Alex McLeish [then playing for Ferguson at Aberdeen], for instance, says that when his father died unexpectedly in his early forties Ferguson stepped in and "assured me that he would take my Dad's place as much as he could in keeping me up to scratch".

The chronicling of Ferguson's relationships with such key players?"lost boys" like McLeish, Cantona, Ince, Keane, plus the legion of stars that emerged wide-eyed from under Fergie's wing and the Old Trafford schoolboy squad--is a particularly interesting theme.

Not surprisingly, given Ferguson's and Manchester United's notorious media wariness, there is little fresh material from centre-stage, but a widespread of new interviews with some of the supporting-cast in this extraordinary drama are well used, as is material from contemporary media reports, and books, including Ferguson's, that have long since drifted out of print. The result is a rounded study that nevertheless debunks elements of the Ferguson myth. Immensely readable, not least because the ambition of the man in question drives the narrative along at a tremendous gallop, The Boss is a very welcome addition to the Fergie library.--Alex Hankin