Very interesting subject. - Rated 
While I am not Liverpool fan, I have always been interested in the influence on modern football which the media and (older) football fans have placed on Bill Shankly. He is regarded as a legend and more influential than his (impressive) trophy count demonstrates.
This book is excellent in how it brings to life the 'persona' of Bill Shankley and what he was actually like. It is packed with lots of good, interesting detail and you feel like you are getting to know him. What also comes through is what a revolutionary he is. The research carried out by the author is excellent.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book although sloppy writing lets it down in places - many paragraphs are (almost word-for-word) repeated only a few pages apart; and after many years of struggle and toil to work his way up through the managerial ladder, Bill finally gets to Liverpool, running himself into the ground to make them successful, only half a page is given to the 'title run-in' and the first historic championship.
a GOD amongst football writers- STEPHEN F KELLY - Rated 
This is truly the greatest book i have ever read. I am amazed at the prowess Mr kelly uses when writing of the beautiful game. he should go down in history as the very best sports writer to grace the earth with his talents. His knowledge of the subject, unsurpassable. the book is bursting with creative talent and highly original prose. the style with which it is written is sincere with a vivid narrative. kelly is the only writer with the ability to express himself without exaggeration so that the outcome is a persistent high standard of work. it's imperative that people read this book to experience the faultless and perceptive literary gem.
Reads like a newspaper report..... - Rated 
.....the book for the most part is a player by player and match by match account of every player that moved to or from Liverpool while Shankly was in charge, and every match they played. In amongst all these transfer fees and scorelines there's the occasional quote from Shankly (sometimes repeated...), but not much else. There's very little insight into what he actually did as a manager, from the book it seems his only contribution to Liverpool was to buy players and sell them, and play a bit of five a side. The book contains little that couldn't be found in a book of statistics. Having said that, I read the book with a good deal of interest, as most Liverpool fans will, but I was more interested in the man himself, and there's precious little of him on offer.
Father of the modern game - Rated 
At it's best this book is very illuminating on the subject of Shankly's management and training style. In management he was a workaholic - in early, home late with football and talk in between times. In his coaching he introduced training schedules making football conditioning and small-sided games the centre of his regime to create teams in which the passing game was second nature. The sections on his time at Preston as a player were interesting, but other parts of the book failed to grip me quite as much. Most of the quotes were missing - where was "You could start a riot in a graveyard, sonny!" ? There was also some needless repetition with a quote from Tommy Smith about never practicing corners or free kicks in training being separated by only two pages and repeated in full, details of transfers and prices repeated, etc. The book would have benefited from an index (a common fault in many biographies) and one that might have saved the author some of his repetitions.
What a legend!! Must read for any football fan. - Rated
Last night at 7pm, I picked up this book to start reading it. It is now 6am in the morning and I have just finished the book. I didn't move from my chair for a second and I still don't feel tired. This is a dangerous book because you will not put it down!! You don't have to be a Liverpool fan to fall in love with Bill Shankly and his incredible character. Confident, humble, generous, tough, gave so much and simply asked for 100% effort and loyalty from his players and support staff. More importantly, he loved football with a passion and loved all fans who were passionate about the game. I felt sad at the end of this book thinking that maybe Bill Shankly became such a great man, and so endeared and respected, that he became isolated after he resigned from Liverpool. He wouldn't be the first great man to feel that way. This book is very well written and has so many funny anecdotes and yarns that I was repeatedly in stitches from laughing so hard. In the end Bill Shankly was one big kid at heart, with a big heart at that. Buy this book...but please don't start reading it at 7pm in the evening, especially if you have to work the next day. I am supposed to start work in less than 2 hours but I don't feel tired. I am more convinced after having read this book that Bill Shankly, although not the most successful football manager, was certainly the greatest! He turned rubble into gold, converted shaky foundations at LFC into a dynasty, took young, hungry players and made them feel invincible. God Bless Bill Shankly. Long live the King.
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