Prison Break - The Extraordinary Life and Crimes of New Zealand's Most Infamous Escapee

Allen and Unwin, 2021. Good secondhand copy.

Arthur Taylor is New Zealand's best known, most influential, and colourful career criminal. A household name, he was paroled from prison in 2019 after more than 38 years behind bars.

His life story is nothing short of remarkable. He has more than 150 convictions ranging from bank robberies to fraud, theft, escaping, and having weapons and explosives.

He has served in New Zealand's most notorious high security prison, Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, including eight months in solitary confinement. But Arthur isn't what most people might expect.

Now in his sixties and living in Dunedin, Arthur is an engaging, highly intelligent man who studied law behind bars and took on precedent-setting cases against Corrections and the Crown, cementing himself as one of the foremost authorities on prisoners' rights. He has become, perhaps, a poster child for redemption and rehabilitation. He is now an advocate for prisoners, and a bloody good storyteller.