No comments about Pen Pals: Letters from the Heart.

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.

No comments about The Mad Trapper: The Incredible Tale of a Famous Canadian Manhunt (An Amzing Stories Book).

2 comments about Hoffa.

1. Good book, well I don't know much else to say, I read it a long time ago, but I remember being enthrulled with it; I couldn't put it down!



2. Sloane takes us on a journey through Hoffa's life. From his early childhood, to the end. Sloane spends time on Hoffa's relationship with Ferral Dobbs and the tactics and strategies that he learned in Minneapolis that Made Hoffa one of the most effective Union organizers of all time. This book literally cuts through the crap and vilification and shows Hoffa the man, the Union organizer, and the Union leader. A must read

1 comments about Through a Mother's Eyes.

1. 'Through a Mother's Eyes' presents a chilling look at human nature in a context where the lines between right and wrong are obscured. It is compellingly written account of one woman's life and what drove her to the brink. It neither condemns her actions nor supports them but leaves one to wonder how close the edge really is for every one of us. It seems that the author is writing with this purpose in mind...to bring to our attention how seemingly small 'everyday' choices and events build up. They shape our personality, perception, thought and justification process, and eventually our actions as surely as water shapes sandstone. It is a fascinating but tragic study in human nature but one that should not be missed.

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.

1 comments about The Coffey Files: One Cop's War Against the Mob.

1. This is one great story...real life real police...I have met Joe Coffey and he is the real deal....

5 comments about Breaking the Mob.

1. I enjoyed reading this book. It was informative, just as good as a book written by George Anastasia titled "The Goddfella Tapes", In both books, they talk about Philadelphia "La Cosa Nostra" and how law enforcement try to defeat them...Wiretaps, Stake outs, asking questions and getting informants...These books are essentailly "Good VS Bad". Go and get them, you'll enjoy them.



2. The Mafia family in Philadelphia during the 1980s under Nicky Scarfo was by far the most violent group of killers, extortionists, drug dealers, and swindlers in the recent history of the Mafia. Scarfo was a sociopathic killer, ordering killings as a way of doing business, many of his victims were killed on a whim. As the bodies began to pile up, Lt. Friel, a homicide detective, was directed by the Philadelphia Police Department, his employer, to join forces with the FBI's Organized Crime squad.

   Friel and the FBI worked well together, a cooperation that resulted in breaking the Mafia's code of silence, and Nicky Scarfo is now serving life plus 40 years. The entire top echelon of the Philadelphia LCN family went to jail with him -- those who he hadn't had murdered during his reign.

   Friel is not only a dedicated and very smart cop, he is also a good story-teller. This is an excellent book from start to finish.




3. are the strong points of this docudrama about the collapse of the mob in Philadelphia in the 1980s, when corruption was rampant in city government, its judiciary, unions and police force. Friel gives us strategy and tactics he used, including interview techniques and psychological gambits. He admits that his method would have failed if trust hadn't broken down in the mob because of actions by a godfather who was thought irrational and vicious by his mobsters. Friel shows how bureaucratic methods are couterproductive--everything from time wasted in report writing to conviction of the innocent. His suggestions for change are consistent with management theory about large-scale organizations. As an investigator, he's thorough and competent; but these very qualities sometimes make it difficult to read this book, as it suffers from heavy prose. There's an irony or two, but never a laugh. Investigating organized crime is serious stuff. "Breaking the Mob" is more penetrating than other first person books about true crime, but less penetrable. Worth reading, as a legacy of how the good guys got the bad guys & what it took to bring them down.



4. A detailed look at the multiple Mafia murders in Philedelphia during the Nicky Scarfo era. Friel gives us a great story about the lives and details of Scarfo's gang, but the book can be hard to follow as many cases he mentions were not solved with certainty. We see that the war between Scarfo and the Riccobene gang ended with many bodies on both sides piled up. Treachery was Scarfo's style, and he had his soldiers kill most of his own gang due to his paranoia. This book should be a reason for anyone to realize that the mob life is full of treachery and murder, and that whether you are a capable and loyal soldier or not, your future is either ending up with an early death or a prison term.



5. Some books about criminal mobs by lawmen can fall into the trap of being too judgmental, self righteous and poorly written. This book though strikes the right balance and delivers relevant details of the rackets, history and personalities of the Philadelphia mafia and its mobsters. The book flows well and does not burden the reader with irrelevant comments and long winded sermons.
   
   The success of police tactics in putting pressure on mafia members to turn informer and agree to testify against the mob in court is the link that enables Frank Friel and his fellow officers to build up cases against Scarfo and associates that eventually leads to convictions with long jail sentences and brings down the mob.
   
   Scarfo's bloodthirsty and unstable leadership plays a large part in turning some mafia members (who realize that they also are in unmistakable danger of being bumped off by Scarfo) to become government witness's against the mob.
   
   Friel provides a great deal of information about his conversations and dealings with criminals, the local police and FBI agents. He also does a sidetrack to provide relevant details of corruption in local government and areas of the Philadelphia police force, and this helps the reader to understand how severe the problem of organized crime became for this city. Happily in the end the good guys eventually win and drive the crooks out of town and straight to jail with long sentences.

5 comments about Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave.

1. It seems we have another book dealing with the possiblity of an outlaw dying much later than previously recorded in history. This time it is "Billy the Kid," who according to author W. C. Jameson, lived to be an old man until his death in Hico, Texas. Open-minded readers will appreciate and actually like this book, I did not. This is like all the other books claiming that a notorious bandit of the old west lived to a ripe old age and was not killed as previously noted in history. We have the Jesse James and Butch Cassidy controversies, and now once again we have "Billy the Kid." Enough with the stories that are told over and over, which have no real proof or documentation to prove or change what most people already believe happened in history. I gave this book a middle-of-the-road rating due to the facination people have with controversial historical subject matter. To me, however "Beyond the Grave" should remain buried!



2. This book clearly shows why it is so important to do the exhumation of Brushy Bill Roberts of Hico, TX and Catherine Antrim of Silver City, NM (who was Billy's half-aunt, not his mother by the way). Mitochondrial DNA will finally prove once and for all which of the legends is correct. We do exhumations all the time for various reasons and with a lot less fan fare than this. "Billy the Kid; 'Killed' in New Mexico---DIED in Texas" is the title of a manuscript/book written by Dr. Jannay Valdez and Judge Bobby E Hefner- that pretty much sums it up- BOTH states should be able to come together like adults and share Billy the Kid no matter how this turns out!



3. "Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave" by W.C. Jameson is fascinating reading. Whether or not you believe the conspiracy that Jameson alleges took place, the historical detail of a little known conflict (the Lincoln County War) and the many intriguing characters that participated, along with the rough American West, makes for quite a literary journey.
   Jameson's story centers on Bill Roberts, a man who died at 90 in Texas, who claimed to be Billy the Kid. His story is that Pat Garrett passed off a buddy of his, who he shot by mistake, as the Kid in order to collect the bounty that was on the Kid's head and advance his own political career. Such a tactic would have been much easier in 1881, when very few people knew exactly what Billy the Kid looked like - - most went on legend or newspaper drawings.
   Jameson presents a very detailed outline of why Roberts could have been the notorious outlaw - - as an earlier reviewer pointed out, there is no smoking gun here, no "a-ha!" solution, but there is some solid background.
   Was Bill Roberts the Wild West gunslinger, who managed a narrow escape from the law? Or was he a confused, publicity seeking old man?
   This book will probably not convince those devout historians who believe without a doubt that Pat Garrett sent Billy the Kid into the hereafter in 1881 in New Mexico. For those who may know little about the Kid, or who are open minded about a possible conspiracy, it will be an exciting read.
   The book itself is not too long, just over 100 pages, and has a nice section of photographs.
   Definitely recommended for history buffs!



4. Mr. Jameson is a very good author with the uncanny ability to sway your thoughts and beliefs. I bought a copy of this book when it first hit the market place, not because I believed Brushy was Billy, but just to find out if Mr. Jameson had anything new to say. Of course, I wasn't surprised to find the same old material being written with a little icing to make it more interesting. I have read every book and paper that was ever written about Brushy Bill, and I must admit, this book is one of the most interesting to read, but it is not all convincing. There is NO real proof to back up Mr. Jameson's case. In fact, there is just too much proof available to prove that Brushy Bill was an imposter, fake, and liar. So, if you do read the book, remember that it is pure fiction and should be taken that way.



5. Jameson is one of the best writers of history I have read. The way he gathers all the facts together and puts them out there for the reader to analyze is great. The truth is great to hear even though is conflicts with most historians. I would recommend this book to all.

No comments about The Story of the Outlaw (A Study of the Western Desperado).