Publisher's Synopsis
Boxer, ship's waiter, factory-hand, beekeeper - John "Red" Doran has crowded a wealth of experience into his life. He transports readers back to 1940s Derry - the shirt factories, blacksmiths, drapers and Italian ice-cream vendors, gypsy sideshows, the Yanks and the GI brides. The book teems with characters such as Demon Barber, Tattoo Jack and Bitching Truth.;"Thick as two short planks in the ways of the world", John Doran embarks on a life at sea during the final glorious days of the great liners: he voyages to South Africa and the South Seas; encounters corrupt police in Rio de Janeiro and gangfights in New York; and works for a spell in Hollywood, where he meets stars, such as Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy and Lucille Ball in the famous Dino's Lodge.;John Doran recalls the "togetherness and happiness" of his childhood, the "adrenalin and fire" of his boxing days through to the darkness of the troubles when he survived a murder attempt.
