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Bronson #3
Bronson 3: Up on the Roof
Charlie has taken his 30 years of prison dwelling and condensed it into one handy and comprehensive volume
Moved around the prisons of the British Isles
regularly, Charles Bronson has sampled all that prison life has to offer, taking in both the historic and the prehistoric buildings that comprise Britain's prison system. It's all in here—from the correct way to brew vintage prison "hooch" and how to keep the screws from finding it to prison food and its many alternative uses. Read about Charlie's special taming techniques for prison wildlife such as spiders, rats, and cockroaches—creatures that may be one's only friends on long stretches in solitary. This guide to the ins and outs of prison life is essential for young offenders and old cons alike—don't go away without it!
Moved around the prisons of the British Isles
regularly, Charles Bronson has sampled all that prison life has to offer, taking in both the historic and the prehistoric buildings that comprise Britain's prison system. It's all in here—from the correct way to brew vintage prison "hooch" and how to keep the screws from finding it to prison food and its many alternative uses. Read about Charlie's special taming techniques for prison wildlife such as spiders, rats, and cockroaches—creatures that may be one's only friends on long stretches in solitary. This guide to the ins and outs of prison life is essential for young offenders and old cons alike—don't go away without it!
- GenresTrue Crime
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
10 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
Charles Bronson
42 books83 followersEnglish criminal and former bare knuckle boxer.
Bronson is often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain".Bronson wasa petty criminal before being sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1974.
While in prison, he began making a name for himself as a loose cannon, often fighting convicts and prison officers. He also embarked on one-man rooftop protests. He was released on 30 October 1988, but spent merely sixty-nine days as a free man before he was arrested again.
Upon his release, he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter was unhappy with his name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson. He was returned to prison for planning another robbery and continued to be a difficult inmate, instigating numerous hostage situations.
While in jail in 2001, he married his second wife, Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcée who inspired him to convert to Islam and take the name of Charles Ali Ahmed.
This second marriage lasted four years before he divorced Rehman and renounced Islam.
Bronson is often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain".Bronson wasa petty criminal before being sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 1974.
While in prison, he began making a name for himself as a loose cannon, often fighting convicts and prison officers. He also embarked on one-man rooftop protests. He was released on 30 October 1988, but spent merely sixty-nine days as a free man before he was arrested again.
Upon his release, he began a bare-knuckle boxing career in the East End of London. His promoter was unhappy with his name and suggested he change it to Charles Bronson. He was returned to prison for planning another robbery and continued to be a difficult inmate, instigating numerous hostage situations.
While in jail in 2001, he married his second wife, Fatema Saira Rehman, a Bangladeshi-born divorcée who inspired him to convert to Islam and take the name of Charles Ali Ahmed.
This second marriage lasted four years before he divorced Rehman and renounced Islam.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 2, 2021
I have read a couple of other books that are written by "Charles Bronson", so I thought that I would give this a go. Unfortunately, it left me feeling very disappointed and underwhelmed. The book is, basically, an A-Z of all of the various prisons and institutions that he has spent time in. It also mentions some of the other notable prisoners that have been held at those prisons.
The book did leave me thinking "s0 what?", though. I didn't get an idea of what day-t0-day life is like inside prison, or what exactly makes those places so hellish, according to Bronson. The book also feels very padded-out, with loads of other rubbish that has no real relevance to the theme of the book and could easily have been left out. I got the impression that he included this material purely to make the book longer. I have read books about other prisons, notably books about Parkhurst written by Norman Parker and Bobby Cummines, and I found both of these books infinitely more enjoyable and engrossing than this effort. I didn't know anything more about prison life after reading The Good Prison Guide than I did before.
If you are that keen on finding out more about Charles Bronson, then I would suggest that you try the book Bronson, which was also written by him, or his book about Broadmoor. If you are looking for a good prison book, then sadly I don't think that The Good Prison Guide is for you. My suggestion is to try the other two prison books that I have listed above by Bobby Cummines and Norman Parker. I am just very glad that I didn't pay full price for this book, because it isn't worth it.
The book did leave me thinking "s0 what?", though. I didn't get an idea of what day-t0-day life is like inside prison, or what exactly makes those places so hellish, according to Bronson. The book also feels very padded-out, with loads of other rubbish that has no real relevance to the theme of the book and could easily have been left out. I got the impression that he included this material purely to make the book longer. I have read books about other prisons, notably books about Parkhurst written by Norman Parker and Bobby Cummines, and I found both of these books infinitely more enjoyable and engrossing than this effort. I didn't know anything more about prison life after reading The Good Prison Guide than I did before.
If you are that keen on finding out more about Charles Bronson, then I would suggest that you try the book Bronson, which was also written by him, or his book about Broadmoor. If you are looking for a good prison book, then sadly I don't think that The Good Prison Guide is for you. My suggestion is to try the other two prison books that I have listed above by Bobby Cummines and Norman Parker. I am just very glad that I didn't pay full price for this book, because it isn't worth it.
August 17, 2020
Not what I was expecting. I thought this would be a description and stories of how the author tore up various institutions and people, and while that does happen, he also makes a very good case for why we should at least look at the purpose of prisons and at the very most why they are no longer fit for purpose.
A good study of what prisoners go though, what would happen to you as a prisoner and also as a warning to those who may think that prison is a glamorous place, Charles Bronson is an obviously intelligent and insightful individual combined with violence and mental issues which are also examined in the book.
He does include the witness statements of his various hostages that he has taken throughout his time in prison and lets you decide, the legal documentation towards the end is a bit heavy but it still gives you an insight into what happens when you get lost in the system and you have people (some very eminent) fighting for you. A refreshing look at a system that most people want as little to do with as possible.
A good study of what prisoners go though, what would happen to you as a prisoner and also as a warning to those who may think that prison is a glamorous place, Charles Bronson is an obviously intelligent and insightful individual combined with violence and mental issues which are also examined in the book.
He does include the witness statements of his various hostages that he has taken throughout his time in prison and lets you decide, the legal documentation towards the end is a bit heavy but it still gives you an insight into what happens when you get lost in the system and you have people (some very eminent) fighting for you. A refreshing look at a system that most people want as little to do with as possible.
July 25, 2020
Read this as I wanted an easy read to travel with. Bronson has stayed in a number of prisons and in this guide he gives each of them a rating and comments on how good the food was. Aside from that, it's pretty heavy reading as you realise how outdated the prison system is and how brutal some of the prisons are. Bronson is a pretty charismatic guy, but at times does paint himself as the victim (he's a pretty violent guy). In saying that, his history of mental health problems does give some indication as to why he is as he is and I'd say he'd be better off in a place that helped him rather than punish.
October 5, 2019
A brutally honest book by a gentleman who has not been treated correctly by the mess that is the British Justice System. The book begins with a short profile of Michael Peterson, aka Charles Bronson, Britain's most feared prisoner, yet a Saint compared with the likes of Ian Huntley, Roy Whiting etc. Charles then gives an intriguing explanation of what would or could happen to the first time prisoner. In chapter three, there is an A-Z of each of the prisons and secure hospitals that he has been in. Chapter four sees three officers that Bronson took hostage on separate occasions telling the reader their sides of the story. Chapter five gives the reader a list of celebrities who have been in trouble with the law, including Robert Stroud and Al Capone alongside more modern cases such as R Kelly and OJ Simpson. Chapter six covers four challenges made by his legal team. These show just how corrupt the prison system is, denying Bronson medical treatment to his kidney and ear. The last three chapters cover, in his opinion, the world's worst, oldest, hardest and most infamous prisons, prisons that have become museums, some famous quotes and some ghostly goings on, before showing the reader tables of deaths in prison from 1990 to 2002 and another of the deaths of every black, Asian and mixed race prisoners from April 1969 to November 2001.
A brilliant book and I look forward to reading his other books.
A brilliant book and I look forward to reading his other books.
June 26, 2021
Not at all what I thought it would be. It began promising by talking about the different prisons Charlie had been in but then it became more about the actual prisons themselves, how they where ran and what he didn't like about them.
September 10, 2014
Quite an interesting book, this.
It details the prisons across the country, when they were built etc but also the prisons that Charlie had been in and his experiences there.
It also goes on to tell of some of the more famous inmates at prisons he's been in.
It details the prisons across the country, when they were built etc but also the prisons that Charlie had been in and his experiences there.
It also goes on to tell of some of the more famous inmates at prisons he's been in.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews