Mercurial, enigmatic, exciting

He may play a spellbinding game, full of invention and dash. He may even be the "best snooker player in the world" - but he is loved because he is naughty . . . and therein lies his abiding appeal

Jimmy's harum-scarum attitude to life has never altered, even though he is now a household name. One of the loveliest things about him is his naturalness. Stardom has come and touched him and left him exactly the way he was

Jimmy's the ultimate player's player. He thrills the public . . . but the players get even more enjoyment out of watching him because he strikes the ball so well

Partly because he was the son of Stephen, Nicolas Roche had to fight all the harder to be accepted in his own right in the toughest competitive sport that exists. This book is both that story and his ongoing striving for success, as well as an insight into the sometimes corrupt world of professional cycling. A great read even for those who never watch the Tour

The fine columns of Nicolas Roche gave a rare insight into life as a professional cyclist. It's a sport that promotes sacrifice above acclaim. Roche's diaries had an immediate attraction that is extremely rare from athletes in any sport. Roche imparts both a big picture of a particular lifestyle that's all-consuming and a small one of daily struggle and pain. We get the blood and guts of the peloton and for cycling fans that inside account of the job is one to slavishly lap up

Roche delivers a fascinating warts-and-all insight into what it's like riding in a peloton of 200 riders for three weeks on a diet of "plain pasta from a roadside motel with some olive oil". The way he captures the glory, suffering and heroism of the sport make it a must-read this Christmas

Autobiographies released in the middle of sporting careers are often dubious endeavours. How can one evaluate a life when it is still in the throes of being lived? However, Inside the Peloton is an exception. It is a fiercely honest book, which tells the life of a cyclist desperate for success in the present, not a grizzled old pro looking back on a career of success, or a bitter old pro looking back on a career of failure. It tells the story of a man who is skirting the environs of being a great sportsman and for that I commend its release... Fascinating... candid... his honesty is refreshing in an era of public relations sanitization... Inside the Peloton reveals Roche's character immensely clearly. It serves not only as a great book - it also serves as a great marketing tool. Anyone who reads it won't be able to want anything but the best for him. And, they'll be sure to read his Tour de France 2012 diary

A lively, enjoyable read, which also features some fantastic picture sections... candid, fascinating

Honest, highly readable and extraordinarily detailed

Wonderful, hilarious and moving. 32 Programmes is not just a football memoir but a delicious slice of the 1960s and 1970s, a razor-sharp and achingly evocative social history. This brilliant memoir will resonate with all of us who have ever supported a football team, listened to music and fallen in love.

I loved this book. If you know a man in his forties or fifties, please give him this book

A funny, charming and heart-warming tale of obsession

I fail to believe that anyone who reads Dave Roberts' new book 32 Programmes cannot relate to his thinking as a football fan. It traces his life as a football fan through 32 chapters in his life, going into the bitter-sweet details of growing up in the 1970s and '80s via 32 football matches. Building on and around his first book, The Bromley Boys (soon to be released as a film, no less), Dave introduces us to his career, his attempts to find a soul mate and finally in a twist his life changing circumstances that will have you reaching for a tissue. If you read one new book on your holidays this summer, choose this one. And then you try and detail 10, let alone 32, games that mark the milestones in your life

Entertaining, heart-warming and expertly executed, this book is certain to strike a chord with anyone who's ever loved the game. Engrossing and enjoyable... funny and charming

An entertaining read, rich in nostalgia and reminiscent of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, this offers an insight into the power of obsession and how the beautiful game has changed. Moving and amusing

Paul Hendrickson has another theme more interesting than Hemmingway's boat: the writers deadly effect on his sons

This is a measured and thoughtful, sometimes lyrical book that adds considerably to the Papa story

Hendrickson has a tremendous feel for Hemingway, as both writer and man; his own writing is vivid and personal... What he says about Hemingway is usually dead on target

Hemingway's Boat... turns a seemingly trivial search for an old boat up on cinder blocks in a Havana yard and a potentially mawkish concentration on the latter end of a life into a powerful meditation on what made Hemingway tick and what made him great. Though one needs other books for the first 35 years of the life, it supersedes them all.

Hendrickson has a fluent, engaging tone...he brings us closer to understanding Hemingway as a man who loved and lost - as opposed to the archtypal misogynist bully he is widely regarded as

His life was spectacular, and, somehow, went spectacularly wrong. Hendrickson tells the story of the man and the boat, and the fish, and the women, and the writing. And then the moment when, at the age of 61, Hemingway woke up early one morning and shot himself. In the head. On purpose. Some story. Very well told

Rich, magisterial account...Other books on Hemingway have tended to focus on his post-1930s literary decline and his machismo. The portrait that emerges from these pages is altogether more human

He has a tremendous feel for Hemingway, as both writer and man

This is a portrait of the author which is likely to leave one feeling more warmly disposed towards him

More a portrait than a biography, this book is a dazzling late example of "New Journalism"...the result is touching, revelatory and utterly absorbing

Unmissable

While much of Hemingway’s life may have been hellish, Hendrickson’s writing is a delight. A fine work

Very well told

An album of fascinating snapshots of Hemingway

Paul Hendrickson writes with a great deal of passion…

A terrific and fresh approach to the man