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Product Description
Product Description
Walter Norval was a man marked by destiny to be a career criminal in one of Britain's hardest cities. As a boy he grew up in a world of illegal betting, violent canal bank pitch-and-toss schools, sleazy dance halls, brothels and bars where the denizens of the slums in the north side of Glasgow slaked gargantuan thirsts and plotted murder and mayhem. Before he had reached his teens, close relatives had died as blood was spilled in the streets. As a youngster he ran 'messages' for the toughest gangsters in the city and stood guard over the pots of cash in illegal gambling schools. It was a remarkable apprenticeship, dangerous and sometimes deadly. It honed a latent toughness and a talent for lawbreaking that saw him emerge in the Seventies as the first of a succession of Glasgow godfathers. Dressed in pinstriped style, he controlled his foot soldiers with fearsome fists and planned robberies with the attention to detail of a military general. He organised various Glasgow fighting factions into a single gang, which pulled off a spectacular series of robberies. But, unlike his successors, he abhorred drugs and drug-dealing. And, in a remarkable twist, he joined the anti-drugs war in later life. His story - told by the best-selling crime historian Robert Jeffrey - provides a fascinating insight into the making of a criminal mastermind, from boy to man.
About the Author
Robert Jeffrey is a long-serving Glasgow journalist and the former managing editor of the Herald group of newspapers. His many bestsellers include Glasgow's Hard Men, Blood on the Streets, Gangs of Glasgow, The Barlinnie Story and Gentle Johnny Ramensky.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I didn't know much about the Glasow underworld until I picked up this book. It's well written and provides some good insights into what goes on in the city. It's quite chilling at times. Alongside From Gangland to Promised Land it's probably the best book I've read in a long time.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I HAVE JUST FINISHED THIS BOOK, HAVING READ THE ARTHUR THOMPSON AND PAUL FERRIS BOOKS AND MUST RECOMEND THIS AS THE BEST OF THE THREE, MOST BOOKS OF THIS TYPE LEAVE YOU WITH A SENSE OF DISLIKE FOR THE SUBJECT AND THE LIFE THEY CARVED OUT FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES BUT WALTER WAS MORE OLD SCHOOL, A PLANNER - WHO WAS UNDOUBTEDLY AN EVIL LITTLE SOD AS A YOUNGSTER,WOULD NEVER IN HIS LONG LIFE OF CRIME VENTURE INTO THE DRUGS MARKET, HE WAS THE THORN IN THE SIDE OF SCOTTISH POLICE FOR MANY A YEAR AND HIS STORIES WILL OFTEN BRING A RYE SMILE TO YOUR FACE (THE SAUGHTON HARRIER FOR EXAMPLE.)HIS IS A STORY OF A TIME GONE BY, BEFORE HIGH SECURITY BANKS, BEFORE PLASTIC WAS USED FOR MONEY AND WE WERE ALL PAID OUR WAGES IN CASH.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just read this book and thought it was a very interesting read.
In my opinion Mr Norval was the product of an indisciplined lifestyle and upbringing made all the more sad in losing the guidance of his father at a vulnerable age. He also had a perverse lust for violently expressing himself and making 'the quick buck'. There are so many youths today willing to make the progression from street thug to petty thief to serious criminality because we as a society glamourise these people in serial publications. The book doesn't really offer insight into the planning that went on into the many crimes that the XYY gang commited probably because Mr Norval would find himself back at the High Court and therefore it focuses on the crimes put before them by the Crown Prosecution service. It is none the less worth reading if you are interested in Glasgow Crime Stories. I wonder what Mr Norval may have made of his life had he concentrated on developing his mothers property empire and stayed away from organising armed robberies. It is an interesting read with the added spice of betrayal from one of Norval's henchmen whom the crown prosecution service relied so heavily on for evidence and I wonder what case if any could have been made against any of the XYY gang without the betrayers evidence. I think there could be a movie made about Norval and the XYY gangs exploits in the same sense of Jimmy Boyles 'A sense of freedom' and McVicar.We have enough fine Scottish actors to play the parts and i'm sure Ken Loach could be persuaded.
In my opinion Mr Norval was the product of an indisciplined lifestyle and upbringing made all the more sad in losing the guidance of his father at a vulnerable age. He also had a perverse lust for violently expressing himself and making 'the quick buck'. There are so many youths today willing to make the progression from street thug to petty thief to serious criminality because we as a society glamourise these people in serial publications. The book doesn't really offer insight into the planning that went on into the many crimes that the XYY gang commited probably because Mr Norval would find himself back at the High Court and therefore it focuses on the crimes put before them by the Crown Prosecution service. It is none the less worth reading if you are interested in Glasgow Crime Stories. I wonder what Mr Norval may have made of his life had he concentrated on developing his mothers property empire and stayed away from organising armed robberies. It is an interesting read with the added spice of betrayal from one of Norval's henchmen whom the crown prosecution service relied so heavily on for evidence and I wonder what case if any could have been made against any of the XYY gang without the betrayers evidence. I think there could be a movie made about Norval and the XYY gangs exploits in the same sense of Jimmy Boyles 'A sense of freedom' and McVicar.We have enough fine Scottish actors to play the parts and i'm sure Ken Loach could be persuaded.
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