In this entertaining and original work Peter Macinnes uncovers our earliest and little-known practitioners of the art of bushranging - and find that most were murderous thugs with few saving graces. Along the way he finds a few endearing ones, such as Moondyne Joe and Diver Fitzgerald, who were scallywags rather than villains. Plus there were a few who affected a gentlemanly front, a sort of false gallantry that did not sit well with their thieving ways.