The time is ripe for this darkly humorous guide to the unofficial history of West Ham United football club. "Oh, East London is wonderful!" Never has there been such an optimistic chant, for it flies in the face of much of the evidence. From the awful deprivation of the 19th century, through the battles of the working classes to achieve a decent standard of living for their families; the devastation of the Blitz; the violence of London's underworld; the decline of the once-booming Docks. Throughout it all there stood that colossus of East End life - the thing of beauty that is West Ham United. At the heart of the community for over a century, the Hammers have endured more heartache than most teams. From their humble Thames Ironworks roots, through to the glorious flowing football of the Greenwood era, and the emergence of three of England's greatest-ever footballers, the Holy Trinity that were Moore, Hurst and Peters. The legends continued through the decades: Brooking, Bonds, Di Canio, but there was also the turbulence of the Redknapp era, and the ominous entity known as 'the Inter-City Firm', one of the most notorious football hooligan crews Britain has ever known. With the passion only an ardent fan can bring, David Weeks guides you through the Hammers fascinating history.