Mark Dapin – författare

Mad at the modern world? Meet Mark Dapin ...your new best friend Modern life: advertorials, obscenely cheerful breakfast tV hosts, celebrity chefs, call centres, smiling charity collectors. Brands, highly effective people, misuses of the word 'creative'. Performance reviews, people who say 'I'm not racist, but ...', sushi bars and the taliban. Alexander Downer. Water-cooler moments. Yellow stickers. Fridge magnets. Mark Dapin can complain - and does - about almost everything. In Fridge Magnets are Bastards, he's tried to contain his rants about the things that annoy him to a list of 141 - in alphabetical order. Why? Just to be irritating. A book for anyone who's ever gnashed their teeth over contemporary stupidity. 'CYNICAL,ILL-tEMPERED AND NEEDLESSLY AGGRESSIVE. I tHOROUGHLY ENJOYED It.' JACK MARX 'ELEGANt, WELL CONSIDERED ABUSE IS A LOSt ARt IN tHE AGE OF tHE E-MAIL. HERE, MARK DAPIN REVIVES tHAt ARt tRIUMPHANtLY, HILARIOUSLY ...' MIKE CARLtON

Why everything you think you know about Australia’s Vietnam War is wrong. When Mark Dapin first interviewed Vietnam veterans and wrote about the war, he swallowed (and regurgitated) every misconception. He wasn’t alone. In Australia’s Vietnam, Dapin reveals that every stage of Australia’s commitment to the Vietnam War has been misunderstood, misinterpreted and shrouded in myth. From army claims that every national serviceman was a volunteer; and the level of atrocities committed by Australian troops; to the belief there no welcome home parades until the late 1980s and returned soldiers were met by angry protesters. Australia’s Vietnam is a major contribution to the understanding of Australia’s experience of the war and will change the way we think about memory and military history.Acclaimed journalist and bestselling military historian Mark Dapin busts long-held and highly charged myths about the Vietnam WarDapin reveals his own mistakes and regrets as a journalist and military historian and his growing realisation that the stereotypes of the Vietnam War are far from the truthThis book will change the way military history is researched and written

Others have written the myth, but the Anzacs themselves wrote their stories. Around the country, bronze soldiers in slouch hats stand silently at attention. It is the Anzacs'' remarkable writing that reveals the lives behind the national legend. From the Trenches is a collection of gripping, awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying accounts of life at the front, recorded by those who lived through the fighting. Drawn from diaries, memoirs and letters, as well as poetry, reportage and prose, this collection reminds us that the Anzac legend is rooted in real and tragic circumstances on a heartbreakingly human scale. Belying the common perception of the laconic digger, these compelling voices convey the range of wartime experience, from the desolation and horror to the unbridled excitement and camaraderie. Through it all runs the bleak toll on young lives. Author and journalist Mark Dapin has selected writing from those on the frontlines as well as behind the scenes, from officers and soldiers to nurses, engineers and reporters, to create a volume that will be regarded as the definitive record of the personal experiences that forged the emerging national identities of Australia and New Zealand. ''This is one of the finest collections of war writing assembled, astutely analysed and sensitively compiled.'' Weekly Times ''Bloodlust, fury and despair ping off the pages, in poetry and prose.'' Courier-Mail ''A fine, judicious and moving selection . . . a rich addition to the literature of Anzac.'' Weekend Australian ''Mark Dapin''s writing in this field is second to none.'' Weekly Times Now ''A gem of a collection.'' South Coast Register ''A book for those who want to feel, see and smell the war through the eyes of those who were there.'' Brisbane News ''No history book can bring these tragic events to life as graphically or as honestly as these men''s own accounts . . . a must-read for anyone who wants to delve more deeply into the Anzac legend.'' Toowoomba Chronicle

From Simpson’s donkey and the Emu War to Vietnam and Ben Roberts-Smith, Australian military history is full of events that didn’t happen the way most people think they did. In his inimitable style, award-winning author Mark Dapin sets the record straight. Australia has many stories and statues ‘lest we forget’ our military past. But from Simpson’s donkey to Ben Roberts-Smith, our history is full of events that didn’t happen the way most people think they did. The first Anzac Day, for example, was far from being a solemn march – it was a celebration where people dressed as cavemen and dinosaurs, among other things. And is it true that British officers callously dispatched Australian soldiers to their deaths in the Dardanelles, as we’ve been told? Did we really hate the soldiers returning from Vietnam? Were the white-feather women of the First World War fact or fiction? In his inimitable style, award-winning author and historian Mark Dapin sets the record straight, showing that the reality was often completely different from the myth – and that in celebrating the wrong people we often overlook the real heroes. ‘With Lest, Mark Dapin transforms his trademark humour into serious history … It forces us to look again at stories we think we all know – or should know – and reframe them with intellectual rectitude and rigour … Lest offers new perspectives on the past from one of Australia’s most interesting and provocative thinkers.’ Clare Wright

Millions have been entertained by the viral video of a man being arrested after a ‘succulent Chinese meal’. But when Mark Dapin investigated, it emerged that this man's story went to the heart of the Australian underworld. A true crime cult classic in the making.  Whether you know it as the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ video, or ‘democracy manifest’, chances are you have seen the video of baritone larrikin Jack Karlson getting arrested outside a Brisbane Chinese restaurant in 1991. The Guardian called it ‘perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the last 10 years’. When Karlson called crime writer Mark Dapin out of the blue, though, Dapin hadn’t heard of him. But there was enough that intrigued him about this theatrical outlaw to continue the conversation. Over the following months emerged a dark and complex past. It turned out that Karlson had been in the background of many notorious incidents in late-twentieth century Australian crime, from collaborating with infamous prison-playwright Jim McNeil to befriending hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (Mr Rent-a-Kill). But most shockingly of all, Karlson’s life story led Dapin to shed new light on a number of unsolved murders, by two serial killers.The result is an extraordinary, deeply revealing portrait of Australian crime from the 60s to the 2010s – a portrait of carnage. ‘Mark Dapin could never be accused of glorifying crime, but he is guilty as sin for understanding it. Inhabited by flawed humans, filled with violence, humour, tears and dreams, Carnage is a classic Australian crime story.’ Gary Jubelin, author of I Catch Killers 'True crime at its grim and richly entertaining best, and – let’s face it – its truest.’ Robert Drewe, author of The Shark Net ‘If ever there was a book crammed with colourful villains who are “mad, bad and dangerous to know,” it’s definitely Mark Dapin’s extraordinary book, Carnage.’ Kate McClymont, author of He Who Must Be Obeid ‘Carnage is a window into Australian mayhem, killingly funny and beautifully told. Dapin finds pathos in a twisted world.’ Matthew Spencer, author of Black River ‘Carnage begins by probing what seems a minor curiosity – an internet meme centred on a colourful character – then takes a turn into the lives of traumatised youths hurled without care or thought into brutalising reformatories. From there they graduate to rorts, robberies, violence. Bleak lives interspersed with occasional forays into squaresville – spouses, kids, even jobs – and attempts at betterment via theatre and literature. A unique, deeply felt take on the Australian underworld.’ Peter Doyle, author of Crooks Like Us ​‘The moment I start reading anything by Mark Dapin I’m captivated, intrigued and engaged for the entire journey. There is no finer writer documenting the history and characters of Australian criminality.’ Stuart Coupe

Millions have been entertained by the viral video of a man being arrested after a ‘succulent Chinese meal’. But when Mark Dapin investigated, it emerged that this man's story went to the heart of the Australian underworld. A true crime cult classic in the making.  Whether you know it as the ‘succulent Chinese meal’ video, or ‘democracy manifest’, chances are you have seen the video of baritone larrikin Jack Karlson getting arrested outside a Brisbane Chinese restaurant in 1991. The Guardian called it ‘perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the last 10 years’. When Karlson called crime writer Mark Dapin out of the blue, though, Dapin hadn’t heard of him. But there was enough that intrigued him about this theatrical outlaw to continue the conversation. Over the following months emerged a dark and complex past. It turned out that Karlson had been in the background of many notorious incidents in late-twentieth century Australian crime, from collaborating with infamous prison-playwright Jim McNeil to befriending hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (Mr Rent-a-Kill). But most shockingly of all, Karlson’s life story led Dapin to shed new light on a number of unsolved murders, by two serial killers.The result is an extraordinary, deeply revealing portrait of Australian crime from the 60s to the 2010s – a portrait of carnage. ‘Mark Dapin could never be accused of glorifying crime, but he is guilty as sin for understanding it. Inhabited by flawed humans, filled with violence, humour, tears and dreams, Carnage is a classic Australian crime story.’ Gary Jubelin, author of I Catch Killers 'True crime at its grim and richly entertaining best, and – let’s face it – its truest.’ Robert Drewe, author of The Shark Net ‘If ever there was a book crammed with colourful villains who are “mad, bad and dangerous to know,” it’s definitely Mark Dapin’s extraordinary book, Carnage.’ Kate McClymont, author of He Who Must Be Obeid ‘Carnage is a window into Australian mayhem, killingly funny and beautifully told. Dapin finds pathos in a twisted world.’ Matthew Spencer, author of Black River ‘Carnage begins by probing what seems a minor curiosity – an internet meme centred on a colourful character – then takes a turn into the lives of traumatised youths hurled without care or thought into brutalising reformatories. From there they graduate to rorts, robberies, violence. Bleak lives interspersed with occasional forays into squaresville – spouses, kids, even jobs – and attempts at betterment via theatre and literature. A unique, deeply felt take on the Australian underworld.’ Peter Doyle, author of Crooks Like Us ​‘The moment I start reading anything by Mark Dapin I’m captivated, intrigued and engaged for the entire journey. There is no finer writer documenting the history and characters of Australian criminality.’ Stuart Coupe

For more than thirty years, Mark Dapin has been hanging out with crooks, and both types of cop. In this gripping, often funny and always surprising book, he sorts the tall stories from the truth about true crime, showing us what some of Australia's most famous felons are really like.Mark Dapin was still in school when he met his first murderer a boy called Ian. In reporting the murder Ian eventually committed, newspapers used the clich that it ';shocked even those who knew him best'. But it didn't shock Dapin, because he knew Ian in real life, not in clichs.Criminals are sensationalised in the press and mythologised in their own stories. In describing criminals, police and prison officers he's spent time with, Dapin searches for the real characters and events. How many of Chopper Read's stories were actually true? What's it like at home with former murder cop Gary Jubelin? Was the biggest art heist in Australian history carried out by one of Dapin's neighbours, the mysterious Sky Blue? And what happens when you go to visit a prison with celebrated escapee John Killick? These encounters are better than a ring-side seat to the underworld: Dapin gets in the ring.The First Murderer I Ever Met is the truest true crime it's what actually happened.

David is thirteen and confused. His mum has left with her lover and dumped David on his grandparents. David's grandfather, Jimmy, is seventy. He spends his days at the social club grumbling with his three best friends, all of them Jewish-Australian survivors of the enforced labour camps of the WWII Thai-Burma Railroad. But behind their playful backbiting and irresistible wit, Jimmy and his friends are haunted by the ghosts of long-dead comrades, and the only person Jimmy can confide in is a thirteen-year-old from a different world...