The King of the Pill Trade Returns: Howard Marks' Unforgettable Journey into Ibiza's Criminal Underworld
Howard Marks, the most infamous drug smuggler of his time and a hero to a generation, made a promise to himself upon his release from one of America's toughest prisons: to go straight, leaving behind the world of drugs and smuggling. Retiring to a quiet life with his family in the Balearic Islands of Spain seemed like the perfect plan, but the lure of Ibiza's booming ecstasy trade in the mid-nineties proved too strong to resist.
In Mr Smiley, Marks takes readers on a wild ride through the heart of Ibiza's clubbing scene and British crime world. From trying pure ecstasy to rubbing shoulders with notorious gangsters laundering millions from the legendary Brink's-Mat bullion raid, Marks finds himself drawn back into the thrilling and dangerous world he thought he'd left behind.
Amidst the whirlwind of the island's most outrageous summer, Marks prepares for his greatest operation yet. Hilarious, moving, and utterly scabrous, Mr Smiley is an unforgettable last word from one of Britain's most beloved bad boys, offering a unique glimpse into the rave culture, drug trafficking, and criminal underbelly of Ibiza in the nineties.
Autorentext
Howard Marks was Britain's most famous drug smuggler and a bestselling author. He served seven years in an US penitentiary before going on to become the bestselling author of Mr Nice. A former Oxford physics graduate, he was released from prison in 1995. He had previously been connected with groups as diverse as the CIA, IRA, M16 and the Mafia. On release from prison he moved to Ibiza at the height of the clubbing scene. In 2014 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died 21 years to the day of his release from prison on 10th April 2016. One of his last acts was to set up the Mr Nice Foundation, to ensure the causes dear to him continue to receive his support. Mr Smiley: My Last Pill and Testament is published in paperback on 21st April 2016.
Zusammenfassung
Howard Marks is the most famous drug smuggler of his age, and a hero to a generation. On his release from one of America's toughest prisons, Howard made a promise to himself to go straight. No more drugs, no more smuggling, no more fake passports. He would retire to a quiet life with his family in the Balearic Islands of Spain. It didn't quite work out that way.This was the mid-nineties, the height of the ecstasy and clubbing boom, and Ibiza was at the very centre of the vortex for the 'E generation'. Pills had taken the place of marijuana, Paul Oakenfold had replaced The Rolling Stones as the music of the masses, but some people are just born for life on the other side of the law.It wasn't long before Howard found himself trying pure ecstasy and rubbing shoulders with some of the king-pins of the pill trade. These included some of Britain's most notorious gangsters, who were laundering millions of pounds of gold stolen from the legendary Brink's-Mat bullion raid. As Britons descended on Ibiza ahead of one of the greatest summers of the nineties, Howard was preparing for his most outrageous operation yet.Incredibly funny, moving and scabrous, Howard Marks' Mr Smiley follows a journey to the heartland of the clubbing and British crime scene. It is also a fitting last word from one of Britain's best loved bad boys.