2 comments about J Wilkes Booth: An Account of His Sojourn in Southern Maryland After the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, His Passage Across the Potomac And His Death in Virginia.

1. If you like Lincoln you will love this book.Long title but its excellent reading.Best book on Lincoln Ive read in a long time.



2. you can finish this book in one sitting, if you are so inclined. it is the first hand account of thomas jones, who hid and cared for booth and herold in a pine thicket for 5 days and 4 nights before he launched them off into the potomac for virginia. another person put into a situation by booth. he makes no excuses. it is what it is.

1 comments about Sins of the Father: The True Story of A Family Running From the Mob.

1. I liked this unusual point of view on the world of organized crime - the experience of a family preparing to vanish from their lives into a Witness Protection Program. Details of the father's criminal involvement are secondary to the problems and fears of the wife and two teenage sons. Narration shifts between the voice of the older son and the father, a technique which works fairly well. Taylor must have conducted some pretty intensive interviews to get the subjects to talk in such detail about what they thought and how they coped during such a weird time in their lives.

5 comments about Monster: My True Story.

1. I had a great time reading this book. Having seen the movie a few months back I decided to purchase 'Monster' to see what else went on with this story. What a tale! So much more to be known about Wournos and written by a man who has clearly had a lot of experience talking with this woman. Using his extensive interview experience with other serial killers he has created the definitive portrait Aileen Wournos. Those who enjoy reading about this kind of crime should check out 'Talking With Serial Killers' by the same author. Again, using masses of interview material Christopher Berry-Dee has produced an absolutely chilling document. And whats more, this guy can write!



2. It seems that the author (and I'm not talking about Aileen here, since she didn't write this book, no matter what Berry-Dee is trying to convince you) has taken lots of newspaper clippings and put this book together in a quick way to make money. Although it's not badly written there is something missing. There is hardly any references to her childhood and very much about her being interviewed. Lots of stuff I believe is taken from Nick Broomfield's Aileen documentaries. It's an ok read and I'm glad I got this one from the library and didn't buy it!



3. i purchased this book written by christopher berry dee,i was very very disappointed as it said on the cover aileen in her own words,there were the odd one or two quotes,as ive read sue russells book lethal intent,i could see alot of similarities in berry dee's book.as for the one of the main topics being corky reid,maybe he should have studied the case more,and not blamed aileen for his disapperance/murder,as he went into hiding to avoid large debts he had incurred.if you want a book given both sides of aileen i would not go for this book,i would purchase sue russells book



4. I actually met Corky Reid, who thought it strange, that Aileen Wuornos should take the rap for his death, when he was very much alive. Corky turned himself into the police and back to his family, very much alive and NOT THE EIGHTH VICTIM BY WUORNOS!
   How could THIS so called WRITER state he is writing a TRUE STORY, plus from the mouth of Aileen Wuornos (who obviously knew she did not kill Corky Reid!) and have such a BLUNDER as this?! The book should be taken off the shelf, or retitled, in my opinion, as it is not truthful! PLUS, I have read all the BOOKS written about Aileen Wuornos and the only one that makes any REAL STATEMENTS is LETHAL INTENT by Sue Russell, who actually met the people she writes about and QUOTES THEM!



5. I APPEAR IN THIS BOOK, BUT WHAT IS STATED ABOUT ME IS NOT TRUE; NOR DID THIS WRITER TRY TO VERIFY ANY TRUTH WITH ME.
   
   AT FIRST BLUSH, IT ALSO APPEARS THIS WRITER SIMPLY COPIED "QUOTES" FROM COURT DOCUMENTS, AND PARROTED "THOSE" AS "AILEEN WUORNOS' WORDS"; AS I SEE STATEMENTS (SUPPOSEDLY OUT OF MS. WURONOS' MOUTH) THAT WERE TAKEN (OUT OF MY MOUTH) FROM MY LEGAL DEPOSITIONS!
   
   TOO BAD THERE IS NO LEGAL RAMIFICATION FOR PLAGERISM FROM DEPOSITIONS, OR THIS WRITER WOULD BE OUT OF A JOB. AND, IN MY OPINION, DESERVINGLY SO, AS THE ONLY TRUTH IN THIS BOOK IS THE SPELLING OF THE AILEEN WUORNOS NAME.
   
   JACKELYN GIROUX

3 comments about Al Capone: The Biography of a Self-Made Man (Kessinger Publishing's Rare Reprints).

1. The great biography of the American gangster, Al Capone. Facts about his childhood, St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and his death. This book also includes never before seen photos and other artifacts of the gangster.



2. This is the place to start when it comes to Al Capone. Written at the height of Capone's glory as America's most famous and successful mobster, and when he was widely viewed as he saw himself--as a successful businessman. You can't get a much fresher look at Al than this.



3. Unless you area Gang member from Chicago and grew up in the 1920's. I thin gyou will have a hard time keeping track of the lingo on this book. Does anyone know what a blind-pigger, a blackhander, or a ward heeler is? if you do let me know because i looked and have no idea. The book does give alot of information about Capone. I did like that, but could only understand about half the book.So unless you are a 1920 chicago gangmember I wouldn't waist to much time on this book.

No comments about Jack The Ripper.

5 comments about The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid.

1. A shame that Mr. Garrett had absolutely no writing talent at all, because the book could be good, dealing about one of the greatest legendsof all times.




2. The introduction to this book by J.C. Dyke is good, and explains a lot; especially the last paragraph, wherein he says,"The reading (and study) of [this book] is essential to an understanding of that mythical hero, the Robin Hood of the Southwest, who was once just a bucktoothed, thieving, murderous little cowboy-gone-bad, Billy the Kid."

   Of course, the author, Pat Garrett, was not an unprejudiced reporter of events, for it was he who ended the life of William Bonney, also known as William Antrim (his foster father's surname). It is also interesting I think, in passing, to mention that Billy the Kid was not a product of the West, but a transplanted New Yorker.

   Elsewhere, you will read that Pat Garrett's writing effort is poor, and leaves much to be desired. He readily admits it. In his own words, he says, "I make no pretension to literary ability, but propose to give to the public in intelligible English, 'a round, unvarnished tale,' unadorned with superfluous verbiage."

   Garrett is motivated, he says, by an "impulse to correct the thousand false statements which have appeared in the newspapers and in yellow-covered cheap novels."

   And, there is no doubt at all that the stories of Billy's exploits were greatly exaggerated by an Eastern press eager for stories of gunplay and adventure on the Western frontier. Today's myth of Billy the Kid is largely descended from the pulp stories created by the inflamed minds of Eastern "journalists" and the latter-day Hollywood screen-writers who have made no attempt at all to portray the truth.

   Pat Garrett claims to have known Billy throughout the period known as the "Lincoln County Wars," and having listened to Bonney's reminiscences around campfires and says he has interviewed many persons since Bonney's death. That much would seem to be undisputed.

   Bonney was born in 1859, six years after the birth of another Southwestern hardcase, John Wesley Hardin. In fact, they were contemporaries and were raising hell at the same time. Bonney, however, died young at the age of 21, in 1881. Hardin died at the age of 42--twice Billy's age--in 1895. And, if the rumors are true, Hardin probably killed twice as many men. They both started young. Both are reputed to have had fearful tempers. Neither were killed in the face-to-face "quick draw" shootouts so dear to the hearts of Hollywood writers. Instead, both of their executioners used stealth to kill their quarries.

   According to Garrett, in Pete Maxwell's darkened bedroom, where he shot Billy to death, Billy was holding a butcher knife in one hand and drawing his double-action Colt "Lightning" revolver ("self-cocker") with the other, while asking in Spanish, "Quien es? Quien es?" ("Who is it? Who is it?") They were, again according to Garrett, at point blank range. The only other witness was Pete Maxwell. There are other versions to the story, including one which insists that Bonney was unarmed except for the knife, which he had used to cut off a chunk of beef from a hanging carcass outside, because he was hungry.

   My question is this: it is undisputed that he was holding the knife, and the reason for which he had it. So, where was the beef? It is unlikely that he ate it raw, or stuck it in a pocket. Probably he was holding it in his other hand, intending to cook it. In which case, if he had a revolver tucked in his waistband, he must have had to drop the beef to fetch his revolver.

   It is probably of little importance; a Billy Bonney armed with a butcher knife, at close quarters, would still have needed killing. But, did he make the fatal mistake of coming to a gunfight armed only with a knife?

   I think that this is an important book, if for no other reason than the relationship that existed between the author and William Bonney. I recommend it. My version is in the hard cover.

   Joseph Pierre




3. This is quite a work. A quasi-biography, a documentary and an adventure tale all rolled into one is the best I can do to try and classify it as something. Essentially, Garrett's book is generic - an oddity which caan only ever be a `one off' due entirely to the nature of the writers' relation to their subject.

   Garrett and, to a lesser degree, Upson, write as technicians of fact-conveyance rather than writers. I found that this actually served to whet my appetite to learn more as I read. When you're hearing about a legend straight from the mouth of the horse that was chasing him, the awe you feel overrides your contempt for shoddy writing style.

   Having said that, the book is just the right length and so is nowhere near as boring as the claims I had heard here and elsewhere prior to my buying and reading it. The writing, although nonchalantly functional most of the time, is kept tight which is necessary. To have imbued it with imaginative streaks and cosmetic touch-ups would have certainly destroyed the flow of what is, you'll soon find if you pick it up, a fast river of intrigue. Anyway, Upson has done quite a good job at injecting artistry in his sections so there is no really terrible lack of good writing here.

   Of course, Garrett's leaden, subdued delivery do deaden the thrills a little. It's interesting how he balances his attitude toward `The Kid' throughout the book. At times, he seems to speak admirably of him (allbeit apparently with a false tone sometimes); at others, he seems genuinely distanced from him, almost indifferent to whether or not their paths will actually cross.

   Biased? Of course it is. What do you expect? Even so, `The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid' is made the definitive work on the topic because it, like the legend it examines, is a product of the same time. The best way to read it is with an analytical mind. By all means, challenge Garrett on his words when you feel he's deviating from his function as a chronicler - that is the point of reading this book a hundred and twenty years later. Unlike more recent biographers who would do exhaustive research based on documents, wide-sweeping second-hand information and historical `givens', it's best to go straight to those `givens' yourself and get to grips with them. Sheriff Garrett's book is a remarkable fountain of first generation facts and factoids and it commands the respect of academics and casual readers alike because of its durability. After all, just how many accounts of book length from the Old West survive today, especially those that receive serious scrutiny from a variety of disciplines.

   My only peeve lies in Garrett and Upson's ardent declarations regarding the aftermath of `The Kid's slaying. Why did they repeat themselves so many times that `The Kid' was dead and buried and `that was that'. It seems that Garrett was a little insecure in case he was challenged over the fate of his quarry. Whatever the case, the insecure tone he adopts in the last pages seems to somehow lend strength to the camp of `Flat Earthers' who claim that Billy the Kid survived into the next century....cue Brushy Bill Roberts......




4. Some very interesting facts are in this book. However, the book is dry and boring. So much work went into putting this book together, that it's a shame there wasn't a ghostwriter working with Mr. Garrett to capture the emotions and the urgency in what could have been a fascinating book. I'm afraid I only got halfway through this book, before I gave up. I hate to walk away from a book without finishing it... but there was no way I could finish this story.



5. This book starts out slow and dry. It didn't get exciting until Pat Garrett started to take over the story. This doesn't occur until about midway through the book. Don't expect this to be a screenplay for the movies Young Guns and Young Guns II. The book isn't that exciting but it does introduce you to an interesting character profile of Billy the Kid. Personally I feel that the first half of the book is fiction that is read for pure entertainment and the second half covers the real story of the Kid. I would recommend this book if you are interested in the Kids story and you want to read every angle of his story.

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

1 comments about Cortina: Defending the Mexican Name in Texas (Fronteras Series,).

1. Masterfully written, narrated, and prodigiously researched for twenty years, Jerry Thompson's Cortina finally provides a balanced and contextualized life of Juan Nepomuceno "Cheno" Cortina. Cortina was a South Texas Mexican ranchero whose fight to "defend the Mexican name" and whose struggle for equality and justice in Texas manifested itself as social banditry that violently culminated in the "Cortina Wars" in the mid-nineteenth century.
   
   Cortina's early social-banditry embodied the frustration and resentment of the countless ethnic Mexicans who for generations had owned and worked the land that would become U.S. territory as a result of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, and as a consequence much of it lost to Anglo newcomers via legal, extra-legal and illegal means. Cortina became more than an avenger of perceived and actual wrongs against ethnic Mexicans in Texas, however; he also participated in the major conflicts that convulsed Mexico beginning with the U.S. war on Mexico, through the War of the Reform and the French Intervention. His actions in these conflicts allowed him to ascend to important and powerful Mexican military and political positions from which he emerged as a respected and courageous defender of the Republic prior to the advent of the Pax Porfiriana. His actions often resonated as far away as Washington, Mexico City and even Paris, France. Nonetheless, even in defending the nation, he remained very much a norteño whose allegiance was mostly to his region and ultimately his personal interests.
   
   Thompson rescues Cortina from the one-dimensional "most insolent...bandit" or "red-robber of the Rio Grande" caricature found in earlier histories by authors such as J. Frank Dobie, Walter Prescott Webb and others by providing us with a rich tapestry of a "man of immense nuances, contradictions, paradoxical views, and incredible survival instincts." He presents a fully fleshed-out, warts-and-all man, properly contextualized in the chaotic times of a violent and vivid land. Thompson has assuredly enriched the body of knowledge of both Mexican and Texas history.

5 comments about Journey to Justice.

1. I just noticed my copy of this book in my library and decided to write a belated review.

   This book has nothing to do with OJ, it was merely the publicity around OJ that made a bestseller possible for Cochran.

   Regardless of how you feel about him, it is impossible to come away from this look into the treatment of minorities in LA without a new perspective.

   Whenever a person of color is stopped at a red light in a surburban town just because he is in the wrong place at the right time, Cochran's themes resonate.

   Watching the news in the last few days, the indiscriminate beatings at the hands of professionals who are trained in the art of restraint makes Cochran's book a must read for anyone whose interest in our country runs beyond blaring country music promoting revenge against foreign enemies.

   Some of the enemies are right here.




2. Heard the taped version of JOURNEY TO JUSTICE,
   written and narrated by Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. . . . I thought
   I had heard ALL I wanted to ever know about the O.J.
   Simpson case, but I was wrong . . . Cochran's story
   got me to rethink the verdict again, and he makes some
   compelling points about why the prosecution was not
   able to prove its case well enough to get a guilty
   conviction . . . I particularly liked some inside
   dirt that I had not heard before; i.e., how Robert
   Shaprio nearly blew the case for the defense . . . Cochran
   also got me to think about how minorities have been
   treated throughout time with respect to the judicial
   system . . . I feel I got to know him better as a result
   of listening and one thing is for sure: he'd be on the
   top of my list if I ever needed a criminal attorney!



3. I read this book a few years ago. I was very intrigued about Mr. Cochran especially after the O.J. Simpson trial. This book is awesome and so is Johnnie Cochran!! The racism he had to put up with, as well as the numerous times he confronted the L.A.P.D.!! He lays it on the line about himself, his life and his growth. If you liked the man, you'll love him after reading this book. If you don't know the man, you'll gain the greatest respect for him after reading this book!!



4. The late Johnnie Cochran devoted much time and many years to the pursuit of obtaining justice for Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities for the injustices they have often suffered at the hands of the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies. Tragically, his defense of O.J. Simpson was as unethical and morally reprehensible as could be and thus his legacy is a mixed one at best. Christopher Darden said (in his book "In Contempt") that he had long considered Cochran both a mentor and role model but that his actions during the "Trial of The Century" undermined and shattered his (Darden's) respect and admiration for him (Cochran). Sad.



5. The main topic, justice, is a good one, but I rated this low because Cochran rambled on and on about his personal history into excrutiatingly needless detail (his youth, marriages, divorce, rolls royce, nice house in the hills, condo for his mother overlooking the beach, etc) and he did it in a manner that resembled a eulogy...everything that he and his family ever did was wonderful. About the divorce, he even heaped the blame on his ex-wife without taking any blame. He just painted her as a gready, money grubber. And what value did this add to the book? Nothing. It was just one of many irrelevant items of what I considered a life travelogue. And all the pictures of his family served what purpose?
   
   Throughout, he continually descibed the LAPD as a bunch of thugs that only changed when Cochran forced them to convert. Perhaps some of them were, but to paint the whole department so negatively detracted from Cochran's credibility. Surely he must have seen some good things done by the LAPD during all those years, but he didn't relate those and istead made them out to be all demons from hell. He didn't give them credit for working in a very tough and dangerous environment.
   
   Apart from that, the fact that racism and injustices occur all the time is true and I admire anyone who fights for truth and justice and equality as Cochran did. In that effort, I think Cochran deserves a great deal of credit as an attorney. On that point, I found the interesting parts of the book were the numerous court cases he took and how he described in detail of where the police overstepped their bounds and caused a great deal of suffering. It was heartbreaking to read of so many people's lives shattered needlessly.
   
   But like many attorney's, he had his share of what some people view as the wrong side, such as the OJ case, and so he'll be hated by some. It's the nature of the business, like police work.
   
   One of the ironies I noted was how he described working to improve LAPD responsiveness in domestic violence cases. He said that after he left the DA's office, a collegue of his brought him a pamphlet that the LAPD started handing out to women who were the victims of domestic violence. Cochran was proud of his efforts at attempting to reduce domestic violence, he says. But ironically, the case that he is most famous for was a domestic violence case and he took the side of the abuser.
   
   After a couple of hundred pages, I got tired of reading about his personal life and put the book down.
   
   P.S. One really annoying thing was his inconsistent use of terms for racial groups that reflect the political correctness absurdities in the USA. For Americans of Asian descent, he'd say Asian American. For those of African descent, he'd flip flop between African American and Black. When referring to people of European ancestry, he consistently called them "white". What about European American? And what really does "white" consist of? Aren't Spanish people just as "white" as French? Yep. But somehow they have to be referred to as "Hispanic".
   
   Point is: Let's be consistent or stop the silly use of the ever-lengthening appelations for only "minorities", as if "whites" were some giant undefinable mass.

No comments about Hard Bastards.