Bestie: A Portrait of a Legend Book

George Best remains the greatest icon in British footballing history. Yet the truth of his story of success twinned with excess has always seemed as elusive as the man himself once proved to defenders the world over. From humble origins in Belfast, Best rose to become the pre-eminent talent in European football in the late 1960s, helping Manchester United to European Cup success in 1968 at the age of 22. Yet like so many touched by genius, Best was made with a self-destruct button. The outline of the story is well-known, but Lovejoy helps fill in the blanks, from the drinking and womanising back in Best's halcyon days, into the abyss of alcoholism and bankruptcy, through the three-month prison sentence to a current life of personal appearances interspersed by drunken binges. Never seeking to glorify the horrors of true alcoholism, this biography manages to perfectly capture Best's unique talent and maverick spirit and leaves one with a feeling of sadness that his unique talent went partially unfulfilled. Even then, it is clear that Best may have been the greatest footballer ever seen. So where did it all go wrong (as Best was once ironically asked by a porter who famously came across George in a hotel room with a beautiful blonde, bottles of champagne and a bed strewn with banknotes won at the local casino)? Best himself has offered no end of clues, including his frustration as an Irishman set never to play on football's world stage and the death of his mother through alcoholism. One suspects, however, he well knows that the answer lies within. --Trevor CroweRead More