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Mark Brandon Read

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Chopper Paperback – 5 Aug. 2002

by Mark Brandon Read (Author)

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Bullied at school, and growing up dreaming of revenge, Mark "Chopper" Read determined to be the toughest in any company. This autobiography tells how he became a crime commando who terrorized drug dealers, pimps, thieves and armed robbers on the streets and in jail - but he boasts never to have hurt an innocent member of the public. As a streetfighter, gunman and underworld executioner, he has been earmarked for death a hundred times but has lived to tell the tale.

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Print length

282 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Blake Publishing
Publication date

5 Aug. 2002
Dimensions

13.1 x 2.1 x 19.7 cm
ISBN-10

1904034144
ISBN-13

978-1904034148
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Review

'Apart from Irish whiskey, good cigars, Pontiac motor cars, and a pistol grip baby, what I love most is kidnapping smart-arse gangsters and taking their money.' 'So I shot Nick the Greek and burned his house down? So what? If you met him, you'd want to burn his house down too...' 'To the human filth I have bashed, belted, iron-barred, axed, shot, stabbed, knee-capped, set on fire and driven to their graves, I can only quote from the motto of the French Foreign Legion - Je Ne Regrette Rien!!!'

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blake Publishing; New edition (5 Aug. 2002)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 282 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1904034144
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1904034148
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.1 x 2.1 x 19.7 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 2,368,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 20,979 in True Crime Biographies

Customer reviews:
265

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

265 global ratings

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Jack

Best book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2023

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Hilarious and thoughtful read.

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N S

A legend in his own mind

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2022

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Like he says, don't believe everything you read. A really bad man, but a good sense of humour. Just take it all with a pinch of salt

One person found this helpful

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robert

Great Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 June 2015

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This is a great book, but you have to know that this is not a complete biography. If you know about mark chopper read, then you know that he does not let the truth get in the way of a good story. So do not expect to get a 100% truthful book, it is truth mixed with fiction and he also does not go to much into his childhood. If you are looking for a book about blood and violence, with truth and fiction, mixed with descriptions of some of austrailia's most infamous criminals then this is the book for you. If you are looking a biography then it is not.

3 people found this helpful

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R. S.

Scary funny

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 June 2010

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This book is shocking in many ways. Chopper Read has had a very different life to most people but he still has a sense of humour about him. He talks about the people he has stabbed, bashed, beaten, and even murdered, so this book is not for the faint of hearted. He also talks about the people who he was fond of and how he protected them with his life. Although he is a hardened criminal he seems to be one of the more intelligent criminals having spent many years of his life researching war strategies.
He is truly a unique man with an intriguing story, but it is a gruesome book that talks about real killing so be wary of that.

One person found this helpful

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Nicola Smith

Class

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 May 2022

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This man knows how to write a book great for lying by the pool

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2012

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I have read a fair few crime books recently and must say that this is one of the best. After seeing the film i wanted to learn more about chopper, this book is basically him telling a collection of stories about his past life. It it very difficult to put down, it reads in an incredibly interesting way as you can see his madness and violent past come alive in the pages. The ending is particuarly good not so much a twist but almost some life lessons that chopper puts forward. I have brought the next one and highly highly highly reccommend it!

One person found this helpful

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Laurence H.

Ok book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 August 2020

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Good book, starts to get slow at the end, just talking about the old australian gangsters he does or doesn't like.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2021

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The book is great the films awesome!

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Martin

Great book, great seller

Reviewed in Canada on 22 November 2022

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Great book, great seller

Gabriele,Otto

Absurd

Reviewed in Germany on 4 December 2017

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Autor hat einem interessanten Schreibstil und es gibt Einblicke in eine andere, absolut absurde Denkweise. Zum weiterempfehlen für Leser die sich einmal in den Kopf eines Gewalttäters versetzen möchten.

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Vampyre Mike

Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn.

Reviewed in the United States on 31 August 2011

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A little after high school a close friend of mine had introduced me to a film called "Chopper" starring Eric Bana. This was my first experience with good ol' Chop Chop, and Eric Bana as well.

I was completely intrigued and hysterical by Mark Brandon Read aka Chopper's funny yet crazy demeanor, and Eric's great acting chops. Little did I know Chopper had put out quite a few books, and even more since then. And Eric..well I'm sure everyone knows who he is at this point heh.

I picked up this book after getting slightly bored while reading Dante's Divine Comedy, not to say I didn't like it. Just wasn't in that kind of mood at the moment. Anyhow, this book is not for the faint of heart. Chopper talks about funny stories, crazy ones, murders, robberies and in pretty graphic detail. I had read on Amazon a few sample pages of the book and was completely over taken just as I was with the film, his humor mixed with sociopath-type tendencies and sadism were just enthralling. I could see some people getting turned off by this type of writing or humor, but this man really has a soft warm side littered through out his book as well. Albeit some of it is hidden behind Aussie slang you may have to Google ;).

One of my favorite stories talks of a hit put out on our friend Chopper. For the first and probably last time Chopper had been tripped up, and caught by a would be gangster looking for the bounty on Chop's head. Eventually Chopper get's thrown into said "gangster's" trunk and I believe he had said Dean Martin was blaring on the radio. Anyhow, eventually Chopper talks about how this was the only time he was scared enough to relieve himself on his person, and that he could never hear Deano sing again without thinking of this moment. He then goes into great detail about how he yuks it up with the gangster, who is trying to make him dig his own grave mind you...He then proceeds to fake not being able to dig very will with the restraints on and bare handed. Eventually Chopper has a small pick axe type tool and is now cuff-less, which was the gangster's very big mistake. Well with one blink of the eye or turn of the head by the gangster, Chopper proceeds to pay him back in spades. He also gets away with the gangster's car and lived to fight another day.

If my little snippet of information from this book doesn't sound like your cup of tea, it most likely isn't. Chopper proclaims to be semi-illiterate and doesn't have much of an education. But boy does he have personality, charm, and a violent streak that would make any fan of the movie, or even gangster films/books blush.

I whole heatedly recommend this book for those who don't mind a little violence with their humor, and can take some of it for what it's worth. Most likely a yarn.

Stories: A
Writing: A
Overall: A

One person found this helpful

Broadway Turk Superstar

Rocking at Jika Jika?

Reviewed in the United States on 22 January 2014

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This is a follow-up of sorts to my tribute to Mark "Chopper" Read back on October 9th, 2013. I ordered his autobiography (which got put on my enormous back burner), and here's the review at long last. I was fascinated to find what Chopper and I had in common. He is two days older than me, owned a .44 Ruger Super Black Hawk single-action Magnum, was a published author and claimed to be absolutely fearless. Fortunately for me, that's where the similarities end.

Most of Chopper's book is chest-thumping tongue-in-cheek bravado. Yet if as much as 75% is true (which I suspect it is), he certainly lives up to the title of Scourge of the Australian Underworld. Before writing this review, I did some research on the Aussie prison system and verified Chopper's accounts. Prison guards routinely accept bribes, turn their backs on violence, encourage feuds and rivalries and even bet on fights between inmates. Chopper was the cock of the walk wherever he was sent, even in Jika Jika (the Aussie version of Alcatraz) where he was its first inmate.

He spent thirty-three years of his life as a professional criminal, thirteen while incarcerated in maximum security. During that time he built a reputation as Australia's most dangerous criminal, largely due to his record for killing or maiming rivals in prison. When he got out, he became a 'toe cutter', a man who kidnapped gangsters and tortured them to gain access to their getaway stashes. The Australian police took advantage of Chopper's campaign and gave him a favored status which allowed him to wreak havoc throughout the underworld. Chopper finally retired, fleeing to Tasmania from where he wrote a number of his memoirs.

The final chapter of this book is where he lowers his guard and reveals his true feelings. He had been stabbed in the head with an ice pick, shot, strangled, beaten, and escaped countless attempts on his life. Despite the bravado and sadistic humor he displays throughout the book, he admits at the end that his life had been a total waste. He ended his days as a toothless lion, forever looking over his shoulder to see if one of his hundreds of enemies would come to extract vengeance at last.

I doubt he lived his last days in fear. He just wanted to see it coming. And don't we all? Au revoir, Chopper. You were one of a kind.

One person found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on 29 November 2014

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Was interesting, and entertaining, truely a peak into insanity.

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Chopper Paperback – 5 Aug. 2002

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