Hits and Memories: Chopper 2

"It was just after dawn on Thursday, November 14, 1991. The hatch on the cell door slid back. I could see the screw's face through the slit. I've seen better heads on a pig dog, but this time I could have kissed him." Underworld executioner Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read was released from Pentridge Prison in November, 1991, vowing never to return. He became a bizarre celebrity as his autobiography Chopper: From the Inside became a bestseller. Six months later he was back in jail writing his second volume of memoirs. In this sequel, Chopper reveals his struggle to cope with 'civilian life', from the highs of gambling thousands of dollars at a legal casino to the lows of facing the rest of his life in prison. He also reveals more of the stories of criminal activity that made his first book an international publishing sensation. Including reflections on the difference between the Victorian and Tasmanian prison systems, his recount of the court battle that returned him to prison, plus stories of bookie robberies, hitmen, slavery and kidnapping, Hits and Memories is a truly unique look at Australia's criminal underbelly. However, at the time of writing Hits and Memories Chopper's future was looking bleak. When the doors of Pentridge Prison opened for him in November 1991 he was given a second chance. In just six months, he had botched it.