No comments about Journey To Hell: Inside the World's Most Violent Prison System.

No comments about In the Shadow of Papillon: Seven Years of Hell in Venezuela's Prison System.

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

No comments about Grass (Mainstream Sport).

2 comments about Manhunt: The Incredible Pursuit of a CIA Agent Turned Terrorist.

1. Maas is a good story teller and he keeps your attention the whole while as he takes you from the beginnings of Wilson's thirst for money at age 8 to his acquisition of prime property in the Washington, D.C. area as a result of his secretive and illegal dealings with foreign powers. Though CIA senior officers were members along with him in phoney corporations he set up to conduct his "import-export" business), any official connection to the CIA while all this was going on isn't clear. Yet the prospect of any CIA connection to Wilson's shipments of thousands of pounds of C-4 (plastique) to Libya and Mohamar Kaddafi is, indeed, very troubling. As the author pointed out, when jets started falling out of the air (Lockerbie) and discos blowing up (Rome), you couldn't help but feel that if not for Wilson, many of these things might not ever have happened. It seems that whereever 20th century evil was to be found, the CIA was either right there, or not too far behind.

   This doesn't give you any great insights into the inner workings of the world of spooks, but it is certainly an interesting read and does afford at times a look at how the Justice and State Departments work--or fail to work.




2. The author is a great storyteller and provides an inordinate amount of details concerning the rougue CIA that is being tracked. It really is amazing how Mr. Maas was able to pull this all together in a great read like this.

5 comments about Willow in a Storm: A Memoir.

1. I found Willow in a Storm a most compelling memoir from beginning to end. Jim Taylor's account of journey from a difficult childhood through a troubled adolescence and early adulthood sets the stage well for the rest of the story, his incarcerations and finally his release. The psychological growth and spiritual evolution that he experiences are described in believable ways, and the fact that he survived and came through all this a whole person is an inspiration. I recommend Willow in a Storm for anyone who is interested in learning about our Federal prison system from the inside out, and for those who want to appreciate the amazing resiliancy of the human spirit.



2. This is an amazing book. It is not about prisons or penitentiaries. It is the story of a soul, the creation of a life.
   I by chance met Kathleen and Jim at their book reading and knew I was in the presence of a powerful, spiritual, loving man. I am deeply touched by his choice and determination to create a life of purpose, of being useful, being kind and generous. He is an example of light existing in perhaps the darkest place of our country in our time, our penal system.
   I have been in ministry most of my life, and one wonders what difference am I really making? I am deeply touched first by the impact of the chaplain in the Hennepin County Jail, Rev. Leo Vetvick, and even more by Larry Nelson, Supervisor of Education at the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. "This man saw in my eyes something good and he invited me into his domain as a potential contributor." (p.63) It is clear to me, it was their seeing goodness in Jim, their look and words of love that called forth in Jim, and made that profound difference in how he chose to live his life.
   I am reminded of Vicktor Frankl in the concentration camps, as described in his book, Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl says in those terrible conditions that he was free, and the guards were not. Jim lived Frankl's description of freedom. It is not freedom from coercion or control; it is inner strength, a freedom to choose making a difference, contributing, not being vengeful and retaliating, even in the most extreme circumstances.
   I honor James Peter Taylor for choosing life, a life of listening to his own heart in horrendous circumstances, creating a life of freedom, generosity, courage, service, peace, hope and love. Powerfully inspiring.



3. Trying to commit the perfect crime leads Jim Taylor to 43 years in prison. This true account details Taylor's privileged family circumstances, his survival tactics as an inmate in the brutal federal prison system and the slow steps he makes toward his eventual release. Written matter-of-factly and without sentimentality, Willow in a Storm rivets our attention on Taylor as he faces inhumane treatment, dangerous situations and a period of unjust incarceration. Although details are grim, there is always hope. Despite incredible obstacles and with the help of a few individuals who believe in him, Taylor changes from a callous to a caring person. This suspenseful, compelling and well-documented narrative exposes the U.S. corrections system from the inside.



4. Once in awhile, the rehabilitation system does work - but never without cost. "Willow in a Storm" is the story of James Peter Taylor in its entirety. A man whose life started off well enough, once a star sports star as a child his life quickly fell into turmoil as a psychological backlash against his childhood abuse. His life spirals into an unintentional murder of a banker, which lands him in prison for forty years - a life sentence where he was set to die there. And he almost did, twice, one of those attempts leaving him blind. Somehow, he survives, finds inspiration, and makes a better person of himself. He's paroled, and now reveals his life story and all the turbulence and triumph that spilled from it. "Willow in a Storm" is a conflicting yet enthralling life story from the first page to the last, and is highly recommended for community library memoir shelves.



5. James Peter Taylor's memoir, Willow in a Storm, attests to the incredible strength required to weather the stream of injustices launched at him over and over again through decades of incarceration. First arrested in 1950 for impersonating an FBI agent to retain the privilege of keeping his date out late, Taylor began a series of petty crimes that resulted in repeated confinements until his spree spiraled into the unthinkable: murder. Though he never intended to commit such a heinous crime, events transpired which resulted in Taylor taking the life of a banker in a botched robbery attempt. His case became the springboard for one man's political career, and Taylor was subsequently imprisoned for the maximum length of time possible. Attempts at parole were repeatedly denied through strategic maneuvering on the part of prison officials.
   
   Willow in a Storm chronicles Taylor's life, from his earliest memories through his time spent in various correctional facilities, to his current state of affairs. While he repeats many times that his early life events are not justification for his criminal behavior, he does try to explain the various reasons he feels contributed to his precarious behavior. In his twenties, he began a pattern of using women and throughout his life, left a trail of failed marriages and fatherless children behind.
   
   Taylor's prison years detail the various forms of abuse inflicted upon him by fellow inmates, as well as guards. He gives the reader an intensive tour of an inmate's daily regime and the constant threats faced. An important fact the author notes is that only three percent of those given life sentences actually complete those sentences to be released. The rest die of natural causes or more likely become victims of prison violence. Taylor spent years adapting to his circumstances and creating a general plan for survival, but only after several suicide attempts. When he finally made the revelation that he would indeed persevere despite his predicament, it was a matter of strategy to overcome the jeopardy of prison life.
   
   Each chapter covers a specific block of time, and unfortunately, they are not in chronological order. The book could benefit from more organization. Even with a time line at the end, the progression of events is still quite confusing for the reader. I've had to refer to it several times in writing this review just to verify I was understanding the span of Taylor's life correctly. But the details and the author's passion for conveying his message are clear in the writing. Taylor became disabled--more specifically blinded--in an attack on his life while incarcerated, so his story had to be dictated to his wife, Kathleen Murphy-Taylor to create the book.
   
   Taylor has made attempts at atoning for his crimes over the years through altruism inspired by a novel he read while in prison. He regrets the loss he caused to the banker's family, and it is both fitting and beautiful that he dedicated the book to them. Through faith and spirituality, he has attempted to leave a positive legacy behind and demonstrates the redemptive effects of his incarcerations. If ever there was a candidate for reform, I would say James Peter Taylor is that person.
   
   However, I was disappointed that while Taylor made attempts to reconnect with people who influenced him and sought out his daughter from his first marriage, there is no mention of children from later relationships. I would think that in his reconciliation attempts, he would want to bring closure to all of his offspring. He certainly left many broken relationships over the years.
   
   James Peter Taylor's story is a sad one ripe with neglected opportunities. But it is also an eye-opening look at the justice system. Though Taylor deserved to be punished for his crimes, the extent of his sentences did not match his behavior, and one incarceration was simply through association, not an actual crime. It is frightening how easily the legal system can be abused for individual gain. For a person to serve the majority of their life in prison and resurface with any degree of integrity is a feat. I commend Taylor for his resilience and perseverance.

4 comments about The Shark Net.

1. There have been some great "teenager growing up" books - and I thought this funny/sometimes sad book is a stand out in a very strong genre.

   I know Robert Drewe is one of Australia's best, and best liked writers. It turns out he lived what seems an ordinary childfhood, in quite extraordinary settings. His father was the bombastic company man for Dunlop in West Australia - a regional big cheese, odious but tasty. That brings young Drewe into contact with interesting people such as the tennis stars Dunlop sponsors, like Hoad and Rosewall.

   And also with a serial killer who was knocking off Drewe's friends, while working for his dad. Hell of a back drop.

   The young Drewe is hardly the sensitive youth.He has the balanced perspective of a 16year old male who understands there is no more exciting prospect in life than copping his first feel.Maybe that gets to what I like most about this book -- Drewe's memories and insights of the ordinary things most of us recognise.

   Sort of thing where you laugh out loud, look down and realise, hey that's also a knife he stuck in your gut.

   It's a very enjoyable, satisfying book.He uses the serial killer skilfully to give it a wonderful construction.




2. The Shark Net is one of those rare memoirs that succeed in being almost as haunting to the reader as the events it describes are to the author himself. It is Robert Drewe's story of his childhood and early adulthood from the late `40s to the early `60s in the Western Australian city of Perth, then as now a city defined by a deep awareness of its geographic isolation.

   The story that unfolds bears some similarity to John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Both books elegantly weave a tale of real-life mayhem into descriptions of the social fabric of an isolated city. The difference is that Berendt's tale of the anachronistic charms of Savannah, Georgia is far more light-hearted than Drewe's grim account. The Shark Net is built around a series of random serial murders that erupt into the narrative to create an overpowering sense of menace. It is also a much more personal book, in which Drewe tries to confront his memories of these murders and other tragedies that intruded into his formative years in sunny Perth. The killer and his crimes directly touched on Drewe's life at several points, not least of which is that one of the random victims is a close boyhood friend, despite it being Drewe who had once unwittingly met the killer.

   Drewe also re-creates his family life, but not wholly lovingly. He documents with painful understatement the emotional inhibitions of his parents, and the decline of their marriage. His father was an emotionally unexpressive man whose few passions include a near religious dedication to his employer, the Dunlop rubber company. His only expressed reaction to the news that his son is about to become a teenage father is concern about the company's reaction. The book ends with Drewe being surprised by his eagerness to leave provincial Perth to work on a big city newspaper in Melbourne.

   This is riveting book, that will grip Australian readers and those overseas. Its tone is of a man who in middle age is now compelled to look back on events with a mixture of sadness and greater understanding. It is quite complex in structure, with several flashes forward in time and interludes into the mind of the killer, but uses a clear prose style that keeps the story moving along effortlessly. It is also beautifully evocative of a time and a place. This is the book that Robert Drewe had to write for himself, and we should all be grateful that he has done so.




3. I really liked this book, it was incredibly easy to read, not to mention enjoyable. A great little lesson in a piece of Australian history that is seemingly unknown by Generation Y (I'm 17, and had no previous knowledge of this tale), Robert Drewe uses his writing talent to the nth degree in a book which covers the funny and the saddening. I can recommend this book to anyone, more so overseas readers who want to discover a bit of Australian 'culture', if that's the word to use (probably not, but you know what i mean!).



4. I picked this up expecting an interesting true crime work, not realizing that the vast majority of the book is a pretty straightforward memoir of growing up in Australia in the '50s and '60s. The book starts very confusingly, with the author observing the court proceedings of a murder
   trial, only to flash back to his early youth. Drewe was a young child when his father was assigned to the remote Western Australian city of Perth to be a branch manager for the Dunlop rubber company. The first half of the book is about his childhood, and as far as memoirs go, it's well done. I'm not a big fan of the genre, but Drewe is nicely selective in recounting his dysfunctional home life and is very adept at retelling the awkwardness of his first crush. his childhood is not that dissimilar from that of upper middle-class American kid of the same era. His father is more or less a company drone, and Dunlop business pervades every aspect of his personality and the family life. His mother is overprotective and retreats into religion with sometimes eerie intensity. Both parents were emotionally distant and unexpressive.
   
   The raison d'etre for the book is that in the years Drewe moved from childhood to being an adult, a serial killer was stalking the suburbs near his home and Drewe's life intersected with the case in many ways. His father was friends with a policeman who would come over to their house and discussed the case behind closed doors. One of the murders is committed with a friend's garden axe. There's a peeping tom on the loose who may or may not be connected to the killings who late one night scares Drewe's mother by prowling out back. More ominously, one of the last victims is of one of Drewe's friends. But the coup de grace is that the killer turns out to be someone known to the family, someone Drewe even spoke to as a child. While the murders form a dark backdrop to his childhood, they are never dwelt on in any great depth, nor is Drewe particularly interested in recounting the case. That said, there are a few sections where he writes from within the killer, imagining his life. On the whole though, until the very end it's pretty thin about why someone would be killing random people on and off with knives, axes, guns, and even hit and run. It's a curious mix of a book, a very well-written memoir with slices of darkness sprinkled in.

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

No comments about History of "Billy the Kid" (Historians of the Frontier and American West).

1 comments about Gangster's Moll: Living with a Life of Crime-From the Great Train Robbery to 'Mad' Frankie Fraser.

1. This book delivers what it promises... a birds eye view from the vantage point of a true wiseguy's moll. Perhaps we can forgive Marilyn her rough edges and ragged opportunism because her british South london peigree gives lends her a more mysterious air than say.. Victoria Gotti's ilk.Apparently in Britain the "great train Robbery" hads all of the fame and cachet as say, the Brinks robbery or the French Connection case on these shores.The perpetrator- tha authors father.She's not too deep and none too modest and apologetic, which is refreshing- she isnt trying to whitewash her past and appear to be legimate and classy - that's a breath of fresh air. However, this is one of the books that you want to read fast and then throw out, you're not going to find any insight or wise adages from this riffraff - just an old criminal broad's tale.