The Devil: Britain's Most Feared Underworld Taxman
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Product Description
Book Description
A chilling insight into the world of organised crime from a former member of Curtis Warren's cartel
Product Description
Drug dealers beware. The Devil is coming to get you.
Gangster Stephen French invented the perfect crime: robbing drug barons of their huge fortunes. In SAS-style swoops, French raided their fortified mansions and tortured them with horrifying violence until they paid up. Through 'taxing' the richest and most powerful crimelords in the UK, he netted over £20 million.
French was no ordinary criminal. He was a world-champion fighter, he studied psychology at university to master mind-control techniques, and he used the teachings of Machiavelli and samurai warriors to outwit his enemies. The Devil also reveals French's complex relationship with Curtis Warren, the wealthiest criminal in British history. The two were childhood pals, then partners and finally bitter enemies.
Now a legitimate businessman, French built up a multimillion-pound empire. Having eventually turned his back on his former life, he is now seeking to set the record straight.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Graham Johnson writes this book from the perpective of the man who the book is based on - Stephen French. Having met with Stephen and done hundreds of hours of interviews, the book totaly feels like its being written from the man himself. The author writes the story from Stephens perspective to give a closer feel for the reader. The book reveals many incidents of the life some peopler called "The Devil". The book has so many stories to tell of extrmely dangerous conflict situations between rival gangs, feuds with fellow crew members and the author does not hold back. The author says in the first few pages how he really wanted to get the reader a feeling of Stephens perspective. I really felt I got a very strong sense of the man from this book and read it in 2 days. This guy had many wild encounters for decades. Many people would surely be dead or incarcerated if they were in the same situations. Find out how he survived and how Stephen was able to make changes to his life by turning his back on crime. A facinating read and well written book. Recommend highly especily if you would like to read about real life dangerous encounters or crime. Things thankfully can change
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was really angry to read a review saying this was racist and maybe such readers should review their intentions. I am tempted to give this book a lower mark but overall, of the author's books (the author who is white btw), this is the best so far.
Overall I have some annoyances so i will start with these. Stephen says the book was written by Graham Johnson and should not be taken as an autobiography. This is VERY annoying as I want to hear HIS story not the tabloid sensationalist words of Graham Johnson. Secondly, Stephen is quoted as saying he is not a grass yet the book has 3 incidents of police co-operation, one being when he changed his life to become a Christian. I should point out I could not care less if he did or not. The point being be honest, don't lie as it makes others look at you in that light but hey, he without sin. The last problem I have is that, in parts, there seems to be a lot of bravado and machismo but as I said before, he says Graham Johnson wrote the book.
I do overall like the book. I like the fact he apologized for his wrong doing and that he's trying to over come his demons and provide for his family in a manner that is regarded as legitimate. I learnt at a younger age to abhor violence but I don't think you can blame Stephen for using the tools at his disposal. He was imposing and he was highly intellectual. I suspect there was A LOT more violence and somethings are only alluded to when you would like a lot more detail. Also, I would have liked to have had more info on his dealings with some of the Liverpool names you hear about these days in particular the Fitzgibbons, The Showers, Charlie Siega, John Haase (briefly mentioned). Like all "true crime" books, some central characters are given aliases which is particularly annoying. Still, from a personal point of view (which is what you're reading and NOT the words of Graham Johnson) I would recommend this book!
Overall I have some annoyances so i will start with these. Stephen says the book was written by Graham Johnson and should not be taken as an autobiography. This is VERY annoying as I want to hear HIS story not the tabloid sensationalist words of Graham Johnson. Secondly, Stephen is quoted as saying he is not a grass yet the book has 3 incidents of police co-operation, one being when he changed his life to become a Christian. I should point out I could not care less if he did or not. The point being be honest, don't lie as it makes others look at you in that light but hey, he without sin. The last problem I have is that, in parts, there seems to be a lot of bravado and machismo but as I said before, he says Graham Johnson wrote the book.
I do overall like the book. I like the fact he apologized for his wrong doing and that he's trying to over come his demons and provide for his family in a manner that is regarded as legitimate. I learnt at a younger age to abhor violence but I don't think you can blame Stephen for using the tools at his disposal. He was imposing and he was highly intellectual. I suspect there was A LOT more violence and somethings are only alluded to when you would like a lot more detail. Also, I would have liked to have had more info on his dealings with some of the Liverpool names you hear about these days in particular the Fitzgibbons, The Showers, Charlie Siega, John Haase (briefly mentioned). Like all "true crime" books, some central characters are given aliases which is particularly annoying. Still, from a personal point of view (which is what you're reading and NOT the words of Graham Johnson) I would recommend this book!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To be honest, I expected this book to be very similar to 'Cocky'.
I thought it would be written, documenting French's life but was surprised to find that it is actually written in French's perspective which was a MASSIVE bonus for me.
Really good read, some chapters will make you laugh, some will make you think French deserved to do a long time in prison but the one thing every chapter has in common is the fact that when you get to the end, you HAVE to read the next one to find out what happens next!
Really liked the use of slang in the book too and for the readers not from the area, there's a glossary at the back of the book.
Would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the genre.
If you've not read it, read it...
Sion
I thought it would be written, documenting French's life but was surprised to find that it is actually written in French's perspective which was a MASSIVE bonus for me.
Really good read, some chapters will make you laugh, some will make you think French deserved to do a long time in prison but the one thing every chapter has in common is the fact that when you get to the end, you HAVE to read the next one to find out what happens next!
Really liked the use of slang in the book too and for the readers not from the area, there's a glossary at the back of the book.
Would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the genre.
If you've not read it, read it...
Sion
Most Recent Customer Reviews
crap
how this book got 4 stars i will never know, utter rubbish, alot more better books than this out there
Published 2 months ago by scott
CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
What a read,,,,,, This is one of the greatest books I have ever read it is pushing very very close to "the gates of Janus". Read more
Published 6 months ago by THEPITBULL
A Good Read.
I enjoyed readig this book, I finished it in 3 days, a real page turner. It was written in the first person, which, as intended, gave you the impression that Mr French was... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Pitt Burk
How the hell did this get 4 stars????
I cant get my head around how this book got 4 stars, seriously this is by some margin the worst true crime (if indeed half of it is true) book I have ever read. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Weekigsy
Intriguing but glossed up a ittle I feel!!
This is quite well written and set out. Written as an autobiography (but it is not) you get the feeling the author has adopted the persona of French and writes the book with an... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sleekspook
Scarface From Liverpool !
Excellent book could not put it down very hard hitting into underworld crime and taxation. stephen was NOT a stupid mindless thug he was very clever and very organised , he would... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Ashley92
fantastic book
A fantastic insight into the brutal world of 'The Devil'.
Superbly written. Stephen French comes over as a very likeable villian in a wold where brutality rules and he is the... Read more
Superbly written. Stephen French comes over as a very likeable villian in a wold where brutality rules and he is the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mark
fantastic read!!!!
great book! one off the best iv read in a very long time, i was hooked from the first page and was still wanting more after the last. would make a very interesting film! Read more
Published 12 months ago by steven ely
Just A Peek?
On the face of it stephen French is an incredible subject for a book.A world champion martial arts expert,raised on the mean streets of Toxteth,willing to torture and maim his way... Read more
Published 21 months ago by The Green Manalishi
Top read
I picked this up by chance browsing in Waterstones and was gripped from page 1 - like all good books. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by A. Hasnath
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