A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun
The Autobiography of a Career Criminal
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4.2 • 28 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
A Few Kind Words and a Loaded Gun is the autobiography of convicted felon Noel 'Razor' Smith. An extraordinarily vivid account of how a tearaway kid from South London became a career criminal, it is both a searing indictment of a system that determinedly brutalized young offenders and a frank, unsentimental acknowledgement of the thrills of the criminal life. Shocking, fascinating and frightening by turns, it also reveals Razor Smith to be a remarkably talented writer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The brief biographical blurb about Smith on the dust jacket, describing his "58 criminal convictions," as well as his gaining "an Honors Diploma from the London School of Journalism" while in a U.K. prison, captures the irony and waste of the author's life. Despite above average intelligence and countless opportunities for rehabilitation, Smith chose to lead the life of a vicious thug, and this often inappropriately irreverent memoir will engage the sympathies of few of his readers. Smith, who abandoned his given name of Noel for a street nickname derived from his weapon of choice, presents himself as a slightly wild but basically normal London adolescent whose descent into crime was fueled by police brutality. While his graphic depictions of that brutality, as well as the horrific conditions inside the British penal system, ring true, his own appalling sadism and callousness leave more of an impression. Tragically, Smith's choices devastate his family as well, and he belatedly realizes the toll his life of crime imposed on them. His indifference toward the countless people he terrorized in bank robberies or wounded with his razor blade is summed up in the book's concluding sentiment: "I never slashed a face that wasn't looking at me, and I never robbed a bank that wasn't insured."
Customer Reviews
Rusty gun
I just wrote what I think about this book , brilliant, in my review of its sequel.
Putting a mirror to the National Prison System
I have a read many an autobiography, detailing what ‘really happened’ in the British prisons of 1960’s - 90’s. But this one is the front-runner for a book outlining what was (and is still) wrong with our Prison System, whilst not dwelling too much on those issues which take away from the action and fantastically detailed anecdotes described by a man let down by our prison system. An inspiring story of not just how someone can come of out of this system anything other than broken and full of hatred, but how one can realise after so many years of desiring a luxurious lifestyle that family is still what really comes first.
A few kind words
Absolutely amazing never really liked reading books but this author has mad me realise how good and exciting they can be
amazingly interesting writer and great way of describing and explaining situations in words