Mark “Chopper” Read

Mark “Chopper” Read (1954–2013) was an Australian criminal, author, and media personality whose autobiographical accounts made him a notorious figure in Melbourne’s underworld.

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Ned Kelly: Ned Kelly was an Australian bushranger whose 1880 execution made him a lasting folk hero and cultural symbol. Read’s outlaw image drew on Australia’s enduring fascination with celebrated criminals.
Chopper (2000 film): Chopper is a 2000 Australian crime film directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Eric Bana as Mark Read. The film transformed Read’s autobiographical persona into a widely seen dramatic character.
Outlaw: An outlaw is a person who lives outside or is formally excluded from the protection of a society’s laws. Read’s public persona drew on the outlaw as a familiar figure in Australian culture.
Gangland Australia: Gangland Australia is a nonfiction book by James Morton and Susanna Lobez about organized crime in Australia. Its researched overview offers a different mode of telling Australian criminal history than Read’s memoirs.
John Sylvester: John Sylvester is an Australian journalist and author known for reporting on crime and policing. Sylvester’s crime reporting provides a journalistic counterpoint to Read’s self-authored accounts.
Chopper: From the Inside: Chopper: From the Inside is Mark Read’s 1991 autobiographical account of prison life and criminal exploits. This book established the blunt, mythmaking voice central to Read’s public identity.
Crime fiction: Crime fiction is narrative writing organized around crime, investigation, or the criminal world. Read’s books blur autobiographical claims with conventions associated with crime storytelling.
The Underbelly series: Underbelly is an Australian television franchise dramatizing real organized-crime cases. Its ensemble crime narratives contrast with the singular, self-authored persona that made Read famous.
Gregory David Roberts: Gregory David Roberts is an Australian novelist whose book Shantaram drew on his experiences as a fugitive in India. Like Read, Roberts turned criminal experience into popular autobiographical storytelling.
Chopper 2: A Sequel: Chopper 2: A Sequel is a 1992 book by Mark Read continuing his autobiographical crime narratives. Its follow-up stories extended the persona introduced in Read’s first book.