Jack and Bobby: A story of brothers in conflict Hardcover – 19 Aug 2002

Amazon Review

The Charlton brothers hold a unique place in the history of football, thanks not least to their roles in England's 1966 World Cup triumph, but, as journalist Leo McKinstry recounts in his biography Jack and Bobby--A Story of Brothers in Conflict, little has previously been written specifically about the pair and their sometimes volatile relationship.

The public image of the two is firmly established. Younger brother Bobby, the dazzling forward with all the natural ability, who would find a place at the heart of the football establishment as roving ambassador for Manchester United and England. And Jack the lad, the gangling hardman defender; a workhorse, and later, voluble, eccentric club and international manager, who could always be counted on for a quote. But while McKinstry reveals there is much truth behind the stereotypes, there has been tension too, with neither brother entirely comfortable with their ascribed roles.

Such reflections are weaved around a traditional biographical narrative, which follows the brothers from childhood through their respective playing careers with Manchester United, and Leeds, their England glory, managerial successes and failures to their current state of semi-retirement, and digs out some illuminating stuff along the way. Neither of the Charltons was prepared to cooperate with this book--but McKinstry has sought out the perspectives of friends, family and colleagues. The story of Bobby's struggles to find a career after playing, where business success outside of football was matched by managerial failure within it, reveals that a man who had so effortlessly drawn on his own sporting talent was all at sea among the less gifted. And Big Jack, the affable saint steering the Irish team out of obscurity, was a somewhat less cuddly character behind the scenes: according to his players, the boss was prone to very human weaknesses, not least an almost incredible "carefulness" with money, a trait that is the catalyst for some of the book's funniest, and oddest moments.

Such humour, enhanced by McKinstry's eye for the tiny details that betray personality and his ability to draw meaningful characterisations from a blend of familiar facts and fresh anecdotal material, lifts the book out of the ordinary. Jack and Bobby succeeds in offering affectionate but convincing portraits of two of English football's most revered and intriguing characters. --Alex Hankin

Review

"A Cracking Read" -- The Sunday Times

"Leo McKinstry's excellent new book." -- The Weekend Herald

"McKinstry's great book." -- Maxim Magazine

'...one of the best football books ever written.' -- New Statesman

'a fabulous book...undoubtedly the best ever biography of any United player'. -- Michael Crick

'elegantly written and exhaustively researched' -- Sunday Telegraph

'thoroughly entertaining and ultimately rather uplifting' -- When Saturday Comes

Elegantly written, exhaustively researched...His account of the Munich disaster is written with a restrained power that brought tears to my eyes. -- The Sunday Telegraph