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Billy 'The Texan' Longley was a member of the Painters and Dockers Union and one of the most feared men on the docks during the 1960s and 1970s. He is an old-time villain from an era when men lived by a code and stood by their mates. But 'The Texan' is no gent. He has served time for the murder of union state secretary, Pat Shannon, and he has been charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and what was then Australia's biggest hold-up.
Well it shouldn't come as any surprise that a book written "for" an old time notorious crim seemed somewhat revisionary, but even allowing for that aspect, there's something slightly odd about this book. Billy Longley is one of those notorious old-time crims - known far and wide in Victoria in particular, who was very active in the equally notorious Painters and Dockers Union.
I've now read a few books which purport to tell the tales of the Painters and Dockers but I don't think this book is going to add much to anyone's overall understanding of the truth of what used to happen in those wild days. But if you'd like to read a book that tells you a little about what an old man wants you to think of his past - then it probably works on that level.
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