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Modern Criminal Books

Focus On Faraday
Edwin John Eastwood

Edwin Eastwood was the madman who kidnapped schoolkids for ransom in the 1970's in Victoria's North East.
This is one of the best books I've read for an insight into Pentridge Prison's H-Division in the era of 'Chopper Read', and the opening of the infamous 'Jika Jika' detention zoo within Pentridge Jail!
He's not a bad writer! 
There's chapters on the fatal fire within Jika that saw the deaths of five prisoners... Imagine these poor blokes fighting for fair treatment so badly that they set fire to their cells and were subsequently overcome by the noxious smoke...
The men's bodies were found by cut drain pipes where they were desperately trying to breathe.
Where were the Prison Officers?
In the old day's of H-Division, if the Chief Warden wasn't standing next to the breakfast hotbox ... If he was not there, on some other business, these blokes actually had to salute the bloody hotbox!

I'll have some very interesting reading regarding Jika Jika shortly.
It was, to put it simply... A Bloody Hell Hole
and how anyone survived it is just pure luck!
Ted Eastwood was a bloody madman kidnapping children, there's no doubt of that!
But he sure writes an honest and fair account of his crimes and time served.
Good onya Ted.
Jika Jika was an Aboriginal Chief and the Aboriginees were appalled (and rightly so) at the name being used to house these blokes!
It was subsequently renamed to K-Division.
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Neddy An Autobiography
with Tom Noble

This is the 1998 second edition with additional postscripts at the end of each chapter. If you've seen the ABC movie 'Blue Murder', then this is a must read! Top corrupt NSW Police gave Ned Smith the green light to commit crimes... for a price. Robbing payrolls, wholesale heroin distribution and fixing charges for mates. As the back cover says...
'Read It And Shiver'
A must have! 

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Catch and Kill Your Own
 Neddy Smith

37 stories on some of Sydney and Melbourne's most colourful criminals.
Including Tony Eustace, Christopher Dale Flannery, Ray Thurgar and Ned's version regarding the drowning death of Sydney prostitute and drug addict Sally Anne Huckstep. Not quite as good as the Tom Noble book, but well worth a read.  

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The true life story of Raymond John Denning
Don Catchlove

This is an interesting read regarding the conditions of Australia's jails in the 1970's - 80's. Within two weeks of his release from jail, Ray Denning was dropped from the witness protection program. Six weeks later he was dead.
He died reviled as an informer who dobbed on his mates in return for early release. There's some great reading in Rays prison diary's...
but a dogs a dog... R.I.P Ray

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