{"title":"Books by Jimmy Burns","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781526639417","title":"Maradona","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘The definitive work on Diego Maradona’\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe 42\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'One of football’s greatest stories ... this is the best football book in ages' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGoal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A modern footballing classic' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eFHM\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnyone doubting that Diego Maradona was more than just a football player had only to witness the outpourings after his death on November 25th 2020. During his tempestuous life and career, he played for top clubs in South America and Europe, notably Napoli where he became an adored hero and adopted son, and grew to be a legend in his homeland of Argentina after leading them to victory in the 1986 World Cup.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHaving gained access to his inner circle, Jimmy Burns traces Maradona’s life from the slums of Buenos Aires, where he was born, through his great years of triumph, to the United States from where, in 1994, he was ignobly expelled after undergoing a positive drugs test. He also tells of his failed attempt to bring further glory to Argentina as coach in the 2010 World Cup, and ultimately, his tragic decline and recent death.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWidely regarded as the best and most revealing account of the highs, lows, genius and flaws of arguably the greatest footballer of all time, this biography inspired Asif Kapadia’s award-winning 2019 film \u003ci\u003eDiego Maradona\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Excellent and well-researched'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘I finished it thinking how great it would be to make something on Diego Maradona one day’\u003c\/b\u003e Asif Kapadia, director of \u003ci\u003eDiego Maradona\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303172518261,"sku":"9781526639417","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526639417_b676d81e-e604-4514-aacf-8e38157314e3.jpg?v=1786022168"},{"product_id":"9781801509824","title":"The Premier","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Premier: Big Business and Great Football\u003c\/em\u003e explores the history and evolution of the world’s most popular football league.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscover the curiosities and stand-out moments of the greatest Premier League clubs as well as fascinating stories of the owners, managers, players, fans and chroniclers who have lit up England’s top-flight league for 30-plus unforgettable years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Wenger’s Arsenal and Ferguson’s Manchester United to the Guardiola–Klopp rivalry and Arteta, from tragic memories, tribal hymns and hooliganism, to controversial overseas owners and alleged breaches of fair-play rules, this is the Premier League in all its colour and complexity. Penned by an award-winning Anglo-Spanish writer, the book also highlights the contributions of Spaniards and other non-English players.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDelving beyond the purely anecdotal, this is a lively, illustrative, incisive, enlightening and entertaining account of one of the world's greatest sporting institutions.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306811666805,"sku":"9781801509824","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781801509824_4e4503ef-6b02-407d-9880-8feaea8c526b.jpg?v=1786027199"},{"product_id":"9781916556164","title":"A Faithful Spy","description":"Drawing on previously undisclosed personal papers, this biography of Walter Bell by award-winning author Jimmy Burns gives a remarkable insight into the working of British Intelligence. He was at heart of the emerging intelligence special relationship between Britain and America before, during and immediately after WW2 - the very time that MI6 had been penetrated by Russian intelligence. He was acquainted with Philby, Burgess and Maclean.Moving to MI5 Bell had postings in Kenya, India, and the West Indies, playing a crucial role in the passing power of power to newly independent governments, and developing close ties with agents of influence at the highest levels in the former colonies, from journalists and judges to generals and independence heroes. Back home he was intimately involved in operations to limit the reputation damage provoked by the media outcry over the Cambridge Five affair and suspected KGB misinformation about further alleged Soviet agents at the highest level of the British state.  He was rewarded for his service with a CMG and the US Medal of Freedom.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56309019214197,"sku":"9781916556164","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781916556164_8fa219a5-76ac-4424-96c8-6e88e97058cb.jpg?v=1786030336"},{"product_id":"9781509849147","title":"Cristiano and Leo","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times \u003c\/i\u003eSports Books of the Year.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCristiano and Leo\u003c\/i\u003e is the fascinating account of the lives and rivalry between two of the best footballers to ever play the game, Ronaldo and Messi, by Jimmy Burns the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMaradona: The Hand of God\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi has defined football to a generation of fans – everyone has an opinion on who is the greatest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDo you prefer Ronaldo whose work ethic and physique have been honed for one purpose – scoring goals. Or Messi, whose superhuman natural talent means he can do the seemingly impossible with a football.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBetween them they have scored over 1300 goals, won the Ballon d’Or ten times, and taken the beautiful game to even greater heights. But statistics alone cannot do justice to their skill, athleticism and dedication to stay at the top for so long of one of the most competitive sports in the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCristiano and Leo\u003c\/i\u003e tells their definitive story, from children kicking a ball halfway around the world from each other to facing each other in the epic clash El Clásico, between Real Madrid and Barcelona. This is the essential book to understand one the most compelling rivalries in sporting history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312515592565,"sku":"9781509849147","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781509849147_f8a1910a-3f77-4266-85eb-bbe1d5e6e864.jpg?v=1786022238"},{"product_id":"churchill-s-spanish-odyssey","title":"Churchill’s Spanish Odyssey","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThroughout a long and utterly unique and controversial life of public service, one of the towering figures of  the 20th century Winston Churchill had an equally extended, far less known, but no less fascinating involvement with Spain and its people. \u003c\/b\u003eMuch of this was conducted in secret, and yet it played a crucial role in forging Churchill’s character and sense of mission.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWritten by prize-winning Anglo-Spanish journalist and author, Jimmy Burns, \u003ci\u003eChurchill’s Spanish Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e explores the extraordinary story of some of Churchill’s most controversial personal friendships and tactical alliances spanning more than half a century of key moments in modern history, on both sides of the Atlantic, from Havana to Madrid, via London, New York and Gibraltar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBurns reveals how Churchill developed his love of cigars and painting and afternoon ‘siestas’ alongside an understanding of military tactics as a young soldier in Cuba. He shines a light on Churchill’s eccentric friendships with the Spanish aristocracy, from his cousin the Duke of Alba to King Alfonso XIII, attachments which saw him playing polo and enjoying the culinary delights of a French master chef, while secretly gaining intelligence on German war aims and Spanish support for the allied cause. The book also documents Churchill’s secret support for General Franco, his controversial non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War and the key role played by Spain and Gibraltar in the allied strategy during World War Two.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a must read for anyone interested in the history of secret intelligence, the Spanish Civil War, World War Two and the man himself, Winston Churchill.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57573234409845,"sku":"9781350450455","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-jimmy-burns.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}