1 comments about Old Bill Miner: Last of the Famous Western Bandits.

1. My grandpa did an excellent job writing this book. When he republished it I was hired to do the type-setting for the book. Once I got going I could not stop. It was a good book. Way to go grandpa. Read his others. They are all the same

1 comments about 200 Texas Outlaws and Lawmen 1835-1935.

1. The history of Texas is teeming with good guys, bad guys, shootouts, and barfights, 'or so the story goes.' 200 Texas Outlaws and Lawmen: 1835-1935 by Laurence J. Yadon and Dan Anderson is chock-full of interesting and enlightening facts about the outlaws and lawmen that make up the rich history of Texas law enforcement. The book is an encyclopedic account, making it easy to navigate but contains a fond humor that ensures it is an entertaining read. Yadon and Anderson include a helpful timeline that chronologically outlines gunfights, robberies, and arrests. Texans will enjoy reading little known facts about local places and names. Readers will reunite with old friends such as Bonnie and Clyde and Machine Gun Kelly and will become acquainted with new characters just as daring and ruthless. Overall, 200 Outlaws and Lawmen is an informative resource for historians and an enlightening, fun read for Texans, history buffs, and those looking for action packed history.

5 comments about A Life in the Balance: The Billy Wayne Sinclair Story.

1. This is the best book I've ever read, hands down. It gave all the facts, good or bad, along with the consequences. I do not usually have sympathy for prisoners but this is an exception. This is a perfect example of the people in charge being more corrupt than the prisoner. It shows that trying to do the right thing after making a mistake in your youth only results in more punishment and the corrupt people win. It is a sad thing to know that our leaders in politics are so often more corrupt than the prisoners. I would love to read another book by the Sinclairs telling "the rest of the story". I admire Jodi Sinclair and I'm not sure anyone else would have this dedication after all the "knockdowns" in her life. I wish them the best life has to offer in their future. They have paid enough.



2. I tend to read a lot of nonfiction, at least in the last few years, but I have read lots of fiction and enjoy a great story. I mention this because much of this book reads as if the author was writing a fictional story about prison, yet was doing a poor job of it. The fact that it is a personal memoir and meant to be a true account of the struggles of the author makes it a fascinating read and I'll admit that I was able to tune out the outside world for a few reading sessions over a couple a days as I burned through the pages.

   What made some of the reading difficult was keeping up with all the names and events and the general time line. It got confusing at times.

   But the actions of people that interacted with the author were clear enough to present an engaging story, and anyone that is interested in the world of prisons and criminals doing hard time during the period of the book will find this work interesting. Most of the hard core story telling happens from the mid sixties through the seventies and into the eighties. There is stuff going on in the nineties here but the story starts to lose some of its steam.

   As for the politics of the story and the expose' of the corruption, if the author is to be believed, and I think he presented a very strong case (although alternative arguments are not really here) then the conclusion can be clearly drawn; there is and has been a lot of corruption in the Louisiana prison system. As for my personal feelings after my reading I think that I mostly chose to believe what the author has to say, the prison system is filled with corruption and the justice system is filled with unfairness.

   That being said, although I agree that the author is a "changed man", I didn't change my opinion of the death penalty after reading his story. While I don't think he needs to be singled out for special punishment now, I think that the first unfairness was that he didn't receive the death penalty shortly after conviction. Using a gun while committing a felony should carry the death penalty. Life is precious and valuable and we show complete disrespect to the victims of violent crime when we as a people fail to administer fair and impartial justice.

   The author complains that many murderers have been released while he was passed over for parole. And I agree that there is an injustice here, but it isn't to him, it is to the victims and the victims families of those predators being released. Life in prison should mean life and the death penalty should mean the death penalty.

   All in all I recommend this book to anyone interested in a story about prison life and the struggle of one man that was sent to prison yet still found a way to bring something redeeming to this world. I was disappointed that even though he grew up, matured, came into a realization that he had devastated many lives by killing someone that was loved and found a way to stand up to prison injustices he doesn't mention any help from God or at least a "higher power". It seems that he healed and cured himself. If this is not true than the book left out some important details. I am not saying he should have made something up, of course, but if his redemption was "self willed" than reading about it has little value as the vast majority of us simply aren't that great.

   In either case the book is an entertaining and compelling story and I wasn't disappointed in the time I spent reading it.




3. The Billy Wayne Sinclair Story
   Reviewed by: Richard R. Blake

   From the first page to the last, the reader is drawn into the life of Billy Wayne Sinclair. Sinclair relates how he was beaten and abused as a child, entered a life of crime as a teenager, and was convicted of murder, in 1965 at the age twenty. The writing is superb. Descriptions are graphic.
   Sinclair was originally sentenced to death. His sentence was reduced to life in prison in 1972 after the U.S. Supreme Court voided then-existing death penalty laws. Gov. Buddy Roemer commuted his sentence to 90 years in 1992.
   Events that span over thirty-five years are related in a narrative that details multi layers of political corruption in the Louisiana State Prison System. After years of operating on a code of loyalty established by prison inmates, the author took on a personal code of ethics. Sinclair, at great personal risk has been unwilling to compromise these new values and has exposed avarice, crime, and corruption within the parole and corrections community.

   This is must reading for all elected officials in community, state, and national politics and anyone involved in prison administration, prison reform or prisoner's rights. I highly recommend this book.




4. This book shows the reality of a prison life. It is written by Billy Wayne Sinclair, who manages to show insight as well as the reality. His story of fighting against the administration and for reform reminds me a bit of my own experiences, although it is in a much grander scale in this book.
   
   The problem is, it gets tedious after a while. All the names, first names, last names, nicknames, initials, events, places, nicknames for location, gangs, nicknames for gangs, et cetera, gets hard to track and becomes confusing. It begins to really show up in the last third of the book, which is why I'm downgrading it to a 4.



5. I picked "A Life in the Balance" up at a rummage sale several years ago. It affected me deeply since I have friends in various prisons and am aware of how they are treated. I was able to contact Billy and Jodie Sinclair and I truly was thrilled when Billy was released.

5 comments about The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell: Confessions of a Bank Robber.

1. I'm writing this review, because I lived it. I lived with Joe and know that this book is true, and the honesty with which this book is written can only be appreciated by people willing to take a look at their lives and what their doing to move forward from mistakes they have made. Joe's life can be seen, and often is, as a study on how the power of believing in yourself and change can make you a better person. Kudos to my big brother for changing his life and becoming a contributor to society. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever been in a domestic violent situation, or knows someone who is suffering in one.



2. Maybe she meant to say "honesty in all aspects." Whatever she meant, you really can't believe anything that a woman who names herself "P.Loya" writes anyway, even if she claims to have "lived it." P.Loya was probably locked up in some sorry little women's facility like Perryville where all they do is comb their hair and paint their nails. But back to this book...I didn't like it. It was not worth the 99¢ I paid to salvage it from the bargain book bin at Albertsons. For a more believable account of prison life I would recommend "A Place to Stand" by Jimmy Santiago Baca.



3. I don't think Joe Loya does a real good job explaining how he made the transition from a bespectacled bookish nerd to a big bad dude in prison. All he did before getting locked up was hold up female tellers and stab his hapless and unarmed dad with a kitchen knife. A guy like that is more likely to be picked on and smacked around by other prisoners than becoming a shot-calling big baller. (And another thing...why does every nickel 'n dime Chicano convict want to write poetry?)



4. Extremely well written. I will be certain to read Mr. Loya's next endeavor. I, personally would like to know how Loya's life evolved after his stint in prison. Cudo's to Loya for sharing his life with readers. It was a fascinating, heartbreaking and encouraging read!



5. I love this book because it could be so many people's story. It shows Joe's journey from the pain and confusion and grief of losing his mother, to the confusion and eventual rage when his father turned his own anger, grief and rage against him to the decision to take control of his life. Once he chose to take control, the survivor in him again helped him find a mentor and role model in Rodriguez. Joe had used his inherent love of the power of words from childhood. Now he chose to harness that love for transformation. I am so pleased and grateful that he chose to share his story of redemption with us. May some lonely, confused angry person in s prison cell somewhere, either literal or metaphorical,find this book. It can and has changed lives. Thank you, Joe.

1 comments about Sam Bass & Gang.

1. The book has great detail and many photos. I believe it to be a very good book and I enoyed it very much.

No comments about Outlaw Tales of Oklahoma: True Stories of the Sooner State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, and Cutthroats (Outlaw Tales).

1 comments about A Good Day To Die.

1. YOU WILL NOT WANT TO PUT THIS ONE DOWN! I FINISHED IT IN ONE DAY!

No comments about Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains.

3 comments about Charles Manson: Music, Mayhem, Murder.

1. There are many more worthy books on the Manson case out there then this one. I patiently waited for publication, and was hugely disapointed in the whole book. It is an excellent music history but as far as anything on Manson goes it is just the same old same old...full of factual errors that even someone new to the case would spot...

   Save your money and either borrow a friends copy (if they're unlucky enough to have purchased it) or borrow it from the library where I am sure no one will steal it as they have all the good books on Manson...




2. To some people, they might not like this book, but doing my term paper on Manson, it was very helpful because I was showing the relationship between Manson and music. If you are reading this book just for factual information, there is better information available; but if you are reading this book for what the attended purpose is for: to understand how Tommy Udo relates music to Manson's famous history.
   
   One of the reasons why this book is so good is because Udo did not just write about Manson, he actually asked people their point of view of Manson. Some girl said that she thought Manson was cool and Udo asked her some questions back and you could totally see that she knew almost next to nothing about Manson. Udo takes many points of view in to consideration when he wrote this book. Overall it is a good book and I think you should buy the book ONLY if you are interested in reading about the relationship of Manson and music.



3. Everything about Charles Manson's 1969 crimes has been obsessively applied to paper, but the books keep rolling out with machine-like precision. Now we have the 2002 tome "Charles Manson: Music, Mayhem, Murder" penned by England's Tommy Udo. I purchased it at the discount bookstore, sold by the back cover mentioning the author heading west "on a hunt for answers." I thought to myself, "Hey, that's kind of cool," assuming it would be interesting to see the tale told from a modern-day perspective. Unfortunately, all he's willing to investigate is a Sunset Boulevard head shop (that is, no doubt, selling this book at this moment).
   
   Udo is a fine writer, and he knows his music, but he offers absolutely nothing new to the case. His main theme appears to be an attempt to document Manson's supposed growing influence in today's vast rock music scene, flamed by the likes of Guns N' Roses, Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. He makes some mildly interesting points, and I enjoyed the terrific quotes by Marilyn Manson following the Columbine tragedy. The very cult Udo smugly warns is rising around the Manson mythos is, however, fueled by shady books such as this. He tries to connect a few distant dots with interesting bits of trivia involving the Metal, Goth and Industrial scenes, but there's not enough documentation or knowledgeable interviews to support his leaky proclamation.
   
   A number of factual errors are so inexcusable as to be surreal, and substantially weaken the book as a whole. Roman Polanski's first film as a director after the crimes was not "Chinatown" (page 40). In fact, the first film, Polanski's uncomfortably violent version of "Macbeth" (made two years after the murders), has been noted by critics as having eerie similarities to the crime itself, with Polanski admitting as much. Robert F. Kennedy was not assassinated in Seattle (page 117), but at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Parallax View" were not inspired by the Manson crimes (page 178) - a stretch, to say the least, and an independent opinion on the author's part. Ironically, one could make an argument that the wave of "slasher" films rising to prominence in the 1970s were indeed inspired by these crimes, but the author never scratches that surface. On and on, the outrageous mistakes continue.
   
   Udo has some interesting opinions on Manson's recorded music, and this is where his expertise shows. There's just not enough substance to quantify for anything more than a mildly interesting magazine article.
   
   These days, the only way to write a book about this gory mess is to pen it in diary tone, personally documenting ones own observations and how they apply to U.S. society today. To Udo's credit, he attempts this vein, but the author does not possess enough emotional or intellectual maturity to support his book. The only time "Charles Manson: Music, Mayhem, Murder" comes alive is when he interviews a Los Angeles refugee of the 1960s (page 186). The man pulls out some snapshots from the period supposedly showing him, Dennis Wilson (of The Beach Boys) and Charles Manson at Wilson's Sunset Boulevard home. I've read enough books on this crime to know full well that very few photographs exist of Manson prior to his arrest in October of 1969 (and from 1967 to his arrest, practically none). In fact, there are no known photographs of Manson at Wilson's home with the exception of a blurry picture that could very well not be him. If Udo had printed this man's fascinating picture in his book, he would have had something new to offer (certainly it could have been marketed in such a way to boost the sales). The LA refugee offers to sell the pictures to him for $200. Udo, possessing the foresight of a rank amateur, refuses to buy. Thus, I must continue to trudge through his tedious exercise.
   
   As the author documents, there's not much left in Los Angeles from the days of 1969. The house on Cielo Drive has been torn down and replaced by what appears to be a castle. Spahn Ranch is gone, though the hills remain. The Barker Ranch in Death Valley stands solemnly, but Udo's trip there takes up about a half page of shallow navel-gazing. If one chooses to wallow in the grubby spirit of this case, that locale is about the best place to do it. Udo flees before dark.

3 comments about Stop the Ride, I Want Off.

1. Buy this book!!!! Don't hesitate, I had my copy shipped from the UK and that took weeks not to mention $$$$ Keep your eye open for "Hell To Pay" Dave's new movie due out soon.
   If you like Guy Ritchie you'll love Dave Courtney!!!!
   By the way this book gets three thumbs up!!!! Awesome!



2. This was a real fun book, written by a guy who's lived the kind of life us normal every day joes only wish we could have. A lot of really funny lines and stories. This is Arnold Swarzenegger in real life. A man's man. I'd really like to sit down and have a beer with this dude. Hopefully it's all true.



3. Great book. It had me on the edge of seat at times at others I just laughed and laughed. read about Dave driving a Taxi for cover and how an old lady climbed in the back while it was full of nicked gear !

   Well worth reading