Wayne Barnes - one of the most-experienced international referees in history and criminal barrister to boot - uniquely lifts the lid on a lifetime of trying to keep the biggest names in the sport on best behaviour. There aren't many people who can say they've been the thirty-first man on the pitch during a World Cup humdinger, Grand Slam decider or Premiership and European Cup final; listened to the sobs of a 20-stone prop as he tries to belt out his national anthem; heard the crunch of bones after some of the mightiest hits known to the game; or been yards away from the greatest players of the last twenty years, doing almost impossible things with a rugby ball - especially when you're a working-class lad from the Forest of Dean, wondering how you ever got there in the first place. Candid, humble and warmly told, Throwing the Book is a definitive account of what it means to be a rugby referee and a love letter to the sport that has provided Wayne with so much.