Mr Nice [Paperback]

What an extraordinary fellow Howard Marks is. His autobiography takes him from his South Wales childhood and Oxford University education through his life dealing marijuana and the enormous mythology that accrued around what the tabloids called "the English Toff Drugs King of the World". This book is called Mr Nice after one of the many aliases Marks's life as a merchant of pot obliged him to assume, but it describes him perfectly too: the epitome of British niceness, the nicest international criminal you could hope to meet. It's not hard to see why this has become a cult book--Marks is a brilliant version of a mate down the pub, telling you the gobsmacking stories of his many adventured life. The writing is direct and the narrative will detain you as comprehensively as Marks himself was detained for seven years at Terre Haut Penitentiary, Indiana. He was released the same day as Mike Tyson. "I had," he observes mildly, "been continuously in prison for the last six-and-a-half years for transporting beneficial herbs from one place to another, while he had done three years for rape." Truly there is no justice; but there are eye-popping adventures, hilarious touches and a thorough-going wisdom in this excellent book. --Adam Roberts

A racy yarn with plenty of globe trotting colour. The Independent Frequently hilarious, occasionally sad, and often surreal GQ A man who makes Peter Pan look like a geriatric with sleeping sickness Loaded A folk legend-Howard Marks has huge charisma. He sounds like Richard Burton and looks like a Rolling Stone Daily Mail Marks weaves a fascinating story spiced with brilliant detail, far stronger than fiction FHM Magazine --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

He was Britain's most wanted man, and spent seven years in America's toughest prison. You'll like him.

During the mid 1980s Howard Marks had forty three aliases, eighty nine phone lines and owned twenty five companies throughout the world. Whether bars, recording studios or offshore banks, all were money laundering vehicles serving the core activity: dope dealing. Marks began to deal small amounts of hashish while doing a postgraduate philosopy course at Oxford, but soon he was moving much larger quantities. At the height of his career he was smuggling consignments of up to fifty tons from Pakistan and Thailand to America and Canada and had contact with organisations as diverse as MI6, the CIA, the IRA and the Mafia. Mr Nice is Howard Marks extraordinary story.

'A man who makes Peter Pan look like a geriatric with sleeping sickness' Loaded

During the mid 1980s Howard Marks had forty-three aliases, eighty-nine phone lines and owned twenty-five companies trading throughout the world. All were money-laundering outfits for his main concern: dope dealing.

At the height of his career he was smuggling up to thirty tons of marijuana, and had contact with organisations as diverse as MI6, the CIA, the IRA and the Mafia. Following a worldwide operation by the Drugs Enforcement Agency, he was busted and sentenced to twenty-five years at a state penitentiary in Indiana. He was released in 1995 after serving seven years of his sentence. This is his story.

'Frequently hilarious, occasionally sad, and often surreal' GQ

'A folk legend - Howard Marks has huge charisma. He sounds like Richard Burton and looks like a Rolling Stone' Daily Mail

Also by Howard Marks:

[Dope Stories jpeg]; [Senor Nice jpeg]

Include website under Vintage Books website: www.howardmarks.co.uk

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Howard Marks is an acclaimed travel and sports writer, TV personality and DJ. For the last ten years he has had a series of successful one man shows. He lives in Europe and continues to campaign for the legalisation of marijuana.