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Trautmann: The Biography

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Trautmann: The BiographyThere is also an ebook version available of this title, it is for sale from Amazon or your usual provider. The incredible story of Bernhard Carl Trautmann (Bert), Nazi Youth member, paratrooper, WWII prisoner of war and Manchester City's greatest ever goalkeeper. One of the best footballing biographies ever written. In April 1945, a group of bedraggled, weary German prisoners of war landed at Tilbury after being captured during the last days of the

There is also an ebook version available of this title, it is for sale from Amazon or your usual provider. 

The incredible story of Bernhard Carl Trautmann (Bert), Nazi Youth member, paratrooper, WWII prisoner of war and Manchester City's greatest ever goalkeeper. One of the best footballing biographies ever written.

In April 1945, a group of bedraggled, weary German prisoners of war landed at Tilbury after being captured during the last days of the war. A confused 22-year-old veteran of some of the hardest battles experienced by the Germans found himself in SE Lancs.

His name was Bernhard Carl Trautmann, later to become famous as Bert. This book is the complete story. From his early life in Bremen where he was born and his involvement in the Hitler Youth to his often hilarious internment at prisoner of war Camp 50.

After his signing by Manchester City in 1949 amid a barrage of controversy and prejudice, Trautmann ran the gauntlet of racial hatred to become, without doubt, one of the greatest goalkeepers ever seen.

He played in two successive FA cup finals, '55 and '56, the latter year bringing him into world focus when he sustained a broken neck. This is an exciting story of courage and humour and it gives an insight into professional football in the 50's and 60's.

Most of the later books have leant heavily on this original and best story of the master keeper.

If you are unaware how highly Trautmann was rated by his peers, even across the Manchester divide:

"I'll go along with most people who say one man doesn't make a team; but I do believe there are times when one man can save a team. Bert Trautmann was such a man."
(Harry Gregg, Manchester United & Northern Ireland)

"At Maine Road once, a ball was headed out to me around the 18-yard area and I caught it on the volley with full power. The area was packed with players and my shot was going straight in the top corner. For me and the other United forwards it was a goal all the way, when suddenly, Bert pulled off quite the most outstanding and best save I have ever seen. 

How he could have seen my shot through the mass of players I don't know, but he dived from one side of the goal to the other and tipped it over the bar. Bert Trautmann was the best goalkeeper around at the time." 

(Bobby Charlton, Manchester United & England)

The other image is Bert with Alan Rowlands at a book signing at the Etihad in 2011.

About the Author

Alan Rowlands was born in Patricroft, Manchester. He spent two years researching and writing Trautmann, travelling extensively within the United Kingdom and Germany.

He has been a contributor to numerous football magazines, radio broadcasts and has worked with The Footballer's Football Channel. He has also contributed to a documentary about the life of Bert Trautmann.

*******

Reviews

There are few books so fascinating and interesting to read as Trautmann the Biography and there are fewer still that are so heart wrenching. I felt as if I would cry on at least 3 occasions just reading Bert’s story. This is a must read for all football fans. mancitygifts.com

http://mancitygifts.com/a-review-of-trautmann-the-biography-by-alan-rowlands/

*******

My Favorite City book…Mike “BlueWolf1894” Devlin - “Trautmann: The Biography” by Alan Rowlands. It’s phenomenal what Bert went through and accomplished at City – a true legend of the game

About Mike Devlin
Mike Devlin is an Administrator known as BlueWolf to MCFCForum.com who were the Football Blogging Awards judges “Best Football Forum 2014”
Follow BlueWolf1894 on twitter – @BlueWolf1894

http://mancitygifts.com/10-mcfc-experts-reveal-their-fav-mcfc-books/

*******


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Dr. Know
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 3
I had heard of this book when it made a splash in 1987, I did not have time then...
Format: Paperback
I did not have time to read this book when it came out because I was a young father, and I was at the beginning of my professional career. Now, almost 40 years later, I am a grandfather and I within months of the end of my professional career. So I made time to read it, finally. What instigated me to do so now, is all the recent activities concerning UAPs and the unexplained sightings of UAPs in the night skies over military bases in New Jersey and, also, in England. Put simply, I was in the mood to give this book a chance. The "story" starts strong with Whitley Strieber's descriptions of his apparent contact with the "visitors." He is a talented fiction writer and that comes through, but after the first 60 or so pages, the story drags and becomes increasingly repetitive, and hard to read. The penultimate chapter may have read well in 1987, with its buzziness, and the power of three....but in 2025 it doesn't. It just sounds so out-of-date like an Oldsmobile Cutlass with a T-top. (Yes that was a real car...Google it.) Then, there are chapters that are nothing more than transcripts of what Whitley, and his late wife, Anne, had said while in sessions under hypnosis; they are barely understandable, let alone readable. The allusions to quantum mechanics later in the book adon't fit very well, and seem to be an afterthought and are very hard to take. Clearly, Streiber's ideas are not grounded in the science, but in a kind of typical layman's misunderstanding of quantum mechanical "concepts." That is there is an extension of the theory into things it is not meant to explain, and proves that having a little knowledge about something is dangerous. All-in-all, I suffered through the "last," 229 pages (including two appendices), but I can say I have read it from cover to cover. What is my opinion of the abduction story? I hate to be unkind, but it seems more like the memory of a hallucination, or of a very bad and graphic dream, than something that actually happened. It seems to be the product of a fertile and creative mind of a talented author. Yes, there are other people who also claim to have been abducted, and there are some commonalities among their claims, and I know that their numbers should add credibility to their stories, and I know it is unkind to doubt them, but I do and I remain skeptical. So did Whitley Streiber write this book knowing full well that is was actual a work of fiction while claiming it was non-fiction, or did he write it honestly thinking that he was sharing objective truths? On this, it is very hard to know...it is plausible that he really believes these things happened to him, and that he wrote about them sincerely. The author himself seems never to be sure. His lie detector results seem to indicate that he is telling something that he truly believes, but one never knows for sure. To sum up, I am glad the book is no longer a mystery to me. My curiosity was satisfied and that is enough for me, but it took work.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2025
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Steve D.
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
Read this book to begin your study!
Format: Kindle
If you can read only one book on UFO abductions, read this one! This book is amazing and will give you a very good idea about what these UFO abductees are experiencing. This is the book that launched me on an ongoing UFO study which has led to my obtaining and reading tons of books on UFO and abductions. While not an abductee myself and, in fact, I have arguably never even seen a UFO, I know that there is something to this phenomenon that we do not understand. The interest seen in the public square now and the government's greater focus on the UFO phenomena leads one to conclude that what is happening is real and unknown. While I personally believe that the UFO phenomena is a spiritual one involving the unseen spirit world, that is just one of the many theories out there. Read this book and embark on a fascinating journey for yourself.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2022
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lynn sweeney
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Loved the book
Format: Paperback
Awesome book. Great reading
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Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2025
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Karen
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 4
Classic in the UFO Lore
Format: Paperback
Fascinating read about the abduction phenomena from a first hand account.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2026
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Verified Purchase
Amy Lubchansky
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
What evolution looks like when it's applied to the conscious mind
Format: Kindle
It's difficult to say what this book has meant to me over the last 30(?!) years. It is one I return to again and again, and I always get something new from it. The Strieber's commitment to living in the question and keeping it open without jumping to conclusions about where the beings originate and why they are here should be a master class for investigators in the field. There were concepts so foreign to me when I first read this as a teen who was only there for "the alien stuff" that now resonate so deeply. Concepts beyond the question of the visitors; ruminations on spirituality, meditation, marriage that have been a guiding force in my life. I grew up surrounded by awful marriages, reading a man talk so reverently about his wife and their life together actually changed my perception of what was possible in relationships. This book has ruined most other books by experiencers for me, because while others may certainly have interesting stories, they aren't all gifted writers of this caliber. The sincerity, confusion, fear, and ultimately bravery to confront the unknown are palpable. I can't wait to read the new introduction and dive into the mystery all over again.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2022

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