Books that every Liverpool Fan Should Read

SHANKS BY DAVE BOWLER

This book covers the life of Bill Shankly and was written with the blessing of his wife Nessie. It starts with his childhood in a small village called Glenbuck in Scotland. The village no longer exists and the only reminder of its greatest son is a plaque beside the main road leading away from the area. Like most boys of that era football became an escapism from the troubled times but Bill decided that was the career for him. The book charts this from his humble beginnings as a player with Carlisle through to his days as Liverpool Manager. It was published in 1996 so is probably out of print but if you can get a copy please do - you will become engrossed very quickly.

THE REAL BILL SHANKLY BY KAREN ELIZABETH GILL

This book was written by Bill Shankly's granddaughter with a many hours of help from the rest of the Shankly clan. It details his life and rise in the football hierarchy of this country. Karen portrays how important family life was to Bill Shankly and the many hours that she and her sister Pauline spent with 'Grandy' It is full of the most wonderful and personal family photographs along with many showing Liverpool Football Club's successes. Every photograph has a well written explanation and a quote from Bill himself if available. It is a wonderful reference tool and very treasured possession. It was published in 2006 by Trinity Mirror and I believe the paperback is still available today from all good bookshops along with the Liverpool Club Shops and website.

CARRA BY JAMIE CARRAGHER

This book was written by Jamie along with the help of Chris Bascombe - an ex Liverpool Echo writer. It outlines Jamie's love of football and the skill that people realised was there from a small child. It outlines his love of Everton before seeing the light and becoming a Liverpool player. Jamie is very much a family man and has 2 children. He supports his local community and has recently been involved in saving a boys football club in Bootle. He is also the owner of a Sports England Cafe, where CityTalk/Radio City held a children's fund raising day. I popped into the cafe during this and found everyone very friendly but the only thing is Jamie- £2.00 for a glass of coca cola - that is a little expensive- especially when a 1.5 litre bottle is £1.50. I understand that £30,000 was raised that day for the needy children of Merseyside which is absolutely fantastic. This book was published by Bantam Books (Transworld) in 2008 with the paperback now available.

FOWLER BY ROBBIE FOWLER

This book was written by Robbie Fowler with the help of David Maddock - David works for the Mirror and he and I have had quite a healthy email exchange in the form of his comment columns in the Daily Mirror - He knows when he is beaten. The book covers the early childhood of Robbie, who grew up in the notorious area of Liverpool called Toxteth. During his early years though it was quite a pleasant area and Robbie was able to kick a ball around the streets. It was not long before he became noticed in school during sports lessons which led onto him being placed on Liverpool's books. He did not take very long to rise through the academy on more or less from the day of his debut he was known as GOD. He was with Liverpool for many years before being shown the door by Gerard Houiller. His book outlines why this happened and what was going on behind the scenes at Anfield during Gerard's reign. Robbie returned for stint under Rafa Benitez before going out to Australia where he enjoying a resurgence of his career - He is scoring goals - how I wish he was back in the team. This was published by Macmillian in 2005 and is available in paperback.

GERRARD BY STEVEN GERRARD

Gerrard was written by Steven Gerrard with the help of Henry Winter and Paul Joyce. Stevie was born in Huyton , which is a suburb of Liverpool. He and his brother grew up playing football in the street, as boys do. Stevie though had an accident during one of these kick about's and it was feared that he would lose a toe. Boys being boys , he kicked the ball into the undergrowth, went to retrieve it and a stake went through his foot. Luckily for Liverpool and its football club, he recovered and has become the player he is today. One of the first quotes he makes in the book is that every time he passes the Hillsborough memorial, he thinks of his cousin Jon Paul Gilhouilly - the youngst person to die that afternoon. He is quoted as saying that he plays every match in his honour and that Jon Paul is his inspiration. I can imagine the lump in his throat each time he passes, I get one too, you see, my cousin also died on that fateful day. The one thing Stevie is longing to hold is the premiership trophy and I honestly think he will. Here we have a true scouser, who knows what Liverpool and its club means to the people of the city. This was published by Bantam (Transworld) in 2006 and is available in paperback.

RUSH BY IAN RUSH

This book was written by Ian Rush and an old friend in the form of football writer Les Scott. It highlights Ian Rush's career from its humble beginnings in Wales before he joined Chester and then went on to play for Liverpool Football club before retiring. This included a season in Italy, which was not a great success. Ian found it very hard to adjust to the Italian way of playing and did not have as many games as he had like. Also at the time managers seem to come and go very quickly which was very unsettling. Ian became one of Liverpool's greatest scorers, a record he still holds today although I am sure that one of the current Liverpool squad will break it very soon. Today Ian is still seen regularly at Anfield along with many of the old players, which is a good advert for a great club. This book was published by Ebury Press (Random House) in 2008 but is now available in paperback.

SECRET DIARY OF A LIVERPOOL SCOUT BY SIMON HUGHES

I am at present reading the The Secret Diary of A Liverpool Scout and it is proving to be an enthralling book, full of interesting quotes and diary entries by Geoff Twentyman. Geoff was a great friend of Bill Shankly, who played alongside him for a while before going their separate ways. Bill on taking over at Liverpool realised that he needed someone to help him in his pursuit of good players. Knowing that Geoff had a good eye for spotting the right man, he installed him as part of the boot room at Anfield. The book has interviews from the likes of Steve Heighway, Alex Lindsay, Steve Nichol, Ian Rush and Graeme Souness, all who owe their playing careers to Geoff Twentyman. It was published by Trinity Mirror and is available now. If you do not live in the Merseyside area, I advise you to buy it online, having had terrible trouble trying to get a copy in the London area.

43 YEARS WITH THE SAME BIRD BY BRIAN READE

This is a definite must read book for every Liverpool fan. Brian is a Liverpool based journalist who writes for the Mirror and has two columns published each week. He charts his life through his love of Liverpool Football club from the days when he went to his first match at Bolton, with his dad and brother, to the season ticket holder at Liverpool Football Club, he is today. I will admit to buying the book because I thoroughly enjoy Brian's work and I am also a lifelong Liverpool supporter. The Mirror also published the first couple of chapters over the course of a week, which gave me an idea of the type of book it was. I started reading it and, memories were being thrown at me from nearly every page. The Highs and the lows of the team from 1965 to the present day are very well documented. Brian also covers the disasters at Heysel and Hillsborough, both at which, he was present and the effect they have had on him. Reading the book was like going back through my own life, it mirrored it, in so many ways. His book covers the first time that he met the great Bill Shankly and the letter he sent him. He got a reply, I did not, but that is another story I also met Bill Shankly and know what a great man he was. The cover of the book shows a young Brian Reade with Bill Shankly at Anfield and I must admit I now laugh when I look at the hairstyle and the trousers - still they were good times. Brian now appears regularly on This is Anfield and has a wonderful knowledge of Liverpool Football Club and its players. It was published in 2008 by Macmillan and now available in paperback under the title 44 Years with the Same Bird - another season has been added. This I think is my favourite book and takes pride of place in my bookcase. It often bought out, just for a quick flick through and a smile at the cover - Brian you have some wonderful memories and it is great to read them in a book.

WHEN YOU ARE SECOND YOU ARE NOTHING BY OLIVER HOLT

This is a book written by the Mirror's chief sports writer Oliver Holt. It is a double biography and involves Bill Shankly and Alex Ferguson. Oliver covers each of them chapter by chapter making a comparison between them. It was a very interesting read and I came to the conclusion that Alex Ferguson is determined to follow in Bill Shanklys footsteps and perhaps go one better. This book was published in 2006 by Macmillan. The paperback can be ordered from any good bookshop

REFERENCE BOOKS
The Official History of Liverpool Football Club
The Official Liverpool FC Illustrated Encyclopedia
The Irish Kop - This is a book that covers the Irish lads that have had the pleasure of playing for the club.
The Official Liverpool Hall of Fame
The Historic Treble - This book outlines that wonderful year of 2001
These were all available from the LFCTV website and club shops

HILLSBOROUGH

HILLSBOROUGH THE TRUTH BY PHIL SCRATTON

This is another of those must read books. It is a book that every Liverpool fan, whether they were involved in the disaster or just an ordinary supporter MUST read. Phil Scratton has interviewed many of the families and this is a true account of the events of that afternoon. It also outlines the struggles that the families are having in getting the truth to come out. I will be honest with you, parts of it need to be read over and over again and you may find tears running down your face. but read it you must.

WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE STORM BY ANNE WILLIAMS

This book has been written by Anne Williams who is the mother of Kevin. Kevin was one of the youngsters to die on that fateful afternoon and Anne has been searching for the truth ever since. She outlines his story from day that he got his ticket to Hillsborough through to the moment, she walked into the makeshift morgue in Sheffield and identified his body and the struggle she has had for justice ever since. As any woman will tell you, when intuition takes over and you know something is not right, you will fight heart and soul to find out the truth. After talking to some of the police that were on duty that day and a couple of the survivors, Anne found out that Kevin did not in fact die at the cut off point of 3.15 p.m. but was alive for a least another hour. I have heard many stories like this and like Anne want all those that caused the disaster finally punished. We must never forget the 96 people who lost their lives that afternoon. It is again one of those books that may bring tears to your eyes but is a worthy read. It is published by Mainstream publishing and is available online through Anne's own website and can also be ordered through any bookshop.

BOOKS I HAVE YET TO READ
Anfield Iron - The story of Tommy Smith
Torres - El Nino - my Story
My Story - Michael Shields.