Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

True Crime General

The Golden Boy of Crime

The Almost Certainly True Story of Norman "Red" Ryan

by (author) Jim Brown

Publisher
HarperCollins
Initial publish date
May 2020
Category
General, Criminals & Outlaws, General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781443450119
    Publish Date
    May 2019
    List Price
    $11.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781443450096
    Publish Date
    May 2019
    List Price
    $24.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781443450102
    Publish Date
    May 2020
    List Price
    $19.99

Add it to your shelf

Where to buy it

Description

Praise for Canada’s Most Overrated Bank Robber

“Standing at the foot of the scantling . . . was a thick, freckle-faced man whose prison cap could not hide his flaming head. It was ‘Red’ Ryan.” —Ernest Hemingway

“A malicious little bastard.” —Ryan’s childhood friend

“Norman Ryan is a vicious, dangerous and resourceful thief.” —Toronto police chief S. J. Dickson

“Ryan is well liked in Kingston prison. A fine, handsome, clean-cut man, he stands out as a giant among the inmates.” —Athol Gow, Toronto Star

“We narrowly escaped meeting him. If we had, we fear we might, like nearly everybody else, have succumbed to his fatal charm.” —J. V. MCAREE, The Globe and Mail

“I’m glad he is dead.” —Senator H. A. Mullins

Dubbed “the Jesse James of Canada,” Norman “Red” Ryan was infamous in the 1920s and ’30s until he was gunned down in an attempted robbery in Sarnia, Ontario. Ernest Hemingway wrote about Ryan’s escape from Kingston Penitentiary for the Toronto Star, Morley Callaghan based a novel on him, and stories of Ryan and his daring crimes filled newspapers and airwaves. One of the first Canadians to be granted parole, he was held up by Prime Minister R. B. Bennett as a model of rehabilitation and became a regular guest at Toronto police picnics. All the while, however, Ryan continued a crime spree on the side.

With skepticism, humour and an often scathing examination of his own profession, journalist Jim Brown tells the incredible story of “Red” Ryan, a larger-than-life criminal whose fame and legend were much encouraged by the media, leading to deadly results.

About the author

JIM BROWN is the host of CBC Radio’s The 180 and a regular guest host on The Current, As It Happens, q and The Sunday Edition. Prior to joining the CBC, Jim worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor and filmmaker. His first documentary, Radiant City, won a Genie Award for best documentary in 2007 and was named one of the ten best films of the year at the Toronto International Film Festival. Jim lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Jim Brown's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"Think 'fake news' is a recent invention? Grab load of this!" — Margaret Atwood