Jon Spurling

In the 1980s, politicians declared war on football;football supporters declared war on each other inside crumbling stadiums thatresembled bomb sites and the '82 and '86 World Cups were played against thebackdrop of the Falklands conflict. It was a decade in which some fans diedwatching the game they loved, and at times, the 'slum sport' seemed set toimplode. Yet, remarkably, the game was on the cusp of morphing into thebehemoth it has become today. Set against a backdrop of economic recession,rampant hooliganism and suspect fashion, Go To War tells the story ofhow triumph and tragedy shaped English football during the 1980s. Throughoutthis explosive book, author Jon Spurling delves into the stories behind thesuccesses and strife. Thirty years in the making, Go To War drawson interviews conducted with '80s icons including Terry Butcher, Graeme Sharpand Ray Wilkins, managerial legends like Howard Kendall and Bobby Robson and FACup heroes Ricky Villa and Norman Whiteside. Like its precursor, thebestselling Get It On, Go To War provides a unique insight into apivotal footballing decade.

''SPORTING HISTORY AT ITS BEST'' Daily Telegraph''A TERRIFIC READ AND A WORTHY TRIBUTE'' FourFourTwo''VERY WELL WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED'' Nostalgic GoonerFrom Herbert Chapman to Arsene Wenger, this is the definitive history of Arsenal''s time at the famous Highbury stadium.After several years of sitting in Highbury''s local pubs and cafés with a dictaphone, Jon Spurling has pooled hours of exclusive interviews with fans, programme sellers, local publicans and even those who dug the foundations of the Laundry End (and later cleared rubbish from its terraces) to meticulously construct the biography of the ground and chart the ups and downs of one of England''s greatest league clubs.Spurling has also spoken to numerous players, the late greats of yesteryear including Ted Drake, George Male and Reg Lewis, legends of a more recent vintage from Bob Wilson, Charlie George and Malcolm MacDonald to Anders Limpar, as well as heroes of the Wenger era such as Patrick Vieira.Written in the year that Arsenal moved to the Emirates, Jon Spurling has produced the definitive account of the club''s 93 years at Highbury.