James Morton

Subtitled "The Story of the Painters and Dockers" I think this probably would have been better if it had said "The Story of Members of the Painters and Dockers".

Told in typical James Morton style, this is a book of anecdotes and stories of various members of the painters and dockers from its inception to its folding.  One of the most notorious unions in Australian History, the book doesn't really give you much insight into the workings of the Painters and Dockers themselves, rather it provides a long and involved tale of all of the various goings on of the various notorious individual members of the union, with brief snippets on how / where they fitted into the union infrastructure.

As much as I found the tales of the various players interesting and frequently a little disturbing, I came away from the book with a distinct feeling of let-down.  There's not a lot of analysis or indepth discussion about the union itself in this book - but if you're looking for some anecdotes about the various members - then there is something here for you.

I bought this book at last years Crime & Justice festival, and at the time Susanna Lobez was kind enough to sign it with me including the inscription "Stay curious!".

And that is the best way I can recommend this book - staying curious, reading this sort of historical true crime fiction, reminds you that nothing is ever really new.  And nothing is ever "the worst it has ever been" or "never before in the history...." or whatever else the media feeds you (obviously I'm thinking of the "Underbelly Wars" here).

Commencing at the beginning of the arrival of the British in Australia, this book takes you right through to the 1990's, outlining the various criminal gangs, crimelords and warlords, as well as their lesser and greater known exploits.  So much is touched on - the drug dealing, prostitution, stand-over merchants, infights, murders, and bashings. 

And it ranges over a range of different cities, nationalities, groupings, allegiances, loyalties and disloyalties.

This is a great book to read through, or to dip in and out of.  And it is a tremendous book to remind you that there's very little new under the sun.