Pocketful of holes and dreams (Penguin Books)

A memoir from Pearce, who grew up in a post-war Liverpool slum, where he had to dodge attacks from his alcoholic father and steal to get by. He then went on to build up a business and become a millionaire, only to lose it all again in the 1990s crash. Then he got it all back again, and finally learned how to read and write at the age of 52.