[GJM]

I read it last year and was blown away by it. Brilliantly written, and a really powerful exploration of the mania that must surely exist within all 'driven' people, whether in sport or whatever field of life.

The fact that it was about a real person, and a series of real situations (loosely, at least) is kind of irrelevant. And I thought that the comments in the South Bank Show about what kind of man Clough really was or really was not, missed the point. It is a piece of fiction, and, as such, can only be judged on those terms.

It is a book about what motivates (regret and revenge, mostly), what drives people to extremes, the divisions (and lack of) between a public and a private life, and the fact that life is riven with contradictions, has a lot of pain, and moments of 'glory' that make it all worthwhile.

The fact that it is 'about' Brian Clough is possibly the least interesting thing about it.