"I have a confession to make. I am a squash anorak and devour everything I can whether in real print, or virtually on the internet. Having only discovered the game just over 6 years ago and am now in a hopeless love affair with it. I mention this at the outset because I could never be described as a dispassionate reviewer of the latest contribution to what is, in reality, a paltry amount of squash literature."

Two words seem to sum up this book, "Contradiction" and "Catharsis". The book itself is based primarily on a year in James's life as a squash professional, something that not enough people know about. The surprise, to me at least, and it's acknowledged by the James, is that the focus on that is somewhat lost as the author finds himself using the opportunity to put down on paper some of his demons and the book becomes, in many ways a personal catharsis. I think that adds to the richness of the book and makes it more interesting to those who are not as close to the sport as I am. He covers the death of his mother in quite a great deal of detail and he clearly was very close to her, just as he is with his father. The contradiction comes via the mismatch between my personal experiences of him, and those of my friends - such as is mentioned in the chapter called "The Cheek of it", where he effectively dismisses someone who fancies a hit with him, yet I know before he flew out for the World Open he had a hit with a friend of mine at Dolphin Square!

The book is very readable (I read it pretty much in one sitting, less than 24 hours after I bought it at the Nationals), but I doubt it will be short-listed as a contender for William Hill Sports Book of the Year because of its diary style as much as it's literary merit. Having said that it does give an excellent insight into a typical year for a top professional squash player and how utterly demanding it is. Anyone who reads this and thinks it all comes naturally will be in for a rude awakening. What I found doubly interesting was both the similarities and the contrasts with Jonah Barrington's legendary "Murder on the Squash Court" in terms of the psychology of the training and the volume and pain endured and James acknowledges Jonah's contribution to his development in the book.

The description of the tournaments and how he feels as he performs is very well communicated, but in many ways I found it a little disappointing that the actual rivalries were not explored in more depth. Let's be honest most of us want to know how he and Nick REALLY get on and whilst it's touched on, it's frankly a little lightweight - maybe there will be more when he departs the circuit.The irony is that early on James states that there should be more controversy in squash and to me there is no better way than personality clashes - think Borg/McEnroe, Coe/Ovett - to me it was an opportunity missed.

My second confession is that since I started watching pro squash (my first experience was 2008 Quarters at Canary Wharf) I was intrigued by Nick Matthew, despite his absence then, in that he appeared to be a grafter who worked bloody hard at his craft rather than be "naturally" talented, so I wasn't and never have been instinctively a James fan per se. This book has changed my opinion of him in a positive way. Clearly a bit of a loner, but I suspect many squash players are, as there is definitely something not quite right with wanting to spend large chunks of time in a box about 10 metres long! For the first time I also got a glimpse of the real James having sent my daughter up to get him to sign the book on behalf of the family. Despite his assertion that he finds company difficult, as soon as he saw my smiling daughter later whilst watch Nick against Daryl later in the day, he gave an appreciable nod and a wink - a sweet moment.

The book is a must read for any squash fan, of that there is no doubt, and for me it has made me more supportive of him as a player, knowing what appears to be the real human side of him, rather than the reputation which has been portrayed to me by other players. When you realise how different he is from those closest to him, Mick Todd and his father, you realise that his social skills are not quite as bereft as he tries to make out, because in my very personal experience, neither of them will make the effort for shrinking violets.

A review by Mainser of www.ldsquash.com