Peter Fenton – författare

A fascinating insider''s view of the carnival underworld—the cons, the double-dealing, the quick banter, and, of course, the easy money. The story of a shy middle-class kid turned first-class huckster, Peter Fenton''s coming-of-age memoir is highly unorthodox, and utterly compelling.The year is 1963, the setting is small-town Michigan. At age fifteen, Peter Fenton is a gawky math whiz schoolboy with a dissatisfied mother, a father who drinks himself to foolishness, and no chance whatsoever with girls. That''s when he meets Jackie Barron. Jackie is the unlikely progeny of Double-O and Vera, professional grifters running a third-rate traveling carnival, and he''s been part of the family business since he started earning his keep as the World''s Youngest Elephant Trainer. Jackie is a smooth-talking teenage carnie with his own Thunderbird, and with wisdom beyond his years. Jackie shares Pete''s way with numbers, and he has a proposition. They''ll start a rigged casino in Jackie''s basement and take their classmates for thousands of dollars. Pete hesitates, but not for very long. Two years later, he''s working joints for the Barrons'' Party Time Shows, wearing sharkskin suits and alligator shoes, and relieving the public of its hard-earned cash. He learns to hold his own with veteran con men who have nicknames like the Ghost, Horserace Harry, and Talking Tony, and colorful personalities to match. This is the world of the Alibi and the Hanky Pank, of Flatties and the mark. Amazingly, Pete Fenton has never been more at home. But in this strange new world with its topsy-turvy code of ethics, where leaving a mark without a dollar for gas is outlawed while cheating a best friend is par for the course, the tension between teacher and student grows until Pete finds himself attempting the ultimate challenge: to out-con his mentor.

Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton is one of our all-time greatest swimming champions.With a Foreword by Grant Hackett. Andrew ''Boy'' Charlton set his first world record as a school boy. He became an Olympic and World Champion in the 1500m swim, and like Grant Hackett, in a number of shorter distances. He medalled in the 1500m in 1924, 1928 and 1932. In between each Olympics he retired and stopped competing to either complete his studies (he was only 16 at his first Olympics), or work as a jackeroo. Only taking up training, if at all, in the months prior to a competition. He loved the ocean more than the pool and was an Australian Surf Champion in 1931/2 and 1934/5. He was, and remains, admired by swimmers and lovers of sport past and present. The son of a bank manager Boy had expected to inherit a farm from his beloved Grandfather. When this dream faded Boy smoothly moved on from the expectation of an inheritance to a life of working for others until he could purchase his own farm near Goulburn. He lived a simple and humble life - interrupted by visits to Paris, London, Amsterdam and Hollywood where he was feted and had a grand old time! There is much to learn from the story of this young man who prepared for his second Olympics - after two and a half years break - by swimming against the current in the Namoi River in northern New South Wales. When Grant Hackett won the fifteen hundred metres freestyle at Athens in 2004 his was the eighth Australian victory in this distance in the past nineteen Olympics. This remarkable tradition began with Andrew ''Boy'' Charlton.

During WWII Australia''s sports lovers were denied access to national and international sport, something which had captivated them since long before Federation. The popularity of racing and prize fighting during this time was amazing. Two of the most admired sports heroes were a dynamic southpaw boxer named Vic Patrick and a thoroughbred equine diva named Flight. Their careers which ran side by side had great similarities. Each was extremely talented, each created history and each showed a stark, remorseless courage which epitomised the war years. This is their story, acted out in front of the Diggers, so many of whom were not only great soldiers but likeable larrikins and inveterate gamblers, lovers of the punt.