Bertie Mee: An Officer and a Gentleman

by David Tossell, Graham Taylor (Foreword)

Bertie An Officer and a Gentleman examines the life, management style, and relationships of the man who helped to lay the foundations of the modern Arsenal. It studies the club's years in decline, the achievements of the early '70s, and the surprisingly swift descent into the relegation battles and in-fighting that dogged Mee's final seasons at Highbury. It also acknowledges Mee's innovative work in the health service, his role in the emergence of Watford as one of the country's leading clubs, and reveals a devoted family man. Mee was an intensely private individual, yet with the cooperation of his family and through interviews with many of his former colleagues, players, and friends, Bertie An Officer and a Gentleman offers a remarkable in-depth look at a football legend.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

David Tossell has been a sports journalist for four decades. Long-time head of European Public Affairs for the NFL (National Football League) and former Executive Sports Editor of the Today newspaper, he is the author of 17 sports books. He has been short-listed seven times in the British Sports Book Awards - for Bertie Mee (Best Biography, 2006); Grovel! (Best Cricket Book, 2008); Nobody Beats Us (Best Rugby Book, 2010); Tony Greig (Best Cricket Book, 2012); The Great English Final (Best Football Book, 2014), Natural: The Jimmy Greaves Story (Best Biography and Best Football Book, 2020). He has also been short-listed twice for MCC/Cricket Society Book of the Year.
He has written books on football, cricket, rugby and American football.

Reviews

[John Newcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a fan boy biography of the Arsenal manager who put Arsenal back onto winning ways. It is also well written, well researched and informative and gives great insight into this very modest and private man. The memories of games and matches in the early 70s, including those I ball boyed, was extremely nostalgic.