No comments about Impact Listening 3: Intermediate - Advanced (Student Book with Self-Study Audio CD).

2 comments about Tarmac Warrior: The Violent World of Extreme Fighting.

1. I was directed to this book from a friend in the UK who I met on the internet. I am a keen follower of all fight books but got more than I bargained for when I bought this baby. This guys life took me to places I have never been, not even in my wildest dreams. I had heard of the fight circuit written about here in California and wanted to learn more, it wasnt until I actually started to read this book that I found the history I was looking for by pure chance. Even though he tried to stay out of the circuit he got drawn back in because it was all he knew having a poor education and so few options. Billy, if you're out there and you read this. RESPECT TO YOU! You had a real bad life man but turned it round...you thanks America for your opportunity to achieve what you couldnt do in the UK but your success is your own. I love the book and was so sad when it came to an end. I miss you man!



2. Before I read this book I thought that bare fist fights were a myth. I have since found taht they are in fact a reality, not just in the States but world wide. If you want complete reviews on this book go to www.amazon.co.uk which I have done. This man is as famous in the UK as he is in the USA and indeed in Spain, France and Germany. Now in his mid fifties he looks back on his life and shares not only the bad times but the good times with special reference to his family and their culture. In no way is this book the usual ego massage of a fighter, he tells of his many defeats. Great read.

5 comments about The Animal in Hollywood.

1. Anthony was on the radio, and he is facinating. his story was unbelievable, in the sense that he accomplished so much, in a town that is so easy to get caught. He is no dummy like most Mafia guys What guts he has to wear a wire on over sixty
   Mafia members sworn to kill like himself



2. Fiato is like most informants they always find ways to rationalize their treachery. There is a saying on the street " If you cant do the time dont do the crime" Fiato and people like him enjoy the life until it comes time to pay, then they turn on people that trusted them. Fiato is just one of many Rats that turned and will continue to turn when faced with paying the price of their actions.



3. A careful constructed string of public appearances has somewhat cleaned Anthony Fiato of the smudge which is apparent in reading "The Animal in Hollywood." The scariest thing about Fiato is his inability to bridge the vast divide between the carefully crafted Animal personna and the real Anthony Fiato. The Animal surfaces spewing threats and issuing "I would have if, and I could haves" every few pages in this book. How lame is it for a man to relive past events while interjecting thoughts of what he should have done or wanted to do to readers who are thinking 'yeah but you didn't.'
   
   As for the book, it pales in comparison to Jimmy Fratianno's the Last Mafioso falling short in the truth and interest categories. Apparently unaware that the man had been dead for years, Fiato places himself on a collection run in south central Los Angeles. His target the long dead figure of Black Dot McGhee. I guess Fiato didn't figure on someone knowing of whom he spoke. He also claims a lofty stature in the Rizzitello family but fails to note why he never met Los Angeles mob power Jimmy Fratianno. For those not familiar with Fiato and his true stature and criminal dealings then this is sure to arouse interest and awe, but for everyone else. It is little more than a sad and sorry attempt to elevate and promote the Animal to a gullible audience enraptured audience This book is much like Fiato's testimony in the infamous Simpson case, is weak and without substance.



4. The book is supposily a true story, but I can tell you that several things in the book are basically Fiato's imagination or twisted reality of what really happened, He shows what kind of low-life he really is, more worried about everyone knowing he is sleeping with Nichole Simpson sister, which in truth is probibly the highlight of a lowlifes world.
   It is entertaining though because it seemed so new to me like I wasn't even there,but after reading it and comparing the realalities to the fantasy I could tell they just mislabeled it.



5. I love mob books and this one doesn't dissappoint. Must have for the mob book lover.

5 comments about Elmer Mccurdy: The Life And Afterlife Of An American Outlaw.

1. Svenvold's book adds little, if anything, to the body of facts surrounding McCurdy's brief criminal career, and his much-longer postmortem career as a sideshow attraction. Early on in the book, the writer admits this.
   Nevertheless, it is entertaining reading, as Svenvold retraces McCurdy's pre- and post-mortem travels in the manner of a New Journalist.
   His reportage about the world of the carny and sideshow makes the book worth reading, but if you are seeking anything NEW about McCurdy, this is not the place to find it. Some readers may find Svenvold's writing a bit too self-conscious, and indeed there are passages in which it appears that Mark Svenvold, not Elmer McCurdy, is the subject of the book.
   Buy it anyway.



2. It's not often that one sees a biography written in such a literate, even poetic manner. Mr. Svenvold has taken the tale of the hapless outlaw, Elmer McCurdy, in a new and interesting direction: rather than reporting his life and times (and ignominious post-mortem "career") in a cut-and-dried manner, Mr. Svenvold has woven an incisive, at times deadpan-hilarious commentary on the fading Wild West, the rise of sideshows and exploitation flicks, theme tourism and other illustrations of just how low the entertainment taste of the American public can go. Notwithstanding Mr. Svenvold's concerns that he was just another in the long line of the day-glow corpse's "exploiters," he has written the equivalent of a decent burial for poor dead Elmer. Highly recommended.



3. What a crazy mixed up pile of stuff! I like Westerns,Ripley's Believe it or Not!,truth is stranger than fiction stuff,unusual characters,history,oddities,greatly miss the old freak shows that travelled with the carnivals,real life outlaws,and you name it.History is full of this stuff and to me much more fun to delve into than fiction.While the author didn't seem to come up with too much on old Elmer;probably because his short and non-illustrious produced very little;he sure found enough to spin around what he did have to create a good interresting read.I believe the period after the Civil War until the start of the 2WW produced some of the most interresting characters and times in American history.That was all before the do gooders, politically correct,boring and otherwise anal-retentive got everything under control.But then again, they probably prefer reading about some corporate business scam to the gangster days of Capone and all. Since this was the first thing I've read by the author I'll be looking to find something else from him.From what he did with this story I am sure he'll be giving us some more good stuff in the future.



4. Poor Elmer! This is one of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time. If you are interested in the history of the amusement business; old west; mummies; trains; outlaws;
   this book is a must have! This book is easy to read and has quite a lot of photograhs.



5. I was given this book as a gift for my birthday by a friend of mine who said that it was one of the weirdest books that he has ever read. He was right. The story of Elmer McCurdy is definitely a weird and truly American one. This should make a great Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie, although it would be difficult to pull off the task of having the main character be a corpse for 70%-75% of the movie. Reading about how poor Elmer failed in his crimes made me LOL as the 21st Century cliche goes and reading about his strange afterlife and how he was exploited by generations of hucksters was interesting to say the least. Even though Elmer (or his corpse) had a minor part, it was facinating to read about the Bunion Derby, the only cross-country foot race. All in all, a very good read.

No comments about Mob Girl: A Woman's Life in the Underworld.

3 comments about Black Bart Roberts: The Greatest Pirate of Them All.

1. Everyone's heard of pirates Captain Kidd and Blackbeard - but history buffs may be amazed to learn these famous pirates only took about thirty ships between them, whereas Black Bart Roberts alone took more than four hundred ships in a brief period of time. Terry Breverton's Black Bart Roberts is 'must' reading for any interested in pirates and American nautical history: first-hand accounts, court documents, and maps accompany a fascinating bit of piratical history on the high seas.



2. First of all, the last reviewer pretty much just repeated the book description that's printed above, and the one on the book's back cover. Second of all, the book doesn't even get to Black Bart until page 64! Until then, it's about Captain Howell Davis, and several other captains. Why, I have no idea! I've always loved pirate movies, and pirate stories, so I thought it would be fun to get a few books, and read up on the old scallywags. Now I know we aren't supposed to like pirates. Afterall, they stole, killed, and raped among other things...all bad. But even knowing all this, most of us are very intrigued by them. Perhaps because they're dangerous and unpredictable, and they play by their own rules. Because pirates are so charasmatic and exciting, I didn't think it was possible for a pirate book to be boring, but this one is! I'm sure the author is a nice man, and I'm sure he tried hard, but this book is hard to follow, and completely lacking in excitement and good old fashioned story telling. This reads like a narrative time line, and a very confusing one at that. The first two chapters leading up to Black Bart are incredibly hard to get through, so by the time you finally do get to him, you're so confused and exhausted, that you really don't care anymore. I've read other pirate books, and it is possible to give facts, be descriptive, and also entertain at the same time. This book bored and frustrated me. I was ready to feel like I was in Black Bart's boots from beginning to end, for all the excitment and stories, but that never happened. I suggest you do yourself a favor and look up 'Black Bart' and see what other books are out there. But please, skip this one. It was so bad, I didn't even get through the whole thing.I'm sending my copy back for a refund/credit.



3. Black Bart Roberts: The Greatest Pirate of Them All is a great historical pirate book!! Black Bart was the most sucessful pirate of all time... not the most notorious, yet the most profitable pirate of all time. He acquirred more boats and booty than any other pirate in history! Another must for pirate buffs like myself!

5 comments about World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime (Paragon True Crime Library).

1. I don't think there has to be much explanation here. I've been studying the American Mafia for a couple of years and I have never seen or found such a variety of information. I have movies and books alike and I have to say that this is probably my best investment in any book or movie I own.



2. Truth in advertising? This is solely about the U.S., with a very few token entries on people and place outside it. Nothing on the Triads, nothing on the Golden Triangle, nothing on Marseilles or Hong Kong, nothing on modern international gangs such as the Jamaicans or Nigerians, etc., etc. I returned my copy to Amazon in great disappointment. If you want biographies of some U.S. figures (only some: nothing on Harold Meltzer, for example) with ugly pictures, this might be of some use. But it's solely oriented to personalities, not to analysis



3. Trying to find a good reference book about organized crime? Want one at a good price? Jay Robert Nash has created the perfect book for you with World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime from De Capo Press.

   The over 600 pages of the Who's Who in organized crime is covered in an A to Z format. From Joe Adonis, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Bugs Moran and so many others, you'll find the fascinating stories and cross-references.

   You may find other books more detailed, but I have found this book to be complete in the overall number of people covered. The book is an easy read and the index makes it easy to look up anybody or any topic.

   You'll be hard pressed to find a better value for your money. About the only thing missing is a cd-rom software application.




4. While its some feat to assemble this amount of information in one boopk, the author never actually goes out to check the accuracy of the data. This causes many factual mistakes to merge. Some are very basic, such as the statement that Jack McGurn was born in Chicago, rather than in Sicily. In a field like this, where errors are commonplace, you need a book that tries to get the truth about personalities and events if its not to be just another myth-spreader. This sadly isn't it.



5. Nobody can claim as much accomplishment and detriment in the genre of true crime reference books than Jay Robert Nash. Over the course of over forty years and seventy volumes, Nash has repeatedly ripped off consumers by intentionally planting disinformation in his (otherwise exhaustively researched) books in the course of inept attempts to, as he phrases it, "detect any unauthorized use or duplication." As a strong supporter of individual property rights and a copyright enthusiast, I find Mr. Nash's paranoia and greed to be appalling. And in this book, like so many others, his inane tactics yield a reference material littered with inaccuracies.
   
   On the other hand, it's not as though this would be a scholarly resource if Nash were principled. While it's well-organized and quite entertaining, this condensation of Nash's six-volume "Encyclopedia of World Crime" is written in a slightly melodramatic style. Despite its' faults, the scope of this book's content is impressive; it documents a wide variety of individuals, organizations and events in considerable detail.
   
   Unfortunately, this book is also hopelessly outdated. Published in 1993, no mention is made here of the Russian mob that's engaged in massive international criminal affairs to enormous profit since the Soviet Union expired.
   
   If you want to learn about organized crime, read scholarly resources concerning specific phenomena. This book is fun and even informative to a point, and it makes for compulsive reading, but Nash's idea of what constitutes legitimate reference material is just criminal.

No comments about King Scum.

1 comments about The First Twenty-Nine Days.

1. Reading "The First Twenty-Nine Days" was a humbling experience and it is my hope that thousands of readers will be similarly humbled. The book resonates on many levels, the most significant being that there is resonance. The twenty courageous people who share their stories of re-entering the community after being incarcerated remind us that there is no "them" and "us." Like it or not we are in this together. The experiences of the formerly incarcerated people are a part of and not apart from our individual definitions of reality. Most people who spend time inside prison walls will eventually be released to establish lives on the other side of the walls. "The First Twenty-Nine Days" focuses on this incredibly difficult transition.
   
   It was sometimes hard to tell if I was reading the story of a man or woman for reasons that had to do with my own often erroneous assumptions. One of the contributors to the book talked lovingly and longingly about how much they missed their children and what they hoped life would be like when the reunification took place. The tenderness with which this section was written and the obvious love expressed for the children led me to presume that the author of this particular story was a woman. I was wrong. The story was authored by a man who survived the ordeal of prison because of his hopes and aspirations all of which revolved around his children.
   
   The book consistently reminds us that re-entry, of course, involves the formerly incarcerated person, but family members and the community are essential parts of the re-entry process as well. And since this is the case the writers give examples of ways that the "system" and the world outside in general help or hinder re-entry. An example of the latter is related to the universal needs of housing and employment. Formerly incarcerated individuals often find themselves in situations where housing conducive to positive re-entry is not available. In many instances the only available housing is in places that are laden with the array of problems, temptations and lack of legitimate opportunity that contributed to incarceration in the first place. In other cases, temporary housing at area hotels that are notorious for prostitution and drugs represent the only accessible housing.
   
   Many returning former inmates talk about returning to the community and staying with family members with the understanding that they will become independent in a short period of time. This is a circumstance in which the best of intentions only suffice for a very short time because it is often the case that the supporting relatives are surviving by a thread themselves and cannot afford the space, money or emotional support for as long as their loved one may require to regain their equilibrium in the community. To make matters worse the notion of re-entry is misleading at times. It would be easy enough to resume the types of activities that contributed to incarceration, but quite another matter to find ways to generate sufficient income legally.
   
   Just about all of the contributors to "The First Twenty-Nine Days" talk about the critically important role that Voices Beyond Bars plays in their re-entry in terms of the support that is given by people who have lived their experience as well as those who have undertaken the hard work of learning about worlds that they may not have direct knowledge of.
   
   Another hugely prevalent theme has to do with emotions and what to do with them. How do you deal with feelings of love when the expression of these feelings can be interpreted as weakness in environments inside and outside of prison walls where tenderness makes one vulnerable and vulnerability leads to death? What do you do with rage that you may experience for very good reasons, how do you separate out justified rage from intense anger that is often directed at the wrong people, and how can you understand then mold and direct emotions in ways that are constructive and not destructive? And how do you sort out this tangled mass in a matter of seconds because that's all the time you'll have to make a decision that will -among other things- determine if you will remain on the outside or return to prison. And by the way - anger management is not a panacea. It can be a useful tool, but the question of emotions and what to do with them is much deeper than managing anger. The contributors to "The First Twenty-Nine Days" provide honest and often painful answers to these questions.
   
   Madison-area Urban Ministry and Voices Beyond Bars provide a variety of ways to participate in the elevation of our common humanity and destiny. Read the book. Check out the MUM website. Participate in a MUM event. We have nothing to lose but our assumptions. In Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail he wrote, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
   
   An excerpt from the preface of "The First Twenty-Nine Days" reads: "We are not just ex-convicts; we are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, husbands and wives. We have been the child or grandchild of proud people. We have served our country, taught our children, worked with youth, saved lives." By embracing formerly incarcerated people we are embracing ourselves.
   
   Reviewed by L. Kenneth Haynes

No comments about The Unabomber - Portrait of an American Terrorist (Biography).