Pete Davies is incapable of writing a dull sentence... outrageously entertaining

Exhilarating ... full of drama, full of its own reckless and compelling logic

Riveting, surging, passionately written. The book which made it possible for "football literature" to mean something other than daft ghosted biographies

Knausgaard is a writer with an astonishing ability to elevate the prosaic… As a reading experience, Home and Away is diverting, indulgent and stealthily enjoyable. Just as it probably was to write.

At its core, Home and Away is a story about two men doing what they can to keep a friendship afloat, even from continents away.

For a book which, at heart, is no more than two friends chatting about football, there is a lot to like.

Their correspondence is, at times, very personal and the reader gets the impression that the two writers are connecting on a deeper level, able to express views and thoughts that they wouldn’t share with anyone else. It is this feeling that as a reader you are being welcomed into a lively conversation about politics, life and everything in between, which makes the book so enjoyable and engrossing.

The pair make lively correspondents.

It's fun and possibly a fruitful format for future tournaments.

It is worth having a read of this…to be reminded again of the joy of sport and how it adds colour and passion and pleasure to modern life.

[It is] elegantly written.

An interesting and unusual study of the global appeal of football

They both love football. So the letters are about football but also lots of other things. It reminds you that watching football is about lots of other things too… I really enjoyed this.

Plaudits will arrive faster than an incoming tide.

In her memoir Leap In, Alexandra Heminsley gives an eloquent exposition of the painful, powerful but ultimately exhilarating effects of wild swimming throughout the winter.

Haunting and beautiful

A memoir about the power of a good teacher, about family, about loss, about growing into the man you are meant to be

A Boy in the Water is an uplifting and truly remarkable story of innocence, dedication, and commitment

This book really struck a chord with me and I couldn't put it down until I read it all . . . amazing, a must read

'Written beautifully through the eyes of a child yet to enter his teens, 'A Boy in the Water' resonated strongly taking me back to my own childhood. A fascinating story full of innocence, achievement, ambition and trust.' Ellen MacArthur

"I am absolutely in awe; a mindblowing and phenomenal feat. A Boy in the Water will challenge ideas of what is possible".
Chrissie Wellington OBE