As Global Gangland is due out on October 2nd, I though it might be time to respond to those who have emailed me, asking about posting some of the book in this blog.
Any comments or feedback on the following are welcome, just keep in mind that what you are reading bellow is from the draft manuscript prior to any editing.
GANGLAND GB – ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE UNTITED KINGDOM
‘The English love a good villain.’ – Charlie Richardson
Some of his contemporaries – usually the ones who didn’t find themselves with electrodes attached to their testicles – have called Charlie Richardson one of the cleverest English criminals of the 20th Century. When it comes to understanding the English psyche and its fascination with crime, his insight seems exceptionally accurate.
In Britain, there has always been a strong tendency to romanticise crime. A gang of robber bandits led by a local outlaw became the folk heroes Robin Hood and his Merry Men. In just over 250 years since the hanging of sadistic highwayman Dick Turpin in York, he has become the hero of a television series and used to sell everything from beer to porcelain.
This mythologizing is not restricted to historical figures. Three decades after his release from prison, ‘Mad’ Frankie Fraser is enough of a celebrity to regularly appear on TV game shows. He has joined the ranks of iconic names in British organised crime from the second half of the 20th Century, who like the Krays, hold a firm grip on the public imagination. This British love affair with outlaws has often obscured the vicious and horrific nature of organised crime in the United Kingdom.
Another insightful ex-gangster - Dave Courtney – who has benefited and commentated on the nature of organised crime’s celebrity status in Britain, has identified that the love-in may be well and truly over in the 21st Century. The trans-national, pervasive and increasingly violent nature of crime in Gangland GB leaves no room for romance.
21 comments:
That really looks very interesting, I have to be honest and say that after watching 'The Krays' a few years ago I became interested in villans and the like but it pisses me off when people make statements like; 'They only did it to thier own' that's not true in the slightist
Feedback, eh? Well, it's a tantalising little snippet. The writing is cool, and your character is strong in it, even in the small amount that's there. As clips go though, it's more of a soft teaser than a money-shot (so to speak)...
Oh, I finally had a chance to properly sit down and read "Secrets and Lies" cover to cover last weekend. Even despite our long, rambling conversations in the area, there were still several things in there that I'd class as jaw-dropping. After finishing, I immediately persuaded my father to read it, which is about as high a vindication as I can offer.
To anyone else bored enough to still be reading this comment, if you haven't read "Secrets and Lies" yet, go do it. Your only disappointment will be not having done so earlier.
Thank you Tim. As someone whose support through the writing process of 'Global Gangland' meant so much, I am glad the tease did not disappoint. Not sure what the book’s money shots are yet.
As for 'Secrets and Lies', it remains the one book I have written I am most pleased about. A year down the line, I am still pinching myself that I have managed to get such a wonderfully honest and subversive work out via a major publisher. Given your background and ability to not have your ghast flabbered, I am curious to know what in particular made your jaw drop?
Dammit, I _knew_ you were going to ask me that... Well, I don't want to spoil anyone's fun so I'll be vague, but (surprising as it may be to you) some of the Tesla and Reich information certainly astounded me; I also remember being quite amazed by some of the Churchill stuff, and by a lot of the black ops material in general. I'm also rather surprised about how many people praised low-dose LSD as a creativity aid, which probably just betrays my lack of experience with the stuff. I had no idea about the vaccine padding, either.
As for Organised Crime, from what I recall, the Organizatsya in Europe section had a certain sputtery goodness... :)
I'm curious to read Secrets and Lies now, but it shall have to wait it's turn.
I like the writing style in this exerpt. It also kind of reminds me of the beginning of an argument paper(sorry, residue from my grade eleven English class).
I use to sympathize with the villains in stories, too, never more than the good guy though. I liked poems like The Highwayman, but I guess when you look closely at it, there's nothing romantic about those who steal and take lives and cause misery, for their own pleasure.
But I think people lose sight of that. After all, most infamous villains have something pathetic or wondrous about them that makes people pity fall in love with them.
Thank you Tim. I can see how reading that in one of his LSD dreams Cary Grant said: ‘I imagined myself as a giant penis launching off from Earth like a spaceship…’ could be somewhat jaw-dropping. However, I would have thought a man of your background would have already know about Churchill’s secret life as a druid. I am pretty pleased with the black op material in Secrets & Lies especially given my difficult experiences with elements of the secret services.
Aliandra, good spot. The excerpt comes from the chapter introduction and therefore sets out the stall for the rest of my exploration of Gangland GB. The romance of crime is one of the many themes I try to examine in the book as well as trying to deliver on the blurb’s promise that: ‘… the hidden history of of global gangland has never been told in such chilling, entertaining and fascinating detail before.’
David,
I just stumbled across your blog and wanted to drop you a line to let you know how interesting I find the teaser you posted. Will "Global Gangland" be available in the US on Oct 2nd, as well?
Reading through your comments makes me want to run out for "Secrets and Lies" - so it's off to amazon.com I go!
I don't know what it is that makes a villain appealing to the general public - physical attractiveness? Justification? Is it that we need someone to hate?
Regardless. Now there are two more books on my list.
Thanks!
- Jos
David,
I just stumbled across your blog and wanted to drop you a line to let you know how interesting I find the teaser you posted. Will "Global Gangland" be available in the US on Oct 2nd, as well?
Reading through your comments makes me want to run out for "Secrets and Lies" - so it's off to amazon.com I go!
I don't know what it is that makes a villain appealing to the general public - physical attractiveness? Justification? Is it that we need someone to hate?
Regardless...now there are two more books on my list.
Thanks!
- Jos
Thank you Jos. I am not sure when Barnes & Noble or one of its legion of imprints is releasing ‘Global Gangland’ in America. They only put out ‘Secrets & Lies’ last month – nearly a year behind Britain and Canada (though they did give it a cool variant cover and what with some of the material, I am surprised it is getting a US publication at all*). As usual, if anyone has difficulties getting copies of my book they can obtain them direct from me.
* Of course this is assuming they have not made some cuts I do not know about … I am still waiting on copies to be sent to me.
At one point living in Crowthorne, just a stone's throw from Broadmoor, it used to give me the creeps walking up the high street and glancing over and seeing the structure.
I think the last time period of 'gangsters' that's imprinted as something resembling glamorous on my mind was the Capone era and, before that, the outlaws of the Wild West. (I even found out recently that a relative of mine was one of Capone's lawyers during his trial.)
Thanks for the interesting comment. It became clear as I conducted research for the book just how much the myth of Capone influenced organized criminals across the world. The celluloid Chicago created by Hollywood in the 1930s impacted on everything from the fashion sense some gangsters subsequently adopted to the way they structured their crime outfits. Filmmakers’ perceptions of the Mob created impressions that directly impacted on generation after generation of gangsters from New York to Mumbai. Gangster glamour it seems has a hazardous half-life.
There is a picture in my book showing Capone – ever the gentleman when an audience was around – holding the door open for his lawyer. In the background you can see some of his legal team. If you look for it online, might give you a chance to ancestor spot.
As for Dick Turpin, well who wouldn't want to wear a cool mask, steal from toffs too stupid to protect themselves and make a midnight getaway on horseback!
An interesting blog you've got here. Looking forward to more entries to come.
Very interesting. I'd never thought about the British admiring villains before, but it's true. I can remember the Great Train Robbery and everyone thinking it was so clever - never mind the poor driver. What you say about this attitude changing is also thought-provoking. I look forward to returning to this blog.
Worshipping crooks is just stupid.
Much healthier then to ridicule them, as Monty Python's Flying Circus did with "The Piranha Brothers" (a spoof of the Krays) and "Dennis Moore" (spoofing the highwayman myth).
"Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore..."
"Dinsdale!"
;-)
My mother’s own Piranha Brother moments are mentioned in the book detailing her strange denial over the Richardson family. I also try to look at why some criminals become icons, whilst never losing site of the irony that I am doing so in a book that may appeal to the type of person Morrissey sang about in ‘Last Of The Famous International Playboys’.
Just very interesting. Glad was directed by Dr. John to your site.
Hello, David! It's Erika. The articles of yours do teach me a great deal about an intriguing world which I don't know. Since I have a supervision over my thesis tomorrow (I'm a research student...), I can't read your articles right now. But I'll be enjoying reading them quite soon!
Great stuff!
It would be worth (for another project) researching and exploring exactly why some criminals are able to capture the public's imagination.
Superbly written blurb on a topic I know nothing about. I love the context you provide the reader, that GB historically romanticized its outlaws. I think I could learn a lot from your book. I am embarrassed to say, I never thought of organized crime as an issue in the U.K. Sheer ignorance, I confess. Why wouldn't you have some of the same problems we have in the States or in other G7 countries?
Hopefully, one thing that Global Gangland does show is that 21st Century organized crime is clearly a globalised industry.
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