When he joined the army, the author had the reading age of an 11-year-old. But he can still remember the pride he felt at reading his first book
I joined the army straight out of juvenile detention at the age of 16. I was no criminal mastermind - I burgled the same block of flats repeatedly and was always going to end up getting caught.
The education system had failed me; I had attended nine schools in seven years and I didn't see the point of it. I wanted to be a panel beater or a tube driver; I had heard they made loads of money and you didn't need much education for those kind of jobs. So that was it - why bother going to school? All I needed was to get a council flat, and I had that cracked because my parents were already on the list. All that was left was a Mark II Ford Escort and that would be me made.
