WHEN I was asked to review this book, I was filled with a sense of dread that it might be a heavy-going, long, detailed, blow-by-blow, statistician's account of Stoke City's glorious rise back to the top flight of English football.

I'm embarrassed to say I'm not a big reader, but completely surprised my wife Marianne, and myself, by being barely able to put it down for two days.

The reason I wasn't tempted to skim-read it, or rewrite the blurb on the back, are made clear in the first few chapters – that this book was about the most interesting thing about football: the people who watch it and love it.

Dave needed a way of persuading his wife Alison to give him a 'pass' to go to the first game of the season at Cardiff, so he told her he was writing a book. Little did he know he'd be writing a first-hand account of Stoke's promotion to the Premier League.

It takes a lot to make me laugh out loud at something, but I did several times while reading it.

There's a running conversation with his wife about the dishwasher, and how she doesn't like the way he loads it, the unfortunate set of circumstances that lead her to believe he's becoming an alcoholic, and brilliant descriptions of the fans at football matches that we've all seen and heard ourselves.

The book lets you delve into the thoughts of a man in his forties, on the feeling of being a father, a husband, a friend and a football fan.

He's very honest throughout. There's a list of all the worst things he's done in his life, he admits to being disgusted – yet strangely fascinated by – Stoke's hooligan element, and recounts the moment he thought he'd lost his unborn child.

There are so many references in the book that Stokies will identify with and enjoy: the description of the players and management, the walk to the ground, the pubs, the emotions, and the joy as the book builds to a dramatic crescendo as Tony Pulis's men seal promotion against Leicester.

The book is as much about Stoke-on-Trent as it is about one of its football teams. For someone who's not native to the Potteries, I found the comparisons to Sheffield, the references to the decline of the pottery, mining and steel industries, and employment and regeneration interesting.

A read of this will have any fan who tasted any of the drama from last season reliving every emotion. I even got a unique insight into how he felt listening to goals that I commentated on last season on Radio Stoke!

That's not to say that this book is just for Stokies, or for that matter football fans. It's got a broader appeal because of the amount of time spent in describing relationships and people.

I look forward to a possible sequel about how Stoke City stayed in the Premier League this season.

By then, thanks to Dave, I may have turned into something of a bookworm.

Tie Me To The Mast is priced £7.99 and is available at www.sportsbooks.ltd.uk or from all good book shops.