So you think you know me?

Hence, a never-ending escalation of his violent activities, creating tensions for his family, friends and often dubious associates in the seaside town where he grew up. "So You Think You Know Me?" is infused with contradictions in which the Allan Weaver who commits sometimes unspeakable acts of mayhem and aggression is not the Allan Weaver telling the story from inside his own head: an often vulnerable, sensitive, articulate and (if somewhat crazily) balanced individual to whom his own actions never seem to make any sense beyond a misguided insistence on living up to his tough guy image and reputation.

That there can be any tidy ending to this gritty true account of a life spent in residential homes, Borstal, prison and always at a respectful distance from the police and other authority figures is remarkable - as are his own comments on a present-day Criminal Justice System that he believes is still failing young people for reasons which are given in the book.

It is essential reading for anyone involved with serious young offenders, especially those of a violent disposition.