The Manchester United team in the fifties seemed destined to dominate soccer for many years. The average age of the side that won the Championship in 1955-56 was just 22, the youngest ever to achieve such a feat. But then came February 6, 1958, the day that eight Manchester United players died on a German airfield—a date forever etched in the annals of sporting tragedy. Jeff Connor traces the rise of the greatest Manchester United side of all time, alongside a vibrant portrait of England in the 1950s, but he also paints a dark picture of a club that enriched itself on the myth of Munich while neglecting the families of the dead and the surviving players. Drawing on extensive interviews with the Munich victims and players of that era, The Lost Babes is the definitive account of British football's golden age, and a poignant story of the protracted effects of loss.

The Lost Babes: Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich

Sports & Outdoors

Connor, Jeff

Soccer

HarperCollins, UK

A moving story of how a legendary football team was lost to tragedy – and how this disaster irrevocably altered the lives of the survivors and the bereaved families, and ultimately brought shame on the biggest football club in the world.The Manchester United team Matt Busby had built in the fifties from the club's successful youth policy seemed destined to dominate football for many years. Such was the power of the ‘Busby Babes’ that they seemed invincible. The average age of the side which won the Championship in 1955-56 was just 22, the youngest ever to achieve such a feat. A year later, when they were Champions again, nothing, it seemed, would prevent this gifted young team from reigning for the next decade.But then came 6 February 1958, the day that eight Manchester United players died on a German airfield in the 'Munich Air Disaster' – a date to be forever etched in the annals of sporting tragedy.Duncan Edwards, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Roger Byrne…the names were already enshrined in legend before the air crash, but Munich in many ways earned them immortality. They have never grown old.Jeff Connor traces the rise of the greatest Manchester United side of all time, alongside a vibrant portrait of England in the 1950s, but he also paints a dark picture of a club that enriched itself on the myth of Munich while neglecting the families of the dead and the surviving players. The repercussions and the toll the disaster took on so many linger to the present day.Drawing on extensive interviews with the Munich victims and players of that era, The Lost Babes is the definitive account of British football's golden age, a poignant story of the protracted effects of loss and a remorseless dissection of the how the richest football club in the world turned its back on its own players and their families.

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

HarperSport

A fast-paced, fly-on-the-wall story of courage, endurance, bungling,  rows and cheating in sport's greatest marathon  In  1987, the Tour de France was won by Irishman Stephen Roche. It was the  first time the champion had hailed from outside the Continent or the  States and the first time in 20 years a British team - ANC Halfords -  had competed in the world's toughest and craziest race. Jeff Connor not  only stayed with the British team but also found himself an unofficial  team member.  In this long-awaited new edition of Wide-Eyed and Legless,  now widely regarded as a classic, Connor describes what it takes to  compete, survive and win during those 26 days of gruelling effort.  Alongside the heroism and athleticism, he reveals the extraordinary  amounts of chicanery, from pulling riders along to illicit drug use.  Time has not dimmed the impact of this eye-opening and entertaining close-up look at the supreme endurance event, and Wide-Eyed and Legless is destined to be acclaimed by a new generation of cycling enthusiasts.  Jeff Connor's other books include the definitive story of the Busby Babes, The Lost Babes, and Up and Down Under, an account of the 2001 British Lions tour.

Wide-eyed and Legless: Inside the Tour De France (A Sportspages Book)

Business & Money

Industries

SIMON SCHUSTER (TRADE DIVISION)

<p>Book by Connor, Jeff, Zuckerman, Robert</p>

The Crow: The Movie

Humor & Entertainment

Zuckerman, Robert

Movies

Kitchen Sink Pr

The Crow: City of Angels : A Diary of the Film

<p>The untimely death of Dougal Haston (1940-1977) in a freak avalanche robbed climbing of one of its most charismatic, controversial, and enigmatic figures. A man of extremes who managed to combine a hedonistic lifestyle with a career at the cutting edge of world mountaineering, Haston remains a figure whose deeds have inspired climbers worldwide. He also captured the imagination of the world far beyond that of the climbing fraternity -- he had the looks of a young god and was exceptionally talented, egocentric, and obsessed with his chosen sport. Connor explores Haston's agonizing development: from his working-class background in the small Scottish village of Currie to his antiestablishment years at college and in Scottish climbing circles, to the nearly fatal accident that drove him abroad, his fearsome drinking and womanizing, and, eventually, fulfillment and peace. For all those who wonder what motivates men and women to risk their lives in the mountains, this intimate portrait of a driven, tortured personality provides many of the answers. 24 pages of color and black-and-white photographs are included in this definitive biography from Jeff Connor, which was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature. "With Dougal Haston's death, Britain lost one of the finest mountaineers to have come from these Isles." -- Doug Scott "Haston was one of the world's greatest mountaineers and possibly the finest alpinist Scotland has ever produced." -- The Scotsman</p>

Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk

Canongate Books Ltd.

In 1987, the Tour was won by Irishman Stephen Roche. It was the first time the champion had hailed from outside the Continent or the States and the first time in 20 years a British team—ANC Halfords—had competed in the world's toughest and craziest race. Jeff Connor, on assignment there as a newspaper reporter, not only stayed with the British team but also found himself an unofficial team member, driving, sorting out hotel rooms, packing, and unpacking. In this long-awaited new edition of Wide-Eyed and Legless, now widely regarded as a classic of cycling literature, Connor describes in detail what it takes to compete, survive, and win during those 26 days of grueling effort in the name of sport. Alongside the heroism and athleticism, he reveals the extraordinary amounts of chicanery, from pulling riders along to illicit drug use. Time has not dimmed the impact of this eye-opening and entertaining close-up look at the supreme endurance event that is the Tour de France, and Wide-Eyed and Legless is destined to be acclaimed by a whole new generation of cycling enthusiasts.

Wide-Eyed and Legless: Inside the Tour de France

Mainstream Publishing

Looking for Lulu

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Thrillers & Suspense

2QT, Limited (Publishing)

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Books by Connor, Jeff