Apex True Crime

Jim Dawkins left home at the age of sixteen to pursue his dream of joining the army, and subsequently served with the Royal Green Jackets, including tours of Canada and Northern Ireland. During that time he learnt many important lessons in the 'University of Life' that would serve him well in the future, such as discipline, respect, pride and honour, but which, at the same time, would lead to insufferable stress as he constantly battled with his conscience and struggled to swim against the tide. Once back in Civvy Street, and with a new house and a baby to support, Jim decided to join the Prison Service. But what faced him in this new career, which centred on Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs and Belmarsh prisons, shocked him to the core. For this ex-squaddie, who believed in establishing good working relationships with inmates, including notorious long-termer, Charles Bronson, the cancerous environment of staff bully-boy tactics and prisoner victimization was sickening. Jim tells his story, which, although peppered with humorous anecdotes of often lager-induced incidents from both his army and prison days, bears witness to the stark reality of what actually goes on behind prison doors, and exposes both the glaring flaws in the prison system and the atrocities perpetrated in the name of justice, which ultimately forced his decision to leave the Prison Service seven years later.

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'.