Behind Bars


Book Description

Charlie has taken his 24 years of experience of prison dwelling and condensed it into one handy and comprehensive volume. Moved regularly around the prisons of the British Isles he has sampled all that prison life has to offer, taking in both the historic and pre-historic buildings that comprise Britain's infamous prison system. It's all in here from the correct way to brew vintage prison 'hooch' and how to keep the screws from finding it, to the indispensable culinary methods required to make prison food edible. Read about Charlie's special taming techniques for prison wildlife such as spiders, rats and cockroaches, creatures that may be your only friends on long stretches in solitary. Also Charlie shows how to plan and prepare for marriage inside what can be seen as a less than romantic setting. With over 70,000 people (and rising) currently residing at Her Majesty's pleasure, Charlie Bronson's Good Prison Guide is essential for young offenders and 'old lags' alike. Make sure you don't get nicked without it.




Behind Bars – Britain's Most Notorious Prisoner Reveals What Life is Like Inside


Book Description

Charlie has taken his 24 years of experience of prison dwelling and condensed it into one handy and comprehensive volume. Moved regularly around the prisons of the British Isles he has sampled all that prison life has to offer, taking in both the historic and pre-historic buildings that comprise Britain's infamous prison system. It's all in here from the correct way to brew vintage prison 'hooch' and how to keep the screws from finding it, to the indispensable culinary methods required to make prison food edible. Read about Charlie's special taming techniques for prison wildlife such as spiders, rats and cockroaches, creatures that may be your only friends on long stretches in solitary. Also Charlie shows how to plan and prepare for marriage inside what can be seen as a less than romantic setting. With over 70,000 people (and rising) currently residing at Her Majesty's pleasure, Charlie Bronson's "Good Prison Guide" is essential for young offenders and 'old lags' alike. Make sure you don't get nicked without it.




Prison Diaries


Book Description

Charles Bronson is Britain's most notorious prisoner, a ‘Category A' inmate who has spent over 30 years inside as a result of his violent and unpredictable behaviour. No one knows the system better than Charlie. Now, for the very first time, you can find out what it is really like inside a maximum security institution as Charlie blows the lid on his life in HM Wakefield. Written in diary form by Charlie himself from behind locked doors, this unique book uncovers the real Charlie; his thoughts, frustrations and true feelings about the people who inhabit ‘the concrete coffin’ with him. This raw, unedited text, in his own hand, comes straight from the heart and also reveals another side to the man who has spent much of his time in solitary confinement in inhuman conditions. From writing poetry and creating works of art, to keeping fit and his secret passion for the X Factor and Coronation Street, there is much more to the man dubbed ‘Britain’s most violent prisoner’ than his reputation suggests. Charlie says that he never plans his actions and only reacts violently when provoked and he has received more than his fair share of provocation over the years. This hard hitting book tells you how it is by the man who knows. Following on from his earlier works Loonyology and Respect and Reputation, and Bronson the film about his life, Prison Diaries continues the unbelievable Charles Bronson story. As Charlie says, ‘After reading this book you will know what its like to be me’.




Loonyology


Book Description

Lifer Charlie Bronson's reputation precedes him - ‘Britain's most violent prisoner’ - or does it? Do we really know the true Charlie, or are our impressions the result of media hype? Well, what is in no doubt is that Loonyology is 200% Bronson and will transport the reader on the dizziest no-holds-barred roller-coaster ride of their lives, from suspense and shock to laughter and tears, and from Bronson the ‘Solitary King’ to Bronson the Philosopher, the Poet, the Artist, the Author, the Joker, the Walking Scar and the Freedom Fighter. Now 55 years old, and having spent most of his last 34 years as a maximum security ‘Bronco Zoo’ inmate, he’s a much wiser man as he looks back on his crazy journey of unpredictable behaviour, his ever-alert mind darting from reminiscences of his teenage years to memories of fellow-cons, the screws, the cranks, letters and news reports, prison life and procedures, and the overall madness (‘loonyology’) of the legal and penal systems, peppering his stories with diary entries, true gems of information, sound advice and hilarious one-liners. Together with his many supporters and with the aid of a top lawyer, Charlie is campaigning for the parole board to finally allow him his freedom, but begging is not his style: he calls a spade a spade and is determined to win with dignity, fighting with his pen and his brain to achieve his aim of a life outside ‘the cage’. In his words: “I chose to be a villain. I’m not proud of it, nor am I ashamed of it. I have paid my debt to society and it’s time to go home.”




Bronson


Book Description

Charles Bronson is considered to be one of the most violent convicts in the British prison system; renowned for serial hostage-taking and rooftop sieges. He has spent 28 of the last 30 years in solitary confinement. Yet he is a man who has never killed anyone and has often dealt with his gruelling life with humour. In this book he reveals the truth about his life behind bars.




Inside


Book Description

American jails and prisons confine nearly 13.5 million people each year, and it is estimated that 6 to 7 percent of the U.S. population will be confined in their lifetimes. Despite these disturbing numbers, little is known about life inside beyond the mythology of popular culture. Michael G. Santos, a federal prisoner nearing the end of his second decade of continuous confinement, has dedicated the last eighteen years to shedding light on the lives of the men warehoused in the American prison system. Inside:Life Behind Bars in America, his first book for the general public, takes us behind those bars and into the chaos of the cellblock. Capturing the voices of his fellow prisoners with perfect pitch, Santos makes the tragic--- and at times inspiring---stories of men from the toughest gang leaders to the richest Wall Street criminals come alive. From drug schemes, murders for hire, and even a prostitution ring that trades on the flesh of female prison guards, this book contains the never-before-seen details of prison life that at last illuminate the varied ways in which men experience life behind bars in America.




Broadmoor - My Journey Into Hell


Book Description

THE CLOSEST PLACE ON EARTH THAT YOU WILL GET TO HELL - Charlie Bronson Broadmoor: My Journey Into Hell documents the story of long-term prisoner Charlie Bronson and his five-year stay at Britain's most notorious mental hospital, Broadmoor. His journey has, until now, never been told.In the winter of 1979, aged just twenty-seven, the inmate who would come to be known as 'Charlie Bronson' was considered uncontrollable by the prison system. Certified insane, he was transferred from Parkhurst Prison to the most infamous high-security psychiatric hospital in England, Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane. There he embarked on a one-man campaign to retain his sanity, and to fight against the brutality of a largely hidden regime that relied on enforced drug control.This outstandingly honest account takes the reader back to those dark days. It is a journey filled with sadness, and yet it is one that includes much laughter and pathos, as well as detailing the camaraderie among fellow patients, who included Ronnie Kray and Frankie Fraser. How Charlie Bronson survived Broadmoor, what he endured and the things he witnessed are, for the very first time, documented in this sad, often chilling, sometimes funny and often moving account of one man's journey into madness and his methods for surviving the UK's most feared and notorious psychiatric hospital. Capturing Bronson's unique voice, it is a roller-coaster ride of madness, pain, laughter and tears. It is also a testament to one man's triumph over adversity.




Strangeways Unlocked: the Shocking Truth about Life Behind Bars


Book Description

A darkly funny, harrowing and heartbreaking look at the reality of prison life, with first-hand accounts from men who found themselves on the wrong side of the cell doors. Neil 'Sam' Samworth spent eleven years as a prison officer at HMP Manchester, better known as Strangeways. He has seen it all: from notorious criminals, dangerous gangsters and repeat offenders to those who simply made the wrong decisions. In this shocking page-turner, he tracks down former prisoners and staff, and uncovers the inside story of what life is really like in one of the UK's most infamous high-security prisons. We'll see a prisoner whose unwanted feud with an inmate ends in a fight and the loss of his eye, another who is convicted for theft but leaves addicted to spice. And the many who become victims of the Imprisonment for Public Protection system, where they find themselves serving indefinite sentences for petty crimes. We'll see the dark underworld of the prison system, where riots can occur at any time, where the worlds of gangbangers suddenly collide, where class-A drugs and contrabands roam. On the other side, we'll see staff grappling with a failing prison system, while dealing with an inmate who records the highest ever psychopath rating and caring fully for men with mental health issues. In brutally raw and gripping detail, Strangeways Unlocked gives voice to the people behind the bars and exposes a prison system that is failing them, providing an unforgettable account of a life that many can only imagine.




Strangeways


Book Description

Britain’s prison system is in crisis. Prisoners catatonic on Spice, prison officers under extreme stress, overcrowding, riots, fatal stabbings – barely a week goes by without disturbing reports reaching the outside world of life inside our jails. For eleven years, Neil Samworth worked as a prison officer in perhaps the most notorious of all prisons, Strangeways, now HM Prison Manchester. He left in 2016 and, having kept a diary for many years, is ready to tell his story. Strangeways: My Life As A Prison Officer is a no-holds-barred account of one man’s struggle to keep his professional composure and sanity in one of Britain’s toughest jails. From the chaotic, intimidating atmosphere of K wing, which houses more than 200 prisoners spread over three landings, to the healthcare unit where the prison’s most mentally disturbed prisoners are held, Neil has seen it all – cell fires, suicides, terrifying violence. He has had to beat back his own emotions as he deals with psychopathic killers and witnessed the worst of human nature but also the best, and some of the most moving passages in the book recall the embattled camaraderie among his colleagues.




Introduction to Charles Bronson (prisoner)


Book Description

Charles Bronson, also known as Michael Gordon Peterson, is a British criminal who is notorious for his violent behavior both inside and outside of prison. Born in 1952 in Aberystwyth, Wales, Bronson had a difficult childhood, marred by poverty, bullying and abuse. He began his criminal activities at a young age and spent his early years in and out of prison for various offenses, such as robbery and assault. Bronson's notoriety increased in the 1970s and 80s, when his violent outbursts in prison grabbed headlines and gained him infamy. He spent long periods in solitary confinement due to his aggressive behavior, and even took hostages at times. Despite his violent tendencies, Bronson became something of a cult hero, admired by some for his rebelliousness and unconventional ways. He also developed a reputation for being physically strong, even performing as a bare-knuckle boxer and writing books about his criminal exploits. He has been in prison for over four decades, making him one of the UK's longest-serving prisoners.