THROUGHOUT its long and distinguished history, the affairs of Bolton Wanderers -- the highs and the lows -- have been reported by the Bolton Evening News.

The town's newspaper has followed the football club's fortunes, from its formation as Christ Church FC in 1874 to the present day, when it proudly commands a place in the Premier League -- the very pinnacle of English football.

For 130 years, it has provided its readers with extensive and unrivalled coverage of the matches, the characters, the successes and the tragedies of a club that has been one of the major influences in the development of the national game.

Now the town's two great institutions have teamed up to tell the story in one incredible volume.

"Making Headlines", the history of Bolton Wanderers as seen through the pages of the Bolton Evening News, will be published in October. It is all there. The successes -- the FA Cup triumphs of the Twenties and the Fifties and the incredible feat of having emerged from the lower divisions to compete head-to-head with the cash-rich clubs of the Premiership -- and the unhappy times -- the Burnden disaster of 1946 still stands today as one of sport's most harrowing tragedies.

If it happened, it was covered in the Bolton Evening News or its much-loved sports editions -- the Football Field, Green Final and the Buff.

"Making Headlines" has been written by Les Gent, a respected editor of the Evening News for eight years, who, being a season ticket holder of long standing, has had much more than a professional interest in the club's fortunes.

"In some senses, I've had a foot in both camps," he said. "I've enjoyed putting the book together and, I must admit, I've learned a lot myself. There are even things that happened in my time as editor of the Evening News that I had forgotten about.

"It has been a special project for me."

One of the book's main attractions is the way events are covered in the language of the day with extracts from reports and pictures from the editions that told the stories.

"The Evening News was first published in 1867 and the football club was formed in 1874 and they have grown up together," Les said.

"They developed into the town's two great institutions, becoming an important part of people's lives."

"Making Headlines" is not intended to be a statistical record of matches or the achievements of players who have worn the white shirt, but it does give an insight into the major events that contributed to the club's development.

It is not only informative but has the capacity to entertain and amuse as it dips into the fascinating history of one of the game's famous old clubs.

"It struck me as strange to find one early report that revealed that 'Rain Stopped Play' on one occasion," Les added. "And on a tour of Greece, Wanderers learned how it was customary that, instead of tossing up before a game, the captains cracked two boiled eggs together and the one whose egg was less damaged got to choose ends.

"Stories like that alongside the reports of the major events make this a coffee table book which can be dipped into any time and one I'm sure will be on any fan's wish list."

"Making Headlines" is now available to pre-order, priced £24.99, on the Wanderers mail order hotline, 0845 124 9828, or by logging on to the website at www.bwfcsuperstore.co.uk. Anyone placing an order before September 1 will have their name printed on the book's subscriptions page.