Stuart: A Life Backwards, Paperback Book, By: Alexander Masters

Stuart does not like the manuscript. He's after a bestseller, "like what Tom Clancy writes". "But you are not an assassin trying to frazzle the president with anthrax bombs," I point out. You are an ex homeless, ex junkie psychopath, I do not add.' This is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer ('a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, Alexander'), and Stuart Shorter, a homeless, knife wielding thief. Told backwards Stuart's idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirty two year old and ends with a 'happy go lucky little boy' of twelve. This brilliant biography, winner of the Guardian First Book Award, presents a humbling portrait of homeless life, and is as extraordinary and unexpected as the man it describes.