Page Updated: 02/12/99
Edward Bunker
Edward Bunker
Mr Blue: Memoirs of a RenegadeMr Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade New19 Nov 99
Dog Eat DogDog Eat Dog
No Beast So FierceNo Beast So Fierce
About the Author (Photo by Kristina Colovic)
Bibliography


New First British Edition No Exit Press (1999)
Mr Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade
Edward Bunker's life is beyond the imaginings of most fiction writers. He was born in Hollywood, California, the son of a stagehand and a Busby Berkeley chorus girl, whose early divorce propelled him into a series of boarding homes and military schools. From the age of five he repeatedly ran away, roaming the city streets at night. A proud character, combined with an IQ of 152, resulted in a series of altercations with the authorities. He became the youngest ever inmate of San Quentin at the age of seventeen, and there he learned survival skills and faced down the toughest prisoners in the system. He was befriended by Mrs Luise Wallis, a former star of the silent screen and wife of movie mogul, Hal Wallis, who produced films starring Bogart, Cagney. Edward G. Robinson and George Raft. She introduced Bunker to her circle of friends, including Jack Dempsey, Tennessee Williams, Aldous Huxley and William Randolph Hearst, whose guest he was at San Simeon.
A parole violation resulted in a spell crossing America as a fugitive on the FBl's most wanted list. His eventual capture led to Folsom prison. Encouraged by the example of Dostoevsky. Cervantes and Caryl Chessman, and by the kindness of Mrs Wallis, he determined to write his way out of prison. Bunker's first published novel, No Beast So Fierce, viewed by many including Quentin Tarantino as the finest crime novel ever written, changed his fortunes. It was filmed as Straight Time, starring Dustin Hoffman. He has written three other novels, The Animal Factory, Little Boy Blue and Dog Eat Dog which are admired by writers as diverse as William Styron and James Ellroy. He received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay of Runaway Train, and has appeared in a score of films, most notably his legendary role as Mr Blue in Reservoir Dogs. This blistering narrative is a memoir like no other.
'What a life! What a writer! What a book!' Jeff Bridges
'Edward Bunker is a true original of American letters. His previous books have been criminal classics: novels about criminals, written by an ex-criminal, from the unregenerately criminal viewpoint.' James Ellroy
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Paperback - No Exit Press (1997)
Dog Eat Dog
three men… two convictions… one last score… no more chances!
Carved from a lifetime of experience that runs the gamut from incarceration to liberation, Dog Eat Dog is the story of three men, fresh out of prison who have the task of adapting to civilian life under the California "Three Strikes" law.
Troy, an aloof mastermind wants an uncomplicated, clean life but cannot rid himself of his hatred of the "system" nor his debt to Mad Dog McCain, the loose cannon of the trio, possessed by true demons. Diesel is on the Mob's payroll and his interest in his suburban home and nagging wife are waning. Together they conspire.
One more hit, one more jackpot and they will all be satisfied. Troy constructs the perfect crime and they pull it off, only to keep finding the law surrounding them wherever they go.
Edward Bunker tells it like is from experiencing over 25 years in prison, being on the FBl's 10 most wanted list and the youngest ever inmate at San Quentin. You might not like it - but it's real!
Dog Eat Dog has been bought for filming by Ed Pressman, producer of The Shawshank Redemption & Wall Street
'Dog Eat Dog is the best novel, about armed robbery ever written! It is pure realism and an uncompromising work of fiction.' James Ellroy
'Dog Eat Dog is a novel of excruciating authenticity, with great moral and social resonance and it could only have been written by Edward Bunker, who has been there.' William Styron (from the introduction)
'A relentless freight train of a novel, obsessively readable, driven and dark' Los Angeles Times
'The "angel dust" of crime fiction: thrillingly violent and addictive, surging with exhilaration and fear' The Evening Standard
'The real thing' The Guardian
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Paperback - No Exit Press (1993)
No Beast So Fierce
No Beast So Fierce is an angry and mercilessly suspenseful novel about an ex-con's attempt to negotiate the "straight world" and his swan dive back into the paradoxical security of crime. It is airtight in its construction, almost photorealistic in its portrayal of L.A. lowlife and utterly knowledgeable about the terrors of liberty, the high of the quick score and the rage that makes the finger tighten on the trigger of a gun.
'Quite simply, one of the great crime novels of the past 30 years; perhaps the best novel of the Los Angeles underworld ever written' James Ellroy
'Edward Bunker [is] among the tiny band of American prisoner writers whose work possesses integrity, craftsmanship and moral passion. …an artist with a unique and compelling voice' Wiliam Styron (from the introduction)
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About The Author
Edward Bunker spent over 25 years in and out of penal institutions. He was the youngest ever inmate of San Quentin.
Edward Bunker, Mr Blue in Reservoir Dogs, lives in L.A.

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Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.

  • Mr Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade (No Exit Press, 1999) New Nov 99
  • Dog Eat Dog (No Exit Press, 1997) No Exit Press Pbk Aug 97
  • No Beast So Fierce ( 1993) No Exit Press Pbk 1993
  • Little Boy Blue
  • Animal Factory

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