Desert Island Books: 89 books

Volume Two of David Woods' four-volume history of Bristol City, from the club's beginnings to the modern age. In Bristol City: The Early Years he reported the clubs history to the outbreak of The Great War. Now, in From War to War, he carries the story from the Kaiser up to and be-yond the death of...

British author Rob Hadgraft specialises in biographies of marathon and ultra-distance runners. All are available worldwide as ebooks. His five subjects to date are:1. The Little Wonder: The Untold Story of Alfred Shrubb - World Champion Runner.2. Beer and Brine: The Making of Walter George - Athletics'...

In 1888 twelve clubs formed the Football League, a ground-breaking mission for which they were called Apostles. Afterwards the world followed. Football in the 1880s was wildly exciting and teeming with personalities. Beneath the Victorian veneer, its participants fought furiously with each other: players,...

Tottenham Hotspur so far have only captured two League Championships, but what they lack in quantity they recompense in quality. Both Championship teams were famed for innovative play that set new standards in the history of English club football. The appointment of Arthur Rowe as manager in 1949 quickly...

In its infancy Manchester United had a great team. Promotion, then five trophies in three years. That team created an expectation of success that survived a drought of 40 years until the Busby era. Dick Duckworth was the only one to play throughout the club's Golden Age, from the phoenix-rise from the...

Highfield Road is no more. For 106 years it was the home of Coventry City Football Club, witnessing the clubs fortunes all the way from the Birmingham League to the Premiership. In all, the Sky Blues played some 2,000 matches at the famous old stadium, some good, some bad, some unforgettable. A stadium...

The Second World War is over. It took time and struggle to kick-start League football back to normal. 1946-47 became the first modern season. Footballers emerged from the perils of combat - escaping from torpedoed ships or burning bombers - to entertain the unruly, angry crowds of austerity Britain....

With the title Aberdeen: Champions of Scotland, many people will think automatically of Alex Ferguson and the great Dons team of the 1980s. But Aberdeen had an earlier championship team, whose story has never before been told. For a club founded in 1903, the Dons had a long wait for glory. They won no...

It might be hard even for middle-aged Leyton Orient fans to imagine their side hob-nobbing in the top flight alongside the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. This book chronicles the story of how the Os won promotion to the old First Division in 1961-62 and subsequently enjoyed...

For years Chelsea FC were English football's music hall joke. Then, in 1955, they shocked the sporting world by winning the Football League championship. The event was so unexpected that there was no champagne to swig, no lap of honour by the players. The chairman, manager and skipper said a few polite...

By 1919 it seemed West Bromwich Albion would never win the Championship. The League founder-members were renowned Cup-fighters, and had squandered the promise of a bright young team by failing to take the title before the First World War. Football was starting up again, amid a country in crisis. 1919-20...

A match-by-match account of every game Scotland have played in the World Cup - including qualifying rounds and finals - from the 1950 to the 1994 competitions. This unique history is an emotive journey through the trials and tribulations of Scotland's quest for football's ultimate prize. Clive Leatherdale...

In March 1926 a group of Irishmen left the Free State on a journey that took three days. Their destination was Italy and they were travelling to play their first full soccer international soccer match. The journey was long but the story that brought the Freestaters to Italy was just as long. It began...

West Ham United's elite era began in 1958, when the Hammers secured their place in the top division of English football. Since then it has been a rocky ride. The team has dropped divisions from time to time, but always risen again. Even among the elite, West Ham have seldom shone, other than in occasional...