Subjects:  1. Crime And Criminals    2. Emigration & Immigration    3. Emigration And Immigration    4. General    5. History - U.S.    6. Mexico    7. Social Science    8. Social aspects    9. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    10. Texas    11. United States    12. United States - General    13. True Crime / General   

Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. Gangs    3. General    4. Juvenile Delinquency    5. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Social Science    8. Sociology - Urban    9. United States    10. Law / Criminal Procedure    11. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (2)

An engaging story of the life of Gerry Bull
This is a great read, even for those who know nothing about the exploits of Dr Gerry Bull. Dr Bull was a flawed genius - a passionate and driven ballistics visionary responsible for the design of many of the worlds deadliest artillery cannons, and yet he was politically naive, inspirational to his colleagues, and a practical joker. He provoked both deep loyalty in his friends and deep hatred in his enemies. The latter would lead to his assassination. He died during his work on Project Babylon - a cannon several hundred metres long!
An excellent book!
This is a fascinating look at the life of a true genius whose path took him, inevitably, to Saddam's door. His dream of producing a gun capable of putting a satellite into orbit was twisted into a weapon for the Iraqiregime. Reads like an espionage novel, although it slows down a bit whentalking about the businesses and fronts used to get the weapon's parts intoIraq. Otherwise, a really good read! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    3. Politics/International Relations    4. Non-Classifiable   

Editorial Review

Harold Schechter is a historian: he takes old files and yellowed newspaper clippings, and brings their stories to life. Read more

Reviews (39)

The real PSYCHO
The movie, Psycho, did not really convey the true story about the original madman.This true crime book makes me very glad that they did not turn those real events into a realistic movie.This book really grabs you by the throat and makes it all real.

The original psycho!
I have to say that this book shows a very interesting side of human life. Even though his crimes were far more gruesome than imagined at first, people paid to see his car as a sideshow. They made jokes at the expense of Ed Gein the ghoul and the people of Plainfield, Wisconsin. Of course, he was insane and sent to a mental hospital for the rest of his life. Surprisingly, he was happier there than anywhere else. The insight by Harold Schechter who is one of favorite crime writers up there on par with Ann Rule of course. He shows great respect for everybody involved including Ed Gein. He was the weird little guy that nobody really knew who was motivated by loneliness and the devastated loss of his mother. He said that if people in Plainfield were a little nicer to him maybe he wouldn't have committed such horrible crimes.

DEFINITELY WORTH THE TIME
I read this book immediately after crawling through "Deranged," a story about Albert Fish, by the same author as "Deviant." I must admit that, after my great deal of disappointment with the last book, I was skeptical of this one. BUT I was pleasantly surprised.
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Subjects:  1. Gein, Edward    2. General    3. Homicide    4. Murder    5. Murder - General    6. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    7. True Crime    8. True Crime / Espionage    9. Wautoma    10. Wisconsin    11. Fiction / General    12. USA   

Reviews (5)

One of his better books
because it DOESN'T read like fiction; it's a true story with Wambaugh applying his direct understanding of how cops behave & what happens when they act out because of stress that returns night after night & can't be eased.There's the usual Wambaugh mix of booze, women, blurs between right & law.As usual, there's no insight or development for female characters, who are cardboard cutouts.But this time, instead of playing with character & language, as in other books, he projects his insights into those he depicts, without modifying their character.It's docudrama, despite its gunslinger theme, like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood," a form Wambaugh is good at, maybe because it relieves him of tense necessity of creating a plot.Oddly, this book isn't cynical, even when describing disappointed moral objectives; but it does prove what Aristotle said, "We become what we do repeatingly."A police department that sends men to work in Hell shouldn't be surprised if they turn into devils.

Impressive But Curious
I'm both in awe and suspicious of this book. It purports to tell the true-life story of a group of undercover police officers, most of Mexican descent, who work steathily to entice robbers preying on the heavy illegal alien traffic flowing into San Diego County from Baja California into attacking them, then turning the tables on their would-be victimizers. An Absolutely Unnecessary Situation
The philosophical setting of this book is littered with "ifs."If the United States government would protect the US from invaders, as it is charged to do, this book never would have been written.If other nations were governed by constitutions conceptually similar to that of the United States, establishing freedom and individual rights everywhere -- such that people would not feel it necessary to flee their home governments, and seek freedom in the United States -- this book never would have come into being.If, if, if. Read more

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

Editorial Review

Some may find it unbelievable that a20-year-old Oregon woman could beenslaved by asexual sadist for seven years--that even after being ableto move freelyduring the day, she would allow him tolock her into a wooden box every night.Perhapsit's a minorfailing of this book that the authors do not elaborate onthe psychology thatmade her such a "perfect victim."Inother respects, though, the story is welltold, with an impressive accumulation of details: the woman's capture, the tortures sheendured, the brainwashing techniques, the fiendish contraptions her captor constructed,the slave contract he made her sign, and the increasingly strained relations within thepeculiar family that included master, slave, wife, and child, all inside a single-widetrailer.As well-known attorney and author Vincent Bugliosiwrites, "A gripping and disturbing story of the secret life of apparently normalpeople.At once, horrific and engrossing." ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Incredible
I read this book years ago and it is so powerful I have never forgotten it.I'll think of her now and again and remember what hell she was subjected to, wondering how she is doing and how she ever kept her mind.One to the most personally impactful books I have ever read.It reminds about books I have read about concentration camp surviors, they never leave me, nor do I think they should. When it is freezing outside and I run to the car through the cold hardly able to bear the few minutes to get the hearter cranked up and the memory of so many stories will pop into my mind.Trying to imagine how the survivors felt arriving in Auzchvitz(I know I butched the spelling), marching through the snow naked, no coat during the intake process and arriving at the administration building at 610PM. Since the building closed at 6PM they had to stand and wait outside in the cold, no protection for the office to open the following morning.
DON'T EXPECT TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!
I read it in 3 days! This book is EXCELLENT and HORRIFYING! What thie woman went through had to be more painful than anything most people could endure. Forcing her to live through all of his torture, just sick! Every page in this book is interesting, and believe me you won't put it down! I was up till 4 this morning finishing it!

Spellbinding tale more horrific than is comprehensible
Colleen's story is one that few, if any, reading this would ever understand.She is kidnapped, tortured, beaten, humiliated, and it only gets worse.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. General    3. Mystery & Detective - General    4. Mystery/Suspense    5. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    6. True Crime / Espionage    7. True Crime / General   

Reviews (19)

True Blue Shows Police Officers as Humans and Heroes!

A Mixed Bag
Like many story collections, this one is truly a mixed bag. Among the highlights are some delightfully funny annecdotes of crimes gone wrong and some heartwarming stories of police at their very best. However, there are also stories that are criminally mundane, and others so syrupy sweet they border on offensive. The extensive section of 9/11 stories is overkill. There is little there that hasn't already been said many times over, with the common theme being that we owe a debt of gratitude to those gave the ultimate service to their country that day. A noble point, but one that has been made repeatedly. Sutton offers nothing new about 9/11, its heroes or its victims.

What was that cop thinking?
Ever wonder what a police officer is thinking in any given situation? Randy Sutton compiles a wide array of varying views frompolice officers around the U.S.
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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography    3. Espionage    4. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Police    7. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    8. Sociology    9. True Crime    10. United States   

Reviews (29)

About that Magic Bullet Theory - Discovery Channel Proved It!
When this book says the Magic Bullet Theory has been proven to be false, I'm not sure what they are saying because the definition is vague.What I know for a fact is that the Discovery Channel conducted an identical test of the shot into an identical model with real human bones, skin tissue, shaped exactly like Kennedy/Connelly, from the exact distance, exact same shot.Everything as it as in 1963, including the very same bullets from the manufacturer, even the same batch, same gun - everything exact!
Whatever it takes ...
Though the non-existence of the Magic Bullet is as every bit certain as the Sun Rising in the East; the MB theory having been concocted by lawyers, not doctors & then mysteriously "fine tuned" for good measure by (Dr., not) Gerald Ford.
Why Do So Many Conspiracy Theorists Believe In A JFK Assassination Plot That Could Not Possibly Have Been Successful?
Who assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963? .... Was he killed as the result of a large-scale conspiracy, as depicted in Oliver Stone's 1991 motion picture? .... Was Lee Harvey Oswald merely an innocent "Patsy", being manipulated and handled by a group of evil conspirators? .... Was it just a small conspiracy involving only two or three individuals? .... Or did Oswald, all by himself, murder the President?
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Subjects:  1. (John Fitzgerald),    2. 1917-1963    3. Assassination    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History - U.S.    8. Kennedy, John F    9. Kennedy, John F.    10. Sociology    11. United States - 20th Century    12. United States - 20th Century/60s    13. Crime & criminology    14. Political assassinations    15. USA   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (68)

Gary Gilmores eyes
This book is large in size and even more substatial in it's research and substance. I have to admit I was only interested in this book after seeing one mof Matthew Barney's Cremaster films. This book would leave me wanting more and more, and for several hundred pages it was very able to provide. After rading this book I would suggest trying to find the learning channel's documentary on Gary Gilmore so that you can see the actual charectors faces. I can't realy say much about this book that has not been said already. It has appealed to so many readers of different genre, that there is a safe chance that it will appeal to you. I would also reccomend reading "under the banner of heaven" as well. The two books though seperate in time frame and subject compliment each other on hte subject of Utah mormanism. I could not pu tthis book down and neglected many other projects to finish it.
A LENGTHY READ, BUT EXCEPTIONALLYWELL RESEARCHED AND DOCUMENTED
I am not an avid reader of true crime books but the publicity and size of this book intrigued me. Actually, I have just finished reading the book for the second time since it was first published. It is easy to understand why "The Executioner's Song" was a Pulitzer Prize winner.Norman Mailer completed an astonishing amount of research to bring this masterpiece to reality.Yes, the book is a very long one, but it still leaves the reader wishing there was more.The book is never boring and never skips a beat.
Engaging from start to finish
This book was never boring, not on page 100 or page 1000.The research is phenomenal, and Mailer has done an excellent job of taking these real life events and turning them into a readable novel that feels like genuine historical fiction.Gary Gilmore is an incredibly memorable main character, and Mailer paints a fair picture of him.He's very human - full of anger, prone to incredibly poor judgment, but also surprisingly bright and loving and tender at times.He's an onion with lots of layers, and that's what makes him so interesting.
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Subjects:  1. Biographical fiction    2. Death row inmates    3. Fiction    4. Gilmore, Gary    5. Literary    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Mailer, Norman - Prose & Criticism    8. Utah    9. Fiction / Literary    10. True crime    11. USA   

Reviews (8)

A man who know us well ...
As an Italian, all I can say is that Mr. Stille knows us very well. In every single case where the book didn't agree with my memory, I was wrong (and, although I have spent the last two decades abroad, I was there when most of the events described happened). It's obvious from the way he writes that he is an insider, he is one of us. At the same time, he can understand us more clearly because he is also NOT one of us.
Thorough and readable
The best book about the Sicilian Cosa Nostra still available (in English). It was made into a film, which is also worth viewing. I am still waiting for mr Stille to update this book, to add what happened after 1993. Although the subject is complex, the author is a fluid writer who provides a magnificent picture of Italy at the end of the 20th century. The braveness of the Italian judges and police officers is breathtaking and inspiring.

Brutal criminals pursued by inspirational men
This book is an essential read for those with a general interest in modern day Europe, especially Italy, and most emphatically for Sicilian-Americans...like me. Forget those popularized and sometimes romanticized accounts of the mafia often encountered in the popular media. This book reveals in a clear, detailed and non-emotional but yet spell-binding style the ruthless, murderous and often barbaric ways of the real mafiosi...and the politicians and judges who protected them. The diligence,perseverance and courage of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in pursuing these ruthless criminals, with the certain knowledge of their own subsequent murder, is both chilling and awe-inspiring. One cannot offer too much praise for these men and the many other courageous Sicilians who also were murdered in the their efforts to bring justice to Sicily. The book ends in 1994 with notes of caution and fear as it introduces us to the political rise of Silvio Berlusconi. I look forward with great anticipation to the release of the author Alexender Stille's new book, due in June 2006, "The Sack of Rome...by Silvio Berlusconi". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Elite (Social sciences)    2. Europe - Italy    3. General    4. History & Theory - General    5. Italy    6. Mafia    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Sociology    9. Violence    10. History / Italy   

Editorial Review

On November 1, 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, nearly assassinated President Harry Truman. If this historical fact surprises you, you're not alone. Read more

Reviews (23)

great...love it
This book is awesome. First book I read about the subject. You will find yourself reading a chapter and saying what the hell...and then he draws it all together. It is written very well.

Fascinating Story, Could Have Been Told Better
One of the thinks I particularly enjoy about history is its depth. While most people have at least a general familiarity with history, even students of history can always be surprised by in-depth looks at various periods of history. American Gunfight is a great example of this; while I was aware that two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman in 1950, the details of the incident and the context surrounding it were not covered in any of the other histories of Truman I've read. While that was a logical decision on the part of the authors, as aside from this incident, Puerto Rico was a very small part of Truman's presidency, it left out a fascinating story that illustrates a slice of American history that is often forgotten.
Could have been a great magazine article ...
In a nutshell, this is a compelling story that's essentially ruined by horrible prose.The authors have adopted an almost "Memento"-esque flashback method of telling the backstories of all the personalities featured--no matter how mundane or irrelevant the detail.There's a great deal of repetition of key events and plot points as a result.I could live with this, but what absolutely ruined the book for me was the constant use of past and present tenses interchangeably--often within the same sentence!Additionally, the prose slips from formal to conversational too easily to suit me, though this is far less annoying than the incessant changing of tenses.It made me feel as if I was reading a book that had been hastily cobbled together over a weekend.
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Subjects:  1. Assassins    2. Biography    3. General    4. Government - Executive Branch    5. History    6. History - U.S.    7. History: American    8. History: World    9. Nationalists    10. Puerto Rico    11. Torresola, Griselio    12. U.S. History - 1950s    13. U.S. President    14. United States - 20th Century    15. United States - 20th Century/50s    16. History / United States / General   

Reviews (1)

juvenile delinquency a sociological approach
excelent. I am interest to read this book, because it that can made me seriouslly to anticipation juvenile delinquency, especially about kid behavior. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. Juvenile Delinquency    3. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - General    7. Sociology Of Youth    8. United States    9. Violence in Society    10. Juvenile offenders    11. Law / Jurisprudence   

Reviews (17)

not interesting
If you're one of those people who went through a phase where you were trying like hell to figure out why humans like Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme helped turn Charles Manson into a cult leader back in the late 1960s, this book will answer none of your questions. Though it received a lot of great reviews by writers from the best newspapers and magazines, I remain utterly dumbfounded as to why.
Most grounded book pertaining to the "Manson family" yet
I've always thought you have to take anything thats been written about the so called "Manson family", whether pro or anti Manson, with a huge grain of salt. This book requires less salt than anything I've read pertaining to the "Manson family" to date. The girl who ran, and ran too far...
This is a compelling and very informative portrait of one of the more vocal female members of the Manson family, would-be presidential assassin Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. In late 1969, when Charles Manson and four others were imprisoned for the brutal murders of nine people, Squeaky Fromme became the leader of the Manson clan in Charlie's absence and took to the streets, holding daily vigils outside the courthouse with the other family members who weren't imprisoned. In 1975, while living in Sacramento and preaching about the destruction of the environment with friend Sandra Good, Squeaky aimed a gun at then-president Gerald Ford. In prison for life, this novel details her early life as a dancer with the Westchester Lariats in Redondo Beach, California, her notable High School days, and finally how and when she met Manson and was seduced by his off-the-wall ideologies. It gives an incredible day-by-day account of her highly-publicized trial in which it was to be decided whether or not she actually meant to kill the president. Although not for everyone, this book is a must for true-crime fans and those who want to know what made this fascinating woman tick. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1913-    2. 1948-    3. Assassination attempt, 1975 (S    4. Assassination attempt, 1975 (September 5)    5. Assassins    6. Biography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Criminals & Outlaws    10. Ford, Gerald R.,    11. Fromme, Lynette Alice,    12. General    13. Infamous Crimes And Criminals    14. Subculture    15. True Crime    16. United States    17. Biography & Autobiography / Women    18. Biography: general    19. Ford, Gerald R    20. Fromme, Lynette Alice    21. Manson, Charles    22. Trials, litigation, etc   

Reviews (4)

Fantastic
This book was one of the best true crime books ever written.It had me so hooked that even though our power went out last night, I read it with a flashlight.I even read Boudro's testimony from chapter 65 out loud to my husband.It was an alternative form of entertainment for him when he couldn't watch Monday night football.I'll be reading more of this author.He really knows how to put it in writing.Great Read.

Gruesome But Funny
I've been reading Mr. Henderson's books since accidentally coming across A Deadly Affair five years ago. We share a last name and a first initial, which is what first caught my eye. I'm an unabashed fan, nothing to do with the name coincidence. This book manages to be hilarious at the same time it is evil and gruesome and sickening, no mean feat.
I almost didn't write this review
I almost didn't write this review because about 2 weeks ago I wrote a sincere review for a book called iWOZ. This book was so childishly written it was almost a waste of time but because it was written by a famous person all the reviews said how wonderful this person was and overlooked this, at best, average book.
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Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Michigan    3. Murder    4. Murder - General    5. Murder Investigation    6. Murder victims    7. True Crime    8. True Crime / Espionage    9. True Crime / Murder   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography And Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Crime    8. Criminals & Outlaws    9. General    10. History    11. Juvenile delinquents    12. New York    13. New York (State)    14. Pickpockets    15. U.S. History - Late 19th Century (1877-1900)    16. United States - 19th Century    17. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic    18. History / United States / 19th Century    19. Local history    20. Social history    21. True crime    22. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (15)

Outstanding Book
This is the best mob book I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them. The author's style is intelligent, witty, detailed, and extremely personable. He tells us so many facts about the Chicago mob, from its incarnation in the early 20th century to the 1990's, that I felt I was experiencing a living history class on the Outfit while I read. Russo supplies his readers with wonderfully colorful accounts of the "Chicago Boys" and their outrageous acts when they ruled Chicago. One of the most fascinating characters, about whom I never knew before, was the Welsh genius who essentially played consigliere to the Outfit for several decades. Curly Humphreys was never mnade because of his Welsh blood, but he could have been the smartest Boss the mob ever had. He came up with the 5th Amendment dodge that kept gangsters from having to tell the Kefauver or McClelland Committees anything damning about themselves or their gangster pals. He actually knew more about the Constitution than any of the Senators or lawyers attached to the Committees! He was brilliant.
Humphreys Retrospective
Detailed account of Chicago crime family's growth from pre-Capone days to death of mastermind Murray Humphreys in 1972, after which the chronicle trails off rapidly. Familiar highlights are there, showing how Chicago's corruptive tentacles reach into worlds of legalized gambling, labor unions, show business, and politics, with many household names surfacing, e.g. Kennedys, Sinatra, Monroe, Nixon, Hoffa, Truman, et. al. Anecdotes are numerous and fascinating, demonstrating once again how thoroughly the underworld intertwines with what author Russo terms the "upperworld". (For a provocative theory of how and why these two worlds interlock symbiotically, check out Peter Dale Scott's Deep Politics and the Death of JFK.) Though much of the material is familiar to students of the Chicago mob, Russo's treatment remains on the whole a worthwhile addition.
overrated author
I found alot of the authors references extremely dubious.For example, if Murray Humphries was such a smart mobster I find it hard to believe that he would allow his wife to keep a written journal detailing how the Kennedy election was fixed.The author also left out details of references to bolster his case that with the death of Tony Accordo the Outfit died also.When he cites an article called "Mob Lite"stating that there are only 50 outfit members remaining, he left out the part stating that there are at 700-1200 associates remaining and how they are more sophisticated than ever.I only wonder what else he left out. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chicago    2. Chicago (Ill.)    3. Criminology    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History - U.S.    7. History: American    8. Illinois    9. Mafia    10. Organized crime    11. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    12. Outfit (Gang)    13. United States - 20th Century    14. History / United States / 20th Century   

Features

• Unabridged

Reviews (7)

Dull, Boring, Inaccurate in Places and Out of Date Investigation into the Drug Industry
I found this book a real grind to read. It consists of page after page of seemingly unconnected names, places, big amounts of money, and I just found myself getting bored with it all. The bulk of the book is material from the 1978 edition so there are lots of references to Jimmy Carter. I think there could be a good book written on this subject what with all the stuff that's been happening lately in Afghanistan and Colombia, so maybe if a revised edition came out then it might be a bit more interesting. The only interesting section for me was the section on how the British first launched the Opium Wars on China; I would have liked to have learned about this at school.
Penetrating Historical Analysis
Although the Larouchies have done some speculative work, this is not entirely of a low-grade quality.In fact, much of the historical information on the Opium Wars is widely known and accurate.Before disregarding EIR, because of their solution to world problems is bigger global government, give this book a close read.It points in the right direction and read in combination with other similar works it can really cause an awakening.

Increase the War on Drugs?
From what little i read of the book i found it to be overly dramatic....The writer, ... makes the conviction that if the american people don't move to quickly crush the international drug mafia, the US and Western Civilization will fall into a new dark age.He goes on to say we need to launch a full-scale War on Drugs as the Allied nations used to defeat Nazism.I have no doubts that many governments are involved with the mafia and drugs, but my view is for leg