"Prison: Cultural Memory and Dark Tourism discusses decommissioned Australian prisons currently or potentially functioning as tourist attractions. In particular, it addresses a fundamental question: Do the interpretations and presentations of the sites include and fairly represent the personal stories and experiences associated with those prisons? The author argues that the conventional understanding of most of Australia's historical prisons fosters a radical "othering" of inmates, and with it the exclusion, distortion and historical neglect of their narratives." "This book examines avenues via which neglected narratives may be glimpsed or inferred, presenting a number of examples. This remedies the imbalance in some degree - and tests such avenues' potential as resources for inclusive interpretations by public historians and curators. The book also focuses on the influence of "celebrity prisoners", whose links to the penal system are exploited as promotional features by the sites and in some cases by the individuals themselves. Their narratives provide broad, if unwitting, support for the system and for the othering of the more general inmate population." "The ramifications of the above with regard to aspects of Australian identity mean that certain facets of the "Australian character" traditionally held to be emblematic are affected. These effects have subtle but tangible consequences for modern Australians' collective memory and deleterious consequences for current popular attitudes to penal practice."--BOOK JACKET.

Meet Mark 'Chopper' Read. You think you know him. His books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in Australia. He's been the subject of an internationally successful film. His one-man shows have toured Australia to sell-out crowds. He's the most recognisable criminal brand name in Australia. But the truth is, you don't know him at all. The real Chopper has been an enigma - until now, that is. This is the definitive Chopper story. From his strange, tortured childhood, to the formative years as a young gang member and developing criminal, to his decades in and out of prison in Victoria and Tasmania, to his friends and enemies, and his crimes and punishments, this book gives us the true stories that lie behind the Chopper myths, as well as the stories he's never revealed before.

When Don Osborne went to Pentridge in 1970, he found a nineteenth-century penal establishment in full working order. It held about 1200 inmates, most of them cooped up in tiny stone cells that sweltered in summer and froze in winter. Some had no sewerage or electric light. Assigned to teach in the high-security section of the prison, Don worked in the chapel, which doubled as a classroom during the week. There, he saw the terrible effects of the violence that permeated H Division, the prison's punishment section. He found himself acting as confidant and counsellor to some of the best-known criminals of the era, and to others who'd become notorious later, after H Division had worked its magic on them. This book offers an insider's reflections on how the prison emergd as it did, and is supplemented by a stunning pictorial section. It focuses especially on the rebellious 1970s, when the military 'disciplines' of H Division began to give way in the face of prisoner resistance and public criticism. Don writes of the people and events that shaped Petnridge's history and etched it into the memories of the city that was its reluctant host.

Never get too close to anyone, because you might have to kill them. Meet Mark "Chopper" Read. You think you know him. His books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in Australia. He's been the subject of an internationally successful film. His one-man shows have toured Australia to sell-out crowds. He's the most recognisable criminal brand name in Australia. But the truth is, you don't know him at all. Toe-cutter. Blowtorch aficionado. Killer. Husband. Father. Children's author. Stand-up comedian. The real Chopper has been an enigma - until now, that is. This is the definitive Chopper story. From his strange, tortured childhood, to the formative years as a young gang member and developing criminal, to his decades in and out of prison in Victoria and Tasmania, to his friends and enemies, and his crimes and punishments, this book gives us the true stories that lie behind the Chopper myths, as well as the stories he's never revealed before. One Thing Led To Another is the real story of the man behind the tattoos, the scars and the most famous missing ears in Australia. It is an utterly compelling insight into our most notorious, most recognisable and most fascinating criminal.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1877.