ABOUT THE BOOK

The stories in Willeford's 1963 paranoia pulp classic The Machine in Ward Eleven, featuring six incisive tales in a previously hard to get collection, are as fresh as the day they were published, giving us a timely reminder that madness is truly at the dark heart of 21st century politics.

Written at a time when we still had some faith in our elected leaders Willeford laid bare the American Dream. Events over the last 30 odd years have stripped away the hype and pomp but Willeford was there first. There is an almost Chekhovian wistfulness in the treatment of his stories which belies their considerable impact. Don't make the mistake of consigning this to some sort of historical context: Willeford is as chilling and relevant as ever.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

'The Pope of Psycho-Pulp' - Time Out

'the master of cynical Florida crime fiction' - The Times

'a crime writers' crime writer lionised by peers such as Elmore Leonard and Lawrence Block ... dangerous indeed, with a bitter humour, black as it comes but also so sweet' - The Herald

'No one writes a better crime novel than Charles Willeford. Miami Blues is the real stuff' - Elmore Leonard

'Miami seems to have eclipsed L.A. & New York as the crime capital, so it's fitting that the best book on the mystery racks these days should be Charles Willeford's Miami Blues' - Village Voice

'Bone-deep satire..a harrowing and suprisingly amusing story..a terrific thriller.' - Publishers Weekly

ESSENTIAL TRIVIA

Willeford's wartime career saw him serving as a tank commander in the U.S. army, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and being awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
He said of his fellow soldiers - "A good half of the men you deal with in the Army are psychopaths. There's a pretty hefty overlap between the military population and the prison population..."