The definitive history of Manchester United’s rise from being an ‘ordinary’ side in the 30s to a force in post-war English football. Discover the story of Matt Busby, Jimmy Murphy and the birth of the ‘Babes’ – the players, the games, the Building of the Dynasty. Includes many previously unpublished photos, rare programmes, tickets, cuttings and memorabilia.

The country was at war. Manchester United were homeless and managerless; but a step into the unknown, with the appointment of a novice manager in Matt Busby, was to reap rewards that could never have been envisaged.

The story of United’s genesis as a modern football power has never been told in such detail, with reference to author Iain McCartney’s unrivalled collection of original source material – contemporary newspapers, magazines and official documents. 

As the pages of Building the Dynasty are turned, the story of those immediate post-war years unfolds.

• Busby’s tentative early steps at the helm, creating the first of his three outstanding sides, which led to United’s first post-war trophy success.
• How a forward-thinking club began to develop its own players in an innovative scheme, creating the nucleus of a team appreciated by friend and foe alike.
• Standing defiant in the face of the Football League, United became the first English side to compete in a European competition, where they took their league form to a different level.
• But, on the brink of rewriting the history books, the dream was to come to a cruel, sad end on a cold February afternoon...

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Building the Dynasty:

Manchester United 1946‐1958.