Book About the Boss

One of the finer arts of publishing, as of soccer, is timing. Launching Michael Crick's blockbuster biography of the Manchester United manager, The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson (Simon & Schuster; 612 pages), at the end of the English soccer season seemed a fair bet. With 14 major titles in as many seasons with the club, Ferguson and his team looked set for one or two more this time out. Instead, United lost in the semifinal of the European Championship and was edged out of the Premier League championship by an ascendant Arsenal who, days after winning the F.A....