Ronel Lehmann

On a trip with Ticket to Ride seemed like a good idea. The train journey was slow compared to reading at speed about an exceptional entrepreneur who regales readers with a compelling memoir. Sir Peter takes us on his inspiring journey from a Yorkshire Council estate, via Oxford and the Boston Consulting Group to New York, in the buccaneering dollar-mad Eighties, where he sets up a leveraged buy-out firm, which nearly goes bust and then finally, in the year it comes good, ends up living next door to Keith Richards and out-earning Sir Mick Jagger. However, returning to Britain after 20 years Peter finds a vastly changed country, one in which the chances for bright kids from low-income backgrounds have plummeted. In response, he puts his business aside and devotes himself to founding the now greatly revered Sutton Trust, providing educational opportunities for large numbers of less well-off children, influencing government policy and putting social mobility at the heart of the national conversation. The guard arrived to check tickets, it was tempting to waive the book cover and at the same time beckon other travellers to purchase a copy of this inspirational read.

Ticket to Ride is published by Harper Collins at £20