This is one of the first books written on the life of Thunderbolt and if for no other reason it is a must read. It was first published in 1905 but was so popular there has been at least three editions published over the years. While the title says "Three Years with Thunderbolt" Will Monckton joined Thunderbolt in early January 1868 (his first holdup with Fred was 17th January) and gave himself up to the police in mid December 1868 having left Fred several weeks earlier, so in fact he was with Thunderbolt for less than 11 months. It is a well written novel but, it must be understood in reading the book, that it is purely the reminiscence of Will Monckton 30 years after Thunderbolt's death.

The book as a whole is an excellent "NOVEL" which inspired many of the later books on the life of Thunderbolt. It is basically Will Monckton's thoughts on his life with Thunderbolt. It appears to be fairly accurate story on Thunderbolt as Will was obviously a good listener and Fred was obviously a very good story teller. Will joined Thunderbolt early in January 1868 and around page 200 he is talking about a race meeting held on St Patricks day the 17th March. All the events of the first 200 pages supposedly happened in those 50 days. The book gives an excellent insight into the way Thunderbolt actually lived and therefore has a special value. It is also excellent in the description of the life of Thunderbolt & his wife Mary Ann, taken obviously from Fred's stories, as Mary Ann had died before Fred was joined by Will. It is quoted by most authors who later wrote books on Thunderbolt as it gives such a wonderful description of the kind of life style lived by the outlaws and gives a more intimate view of their life than any other book I have read on the life of the various bushrangers. When it talks about the interaction between Thunderbolt and Monckton their tends to be an exaggeration of the importance of Will in the story. He was a thirteen year old immature boy when he first joined Fred. There are no cross references in this story and none of the lengthy quotes from newspapers and police records used by many authors to show that they have really done their research, but which disrupt many of the books that have been written. It is certainly not, and makes no claims to be, historically accurate.

It is no longer available for sale except in rare book shops and the asking figure is $500 for a book in reasonable condition . It would certainly be worthwhile for the family or the copyright holders to bring out a new edition, as it certainly would have great sale potential. It is available to look at but cannot be taken out of most libraries and is available in the Uralla Library.