Tales From the Back Green - Hardcover

magical', 'exquisitely funny', 'evocative Daily Mail The 11 tales are pithy, colourful, and sometimes very funny ... anyone who lived through the social and economic upheaval of Glasgow in the 1950s and 60s will find something in Tales from the Back Green that will strike a chord, be it major or minor. Herald Sharp, funny, unsentimental. Great stuff. Guardian Affectionate, and beautifully written and narrated. Daily Express warmly nostalgic Saga Magazine as cosy and comforting as hot buttered toast on a cold winter's morning, and none the worst for that. This unashamedly nostalgic collection is a fine and gentle piece of work. Tribune

The much loved Scots actor Bill Paterson was brought up in those halcyon days of post-war Britain when a child could still play happily and safely in his own back green and the streets beyond. Now, in TALES FROM THE BACK GREEN he evokes his boyhood and youth in Glasgow's East End during the 1950s, full of intriguing characters and extraordinary events. Always eager to push the boundaries of what they were allowed to do, Bill and his mates construct a giant dust atomic bomb, try to hold their own World Cup tournament and play endlessly on wasteland thats now unrecognizable from the exciting jungle of his childhood. TALES FROM THE BACK GREEN is not only a brilliant realisation of a time and a place, but a classic memoir of childhood that will strike a chord with everyone who's ever played and dreamed with little thought of life when I grow up.