Below are the book's back cover blurb and some New Zealand media reviews
about this great book.

THE DISILLUSIONED by David W Scott
Publisher: Fraser Books
ISBN: 0958233284
see;
http://books.google.co.nz/books?ie=U...ISBN0958233284
http://www.fishpond.co.nz/product_in...ucts_id=631792
http://www.nationwidebooks.co.nz/ind...tml?pidVal=461
http://www.less10.com/Books/History/...ucts_id=631792
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Th...en-GB:official
http://4thedisillusioned.blogspot.co...w-on-sale.html

THE DISILLUSIONED


The Disillusioned is a ruthlessly honest memoir of a young man who writes
both searingly and disarmingly about the highs and lows, the perils and
promise of our times.

The Disillusioned encompasses three decades, beginning with the
impressionable child indoctrinated with the propaganda of Thatcher's Britain
and suffering sexual abuse, a lack of role models and any sense of
belonging. It is a gripping story of obsessive ambition, discrimination,
sex, scams, suicidal impulses, alcoholism, the search for love, loss and the
quest for redemption in New Zealand.

It is David Scott's story, but also the story of a disillusioned silent
majority; the story of young people bogged down with debt and
disillusionment; the story, too, of the increasing dangers facing our
children in a materialistic world where family bonds and values are
sacrificed for higher incomes and status.

"The Disillusioned is a surprisingly compulsive read about what I call the
Misfit Generation - the one beguiled at first by the challenge of rational
economics and then bewildered by its effects. David Scott's odyssey is to
find self-worth, to discover basic human values among the detritus of modern
life. At the end you can't be sure he's made it. But his story matters and
despite his lack of education he tells it with the pace and directness of a
pro." - Gordon McLauchlan, writer and book critic

Transcript: Wairarape Times Age (NZ) September 2005
One Man's self-surgery
The Disillusioned
by D.W.Scott
Reviewed by Margaret Chistensen

An autobiography while not out of one's 20's. Surely only a Martin Amis
would have the daring - yet David Scott's The Disillusioned digs deep into a
life crammed with action, begun, consciously in the Thatcherite years as
they impacted on his home community of South Shields.
This was the North East of TVs Auf Weidersehn Pet, where families limited
themselves by accent, work and alcohol into a future which had no future. If
you were out of work suddenly at 40, you lived the rest of your life on the
dole. Shipbuilding was dead, mining almost so, heavy manufacturing machines
worn out, the unions sick unto death.

Scott was a product of his place and time, believing temporarily in
Thatcherism as Britain had to change. Without a chance of academic education
he worked and scammed through a series of dreadful heavy industry and pub
jobs, relieving his deep, unacknowledged depression by constantly getting
pissed and up the skirts of "the trim", female pubbers and clubbers on the
prowl.

At the ripe age of 24, Scott found himself married to a New Zealander and
the couple migrated to Wellington. Suddenly Scott's shrewd abilities found a
place through computer training and Polytech, then, with a fancifully
elaborated CV, he got into the public service, the Commerce Commission and
later the Defence Department, even assisting communications in East Timor.

But the ghosts of his past, family alienation and marital troubles, returned
to haunt him. Writing this book, a searingly honest self-surgical operation,
and looking after his son, has brought a measure of healing.

Scott sets down with a caustic wit the virtues of the North East, its
loyalties among his friends, and its deprivations. His most fervent
attachment to a lost love, Kerry, killed in a motor accident, evokes his
capacity for a depth of feeling and pain which obviously lies beneath the
surface Don Juanism, the alcoholic immolation.

Scott leaves his story with an unanswered question as to where to next for
himself and his young son. The Disillusioned could well be a study text for
anyone close to the addiction and other problems of those whom Gordon
McLauchlan calls the Misfit Generation. It is not for the easily shockable
reader. Others will acknowledge it as a fine, honest piece of work.


Transcript: Southland Times Ltd (NZ) 18 December 2004
Story of our times lived in the tough life of an immigrant man.

The Disillusioned, a story of our times, traces the life of David Scott from
his 1970 birth near Newcastle, England until today living with his son in
Island Bay, in Wellington.

Modern research reveals that a tough upbringing for boys is likely to create
failures at work and in family relationships at home. Today far more young
men than women commit suicide or die in car crashes, and at school 75
percent of pupils suspended are male.

Scott grew up in a Newcastle slum, near where Catherine Cookson was born.
Their flat having few facilities, Their family was moved to a new council
estate when Scott was 10. Running unsupervised by parents, he was abused by
a newsagent and formed a strong friendship
with Andy as they became skilled observers and challenged the security of
many factories.

At 16 he left school as the North-East slumped into a dole supported area,
Thatcherism closing down the coal mines and industrial businesses.
After a time on the dole, he realised money through a job was necessary to
buy property and so gain wealth. He also learned the "bullshitting"
essential in job interviews to become successful.

Scott bought his flat, left his job in the factory, worked in bars, skimmed
the punters and the till, and womanised. His business failed, money from a
wealthy girlfriend saved reposession of the flat, while Scott worked in
London.

Eventually he fell in love again - and married to emigrate to New Zealand.
While the marriage didn't survive, he found work, another relationship,
wrote this book and now lives for and with his son Hayden, in Wellington.

Hopefully he has achieved financial and emotional stability, certainly the
story of his battle to obtain them is compulsive reading and a warning for
us all.
- Helen Blasland


Reviews from www.fishpond.com.au
- Customer review on 05/09/2005
I got the disillusioned as it had been recommended by a friend as excellent.
I don't normally read autobiographies, but decided to give this one a go as
my friend was 'raving' about it. She was not wrong.

It's a story of never ending hope with never ending bad luck. It's told with
humour and even though the author has been a bit of a bad lad in his life,
you get carried away with his charm, wishing him a happy outcome. Did he
ever get the happy outcome? Even at the end, you're left unsure, but it's a
story we can all relate to, maybe that's why it's so unputdownable!
I've told all I know to read this incredible life story.
You should read it too.

- Customer review on 22/08/2005
I'm a huge fan of autobiographies and you can always find me scanning the
shelves of the local bookshops for new stories of peoples lives. Most of the
books I read, stay with me for the duration of the book, then leave as soon
as I begin my new one.
Not The Disillusioned.

I read this book with so many conflicting emotions, at first feeling the
arrogance of the author, but then totally understanding him. I couldn't put
it down. What a roller coaster of a ride. Heartbreakingly sad, sometimes
desperate, yet often laugh out loud. (Quite embarrasing when you're reading
it on a busy plane!)

When I finished, for the first time ever, I went straight back to the
beginning to carry myself through this encaptulating ride again.
Although the author diverses many times during his memories, he never loses
you.

I would highly recommend this book, but have your tissues at the ready, to
both laugh and cry.

- Customer review on 12/05/2005
I was pretty sceptical when I started reading this book, but soon realised
that the writer was the real deal. Plenty of people have hard starts in
life, but Scott's takes some beating. It's hard to believe that living
standards this dire really existed in Thatchers supposed 'land of
opportunities'. Add to this - sexual abuse, jobs from hell, lost loves,
alcoholism, financial failure and self-destructive behaviour. This man
leaves no stone unturned. What I liked about The Disillusioned, was that
Scott takes responsibility for his mistakes and is rightfully mystified by
his seemingly endless run of bad luck, but he's not a whiner. This book is
funny, bawdy, incredibly sad and thought provoking.

- Customer review on 26/04/2005
I first read The Disillusioned because I wanted to meet the Author; since
then I've re-read most of it twice!

It's what I would call a gripping read, passionate, gritty and at times
heartbreakingly honest.

I was reduced to tears during some chapters and guffawed with laughter
during others.

This book is full of contradictions and can be painfully frustrating , much
like it's author, but finishing it has only whetted my appetite for more.

An excellent read, bring on the sequel!!

Gemma Arnell.

- Customer review on 26/04/2005
When your family, friends and loved ones cannot reach you, where do you
turn, what saves you from being completely swallowed by the darkness.

The one and only thing that pulled me through and gave me the hope and "The
Light at the End of the Tunnel" was a remarkable and outstanding book by a
New Zealand author, David Scott, "The Disillusioned"








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