Become part of Woolwich Arsenal by being in the definitive history

 

By Tony Attwood

On January 12 2012 in the historic setting of the House of Commons, the AISA Arsenal History Society will hold its first social.  And as part of that event my colleagues and I in the Society will take the opportunity to launch the forthcoming book written by three of the officers of the Society.

There is also a chance for anyone interested in Arsenal’s history to take a step into the history of the club by being a sponsor of the book.

WOOLWICH ARSENAL, THE CLUB THAT CHANGED FOOTBALL aims to be the ultimate definitive history of the club from 1893 to 1915.

And I say “definitive” because for the first time in well over 100 years we have been back to the original material relating to the club during this period and verified the history of the club.

In doing this we have turned Arsenal’s history upside down.  We’ve discovered a huge raft of stories and issues, that have either never been reported before, or if they have been reported, have been reported wrongly.

My belief, having now been involved in co-writing the book for the past year, is that it is just about impossible for anyone to write a volume about  Woolwich Arsenal FC which will supersede this book.

Of course it is always possible that there are things we have not yet found – items that are buried so deep in the archives that even all the hours, days and weeks that Mark Andrews and Andy Kelly have spent researching the original material have failed to turn them up.

But these documents will not only be buried deep, they will also relate to issues that no other document refers to.   Which, I suggest, means they will be rather obscure details, rather than major events.

In short I truly believe this is going to be the ultimate Woolwich Arsenal story, and this is going to be the book that people refer to for all time.

So all things told we think we have written the definitive history of the club, its struggles, its triumphs, its directors, its fans.

This is how you can be part of the project…

The book should be published in April 2012 and will retail at £12.95, but if you order a copy now, you will also get your name (or any dedication you want) in the book on the “Sponsors” page.  That page will then be part of this definitive book through all its editions.

We will also reprint that list of sponsors on the Arsenal History home page and on a separate site which will include details of all the sources of data and information that we have used.

The book will be sold via the publishers’ web site and we very much hope will also be sold through Amazon, the Arsenal superstore at the Emirates, and Arsenal.com’s on line service.   (We can’t guarantee the latter, because Amazon and Arsenal will make their own decisions, but “Making the Arsenal” is sold through these routes and there is not reason to believe that “Woolwich Arsenal” won’t follow.)

There is no extra charge for being a sponsor and having your name (or the name of a friend or loved on) in the book – all that happens is you pay for your copy of the book now, rather than on publication.  That of course helps us pay some of the development costs.

To find out more please take a look here

You will also see a rough of the cover of the book as well as details of how to become a sponsor.

I do hope you find the book of interest and will want to have your own copy.

 

10 Replies to “Become part of Woolwich Arsenal by being in the definitive history”

  1. Tony, this is great stuff. I ordered the book via website. Greetings from Duesseldorf Germany.
    Wherever – Forever – Arsenal

  2. I don’t know if Arsenal.com do worldwide deliveries, but we will certainly despatch to any part of the world.

  3. So, Tony…how does this work? How can someone from overseas order your book as the drop down menus only support UK addresses. Can’t see you delivering free of charge to Canada…unless you have some sweet royalties deal 🙂

  4. Brilliant! First time that I’ve received a direct reply from a published auther! This place is getting better everyday 🙂

  5. To confirm on this matter – the price of postage for the Woolwich Arsenal book is the same everywhere in the world. The web site has been changed to show this.

    It means the publishers lose some money on overseas delivery, so we will have to change this later, but for now if you are outside the UK you will get the same postage cost as if you within the UK.

  6. Sorry – I thought I had this set, but it is not – the price of posting to different parts of the world is different. If it causes a problem get in touch with me after Feb 12 when I am back in the UK and I will try and resolve it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *