Karen Chisholm
REVIEW
IN YOUR FACE - Rochelle Jackson
Reviewed By
Thursday, August 11, 2011
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.
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK INFORMATION
BLURB
A mesmerising account of the turbulent life of one of the most notorious standover men on the Melbourne docks during the 1960s and 1970s.
'Looking back on my life, I regret the violence I've been involved in. But the waterfront was dangerous. If you were a member of one faction or another, you could finish up with your head shot off.'
Billy Longley was a member of the Painters and Dockers Union and one of the most feared and hated men on the docks during the 1960s and 1970s. He is an old-time villain known as 'the Texan' because he wore a Stetson and carried a Colt 45. He is 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 a union state secretary and he has been charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter and what was then Australia's biggest hold-up. He was once described as 'extremely cunning, very patient and very, very deadly.'
'The Texan' has never before broken his code of silence. That is how this shrewd operator survived the gun battles and the gangland slayings and went on to outlive them all. Now in this riveting account he divulges his secrets ... In Your Face gives it to you straight.
| Review | IN YOUR FACE - Rochelle Jackson | Karen Chisholm
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Thursday, August 11, 2011 |
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011 |