Author:Einhard,Notker the Stammerer
Einhard's Life of Charlemagne is an absorbing chronicle of one of the most powerful and dynamic of all medieval rulers, written by a close friend and adviser. In elegant prose it describes Charlemagne's personal life, details his achievements in reviving learning and the arts, recounts his military successes and depicts one of the defining moments in European history: Charlemagne's coronation as emperor in Rome on Christmas Day 800AD. By contrast, Notker's account, written some decades after Charlemagne's death, is a collection of anecdotes rather than a presentation of historical facts.
One of the year’s best football books … an extremely well-informed and usefully myth-busting portrait
—— GuardianFascinating
—— Sunday IndependentSports Book of the Year
—— Sunday TimesFootball Books of the Year: Sid Lowe isn’t an ordinary football writer and, as a result, this is not an ordinary football book. Lowe paces it all so well ... like an engaging lesson from your favourite teacher
—— Daily MirrorA revelation. Anyone interested in Spain's two biggest teams can learn something new from this labour of love ... tackling tricky subjects with skill and weaving them into an engaging story. For that, this book stands out from the rest.
—— talksport.comLowe is a man with deep knowledge. He is a proper researcher. His list of interviewees – from Di Stéfano to Beckham – is a Who's Who of six decades of football. And his re-runs of past epic matches make you seek out grainy YouTube videos.
—— GuardianUtterly brilliant
—— Henry Winter , @henrywinterA history of modern Spain told through one of world football's most intense rivalries. It conjures up the complex passions of a country whose national team has become not only the best in the world at present, but, some say, the best ever
—— Chris Maume , IndependentLike so many of Spain's deep rifts, the enmity stems from the civil war. Barcelona represent the losers, democrats, Catalonia. Real Madrid represent the victors, repressors, Spain. Lowe's detailed study shows that the caricature is simplistic but not entirely incorrect
—— Nick Pitt , The Sunday TimesA work of profound research and stimulating discoveries… Lowe has done El Clasico a service by defining its history
—— Hugh MacDonald , HeraldLowe's impressive list of interviewees includes Alfredi di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Andrés Iniesta. …There are also neat mentions of Barça's (unwitting) role in the murder of Leon Trotsky, as well as Madrid’s links to the Beatles in the 1960s and Pedro Almodovar in the 1980s
—— Dermot Corrigan , When Saturday ComesFar more than simply Messi vs Ronaldo, the rivalry between two of the most colossal teams in football, as unfolded in this excellent history, pitches Catalonia against Spain, Franco against the republic, north versus south, and so much more
—— Latest 7A truly outstanding account of an intense football rivalry which exists between Barcelona and Real Madrid
—— Oldham Evening ChronicleAn extremely well-informed and usefully myth-busting portrait of the long rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid
—— Richard Williams , Guardian OnlineFascinating... This one ought not to be missed
—— FTB ProMuch more than the story of two men or two teams or even a game. Barcelona v Real Madrid is one of the greatest rivalries in modern football and this is its forensic history
—— RTE GuideTurns much of the accepted wisdom about the rivalry on its head
—— Robert O'Shea , Evening EchoA well-informed, myth-busting history of modern Spain told through one of the world’s most intense football rivalries
—— ObserverRich, engrossing book
—— Michael Walker , Irish TimesA compelling rivalry... From the pig's head thrown at Luís Figo after his switch to Real to the epic matches between Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho, Lowe covers it all
—— The TimesRemarkable … A beautifully balanced double biography, admirably measured but also gripping, which offers a fresh perspective on a much-examined subject
—— Good Book GuideA remarkable book, which deserves a wide readership.
—— The Oldiefascinating, intelligent, compelling, dramatic and intimate... The style is open, clear, forthright, and sprightly. It seeks – and finds – clarity at all times, whether to events or character, and delivers everything it manages to pick out of the private archives, classified documents and more just brilliantly.
—— The BookbagHanns and Rudolf is a magnificent book. In an era where WWII is passing from living memory and into history, it offers both, and does so in a way which is spellbinding, poignant and harrowing.
—— Nudge Me NowHarding builds a compelling, remarkable picture of war and its aftermath
—— Sunday TimesHoss’s life is grimly fascinating … Hanns and Rudolf is written with a suppressed fury at the moral emptiness of men like him
—— The TimesPerhaps one of the finest books on the Holocaust and the Second World War that I have read in a long time.
—— Adam Cannon , The Jewish Telegraph[A] gripping and superbly written book
—— Mail on Sunday