REVIEWS
‘Phew, I feel like I’ve been physically assaulted reading that book. But in a good way. It’s a red hot read.’
— Barrie Cassidy, radio and television host and presenter
‘A wild, brawling and regularly hilarious tale of a country boy’s descent into the vicious Australian and international drug-running underworld, into near madness… and on to redemption. Frighteningly, it’s all true.’
— Tony Wright, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
‘Rod Halsted was a wild country kid who hit the road to find himself and found crime instead. From a rigged poker game to overseas drug runs, he took crazy risks with deadly crooks and lived to see the funny side of a reckless life. This is his story, scars and all.’
— Andrew Rule, journalist, co-author of the Underbelly book series
‘In his memoir, Rod Halsted, a self-confessed “black belt in bullshit”, manages to deliver some searing truths about the amorality of the drugs trade.’
— Chris Masters, Journalist
‘A great story of a ‘lived in’ life. Loved it.’
— Rick Grossman, musician, Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
“An excellent read about a long forgotten time when Australia was still a proper country. Rod Halsted is a true artist, in every sense of the word! I relived a lot of my misspent youth in these pages. A real page turner.”
— Phil, Goodreads Reviewer
“Gritty, outrageous and outrageously funny all at the same time from someone obviously with more lives than a cat! He survived everything from a Christian Brothers education through to everything the dark world could throw at him and has come out the other side intact. Definitely worthy of a read.”
— Barry, Amazon Reviewer
“A raw and entertaining memoir that winds through crime and corruption of Australia in the 70s and 80s. Rod shares his highs and lows with equanimity, not shying away from the difficult moments in what has been an unconventional life.”
— Dave, Goodreads Reviewer
A wonderful Australian story, with plenty of laughs but also plenty of pathos. This is a story which typifies the culture which made Australia - family, friends, country, mateship, of
course some naughtiness and a larrikin sense of humour. A well told tale.
— Chris, Goodreads Reviewer
“Such an easy and great read. I couldn’t put Rod Halsted’s new book ‘Take My Advice, I’m Not Using It’ down, reading it in two sittings. At times laughing and at others choked up at the raw sadness it’s a book of a wild life led by a young Aussie guy..…This is a story of fun, distress and redemption. ”
— Chris, Goodreads Reviewer
“An entertaining, educational and easy read about the world of drugs, decadence and consequences.”
— Karen, Amazon Reviewer
“It’s a ripper yarn.”
— Anne, Goodreads Reviewer
“A wild ride through Australia's criminal underbelly by someone who has truly been there and done that. Very entertaining and with a powerful emotional arc.”
— Helen, Amazon Reviewer
“Found this book very easy to read and nostalgic of the era of 1960’s and 1970’s growing up as a teenager when life was much more ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ than todays helicopter/big brother style of living. Loved the short story style chapters with the easy pick up/put down format which I enjoy. A different era many of us winged our way through - not quite as dangerously as the author, but with the same naivety and recklessness which you would be horrified if your grandchildren copied but you secretly loved and delight in the memory of surviving. Some stories are a memory of the occasional near catastrophe of your own youth. Recommend this read to anyone who remembers growing into adulthood in the 60’s and 70’s and can smile at the crazy choices we sometimes made and wonder how we came through it all in one piece.”
— Madeline, Goodreads Reviewer
“Very enjoyable read of an Aussie larrikan with a good story. Easy to read”
— Reader, Goodreads Reviewer