Bronson [Paperback]

Charles Bronson (Author), Robin Ackroyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2002

Charlie Bronson is Britain's most dangerous convict. During more than a quarter of a century inside, he has gained a fearsome reputation as the prison system's only serial hostage taker. He has spent 23 of the last 26 years in solitary confinement. He has been locked in dungeons, in iron boxes concreted into the middle of cells, and, famously, in a cage like Hannibal Lecter. Yet Bronson lives by a strict moral code and is respected and admired by many prison officers as well as prisoners. In this updated edition of his memoirs, Bronson reveals the happiness behind his controversial marriage to his wife Saira.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charlie Bronson is the author of The Good Prison Guide and Insanity.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: Blake Pub (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857825004
• ISBN-13: 978-1857825008
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,880,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The legend of the legend, to an extent., June 22, 2010

By 

Armando N. Roman (Hillsboro, OR) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Bronson (Paperback)

I've been a fan of Bronson for only a few months now, and follow his Solitary Fitness program as my main method of exercise. When I saw that he wrote other books about his time in prison, I figured this one, the auto-biography (more or less), would be a good start to learn more about him. What I already knew going into this book was limited to how strong he was, that he went to jail for very petty things, and that he single handedly evacuated a prison once when he took a news reporter hostage and somehow was able to make a spear in the process. With this book, I learned a lot more about the man, but unfortunately, I didn't find it as interesting as his Solitary Fitness book. I feel like a jerk for saying that, since this is a book about his time behind bars and what led him to that fate. It's not like he could just make stuff up, but at the same time, a lot of what's in this book makes me feel like I'm reading the same chapters over and over again. Again, I know it's not his fault, but I would've liked more details about how Bronson did certain things, or more notes about the many people he met instead of just 'this happened, and then I did this, which led to this'.

Since this is a kind of auto-biography, I won't do much of a plot summary. One reason being that the majority of this book takes place in prison, and Bronson spent the majority of his years in solitary confinement. It starts out with Charles giving a quick rundown of his life as a young boy, and into his teen years when things started to get a little out of hand. He would just go and do things, regardless of it being a good idea or not, which is what would often lead him to trouble. Charles brings up one instance where he went to a parking lot, messed up a bunch of cars, and waited for the owners to come out. He promptly got beat up for that. We learn that his parents are very respected people, and when it comes down to it, Charles is the black sheep of the family. Once in jail, Bronson pays respect to nearly every single person he got along with, giving us their full names and little notes about those that touched his life the most. Unfortunately, most of those moments are very brief, but I suspect his other books about prisoners are where the real good stuff is. After all, this is a story about him, right?

While I knew he went to prison for little things like robbery, I had no idea about some of the things Bronson did in prison. I knew he beat up guards, held numerous hostages, and beat up other inmates, but some of the things Bronson writes about, like how he straight-up tried to kill several inmates, really surprised me. Bronson's reasons for those cases are that he had nothing left to lose, and was at the end of his rope because of how depressed he was for having thrown his life away. He also has zero tolerance for anyone who does bad things to women and children, so it's good to see that he has morals like the rest of us (not that I doubted it, but I'm just throwing it out there). I think I learned more about just how bad the British prison system is than I did Bronson's life, because most of this book talks about how he was moved to dozens of locations in a short time, and how no one wanted him because of his reputation. Charles was put in an asylum for a while, and once he was moved back to a prison, several doctors who checked him out wondered why he was put in an asylum in the first place. It's pretty messed up, and I think you'll feel bad for him over how he was treated more than anything. There are some funny stories too. My favorites being whenever Bronson got on the roof of a building after he escaped. He has a thing for going up on roofs and tearing everything apart up there, and I'd laugh out loud whenever I got to those parts, especially since it happened more than once. You won't believe how much the damages cost once he was done with everything. I also appreciated them including a few pages of pictures of Bronson when he was a kid, and some pictures of him working out and with his family the few times he was free. You see some genuine happiness on Bronson's face in these, and it put a smile on my face as well.

I feel bad giving this book 4 stars, especially since it's not like Bronson could write about much more than prison stories, and it's not his fault, but time and time again you'll read about him moving to a new place. One chapter is almost entirely moving segments. I would've liked more about his fights and thoughts while he was doing time. There are a lot of times where he'll talk about what went through his mind, but they're very short. Sincere, but short. Some will criticize the lack of detail because he's "just a criminal", but the man is intelligent and has a heck of a tale to tell, and it's too bad he doesn't tell much of it. There's one instance where he got paid to fight a dog, and ripped part of its lungs out. Punching through bulletproof glass was amazing enough, but that? Do I even have to bring up how no one should ever mess with Bronson? He constantly talks about how other prisoners or guards would mess with him, which lead to more time being added to his sentence. You'd think these guys would know better. 'hope their time in the hospital was worth it. What knocks the rating down, almost to 3 stars, is that there's a lot that he doesn't bring up at all. There's no mention of his conversion to Islam and the wife he had at that time. No mention of why he's nicknamed the Birdman. And maybe they're just petty details, but I would've liked to know why he grew his massive beard, or why he sang Yellow Submarine during his final (in this book at least) hostage situation.

Overall, Bronson is an interesting read, and worth your time and money. Keep in mind that the profits go towards charities for children and animals, so you're also doing a good thing by buying the book new. This is only the second book of Bronson's that I've read, but I plan to get the rest of them now. Bronson's a good author because of how he writes- it's like he's right there with you, saying everything directly to you. While some might think it's weird, the guy's my hero, and it's a shame that his talents and knowledge are being wasted behind bars when he could be helping people in the real world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Someone incredibly human!, October 21, 2010

By 

Lesley Zychla (Ancaster, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bronson (Paperback)

In everyone's life there are journeys we take, both external and internal. No matter who we are, we can usually, on some level, relate to the roads others have taken. When we meet people, read a true story, or view a life tale on film, we find that inner place in ourselves and it evokes emotion...happiness, sadness, joy, sorrow, pain, pleasure, love, hate etc. Some of our fellow life travellers have extraordinary journeys, some lived, in few brief hours or days, that which eventually determines their existence. Others have what can truly be only described as odysseys. This is one such heroic journey...heroic because it takes a hero to go through so much internal agony, such physical and mental torture and come out the other side a decent human being!

Charles Bronson is the adopted fighting name of Michael Peterson, Britain's most dangerous inmate. He has written the epic story of his journey. Here is a man who has been incarcerated for over three decades, most of which have been in solitary confinement, who has taken hostages, held prisons in a state of panic while he strides the rooftops and screams obsenities at the screws below. Charlie has been commited to mental institutions and yet still declared sane three times.

On reading his story you will perhaps understand why I can hear his accent in his words, the way he speaks naturally without affectation, from the heart, from the soul! Charlie tells of trying to kill a pedophile and a murderer and hearing himself laugh as the guards pry him off. He has never managed to actually end anyone's life, thank God. Charlie relates his story without self pity or apology. He speaks of crying, naked in his cell because his latest outburst cancelled the visit with his family, they having come so far to see him and he having waited so long for some personal contact. It is a mental picture that can not be easily forgotten, this huge bear of a man in tears because he has let his beloved mother down one more time, upset his family yet again. Nor is it easy to put aside the days and weeks, even years holed-up in what can only be described as a dungeon the Spanish Inquisition would be ashamed of! Treatment that Charlie and men like him have had to endure is the worst medieval minds could conjure. Yet here we are in this day and age!

"Life was becoming a battle! There was contempt in the air. Hate had set in and bitterness was eating me away." Charlie's words echo around the brain like the hollow curses and screams of prisoners along the cold, hard prison walls. What becomes of a young misguided soul when housed with the dregs of humanity? Where does the mind go when faced with daily confrontations with the perverse, the insane, the cruel, the authority that does not listen, does not care and sees only the behaviour and not the human being? Every punch, every threat, every maliferous scream is an agonising cry for help!

Charlie admits his faults and unlike so many accepts the responsibility he has for his situation. However, he is miraculously able to look at it all from a bird's point of view. That perhaps is a gift from being so alone and isolated for so long. Like all abuse victims who survive, he has managed to separate himself from what has gone on in the past and see it from the "other's" perspective. What is one of the most amazing things about his story is, the matter-of-fact way in which Mr. Bronson tells painfully, among other things, of losing his wife and son because of his incapacity not to fight, not to cause trouble, not to comform. If ever a human being were created not to conform, it is Charlie!

There is the other side of Charlie, the side that works for and loves children, who longs to be outside speaking to kids and telling them to keep straight and not make the wrong decsions like he has. This man has the love of family and a special relationship with his cousin Lorraine who has been a rock for him all these years. There are friends from the inside, some famous names of major notoriety, some friends from celebrity and nobility......this is not an ordinary man...Charlie is unique...they broke the mould...Charlie may well say "...just as well they did!" I took a liberty there Charlie : ) It is hard not to appreciate this enigma of a man. No matter what his faults and he has many like all of us, Charlie is a good soul.

In epilogue he writes "Will I have the life sucked out of me? Will I be left as just an empty shell?"....he writes a page more and as he always does he picks his spirits up off the floor, polishes them off in timely order and ends with..."I'll prove them wrong again. Sooner or later I'm coming home. I am the ultimate survivor." Yes, you are Charlie! God bless : )

In the end there is something incredibly human about Charlie!

I bought Mr. B's books after seeing the extraordinary movie "Bronson" about his journey. Some movies, some stories, some people just touch you in a way you never imagined, that is Charlie's gift to me personally. Thanks Mr. B.

From my movie review of "Bronson"...."Trying to define the man who calls himself Charles Bronson would be a mistake. The man, the myth, the misunderstandings, the manic attempts to disentangle from the penal establishment... The movie "Bronson" achieves what can only be described as a visual feast of an epic life of monumental disparities." Watch it. It is eye-opening in so many ways!

For those who truly care, maybe you would sign his petition freebronson.co.uk

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars book review, December 6, 2010

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XXX - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bronson (Paperback)

great book! The story along with character development is a page turner. it also gives great insite to how the need for rehabilitation before release is an over looked necessity and how the current system can turn a non violent offender into a deadly inmate. If you like this book you may also enjoy the book,The Black Hand.