THE CULT OF VIOLENCE The Untold Story of The Krays.

Hardback, 1st edn. John Pearson probably knows more about the Krays than anyone - alive or dead. 33-yrs. ago before they were arrested, the Kray twins asked him to write their joint biography. As the police net closed in on the twins during their last 8-mths of freedom, the author found himself in a unique position. Installed by the twins in an East End flat close to their Vallance Road headquarters, he had unparalleled access to the twins, their family and associates. The result of this was 'The Profession of Violence', which was eventually published in 1973, became an international bestseller and the most popular book in British prisons after the Bible. Now with Ronnie and Reggie both dead, in this sequel John is finally able to lay bare the truth behind their legend; the extraordinary creation of their cult of violence and subsequent metamorphosis into 'living criminal celebrities'. Drawing upon the mass of first-hand interviews and private information he was unable to use before, he finally recounts the chilling untold story of the twins. He calls it a 'cockney tragedy' and shows how the bonds of twinship brought about their own destruction. He also recalls the twins' obsession with publicity and violence, and fascinatingly details the way the Kray legend was perpetuated and manipulated by the twins throughout their incarceration, right up to their deaths. Illus., Index. 241pp. 8vo. h/back. V. lightly browned edges and sl. faded sp. o/w Nr. F. in Nr. F. dw. Recommended.