I was originally intrigued by this book, as my own grandparents had met at the Yarra Falls factory behind Collingwood’s spiritual home, Victoria Park in the 1930s. Also, being a lifelong Collingwood fan (passed on by my grandparents through my dad) drew me to the book. Journalist Paul Daley has written a personal and touching story based on handed oral history and family tales. It takes in the Collingwood Football Club as important community hub; the history of a tough, poor neighborhood in a very wealthy city. And lastly and most importantly, it’s a love story between Doc and Louie, who grew up a few doors from each other. From their early childhood, their love for each other was apparent. The book takes in the very beginnings of Collingwood entering the then-VFL at the end of the nineteenth century, how important it was to the people of the suburb and an interesting social history of what life was like for the people of ‘the flat’. The book also follows Doc and his best mate Percy Rowe (also a team mate at Collingwood) to Europe and World War I. The tragedy that follows is of course a very familiar one, as thousands of young Australians lost their lives miles from home. A touching tale, told very skillfully.

Dave Clarke is from Readings Carlton