No comments about David Berkowitz - Son of Sam (Biography).

5 comments about Telling It All - My Life As A Con Man.

1. An excellent book, a bit scary. This guy would CON anyone. There are a lot of great tips on what I can do to keep my grandfather from being conned.



2. This is a very engaging read. It's rather scary, I think--especially since this man is a real person. If you want a book that will keep you thinking long after you've read it, get this one. This is a very fine effort, an enjoyable read.



3. This book is a must read for those who want to climb inside the criminal mind and protect themselves from those who think that way. Keep yourself one step ahead of crooks and read this book. You'll be glad you did!



4. Telling it All: My Life as a Con Man is the true-life memoir of professional African-American con man "Alabama Fats", as told to author Steven Levi. Alabama Fats was a black man who made a career of working the streets and conning people out of their money, whether through a game of Three Card Molly or by posing as a Bank Agent or selling junk jewelry for far more than its true value. His talent was to sucker marks (or "lames", as he calls them) who thought they would be cheating him - often with the help of a partner. "I'm not writing this book to help the con; I'm doing it for the old people who are going to get conned, because there are lots of people just like me out on the streets." Alabama Fats is unrepentant of the cheating he did, but gives the straight scoop on the life of a scam artist, and how the nature of the con evolved from the 30's and the Great Depression to the war-torn 40's to the latter half of the twentieth century when cars became more common than trains, to the modern era of credit cards and checks, when cash isn't so easy to find on lames anymore. An utterly captivating "must-read" especially for anyone who thinks they're immune to the con. "If you are a young person reading this book, keep an eye on your mother and father and grandparents... Know who they are talking to. Con men like me will sting anyone. We don't care and the older people are the easiest to con... If you don't watch out for your parents and grandparents, they will lose it all... If they are in a nursing home and lose it all, they could end up living with you." Highly recommended.



5. Dave Gray (AKA Alabama Fats) takes the confessional platform in this excellent book TELLING IT ALL - MY LIFE AS A CON MAN, a reflection of a life of crime as shared by an 80-year-old African American to writer Steven Levi, and what makes this book even better than the rather sensational aspect of its con man content is a survey of social history from 1927 to 2007, a period of great change in the status of African American position in the culture of the USA. It is a terrifically entertaining and informative brief read, but it is also a reflection of change we all need to remember.
   
   Alabama Fats is the child of a poverty stricken family who at age 19 met up with a con artist who introduced him to the profession of taking money from people by means of card games (Three Card Molly) and money scams such as Bank Agents. Fats 'tells it all' without remorse, sharing techniques and secrets of how 'lames' (victims) could be identified and bilked out of their cash. And while this information is rather startling and fascinating and shocking, the method of sharing the changes in the way con men worked as the atmosphere in the USA changed from the Depression years through the post-WW II years, through the spend thrift 1950s, into the 1960s and beyond gives a unique historical vantage: the disappearance of trains as a common means of transportation, the introduction of credit cards and checks overriding the carrying of cash, and the altered view of the African American male with the shift from Inner City ghetto life to integration of cities and the speedy exit modes of the automobile culture changed the approach of the con artist as 'progress' altered life in the US.
   
   If the book is at times repetitive (and what conversation with older people isn't?) and despite excessive editorial flaws, this is a fine little book to read and from which to learn. Steven Levi captures a refreshing freedom of style that makes this little volume feel like an oral history, and while Alabama Fats makes no apologies for his life as a con man, he concludes his true story with a warning for folks (especially the vulnerable elderly) to be aware that the streets are still populated with artists trained to take their money. Grady Harp, September 07

No comments about Lucky Luciano: The Father of Organized Crime (Amazing Stories).

1 comments about Last of the Bighams.

1. Although one cannot accuse J.A. Zeigler of being a creative writer, his account of this horrifying family is definitely an interesting one. I live in the town that the Bighams lived in, and practically everyone here has read this book as well as the now out-of-print "A Piece of the Fox's Hide" by Katherine Boling. Who came before Charles Manson? Jim Jones? Jeffrey Dahmer? The Bighams!

2 comments about Mr. Chairman: Power in Dan Rostenkowski's America.

1. This book is very well written. Easy to read for even those of us who may not be "politicaly oriented". Gave me a great insight and understanding of American politics. Definitely would recomend it! Covers a time span from early Chicago to present day.



2. Author Jim Merriner covered politics for the Chicago Sun-Times, and he brings that insight -- and razor-sharp writing -- to this book. There are two biographies of Rostenkowski out right now, and for some reason, reviewers and bookstores have given more prominance to the other book. But Merriner's book is the better of the two. It is written by a pro who knows politics, knows Chicago and, despite his years as a newspaperman, has an aversion to cliches. Rostenkowski's story is an engrossing one, and Merriner does it justice.

5 comments about Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bentley, the Spy Who Ushered in the McCarthy Era.

1. As indicated, I have mixed sentiments about this book. The story is engaging enough, and Kessler delivers it in a readable, comfortable manner. However, it often seems as if she is acting more as an apologist for Bentley, rather than giving a fully candid evaluation.
   Bentley's career as teacher, communist, spy, and FBI informant is enticing and worth investigating, but there are some irritating flaws. Most prominent is the lack of footnotes; there is an endnote page, but no numbers in the narrative that correspond with it. There is also the unnerving sense that something is constantly amiss. For all her organizational skill, and apparent value to the Soviet spy network, Bentley is repeatedly duped, manipulated, and outright naive. The author never adequately resolves this paradox, and thus somewhat undermines its historical credibility. In fact, she ( Bentley) almost never seems to understand the implications of her actions, and is striking for appearing so intellectually shallow. Indeed , not very clever at all.
   Despite these limitations, it is entertaining, but should be read with the cautionary anteenae in place.



2. Although the life of Elizabeth Bently deserves a bigger book, I enjoyed this first biography of the enigmatic but fascinating commie spy, Elizabeth Bently. The author attempts to explain this Vassar educated American woman who became a Russian spy, but Bently still remains a vague phantom. Since I'm fascinated by that whole period--of Joe McCarthy, Alger Hiss, the shocking presence of real-life commnists in American government back in the 30s and 40s--I found this book very readable. You might also enjoy related books, especially Ann Coulter's best-selling, "Treason," which really delivers the goods about how the Communist scare of the 40s and 50s was not the imaginary fear of paranoid Americans. It really was something to cause genuine fear. Elizabeth Bently revealed just have intensive this spy network was.



3. Liz Bentley was born in a society that had limited opportunities for women. In the 1930's with the Great Depression this Vassar graduate had only the socila outlet of the Communist party.
   Kessler documents the importance that Bentley played as a Communist spy. Indeed before this book was written I always had the impression she was a courier or a bit player. Kessler documents that when bentley's lover got sick that she ran the spy ring. I always thoguth of Communist espionage in the 1950's as male driven from Greenglass, Julius Rosenberg, Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss. But this book docwement without Bently the FBI would not had the collaboratiog evidence for the secret Venona intercepts. Because these tapes were secret ,Bentley had no collaboration and only one person -William remington went to jail arising directly fromn her accusations.
   Bentley had to endure the hatred of the far left for being a rat , a liar and worse. She contributed to rise of McCarthy and for J Edgar Hoover getting more powerful. Benley was years ahead of herself -running a businees (admitedly a Communist front). She was sexually expressive and her lover -Jakob Golos (whom was married) was her boss in epsionage. Benley exposed 2 spy rings the Perlo and Silvermaster ring and in doing so performed a patriotic duty.
   Where I fault this book is that more details on the spy ring could have been given. Kessler seems to weant to defend Bentley against the far left but is uncomfortable delineating the extent of Soviet infiltration of the US Government. Such a thing sounds like McCarthyism (proof of the validity) and she may be showing her poltical bias in not making this connection. This book is a quick read and gives this fascinating part of US history. This book should be included in a Women's Study group.



4. This is the story of Elizabeth Turrill Bentley. No one suspected a "well-bred, Vassar educated descendent of Puritan Clergy" would join a communist party and run "two of the most productive spy rings in America." That is exactly what Bentley, code name Clever Girl, did. Equally unexpected was her transformation from spy to FBI informant.
   
   It all started in March of 1935 when Bentley was lured to an American League Against War and Fascism meeting by a neighbour. It turned out to be a front for the Communist Party. Kessler's descriptions draw the reader into the setting and give an idea of the atmosphere, as well as Bentley's mentality. Clever Girl attempts to shed light on the motivations of the most important woman to affect the McCarthy Era.
   
   Bentley's early dealings with the party made her feel important and independent. She lived in a one room apartment and was unemployed. She was lonely. Going to meetings may have started off as a social event but it turned into something more. A calling. She was impressionable. In the opening chapter I felt she had been brainwashed and lured into the fold because of her loneliness, desire to have a family and ties with others.
   
   Shortly after joining, Bentley met and fell in love with soviet handler Jacob Golos whom she affectionately called Yasha. Golos was the glue that attached Bentley to the party for years despite him not being as loyal to her. She let him interpret the world for her through his communist eyes. Regardless of what she gave up for him, it is because of her association with Golos she was able to move up through the ranks. After only 6 years (1935-1941), Bentley was running things.
   
   When it was discovered he was no longer in control she had to fight to maintain her status. She quickly became deemed a problem and after Golos death her status was taken away. Although Kessler doesn't come out and say it, I think this had more to do with her being a woman than the fact she was an American in a high ranking, Soviet spy position.
   
   When things started to look worse, she decided it as time to go to the FBI for help. In exchange Bentley named hundreds of Americans involved with the party. It is incomprehensible, the number of people who willingly supplied sensitive information from the Treasury Department to the party. It isn't so hard to believe or see the Soviet Union (the US wartime ally) as an "evil-doer" but what is difficult to believe is that Americans could be spies against their own country.
   
   What I found most interesting was not Bentley's plunge into the depths of communism but her relationship with the FBI and media after she became an informant; as well as her flip flop between a secure, independent woman of means and a neurotic paranoid, probably brought on by the alcohol abuse.
   
   Bentley played a game with both sides, never winning in either. She survived under a short-lived spotlight in each. Being an FBI informant wasn't as glamorous as being a Soviet spy. As a spy she basically worked alone and had control over what happened to her. As an FBI informant she was constantly scrutinized by the FBI, congress and most indignantly by the media. Her life was never normal. While most days I think she reveled in the limelight I also think that she longed for privacy, but mostly I think she longed for their respect.
   The stereotypes of this time period are evident and well known. Bentley was a woman in a male dominated society. She held a high-ranking position but she was never really respected for it. Not by the Soviets, the FBI, nor the media who directed lots of name calling her way. If she had been a man I wonder what their views would have been of her and how she would have been handled. Clever Girl shows the life of Elizabeth Bentley, the past she couldn't outrun and the price she paid for the choices she made. Kessler's interpretation of the facts is worth reading both for its historical and entertainment value.
   
   Review Originally Posted at http://www.linearreflections.com



5. This foolish book attempts to make the case that Bentley initiated the age of McCarthy. According to that thinking, anyone who unmasked a traitor was a McCarthyite- that is beyond stupid. What Igor Gouzenko and Bentley and Whittaker Chambers did was to expose the extent of Soviet espionage in the US. With the publication of Venona and the previously secret KGB files we know now that there were more Americans who betrayed their country than we ever suspected. They were traitors to the US and seriously damged this country. They were the real villains of the age.

No comments about Killer Women (Blake's True Crime Library).

1 comments about Alive and Kicking: A Story of Crime, Addiction and Redemption in Glasgow's Gangland.

1. Interesting read about a man who started out in a life of crime, alcohol and drugs and turned around and helped many in his old neighborhood who suffered from the same problems. He did it all with soccer (or football in Scotland). His team only includes former drug addicts. A great story.

1 comments about The Cross & the .357 Magnum.

1. This Book was amazing; it gave me strength to move foward in my life and no matter what happens always have the lord in your hearts!!! Thanks Philip for everything your family are such inspiration!!!
   
   
   Shawn Wells

3 comments about Truth Be Told: Life Lessons From Death Row.

1. Richard Nields murdered Patricia Newsome in cold blood. The murder was pre-meditated and without provocation. Mr. Nields beat Patricia so severely, her teeth were all broken off at the base. He then proceeded to strangle her until she was dead, and then went to a local bar after stealing her car, and tried to get a patron there to help him dump the body. Mr. Nields was a cruel, disgusting individual. It only saddens me to think that he will not have to suffer the same fate as Patricia Newsome. I know these facts to be true, because Patricia Newsome was my aunt. If anyone ever deserves to die it is Richard Nields.



2. Truth Be Told is a moving - and at times haunting - compilation of correspondence between Nazi survivor Agnes Vadas and Richard Nields, a man who murdered his girlfriend and was sentenced to death. This story shows - through years of letters and pictures - that repentance can come through sincere regret and true friendship, and that some places--like maximum security prison - may be a harsher punishment than death. Some choose not to seek revenge, and instead select the path of love and compassion for all of humanity. This book is about forgiveness as strength and as a way of healing. The state of Ohio must not put this man to death.



3. In this age of juiced up reality TV shows and fast paced best sellers, it amazed me to find this quiet book so compelling. It is the correspondence between a retired violinist in her seventies and a man on death row. I found myself listening intently for the subtle changes in their correspondence as they get to know, trust and eventually enjoy each other.
   Agnes Vadas was a child prodigy in Hungary and a Jewish survivor in Budapest at the time of the holocaust. Richard Nields was a nightclub pianist whose earlier life, in dramatic contrast to his pen pal, was largely hedonistic and thoughtless. It ended in the brutal murder of the woman he was living with.
   The early letters show two people making the first hesitant and fearful efforts to establish a correspondence. Agi, a member of Amnesty International, initially is acting out of compassion and principal. Rich answers with less conviction and little idea that he is on the threshold of an intellectual awakening.
   Theirs is a civilized correspondence touching on music, books, religion, and small things that bring you down like an unfriendly neighbor for Agi and the myriad of rules, some seemingly petty, that are a fact of prison life for Rich. And when the conversation takes up the death penalty there is a noticeable change in key.
   In counterpoint to this reflective correspondence between two musicians is the knowledge that our current, conservative leaders are singularly tone deaf to progressive ideas on justice, punishment and redemption.