AustLit

'The epic story of Australia's first superstar gangster of the 20th Century - Joseph Theodore Leslie Taylor, known to all as 'Squizzy', was a man whose relentless quest for power knew no boundaries.

'In the 1920s, Squizzy Taylor was a household name for all the wrong reasons - armed robbery, fraud, sly grog and prostitution rackets, race fixing, extortion, jury rigging and illegal gambling. Squizzy was a dandy, a bootlegger and Melbourne's most notorious criminal. From 1915 to 1927 he and his gang waged open warfare against their rivals across Melbourne.

'Underbelly: Squizzy tells the epic story of Squizzy Taylor's relentless quest for power and recognition, a quest that ultimately created our first celebrity gangster. Among those who really knew him - the women in his life and the members of his gang - Squizzy left a trail of misery and heartache, but in the end he got what he wanted. People still remember his name.'

Source : publisher's blurb