All an autobiography should be ... as an inspiration and blueprint to young men with ambition in sport it is exemplary. * Michael Parkinson, Telegraph * Mike Atherton signalled that Opening Up would be his own work - and it shows. It's solid, structured, phlegmatic, intelligent and gently humorous - like his batting and, one gleans, like the personality he for so long sheilded from the media. * Andrew Sheilds - Time Out * Outstanding. His ghost-free memoir is beautifully written, filled with considered argument, modest judgement of his own career, excellent observational anecdote and great humour. A brilliant book. * Kate Battersby - Evening Standard * Opening Up reveals what his inscrutable face and deadpan accent have concealed all these years. Generosity, compassion, honesty, modesty, versatility... Opening Up is the most important book to emerge from the Engalnd camp since Mike Brearley's The Art of Captaincy. Its also the first by an England captain since Brearley that wasn't ghosted. * Simon Hughes - Daily Telegraph * As considered and thoughtful as the man himself, it affords the reader a wealth of insights into the modern game. * The Independent * His cricketing memoir is a triumph of clear thinking, honest assessment and beautifully straightforward prose. It is rare enough for a sportsman to write his own account; rarer still for one to lay bare his own inadequacies with such objectivity. * The Sunday Times * The book is outstanding. I commend this not only to avid cricket fans but to men and women who feel socially rejected. * Ian Wooldridge - Daily Mail * Atherton has produced the best book by an England captain since Mike Brearley was redefining the role more than twenty years ago, and it was deservedly shortlisted for thr William Hill Sports Book of the Year. * Independent on Sunday * [Opening Up] is a meeting with a most intriguing man: dogged decency, bloody-mindedness and a hefty taste for responsibility. * The Times *