relegation; and the emotion of the 2000-1 season, in which Walker tragically died but his club rose gloriously again under Graeme Souness. The Club That Jack Built is an indispensable chronicle of a modern football club and of the life and times of one of the true giants of British sport.

Synopsis
No man has had a greater influence on modern British football than Jack Walker. His love affair with his hometown club - Blackburn Rovers - and his extraordinary determination to see them win the ultimate prize changed the face of soccer. He took a middling northern side and turned it into a financial powerhouse that signed the best players and paid the highest wages. He also built and sold a steel empire and became one of the UK's richest men. Includes interviews with Kenny Dalglish, Alan Shearer and current manager Graeme Souness. Illustrated with b/w photographs.

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