A SENSE OF FREEDOM

Paperback. Reprint. An Autobiography. The author was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1967. He was born and brought up in the Gorbals, the poorest quarter of Glasgow, notorious for street gangs and violence. The street fighter was the hero to most kids - and adults too. It was in this world that Jimmy Boyle learned to fight, cheat and steal. Reform schools, borstals and eventually prisons became an acceptable part of his life, to an extent where it was difficult to define which in fact was the prison: the Gorbals or Barlinnie. This vicious circle was broken when he received his life sentence. Solitary confinement, brutality from all quarters and prison riots became the new way of life 'inside'. He did not conform and could not accept. In 1973 a Special Unit was set up at Barlinnie Prison in an attempt to rehabilitate the most dangerous criminals in the Scottish system. Jimmy Boyle became a driving force behind its success. This book is a fascinating, painful, sometimes horrible and often moving account of his life. 264pp. mass market p/back. Browned pp., rubber stamp to fep. Vg.