Reviews (113)

History is fun!
A look at the history of U.S. presidential assassinations.Part history, part comic commentary, Ms. Vowell extensively documents her visits to sites (official or not) associated with these events.The history of the assassinations alone is interesting and details are often overlooked (or not looked at at all - e.g., Garfield, McKinley) when these events are presented / captured in popular forums.It is a quick read that will shed light on and insight into these assassinations that you never considered before.

I will buy this book from you if you don't like it
I read this book aloud to 5 pre- and teenagers on a grueling road trip down south over Easter. Not only did it hold their attention the entire time it was an incredible coincidence to pass an important site in the book at the EXACT time we were reading about the capture of John Wilkes Boothe. Because of the author's exacting description we were able to arrive at the exact site she describes in such detail and VOILA, nearly living history. (Of course, being uncouth Northerners we allowed our dog to pee on the shrine in question and one child left eggs from his Easter basket on the marker).This book compelled me to read three or four more books about Lincoln, Booth and assorted others Vowell writes about. She captures history in such a remarkably approachable manner, I've since bought copies for every history teacher in our school district. Every American should read this book and even if you think you know about our first assassinations, you will learn something, and laugh while learning it. Spectacular.

Move over Bill Bryson, there's stiff competition
Assassination Vacation is one of the best books I've read this Summer. Ms Vowell should take up teaching American history. Her brilliant and expert knowledge of her subjects (normally written about in stententious and serious tones given the subject matter) is quite impressive. But, it is the wit and humor and unusual angle of expression and personal observations that is the most captivating. I was amazed to learn so much more about the Lincoln assassination and conspirators (despite more than 35 years of reading and research on the subject) and view it from a different and less reverent angle. But even more, I was entranced by the Garfield and McKinley coverage - which added huge amounts of information to my very limited knowledge of either of these presidents or their assassins and the events surrounding them. Garfield came off so much better than I ever knew - which was very little. And his hilarious "disappointed office seeker" far more ambitious (Ambassador to France?) and political (Stalwart for Grant) than I ever knew. Don't know how one can make an account of assassinations hilariously funny? Read this book - and don't assume that it isn't historically accurate, because it is. This one is a real keeper and I am thinking of buying it on tape - just so I can listen to it while stuck in traffic, so that fellow travellers can see someone who is having fun while in the midst of DC rush hours.Have fun with this book and share it with everyone you know who loves history and has a good sense of humor. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Assassination    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Essays & Travelogues    6. Homes and haunts    7. Murder - General    8. Presidents    9. Presidents & Heads of State    10. Special Interest - General    11. Topic - Political    12. Travel - General    13. U.S. President    14. United States    15. United States - General    16. Biography & Autobiography / Presidents    17. Crime & criminology    18. Travel writing    19. USA   

Editorial Review

Harold Schechter is a professor of American culture at Queens College (CUNY) who takes an academic interest in the history of violent folklore: "Our pop entertainments aren't necessarily more brutal than those of the past," he writes. "They are simply ... more state of the art." In this book Schechter turns his keen historian's gaze on real-life serial killer Albert Fish, who killed--and ate--as many as 15 children in New York City in the 20s. Fish resembled a meek, kindly, white-haired grandfather, but was actually an intense sadomasochist whose sexual fetishes included almost everything known to psychiatry. For example, he stuck 29 needles into his pelvic region. Apparently Schechter, while writing his book Read more

Reviews (45)

Excellent true crime book! Stephen King could not have imagined the horrors you'll read about!
Deranged is an amazing book in that it is well written and it reads like a novel. It is also a horrifyingly shocking book made all the more terrible because it is the truth!
I didn't realize...
I'm new to real crime books.I've enjoyed several lately so I was looking for some more.I'm not into sicko stuff but I thought that since Albert Fish was electrocuted in 1936, it was safe to say his crimes wouldn't be as sick as a modern day serial killer.WRONG!I thought his story would be interesting but not gross.WRONG!Albert Fish was every bit as sick as Jeffrey Dahmer.I can say that Schechter wrote an engrossing book and I couldn't put it down.But I felt like I had taken a mud bath when I got through.Fish did stuff that would never enter the mind of a normal, healthy human being.He was a prime example of the worst evil a human mind can conceive.
REPETITIOUS & A WASTE OF TIME
I'm actually quite surprised by the other reviews on this page. I love a good true crime story and was very excited to have found this one about Albert Fish. However, after the first quarter of the book, all it did was repeat itself about the same incident. It became comical. Yes, it was interesting to learn of what had happened to the little girl he had snuck away in guise of going to a birthday party, but how many times can you describe it and recant it until you're beating a dead horse. Albert Fish is definitely a criminal that needs to be known about, but this book could have cut 3/4 of it out and still relayed the same information. A waste of time in my opinion. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Kidnapping    3. Murder    4. Murder - General    5. Murder - Serial Killers    6. True Crime    7. True Crime / Espionage    8. United States    9. True Crime / General   

Reviews (39)

Quick Moving Story of Human Garbage
Funny how Weeks' family all became warm-hearted, family-centerd professionals with good jobs and charitable interests, while he turned into a mob killer and enforcer.Weeks Senior sounds like a piece of work, hitting his son across the face with a baseball bat "absent-mindedly."I keep reading these books about Whitey and Billy Bolger thinking I'll stumble onto something that reminds me of real life, but in truth all these people are in a world of their own.
Honest facts about Crime
A very honest account of crime in Boston. I never liked the author at all throughout the book. Throughout the book he discusses how he grew into the life of crime, and almostwishes to gather sympathy from the reader. No sympathy here. He deserves what he got interms of jail time. And probably should have been given life/electric chair. Aside from that, I couldn't stop reading about the stuff he was involved in. Irish Mafia details are interesting.

donna benjamin
kevin, does my father have a head or not?I was told several time by whitey "jimmy the bear did not do this".he gave me an italian name, that I didn't want to remember. I knew jimmy the bear in walpole when i married my second husband, Ronald Macdonald, but never wanted him pointed out to me, as i believed Jimmy.Give me some insight please.I have COPD, 24 oxygen, and bipolar mood disorder and want to let my children know who there grandfather was.I lost my father at the age of eleven.Nothing was ever said to me other than he was hit by a car.you wrote your book well, i bought it, now help me. cigs12@aol.com ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Boston    4. Crime And Criminals    5. Criminals & Outlaws    6. Gangsters    7. Irish Americans    8. Massachusetts    9. Organized Crime    10. Social conditions    11. True Crime    12. Biography: general    13. True Crime / Organized Crime   

Reviews (15)

Sexy
I took two books on my recent five day vacation. This one gave me an orgasm (I loved this book as you might guess), and because I'm going into the B&B business, I took along "I'm Living Your Dream Life" by Michele Cozzens. No orgasm, but did learn one hell of a lot about the B&B business. Both were very fun reads.

The Name Says It All
This book definitely lives up to its name.I was hooked from the introduction on.

A sexy book for all kinds
Wet is a highly erotic and explicit book that can be good for both lesbians and others interested in lesbian sex.It is sexy, provocative and a quick read.Some stories are better than others, but for the most part, all are quality. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Erotica - General    2. Fiction    3. Human Sexuality    4. Lesbian Studies    5. Lesbianism    6. Lesbians    7. Love / Sex / Marriage    8. Sexual behavior    9. Erotic fiction    10. Fiction / Erotica    11. Literature of special Lesbian interest    12. True Stories   

Editorial Review

Not long ago, true crime writer Ann Rule recalls lying on an operating table. The anesthesiologist leaned over before putting her to sleep. "Ann," the anesthesiologist said softly, "tell me, what was Ted Bundy really like?" Despite meeting Florida's electric chair in 1989, the subject of Rule's bestselling book continues to haunt her. Rule and Bundy were friends. They met in 1971 at a Seattle crisis clinic, where they shared the late shift answering a suicide hotline. Their subsequent conversations, meetings, and letters spanned the rest of Bundy's life as he evolved into one of the century's most notorious serial killers. It's been 20 years since Rule first penned this chilling account. But the story--and her 2000 update--will still have readers reaching for their Xanax. No gratuitous gore here; just the basic, bone-chilling evidence. In fact, like a protective mother shielding us from horrors too awful to mention, Rule seems to avoid delving too deeply into crime scene descriptions. She devotes one paragraph in her new afterword to her discovery that Bundy engaged in necrophilia and returned to the scenes of his crimes to "line dead lips and eyes with garish makeup and to put blush on pale cheeks." She tells readers that John Hinckley, who shot Ronald Reagan, and David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam Killer, traded prison correspondences with Bundy. And she hints that Bundy's insatiable killer instincts may have started when he was a 14-year-old paperboy. (Ann Marie Burr, an 8-year-old girl on his route, mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night and has never been found.) The skimpy update is over too soon, leaving readers wanting more and offering further proof of the public's never-ending fascination with serial killers. Read more

Reviews (155)

Fascinating Read!!
The best thing about this book is Ann Rule's unique perspective in being the only true crime writer who actually knew the killer as a friend before he committed his crimes!It's a fascinating read that is also heartbreaking for so many reasons.Rule perfectly describes the man she thought of as a younger brother, her affection and love for him, and the horror and true emotional pain she suffered as she slowly realized that he was a serial killer.
Who is the serial killer beside you?
The next novel that I'm going to write has a serial killer in it, and Stranger Beside Me is the first book that I read for research. (I've got a list of 20.)
Unnerving story.
In all the years since the murders by Bundy and his subsequent execution, I never read this book until now.The mind is a very mysterious organ.How is a murderer like Bundy created?Is it in his genes?
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Bundy, Ted    3. Criminals    4. Murder - General    5. Murder - Serial Killers    6. True Crime    7. True Crime / Espionage    8. United States    9. True Crime / Murder / Serial Killers   

Reviews (47)

extraordinary American memoir
I read the book (536 pages) in 4 or 5 sittings. To me it's a masterpiece. Yes, it is a bit slow going in the beginning but then the story takes off. I found Jentz's book to be overwhelmingly rich in symbolism of the forces between good and evil. Also present are the themes all of us can relate to in small town everyday American life. I couldn't stop reading it. I found myself completely drawn into the awesome horror, bewildering twists and eyebrow-knitting circumstances that occurred during and after the attack. The research done for this book is compelling by itself.
an exploration of evil and violence
Strange Piece of Paradise is true crime with a supremely ironic twist-the true crime story is written not by an investigative reporter or a psychologist, but by the victim. Terri Jentz has managed to cope with the absolute horror of an incredibly vicious attack by facing the situation head on. Her assailant was never apprehended, and many years later she returned to the small town where she and a college roommate experienced such extreme violence that the roommate refused to ever discuss it. The result of Terri's investigation is a profound book exploring a society that promulgates violence and evil.
Read In Cold Blood
I am on the last leg of this book, much to my relief.It is terribly over-written, redundant and irritating to read. Jentz could learn a few lessons from Capote about creating a compelling narrative with an economy of words.Ever meet one of those people who insist on telling you in great excrutiating detail about how they were wronged?How every nuance, ambiguity and off-hand comment was a significant episode in their victimization? Even if they are factual, you reach a point where you just don't care anymore.Jentz went through an unbelievable horrible experience.Her recounting of the experience, is barely readable.Go buy In Cold Blood and read it again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography And Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Case studies    5. Criminal investigation    6. Oregon    7. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    8. Personal Memoirs    9. True Crime / Espionage    10. Violent crimes    11. Women   

Subjects:  1. General    2. Murder - General    3. True Crime    4. True Crime / Espionage    5. True Crime / General   

Editorial Review

Anyone can summarize a collection of cases, but not everyone can make themread well.With a flair for compressed narrative worthy of a good short story writer,Colin Evans entertains and instructs the reader with 100 cases that exemplify the use of 15 different forensic techniques (ballistics, fingerprinting).Some (like the Lindberghcase) arefamous, others are barely known, yet each has some unique twist that sets itapart.Many "firsts" are included,such as the first murder convictionwithout a body, the firstuse of psychological profiling, and the first use of DNA typing.Evans also brings out the distinct (often flamboyant) personalities of the pioneeringexperts of forensics and some of their more notable courtroom theatrics.Each case islabeled by name of criminal, forensic technique, date, location, and significant feature(s),making this a useful reference as well as a fun book to read. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

informative
I found this book very informative. It covers all the bases with the range of forensic technique discussed. The only draw back ,to me, was it seemed that some areas could have been elaborated on more. Overall this was an excellent book.

Fascinating read
Recommended for anyone with more than a slight interest in forensics. The author nicely divides the book into different categories of forensic science and looks at various cases. Fast read.

A Compelling Read.
I originally choose this book because I was looking for a book to supplement the textbook for my high school forensics class this year.After reading the book I decided to ask my principal to order enough books for my entire class.I think this book is on a very high interest subject and it also contains a lot of factual information.I'm confidant that my students will be as interested in reading the book as I was.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Criminal investigation    3. Forensic Medicine    4. Forensic Science    5. Medical jurisprudence    6. Murder - General    7. Reference    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. True Crime / Espionage    11. Criminal investigation & detection    12. Science / Reference   

Reviews (43)

Truth is Better than Fiction
Once again drawn to a book by an excellent movie, in this case Spielberg's "Munich," I expected much, and the book delivered.The hour-by-hour meticulous planning that is required in the hidden world of the assassin is uniquely portrayed, saturated as we are by big Hollywood versions of hit men and snipers.What is far more plausible about "Vengeance" is its humanity, the basic small details of a team working closely to kill others, their conscience, disgust, and the overall context of being used by the Israeli system.There are many who believe in the book, and many who say it is fiction, but it is up to the reader to judge.Ultimately it comes down to the final quote from the author himself; "I was intrigued by the character Avner appeared to be.I did become preoccupied by his story.But in the end I do not think this is why I believed him.I believed him because he knew how the light switch worked in an obscure apartment building in Rome."

The movie weakened the contents
This is a book interesting to read especially by those who lived and followed up the events, through the then available media coverage, as occured.
Thrilling, Intriguing and probably true
Am interested in military topics and have always admired Israeli military teams. Remember the day of the Munich massacre well, like Sept 11 and decided to give this book a try. It is exciting and very eye opening. Some of it reads like a novel but the claim is that it is true so I assume it is. It is a story of intrigue, of the incredible commitment of individuals to a cause, of the underworld of counter espionage and the workings of large organizations such as a country like Israel and what happens in the end ... worth the read ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Espionage    2. Germany    3. Government policy    4. History    5. History - General History    6. Identification    7. Intelligence Agencies    8. Israel    9. Middle East - Israel    10. Munich    11. Political Freedom & Security - Intelligence    12. Political Science    13. Politics/International Relations    14. Prevention    15. Rebellion And Insurgency    16. Terrorism    17. Terrorists    18. True Crime / Espionage   

Editorial Review

When this true-crime story first appeared in 1980, it made the Read more

Reviews (270)

The life I've always secretly wanted.
"Catch Me If You Can" follows the life of Frank W. Abignale - one of the greatest con men of all time who single handedly lived his life on fradulant checks and scams that just leave you thinking how amazing he was. This book is the autobiographical account of Abignale's teenage years from when he first created a scam on his father's Mobil credit card. There are so many times in this book that I had to step back and think about the air of confidence that Abignale displayed, yet curiously inside he was often paranoid and worried about the authorities catching up to him.
A great read!
This book was very well written and so much fun to read.
Frank Abagnale Jr.
We all know of Frank Abagnale's personality; arrogant, yet kind with class. Among all the different characters that he chooses to play, whether he's a pilot, doctor, lawyer, or a college professor, i believe that Frank is somewhat confused of who he is. Frank "ran away" from home at 16; the age of teenager who is only halfway through high school. At 16, most people don't know where they are in life or what to pursue in the future. One thing was for sure; Frank wanted money and women.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1948-    2. Abagnale, Frank W.,    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Criminals & Outlaws    6. General    7. Impostors and imposture    8. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    9. Swindlers and swindling    10. True Crime    11. United States    12. Abagnale, Frank W    13. True Crime / General   

Reviews (35)

Good history, fair analysis, outdated
The simple fact is that this book is outdated. Published in 1992, it is obvious that the absolute last world event dealt with in the author's research was the Gulf War of 1991. Even though it says it's been updated in 1994, there is definitely no mention of the Clinton years or the 1993 WTC bombing. In fact, in an ominous line, the authors writes to the effect that there has never been a major intel failure since the 80s (regardless of what side you believe, 9/11 would certainly get a full chapter under this category). It's time to update this book, or it will be totally obsolete very soon.
Horrible, uninformative book on the CIA
Ronald Kessler's INSIDE THE CIA is among one of the worst books I've ever read, and the worst detailing the Central Intelligence Agency.
Kessler should come back to this book for an update
Good book, but very dated. Kessler is very informed about the workings of the CIA and the backgrounds of its employees and directors, but only up to when this book was published. It has a lot of interesting folklore about the beginning of the CIA and its different divisions. It's a good read if you want to get an overview of its structure and an idea of its mindset of the CIA up to and just after the fall of the Soviets. That being the post WWII era and the cold war. If he were to go back to this book's subject I am sure he would be able to gain a wealth of newer information more applicable to the current situations we face as a nation. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Espionage    2. General    3. History: American    4. Military - Intelligence/Espionage    5. True Crime / Espionage    6. Current Events / General    7. Espionage & secret services    8. USA   

Reviews (10)

Misleading & heavilly biased. . .
I admit to having been a HA associate during the 1990s.Many of the HAs I met were good people, and most seemed far more squared away than the average 1%er.I also met a few former members -- some of which were out "in bad standing" -- who were degenerate dirtbags.Thus, I read this book with an open mind.
Angels of Death
I bought this book for my boyfriend and he said he could not put it down - when I awoke the next day he was still in the living room reading!

Angles of Death: Inside the Biker Gangs' Crime Empire
This is the type of story that once you started reading, you did not want to stop. One of the better books I have read about the Hell's Angles. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crime And Criminals    2. Hell's Angels    3. Organized Crime    4. True Crime    5. True Crime / Espionage    6. True Crime / Organized Crime   

Reviews (60)

murdered or not mr. wolfe doesn't tell real story not profitable for him
Nancy Miracle wrote the real story and Mr. Wolfe stole what he could the only real story is told and available through the marilyn monroe foundationmarilyn monroe had a real life and that real life is available =through the marilyn monroe foundation only

Card Carrying Psychiatrist?
I share the concern of amazon reviewer Thomas Hughes that author Donald Wolfe accuses people close to Marilyn of being communists.
mr. spoto is insidious he mentions nancy miracle but in such a way as to discredit her real story
he tries in this book but fails and because he just researched the old story through the old hollywood liesbut when he does mention nancy maniscalco her real daughter and in such a way as if she were related to the kennedy's it makes one sick what a sellout if he was that close to the reality and then went for the old crapola see www.marilynmonroefoundation.com for how to get the real uncensored story of the real woman and her daughter published by the marilyn monroe foundation ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1926-1962    2. American actors    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Death and burial    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - General    8. Individual Movie Actors And Actresses    9. Monroe, Marilyn,    10. Motion picture actors and actresses    11. Murder - General    12. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    13. True Crime / Espionage    14. United States    15. Biography: film, television & music    16. Films, cinema    17. Monroe, Marilyn    18. USA   

Editorial Review

This startling look at desperate, drug-addled inner-city lives ranks as one of the grittiest--and best--examinations of underclass America available. Like Alex Kotlowitz's Read more

Reviews (56)

excellent
I had to read this book for my criminology class, and finished it early. This book is hard to put down, it draws you in. I read 200 pages in one night. The book is hard to read, not tounderstand butbecause it is heart-breaking. the book is a real-eye opener to the harsh realties of the inner-city. This book is excellent , highly recommend.
not for everybody
this is one book where the movie was better.however, i always like to read the book to get the actual details. this book is over 500 pages .it is very detailed , but not a page turner.

A Treasure
One of the outstanding books of our times.A powerful and compelling read.Will appeal to people from across the political spectrum.The Corner is a gem of a book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Baltimore    2. Drug Crimes    3. Drug abuse    4. Drug addicts    5. Drug dealers    6. General    7. Maryland    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Poverty    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Sociology - Urban    13. Urban Sociology    14. Alcoholism    15. Crime & criminology    16. Current Events / Poverty    17. Drug addiction & substance abuse    18. Urban communities   

Editorial Review

Imagine how strange and frightening it would be to see a picture of yourself, not quite a year old, with your mother and two men, one of whom is a confessed serial killer.This is what happened to Sebastian Junger, and only a small part of what he recounts in Read more

Reviews (80)

Social Issues
Junger's book, A Death in Belmont, was not quite what I'd expected it to be.The introductory information suggested a more intimate account of the events surrounding the Boston Strangler attacks in the early `60s.In fact the author was only a year old at the time and his mother, though she met and interacted with the individual who was later convicted of these attacks, was not in any serious way threatened by that person.In short, the event in this respect was essentially a non-event.
A stretch of imagination
Sebastian Junger has given the Boston Strangler a new M.O. Never before had the Strangler stolen money from a victim, and never before had the victim lived in a one family home instead of an apartment.
Commitment to Truth
Some readers don't care for the book because Junger can't seem to make up his mind about his thesis, and because he never really plumps for one or the other of his suspects as the real killer of Bessie Goldberg.But surely that's journalistic integrity.The book could have been more hard-hitting and possibly sold more copies if Junger had gone with his instincts and declared Roy Smith an innocent man sold up the river by a racist society.But he didn't and I give him respect for that.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 1927 or 8-    2. Belmont    3. Case studies    4. Goldberg, Bessie    5. Massachusetts    6. Murder    7. Murder - General    8. Murder - Serial Killers    9. Smith, Roy,    10. True Crime    11. True Crime / Espionage    12. Literature: Texts    13. Miscellaneous Items    14. True Crime / Murder / Serial Killers   

Reviews (44)

Forget about it
You're going to take moral advice from a degenerate gambler?
In praise of virtue
A book on virtue is quite important in an age that has little time for it.Indeed, both public and private, is becoming a rarity today. Indeed, vice, not virtue, seems to be in the ascendancy. Old fashioned virtues like faithfulness, loyalty and purity are scoffed at today, while vices like selfishness and greed seem to be promoted at every turn.
Don't bother
Bennett has little if any understanding of children, myths, fables and fairy tales. In this book he tries to bludgeon children into "being good" (his version of it) by terrorizing them. That's not how stories for children work. Some of the stories here are butchered; others are just plain bad. You'd be a lot better off by going to the original stories, and avoiding this collection, which is only useful for a door-stop. Bennett wisely avoids stories about his substantial failings -- slot machines, gluttony, smoking, booze. Hypocrisy, thy name is Bill Bennett. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Careers - General    2. Collections    3. Conduct of life    4. Ethics & Morals    5. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    6. Human behavior    7. Inspirational - General    8. Literary collections    9. Literature    10. Moral Education    11. Religion    12. Special Subjects In Literature    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    14. True Stories   

Reviews (10)

Good Introduction Book
Mark Lowenthal's book on intelligence is a great starting point for anyone looking to get aquainted with intelligence. It covers all aspects and will give the layman a new and better understanding of both the polictics and the process behind intelligence. The only reason I'm giving this game 4/5 is because in places the book becomes almost too rudimentary which I guess is expected of an introductory book. In short the book is organized like a series of lectures on the topic of intelligence, informative reading, midly entertaining, but over all a great book.

Better than I imagined
This was the first time I have ever bought books online and I am quite impressed with the quickness that the books came and also the super shape in which the books were in.

Primer for Presidents, Congress, Media, and Public