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McVicar by
Himself * You can
purchase a copy of this book directly
from the publisher at a preferential
price of £7.00, incl. P&P
by sending a cheque payable to Artnik: Artnik
Publishing * A limited
number of signed first edition copies available upon request.
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| McVicar by Himself, a classic in the genre of prison books,
was first published in 1974 when the author was serving a 26-year jail
sentence for armed robbery. It was to inspire Roger Daltrey of
The Who to make the
film McVicar[1980], which in turn influenced Stephen King’s story of
the
Shawshank Redemption [1982] that itself led to the eponymous
movie. FilmFour.com lists McVicar as one of the top ten real life
prison escape movies
of all times. John McVicar, who was released in 1978, wrote the
script.
Although he wrote a postscript for Arrow’s paperback re-issue of McVicar by Himself [1978], it’s original editor, the ex-KGB agent Goronwy Rees, was still alive albeit barely kicking and the author deferred to his version inaccuracies and all. Artnik Media’s new version is completely re-written by McVicar: the earlier inaccuracies are corrected, much new material is included and the book’s message clarified. It includes hitherto unpublished anecdotes about Britain’s most savage criminals of the 60s – the Torture Gang boss Charlie Richardson, his macabre hireling “Mad” Frankie Fraser, even Moors murderer Ian Brady and others who were imprisoned in Durham’s infamous E-Wing at the time. McVicar brings the reader inside the mentality of the criminals who in one minute plan to maim each other, then the next join ranks to riot against prison staff, before finally engaging in a treacherous escape bid that only Machiavelli could script. McVicar alone made it: the only person ever to escape from a British Security Wing. He lasted two years as Public Enemy No 1 with a “dead or alive” reward put on his head by Security Express. McVicar by Himself is one of those books you do put down... because you want it to last. It reads like a comedic thriller that between the beats of your racing pulse makes you grin in delight. Yet it can also touch your soul. At the height of his criminal antics, McVicar took stock of his life and as a result decided that if he went back to prison he would never escape or live by crime again. He honoured his deal. |
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