Above Average by Mark Gallagher. Book review

Mark Gallagher was a Glasgow bike messenger in the 1990s and he has put together his collection of anecdotes in this amusing and engaging book. It is much more than the story of a bike messenger, more of an autobiography. It begins with Mark's childhood and takes us through his adult life, beyond the bike messenger days. He has an impressive collection of varied and often remarkable experiences that fill the pages of this book.

The book opens with Mark on his bike being chased by mounted police through the streets of Glasgow. This exhilarating opener sets the scene for a book full of extraordinary situations that Mark has experienced in his life.

The first 60 or so pages are about the author's childhood. I really enjoyed reading his very personal insight into his upbringing, his parents and his school years. It is an interesting commentary on a Scottish childhood of the 70s and 80s, particularly the failings of the school system. Mark developed a talent for computer game programming, but the school failed to nurture this or help Mark to pursue a career. He had to find his own way and the turning point in his life, the boost to his confidence, was his job as a bike messenger.

"I certainly wouldn't be the person I am now without having been a bike messenger and I wouldn't have it any other way, it gave me some of the happiest, most carefree times of my adult life." Mark Gallagher

The book provides a great insight into the job of a bike messenger. Mark's love of the job shines through and it made me somewhat envious. One of the ways that bike messengers try to get up more speed is 'skitching', the art of holding on to the back of a moving vehicle to get pulled along. Glasgow buses were a particular favourite of Mark's, but it was not this that resulted in his most serious accident. Mucking about and crashing into another courier caused a serious head injury that ended his bike courier days.

It is clear that the turning point of the bike messenger job gave Mark the confidence to pursue his many other interests in life. This included drama, karaoke, IT contracting in Bermuda, and appearing on a TV game show. There is even a chapter about Mark dressing up as a Star Wars Stormtropper and wandering the streets of Glasgow! For me the most fascinating aspect of the author's eventful life was the legal battle he went through with a computer game giant. He had co-created a game that was ripped off by them and became one of the biggest selling games in the world. Mark could not use the real name of the game in the book and calls it 'Armed Deft Mano'.

Although this book is not purely about a bike messenger the other aspects of Mark's life are certainly interesting, often funny and sometimes fascinating. This made it a joy to read and getting to know Mark through his words was a pleasure.  

This book can be purchased on Amazon: