The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson Paperback – 19 May 2003

another top class book on the life of the greatest manager who ever lived . this is the first one i read and it gave me an appetite for more.

I thought Michael Crick was too critical

Although I can sympathise with some of the previous reviewers' comments with the author's dry, detached style of writing, I nevertheless found the book to be an interesting and easy read. It is also quick to get through, despite being over 600 pages long. I'm not a Manchester United fan, but I wanted to find out about Alex Ferguson the man and manager - what makes him tick, and why is he so successful. To be fair, Michael Crick provides those answers, even if the "autobiographical" section of the book is a bit lacking. The dominant theme of the book is football, relentless ambition and determination to be the best. Therefore it is probably not surprising that other aspects of Ferguson's personality are barely touched upon. Ferguson comes across as a football addict.I found out some useful stuff about Ferguson - his background in Govan, his New Labour sympathies, Trade Unionism, his admirable charity work and donations and love of horse racing. He also comes across as an intelligent, bright man, loyal to family and friends, until you cross him. Indeed there is a flip side to Ferguson - his brutal bullying of young players, contradictory attitude over "tapping up" players and use of agents and gambling, the childish boycotts of the press. It is a prime example of the murky world of professional football.On the football front though I have nothing but admiration for his achievements at Manchester United, and Aberdeen in particular, with whom he briefly overturned the traditional Old Firm hegemony in Scotland. Maybe had he stayed Aberdeen could have permanently challenged Rangers and Celtic. Another regret (from my own biased point of view) is Ferguson's turning down the Spurs job in the mid-1980s.A recommended read.

I have never really liked furguson. this book never made me change that view. so really I learned nothing new

Having read Ferguson's autobiography, I picked this up for a more objective and balanced view of one of the football greats and legends. I found it a bit diasppointing and got the impression that the author was on the attack at all times without really having much to attack with. Of course everyone has their faults, including Ferguson and memories change with the time passing. He seems to start an attack and me then thinking there is going to be a major revelation or evidence to support the attack then fails to deliver. For example the alleged affair. Another example is the move to Old Trafford. There are further examples. Indeed some of the attacks seem petty and without any real merit or foundation. I felt the author was trying to be clever by picking on bits of what he calls evidence and not coming up with a result. In other words 2 and 2 equals 5 so it must be right. It becomes a bit irritating. When he does give praise, of which there must be some, it seems to be reluctantly given. Has Crick been upset by Ferguson? Its not a bad read but I don't think I know Ferguson any more than I did before. I found the autobiography a better read overall. This book is ok but I would recommend the autobiography as a better read.

I actually bought this for a friend of mine :P But before I gave it to him, I checked some of the book, and it seemed interesting, so next time I'll do some shopping then ill remember to buy this AWESOME BOOK