REVIEW QUOTES

A lovely read, self-deprecating and full of gentle humour.

Simon Barnes, The Times 

A charming book. In the chapters on his playing days there is something of a lost world that intrigued me. This was a time when county cricket was allowed to be itself, to meander along without the apparent need to justify itself to the bean-counters. A kind of joy and schoolboy fun infuses most of these pages.

But there is a serious tone, too. John’s account of his demons is less in-your-face than Marcus Trescothick’s but all the more moving for that. All the emotions we go through in life are here: the adolescent worries and fears; the hopes and dreams of youth; the joy and discovery of young love, both imagined and real, and the pain and utter despair of losing the person you have loved. What emerges from the book is that cricket is important, but only as a medium for development of the human spirit.

Mike Atherton  

For many cricketers the near-misses of Barclay's career would have produced a bitter, score-settling sort of memoir. But these moving reflections on cricket and life glow with a winning, almost Hobbesian, generosity of spirit, soaring above petty rivalries to approach, at times, the level of spiritual meditation.

The book comprises 30 episodes, each carefully evoked. This eliminates dreary reportage - a format other publishers could fruitfully investigate. What emerges is a rounded portrait of a quietly remarkable man.

Paul Coupar, The Wisden Cricketer 

A delightful book, as much anthology as autobiography but still self-revealing. I have long thought Johnny Barclay would have made a distinguished diplomat, a marvellous schoolmaster, a wonderful clergyman or a welcoming water-keeper. Now, to be added to the list, is disarming essayist.

John Woodcock 

This is as complete a portrayal of a life spent in cricket as has been written in recent years,

 told by a man with considerable talent as an author. Thoroughly recommended.

Ed Davis, All Out Cricket 

A model autobiography, devoid of any whinging or score-settling.

It is crammed full of honesty, humour and astute reflections, on modern cricket and life in general.

Andrew Hignell, Cricket Society Jourmal 

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