Christmas Day 1959 and legions of schoolboys up and down the country feverishly unwrapped the very first Topical Times Football Book. On the cover Bobby Charlton smacked a leather ball out of a pillar-box red background and, although this wasn"t the first yearbook, it heralded the golden age of the Christmas football annual. As the sixties progressed, the shelves in Woolworth"s and the local newsagent began to bulge with titles reflecting the expanding, exciting world of football - Charles Buchan"s Soccer Gift Book nestled next to the International Football Book and the Midlands Soccer Annual. These annuals were educational and insightful, taking the reader into the changing rooms, the supporters" club lounges, and the manager"s mind ahead of a tough season. Beautifully illustrated, they helped shape the football consciousness of a generation. The Heyday of The Football Annual Ian Preece and Doug Cheeseman bottle the essence of these publications. They travel back in time to a...