# Good Books With Criminal Authors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320 "2003-05-29T17:48:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trjckster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Trjckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trjckster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/21 "2003-05-30T09:52:05Z")
[Jeffrey Archer](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2734089.stm) is quite a famous author and he was recently jailed for perjury. He has wrote a book called “A Prison Diary” about his experiences, but I wouldn’t believe a word of it ;). ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/22 "2003-05-30T10:49:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*_The Riddle of the Sands_ by Erskine Childers is generally considered the first modern spy novel (it was written in 1903). Childers was later arrested and executed for fighting for Irish independance (the specific charge was possession of an illegal gun). \*\* He later became President of Ireland. Obviously, many would dispute whather he could be called a criminal. There is no shortage of books (mostly terrible) written by participants in the conflict in Ireland. They would all claim that they were not criminals. If you’re willing to take the strictly technical definition of criminal, anything by Oscar Wilde would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/23 "2003-05-30T11:17:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nichol\_storm \* > \*\*If Malory’s included then we mustn’t leave out Geoffrey Chaucer (of Canterbury Tales fame) who in 1380 was accused of Cecily Champain’s “raptus” (rape or abduction). She signed a document releasing him from the consequences of his crime. > > .:Nichol:. \*\* Yes, but Malory was _convicted_, and the little we do know of him indicates that he was considered to be wild and nasty all around. A conviction is a hell of a lot more serious than an accusation. There are so many uncertainties about Chaucer’s involvement in the Champain case (including whether or not it was rape!) that old Geof deserves the benefit of the doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/24 "2003-05-30T13:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > He later became President of Ireland. Obviously, many would dispute whather he could be called a criminal. There is no shortage of books (mostly terrible) written by participants in the conflict in Ireland. They would all claim that they were not criminals. Well, he was convicted of a crime; I don’t think that’s too technical a description of a criminal. Several of the other writers here, such as Eldridge Cleaver and Mumia Abu-Jamal, would also state their actions were political. And it was Robert Erskine Childers’ son, Erskine Hamilton Childers, who was the President of Ireland several decades after his father’s execution. ---
**Author:** ![manwithaplan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@manwithaplan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manwithaplan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/25 "2003-05-30T15:30:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*Well, he was convicted of a crime; I don’t think that’s too technical a description of a criminal. Several of the other writers here, such as Eldridge Cleaver and Mumia Abu-Jamal, would also state their actions were political. > > And it was Robert Erskine Childers’ son, Erskine Hamilton Childers, who was the President of Ireland several decades after his father’s execution. \*\* Of course, you’re right about his son being President - I shouldn’t post too early in the morning. I fully agree that Childers Snr. fits the bill for the purposes of this thread. As I mentioned in my post about Oscar Wilde, he is a criminal in the strict technical sense but you wouldn’t generally refer to him as such. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/26 "2003-05-30T17:52:15Z")
The brilliant historian Marc Bloch wrote ‘The Historian’s Craft’ whilst imprisoned by the Germans (he was active in the French Resistance); it is still considered an extremely important work – he wrote it all from memory as he had no access to his notes or books or papers, obviously. It ends in mid sentence as he was literally taken from his cell whilst writing, and out for his execution… ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/27 "2003-05-30T18:16:08Z")
Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail” P.S. to **Surreal** : It’s not illegal to remove the tag from your own mattress. It’s illegal for a retailer to remove the tag. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/28 "2003-05-30T18:29:20Z")
There was a guy named Paul who wrote a considerable chunk of the second half of the best-selling book of all time. He did time. A lot of it was on trumped-up charges, but still. There was also a poet mentioned on Saturday Night Live many years ago, who wrote behind bars. I don’t remember his name, but some of his work still haunts me: “Big dog barking … Do he bite? Kill my landlord, kill my landlord. C-I-L-L my land. Lord.” Powerful stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/29 "2003-05-30T18:56:27Z")
Alexandr Solsynhitsyn (a thousand apologies for the horrible spelling) was imprisoned in Soviet gulags for many years, and he’s a gifted writer. Not sure if he’s the “criminal” you’re looking for, however. See _A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_, _The Gulag Archipelago_, and _Cancer Ward_, among others. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/30 "2003-05-31T03:03:41Z")
> [@](#): > > There was also a poet mentioned on Saturday Night Live many years ago, who wrote behind bars. But it doesn’t compare to the classic: Gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see Gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see Gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see Then them whities ain’t gonna bother me ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/31 "2003-05-31T05:07:06Z")
John Bunyan wrote some of _The Pilgrim’s Progress_ while in jail. ---
**Author:** ![Daylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@Daylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylon)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/32 "2003-05-31T10:33:28Z")
I think it’s called “Hitman” by Sammy “The Bull” Gravano…he was the muscle for the Teflon Don in New York…really interesting reading… D\> ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/33 "2003-05-31T10:51:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C3 \* > \*\*Anne Perry, the mystery author, served time for her involvement in the murder of her best friend’s mother, when she was 15 (in New Zealand). The movie _Heavenly Creatures_ is about the murder - pretty good movie, too. > > Her books are fiction and I don’t think she talks about the crime to interviewers, but she is a criminal author. \*\* [Interesting article regarding that incident](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/2194/faq2/library/7.9.6.5.html) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/34 "2003-05-31T11:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\*Mark Brandon Read. I haven’t read his books, but a movie made from one of them, _Chopper_, is brilliant. \*\* I saw that just the other day. I don’t see what all the fuss was about; it’s no more than average. Nobody’s yet mentioned Mr Nice, the criminal biography of Britain’s biggest ever hash dealer Howard Marks. It’s quite the tale. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/35 "2003-05-31T21:06:02Z")
**Will** G Gordon Liddy ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/36 "2003-05-31T22:39:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sjc \* > \*\*What about the guy in your sig line, **Surreal**? I guess that it depends on your point of view, but Henry Kissinger is considered by some to be a war criminal and he’s written quite a few books. \*\* So can we also count **RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon**? ---
**Author:** ![epraz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/82dd89/32.png) [@epraz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epraz)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/37 "2003-06-01T00:34:51Z")
Mein Kampf, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/38 "2003-06-01T01:35:53Z")
**Go Boy! Memories of a Life Behind Bars** by Roger Caron > [@](#): > > A chilling account of a lifetime behind bars. Originally published in 1978, Go Boy! became a bestseller in hardcover and mass market with over 300,000 copies sold. > “Dubbed ‘Mad Dog Caron’….Caron was among the hardest of the hard rocks, those brutal and untamable convicts who are eventually consumed by the intensity of their rage……” > Boston Globe I read it a long time ago… I remember it being pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/39 "2003-06-04T13:43:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\*Mark Brandon Read. I haven’t read his books, but a movie made from one of them, _Chopper_, is brilliant. \*\* _Chopper_ is a bit light, but a pretty good read. I’ll note that I file it with my fiction books rather than non-fiction, though. _Chopper II_ through to _Chopper DCCLXVIII_, however, aren’t worth the time. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320/40 "2003-06-04T13:45:09Z")
Oh, yeah - and it’s ghostwritten. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-books-with-criminal-authors/178320.md?page=3)