The Autobiography
The Sunday Times Bestseller
Published on 5. September 2019
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-0-241-40142-2 (ISBN)
Description
PRE-ORDER THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & TELEGRAPH BOOKS OF THE YEAR
'He is England's greatest ever batsman . . . a hugely enjoyable book' Daily Mail, SPORTS BOOKS OF THE YEAR
_________________
Watch. The. Ball.
It's just you. Standing at the crease. Waiting. The bowler is running. His arm swinging. The ball - 155 grams of cork, string and leather - is hurled at you. At 90 mph it travels 22 yards in under half a second. You can barely see it and you've got to be swinging your bat before it's halfway towards you. Because you are in its path . . .
Alastair Cook, one of England's most decorated players and highest test run scorer, knows what it is like to be your best under pressure. Yet at 33 he called time on his England career.
Come with him as he relives the fraught hours on the pitch, the desperate lows and astonishing highs, the paralysing anxiety that can send the best back home and the extraordinary battle of wills with yourself, the opposing players and even those supposedly on your own side.
This is cricket as you've never seen it. The view from the inside . . .
LONGLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AUTOBIOGRAPHY AWARD
'Fascinating, timely. Delves into the psychological challenges of the game' Guardian
'Bracingly honest' Times
'He is England's greatest ever batsman . . . a hugely enjoyable book' Daily Mail, SPORTS BOOKS OF THE YEAR
_________________
Watch. The. Ball.
It's just you. Standing at the crease. Waiting. The bowler is running. His arm swinging. The ball - 155 grams of cork, string and leather - is hurled at you. At 90 mph it travels 22 yards in under half a second. You can barely see it and you've got to be swinging your bat before it's halfway towards you. Because you are in its path . . .
Alastair Cook, one of England's most decorated players and highest test run scorer, knows what it is like to be your best under pressure. Yet at 33 he called time on his England career.
Come with him as he relives the fraught hours on the pitch, the desperate lows and astonishing highs, the paralysing anxiety that can send the best back home and the extraordinary battle of wills with yourself, the opposing players and even those supposedly on your own side.
This is cricket as you've never seen it. The view from the inside . . .
LONGLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AUTOBIOGRAPHY AWARD
'Fascinating, timely. Delves into the psychological challenges of the game' Guardian
'Bracingly honest' Times
Reviews / Votes
Bracingly honest about the brutal nature of professional cricket * The Times * He is England's greatest ever batsman...but behind that choirboy exterior, Cook is as tough as tugboats, a man who has spent his life doing one of the hardest, scariest jobs in sports - opening the batting in Test cricket. This hugely enjoyable book gives you an idea of quite how challenging it is, and makes you see that finding a replacement for "The Chef" at the top of England's batting order won't be any picnic * Sports Books of the Year Daily Mail * Hugely enjoyable * Sport Books of the Year, Daily Mail * A fascinating and layered book which delves into the psychological challenges of the game . . . a timely read at the end of an exhilarating yet flawed summer for English cricket * Guardian * The best books to buy sports fans this Christmas * Daily Telegraph * It makes for fascinating reading, as the former England captain recounts what it took to succeed at the top of his game - and reveals what made him decide to hang up his whites at the relatively early age of 33 * Radio Times * Reveals Cook as a teak-tough, mentally powerful competitor . . . Brutally honest insight into professional sport at the highest level * Press Association * Cricket legend Alastair Cook's remarkably candid autobiography reveals the pressures of playing the sport at the highest level for more than a decade * Choice * He details the complexity of the process, from technique to mental agonies, to draining team politics . . . there are also lots of endearing behind-the-scenes details * Strong Words * Sir Alastair reveals his more ruthless and passionate sides in a book more probing than most sport biogs * Daily Mirror *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
648 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-40142-2 (9780241401422)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Alastair Nathan Cook was born in Gloucester, December 1984. He is an English cricketer. He plays for Essex County Cricket Club and previously for England. Cook is the fifth highest Test scorer of all time.
He is regarded as England's most successful batsman ever and now he is an icon and role model in sport.
Outside of cricket, Alastair has written columns in the Telegraph and Metro, he is a talented saxophone player and donates his time to raising money for cancer charities and the David Randall Foundation. He is now married with three children.
He is regarded as England's most successful batsman ever and now he is an icon and role model in sport.
Outside of cricket, Alastair has written columns in the Telegraph and Metro, he is a talented saxophone player and donates his time to raising money for cancer charities and the David Randall Foundation. He is now married with three children.