5 comments about Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill?.

1. This is a well written, well researched book that should be required reading for all professionals involved with adults and children who exhibit anti-social behaviour. It will be invaluable to educators, psychologists, attorneys, police officers,psychiatrists and more. Why wouldn't anyone who can do so not want to be aware of new findings that could lead to identifying, intercepting and possibly changing the course of a future serial killing or classroom tragedy? Take the time to read the book. It's worth it.



2. The point of this fairly slim volume is to convince the reader that many (perhaps the vast majority) of our most dangerous criminals have neurologic impairments, and that brain dysfunction, along with child abuse and paranoid thinking, is at the heart of much violent behavior. This is not an entirely new message, but it is one Pincus approaches with a great deal of authority -- he's a professor of Neurology at Georgetown, was formerly at Yale and has studied dozens of death row prisoners along with his colleague Dorothy Ortnow Lewis.

   Dr. Pincus clearly decided not to risk alienating readers with scientific terminology or complex explanations of brain physiology. The book follows the familiar "casebook" true crime format used by various ex-FBI profilers, coroners, and cops. Most chapters focus on a particular criminal Pincus had dealings with (many of them in his role as an expert witness) and what that criminal's life story shows about the origins of homicidal violence.

   The coversational writing style (and oddly cheery alliterative chapter titles) stand in contrast to the horrific nature of much of the material. The crime scene details will be familiar to any reasonably hardened reader in the literature. What really stood out for me was the descriptions of childhood abuse endured by many of the perpetrators Pincus has studied. As a former inner-city teacher, I taught kids from pretty screwed up homes, and had some friends from abusive families while growing up. But the stories Pincus recounts (corroborated by siblings and others) remind us that there is almost no downward limit to the depths of human depravity.

   What's rather odd about all the better works in the study of violence and homicide is the sense that this field is under-funded, under-appreciated and obscure. Pincus and other pioneers in the field have answered some important questions, but their work raises hundreds more. If, say one percent of the money our government has spent trying to prove that marijuana is dangerous were instead spent on studying the roots of violence, perhaps we'd have more answers.




3. "Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill?" by Jonathan H. Pincus, MD, ISBN 0-393-32323-4 pbk, Norton & Co. 2001: a 225 page disquisition plus 13 pages of notes by a NYU Professor of neurology & psychiatry and graduate of Columbina CPS who investigated some 150 murderers over a 25-year period and tenders his unified theory that "killers kill for the same reasons," regardless of their classifications (single, mass, serial, & perhaps genocidal).

   Pincus observed that killing arises in the milieu and troika of disturbances which generally discloses (1) childhood abuses (sexual, verbal, physical), (2) frontal lobe damage (birth trauma, chromosomal, genic, infectious, toxic as alcohol & drugs), and (3) a medley of mental (neuro-psychiatric) impairments e.g. bipolar depresssion, paranoia, ADHD, CD, ODD, etc. He hypothesizes that single, mass, and serial killings have similarities with the Nazi/Hitler's paranoid anti-Semitism, Gaza Strip atrocities and various terrorist factions of more recent vintage.

   He opines the only feasible remedy would be prevention of child abuse and cites pilot studies underway, and also specifies factors impeding implementation of other remedies including treatment of convicted murderers. He details his basic neurologic testing format including specific tests directed at eliciting impairment of the frontal lobes, the latter being somnething he states most/many neurological examiners fail to do. Dr. Pincus has worked successfully on a number of defense cases aimed at getting death sentences switched to life without parole.

   The treatise is not overly technical, the writing style is a bit wordy, and very minor detractions were noted (i.e. XYY in not a chromosomal deficit but a chromosomal excess or defect; Trisomy 21 is no longer referred to as mongolism but Down's syndrome; and this reader is skeptical that someone could & would drink a 12-pack of beer and a pint of whiskey in 45 minutes (one can every 3.75 minutes & not counting the hard liquor).

   This study is an important contribution to the study of homicide and it provides engaging thought-provoking commentary on what makes murderers murder and also a workable solution to the problem of homocides. This book gives ample graphic grisly details of physical & sexual abuse, sans pictures, which some readers will find disturbing, but so then is murder. This is a must read.




4. I just finished "Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill" and I am adamant that our society shows so much more monetary respect for crime and punishment than early childhood education. We have had recent headlines about men, here in Austin, spiking babies and toddlers like footballs after a touchdown, in anger, killing or maiming them and ending up in prison for life. While this outrage is profoundly disturbing, professionals dither at whether or not early childcare intervention is ethical, cost effective or necessary in our society. Paying attention to parenting of the young child uplifts not just that family, but our societies future well being. Child abuse is the single most important determinant of future violence, and it is endemic and epidemic in our frontier based national mind set. We need to launch an all out campaign to raise the national consciousness about the importance of the nurturance of women, and the children that they in turn nurture, in the first three years of life, and beyond.



5. Pincus weave a fascinating, true tale of what makes killers tick in this 2001 book. Pincus himself interviewed hundreds of killers during his career as a neurologist. He combines his knowledge of the human body and psyche to draw his own conclusion about why people kill. Whether or not you buy into his theory, Pincus offers a solid case in a well-written, slim book that is an excellent, quick reference for fiction crime writers.
   Angela Wilson
   Author

No comments about McMafia: A Journey Throuh the Global Criminal Underworld (Vintage).

5 comments about Panzram A Journal of Murder.

1. In response to Shawn Sutherland's ponderance as to whether one might find redeeming value to reading about such a fellow as Carl Panzram, perhaps one might question what created such a man? And by discovering this one might prevent another such creature. Of course I'm presupposing that you find Mr. Panzram's actions to be something that this world couldn't use. I find myself admiring Mr. Panzram and striving to be more like him. Can you blame him for being disgusted with his fellow race? I find myself hating you more with each passing day. You allowed a man who has caused much more havoc and has done many more "evil" deeds to be elected to the office of the President of the United States. Yet you find fault with Mr. Panzram? You are a strange person.
   If you want to know what your society is making of men, then read about Carl Panzram. Perhaps then you will get an inkling of what you are capable. Dare you be as humane as Mr. Panzram. For is it not human nature to war on one another?



2. I've always wondered what made people like this do such awful and disgusting things as described in this book. I now have a better understanding after reading it. Not all criminals are made by bad parenting skills and savage prison systems, but in this case it can't be mistaken what lead this man into what he would eventually become. Everything about Carl Panzram's story is a tragedy. His days as a child, adulthood, his confessed murders,the sickening natures of these murders and even his own death (which he gladly welcomed with open arms) will make anyone thankful they were not subject to these conditions.



3. Jim Long and Tom Gaddis did a great job on the book. But after reading Henry Lesser's "Recollections of Carl Panzram", I felt that Henry Lesser could have done just as good a job. Too bad self-publishing was not around in 1928. The big publishers were not interested in taking a risk and printing the graphic material. The heart of the story is truly the Panzram Papers themselves, which are a passionate autobiographical depiction of the life of a criminal. Unfortunately the book is not as passionate. The stuff on Sinclair I felt dragged the story flow. But the book was on a deadline and thus, there was material which was excluded from the book, some by choice and some, through no fault of the authors or publisher, may not have been known about at the time. This book really needs a proper re-release with the additional material included such as Jim Long's Afterward which has never been printed to this day. It also seems that there is some misinformation. Carl Panzram cannot be put into a box...literally. He cannot have a label placed on him. He can have many, some of which would be: grandiose, psychopath, intelligent, truthful, prison reformer, writer, philosopher, teacher, coward, martyr, career criminal, serial killer, innocent victim, escape artist, shapeshifter and inventor. There are hundreds of lessons to learn from Carl Panzram's life. And they are a lot more realistic and obtainable than that other book about a martyr which so many people seem to read. Read Panzram's words, they are the heart, soul, and truth of the his story.



4. Panzram's words are chilling and bare, but the failure comes in the book that Gaddis and Long have interspersed around them. They seek to use Panzram's case as an illustration of the failure of the barbaric penal system of the first decades of the 20th century and marvel at how Panzram was almost rehabilitated under a permissive prison regime in Oregon. But they fail by not paying attention to Panzram's own words.
   
   Indeed, Panzram's story is not some generalizable failure of the penal system -- how many other boys were in the same prison in Red Wing and didn't turn into sociopathic killers? According to Panzram's own words, he was the worst one even at his arrival in Red Wing.
   
   In his memoir, Panzram details with glee murders he committed in various parts of the world when there was no long arm of the law to capture him; at that point, he could have lived as a free man in most of the world, even the United States. Panzram lays out plans he had for weapons of mass destruction in the manner of Timothy McVeigh and for bioterrorism at a time when such those words had not needed to be coined. The failure of the penal system is not that Panzram remained a criminal, but that of people who didn't kill him when they had justification.
   
   If you read this book, focus on Panzram's words and not on the apologetic muckraking for prison reform that surround them.



5. Written in 1928, and first published in 1970, the autobiography of Carl Panzram by himself is quite a read. In this book, you will have the whole Panzram text (including many letters from him, later in the book), but you will also have a lot of text by the authors, who give you a context, explanations that Panzram doesn't provide, and overall, clarifications on the whole thing, which are most welcome. Just know that perhaps over a half of this book is not written by Panzram himself.
   
   Carla Panzram spent most of his life in institutions, reform schools or prisons, and he developed a philosophy of hate that would justify, to him, a life devoted to robbing, raping, killing, burning, and destroying everyone and everything. His ideal plan was to kill the whole human race, no less.
   
   The book is undoubtedly an important item from a historical perspective, and sociological and psychological ones, but make sure not to easily fall into recycling this text for this or that ideology. Panzram clearly excuses himself, albeit in a vague and incoherent way, all of he does, because he has been hurt himself. He says it explicitly when he explains that he wants to take revenge on everyone, for things done to him, and it doesn't matter if those he takes revenge on never did anything to him; it was enough that they were the same kind of person who mistreated him.
   
   From a literary perspective, Panzram wrote in a prose style that Hemingway would give world-wide fame. The very first Panzram words in this book are quite excellent.
   
   If you expect extremely gruesome details of murders and rapes, you won't have them. Panzram made no bones about those things, and so, in a way, you get the feeling he doesn't care much about it, not enough to dwell on it a lot, which is what another serial killer would do. And this is exactly the thing that makes Panzram an unlikely candidate to be a "serial killer", even though he did kill 21 people, which is more than many famous serial killers. Panzram doesn't act out of psychopathy and antisocial feelings in the same manner as a regular killer does. The line is fine, and perhaps it isn't there at all.
   
   Another thing you will find in this volume is an excellent inside account of American institutions in the early 20th century. That is priceless, and few actually know the sort of torture used in those establishments back then. Remember that electo-torture scene in "Lethal Weapon"? With the sponge and Mel Gibson? Well that thing was used on Panzram, and known as the "humming bird".
   
   The book has a tendency to say that society produced Panzram through the way he was mistreated, but don't buy that too easily. Indeed, the fact is that everyone in the establishments Panzram was in was treated the same, and Panzram was the only one to develop a philosophy of hate and act on it the way he did. It's no excuse. Panzram truly is Milton's Satan when he devotes his sorry life to causing as much damage and harm as he can, until self-destruction.
   
   "Panzram" suffers from some typographical errors. For instance, and for unknown reasons, "he" often becomes "be" in the text. You'll easily correct the mistake, if you notice it at all, but it's there, and it's more frequent than you'd think. While Panzram's spelling was edited by the authors, they sometimes leave out a lot of mistakes, for unknown reasons once again. Panzram will write "tho" and "thru" and "its" instead of "it's" in some texts, and in others he will have a perfect spelling.
   
   This book should not be thought as a liberal's wet dream when it comes to criminality. Panzram was very much his own man throughout his life, making his own decisions, and explaining them himself with extreme clarity. He could have chosen a different path, many times over. He stuck to his plan of hate, and got what he had coming to him. Indeed, he has been out of prison a lot, through escapes, and earlier in his life legally, and he never once tried to lead an honest life. Yes, life is unfair, but if you can't accept it, you'll never make it. Panzram is the typical case of the person who truly thinks the world owes them. No man can live a good life with that philosophy. No matter how bad the world treats you, it will never owe you jack, and by "the world", I don't mean "people", I mean life in general.

5 comments about Race Against Evil: The Secret Missions of the Interpol Agent Who Tracked the World's Most Sinister Criminals - A Real-life Drama.

1. Give Dilley aka Bannon the credit he deserves. He duped many. His name should stand next to that of Victor Lustig, the man who sold the Eiffel Tower - twice!



2. David Wayne Dilley, who now goes by David Race Bannon, has callously used the genuine issue of child sex trafficking to make himself some cash, both in the form of this book and in speaking engagements. He has recently been arrested for criminal impersonation, as reported here: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/January/06_usncb_049.html
   
   Interpol is an information-sharing service for worldwide law enforcement that does, indeed, help fight child sex rings. It is unfortunate that so many people have been duped by Dilley into believing that Interpol has some assassination wing that violates member-nation laws and goes around killing child pornographers. While it may be viscerally satisfying to imagine that this easy solution exists, it's untrue.
   
   Dilley's story is fantasy from the very first murder, which happens in the fictional tenth story of the (in reality) five-story Byron Hotel in London. The fact that he has mislead so many people into giving him money by abusing the issue of child pornography is just sad.
   
   I recommend strongly against purchasing this book. Better, perhaps, to donate money to one of the many charities that help fight the problem this book pretends to address.



3. This entire book, which is supposedly "non-fiction" is a fabrication by David Wayne Dilley.
   
   Before reading this book, one should read the following investigation, http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30325 , which outlines in great details the claims made by mister "Bannon". The article shows, with the exhaustive investigation and research of more than a dozen individuals, how all the claims made by mister Bannon are completely false and were merely created in order to write this book. Interpol has denied having any record of him working for them, and he has recently been indicted in Colorado for theft in relation to this book and seminars that he has taught concerning child pornography in Law Enforcement.
   
   The article is free to the public and the author does not have any monetary connection to the book or the investigation.



4. Readers should be aware that this author was convicted in NC this week on charges of impersonating a law officer. He has not done the things he wrote about in the book, and took the name "Race Bannon" from a cartoon charcter.
   
   It may be a gripping story... but it's all fiction.



5. This book is so badly written it is unbelievable that it was even published. I would expect more from a high school creative writing class. Corny beyond pale. This is listed as non fiction but I don't believe much of this book is anything but fiction. There are statements that I know for a fact are completely false and inaccurate. For expample the author states that child prostitution is legal in certain countries like Thailand, and there are brothels openly specializing in children. This is complete bull. "Regular" prostitution by adult men and women is not even legal in Thailand. No the police don't enforce the prostitution law in Thailand for the sake of tourism, but they DO strictly enforce child prostitution laws. This book besmudges the reputation of Thailand and the Thai people with such drivel. This is also true for other asian countries as well and is bore out by the recently reported case about the washed up British rock star (I forget his name) that was arrested in Vietnam for engaging in sex with underage girls, after being thrown out of Cambodia for the same thing. This book is written by a nerd dreaming of being James Bond. Don't waste your money. I got the book after some moron on here recommended it in a reveiw they were wrote on another book. Save your money and buy comic books instead.

3 comments about Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders.

1. After co-writing the Search for the Green River Killer, Tomas Guillen sums this case up expertly. Even if you haven't read the earlier book, you'll understand the dynamics that allowed Gary Ridgway to get away with these crimes for 22 years. I highly recommend this book.



2. i purchased this book as a resource for a research project / poster presentation for a forensic science course in my undergrad work. this book provided valuable, unbiased insight as to the things that went wrong during the green river murder investigation. there were things in the book that provided great insight as to the mistakes and shortcomings of the entire investigation.
   if information is required as to the true things that went wrong and you require information as to why the apprehension of gary ridgway took so long, this is a great reference.



3. This book should be required reading for anyone who aspires to go into police work. In these days of CSI, Profiling, Clairvoyants and nervous municipal administrators who hope it never happens in their jurisdictions. the book gives more insight into the variables that although boring to some, can affect the final outcome of the entire investigation. The keyword to the failure of any investigation of this sort is "linkage blindness". This impaired the investigation from start to finish and contributed to the effect that a guy with an IQ of 82 could continue to kill in his own "backyard" for 22 years and not be apprehended by a $30,000,000 Task Force comprised of all of the best "experts" at the time? Those included the FBI, media-generated experts,administrators along with those who wrote "God, I'm great" books all telling their individual stories about their involvement with self-emulating biases and ghost writers.Always be skeptical of "experts". Smith and Guillen almost got a Pulitzer for their work on THE SEARCH FOR THE GREEN RIVER KILLER and the investigators would probably have had a better chance of solving it sooner if they would have had the same advantages of having had the same resources and employed some the same techniques as the authors. If you are looking for a blood,guts,gore and TV version get Jerry Springer to write a book about it. Every TV version about this case is pure crap written for advertising ratings and for the "heroes" to record their "legends". If you are seriously considering reading about the truth of the investigation more than for any other reason this is the book to read. For the cost you can't go wrong. If anyone is interested about the victims and their families read Ann Rule's book "GREEN RIVER, TURNING RED". "SERIAL KILLERS-ISSUES EXPLORED THROUGH THE GREEN RIVER MURDERS" This is a good critique that can only contribute to making fewer mistakes in future investigations of serial crimes. Some of the "heroes" are seriously deflated that only the truth has a way of doing.

4 comments about The Prisoner: An Invitation To Hope.

1. This book is a special and important story of redemption and forgiveness. It follows the life of Jim Townsend, from his troubled youth, to his commission of a horrible crime, to decades spent in jail, and finally to a life of promise and hope. The lessons that Jim learns throughout his life help him finally to see his self-worth and prompt him to work on behalf of youth and inmates in this country. I found the story harrowing - and the take-away incredibly meaningful. While Jim's life is dramatic, its messages resonated with me (and, I wager, with all of us): forgiveness, freedom, love, self-worth. I highly recommend this book.



2. This book is very good. I was skeptical at first, but I realized that the change in the man happened over a long period of time.



3. A very compelling true story...It's very hard to put the book down. I read the book in 3 days, at work, at home and where ever I could get 10 minutes of spare time.



4. An excellent book and a keeper. I have bought it for several of my friends.

5 comments about The Ghosts of Hopewell: Setting the Record Straight in the Lindbergh Case.

1. Fisher's first book was clearly a better work. This second book appears to be nothing more than Fisher's response to his many critics. It is very brief with only a thumbnail sketch of the case. I think this would have been better as a magazine article than a full book.
   
   Additionally, Fisher makes some Herculean leaps in logic. The finding of a bottle of Ether produced after the date of the kidnapping, i.e. March 1, 1932, forms the basis of a claim by Fisher that Hauptmann was planning to kidnap again. The leap is just too great.
   
   To his credit, Fisher does debunk many of the great fallacies of this case, especially concerning the ladder and wood evidence. Nevertheless, I think this book was unnecessary and Fisher should have just let his first book do the talking for him.



2. A typical ignorant diatribe to convince the pliable that the state does not make mistakes.
   
   A view of the trial documents by anyone ready for a bar exam would reveal any number of reversable errors, not to mention an inadequate defense. Hauptmann's own words just before his execution are cause for reasonable doubt. It is one thing to claim there is no proof that Hauptmann was innocent, but that goes against the standard of assumption of innocence.
   
   The fact is only Hauptman (and the real killer/killers if any) knew if he was innocent, and the state proved its case only to the jury. I can't imagine anyone the state would have had in that position going free, regardless of guilt or innocence.
   
   To call any question of the acuracy of the verdict in this trial "revisionism" is akin to objecting to the modern day view that the segregation and Jim Crow laws up to the 60's satisfied the current legal process, but were nonetheless morally despicable.



3. I read his first book.And knew ,it was full of lies.And his second book is even more treacherous ! This guy is a former FBI agent ?? I could write the real Lindbergh story.Without me writing out a long story here,the author Upton Sinclair and author Sinclair Lewis helped plan the Lindbergh kidnapping.They were concerned that ,Charles Jr.,would run for Jersey governour and later became President.They didn't want a "World War 3".Lindbergh was a Nazi sympathizer,big time.(In 2003,three Bavarian siblings ,exposed their mother's secret love-affair with Charles Sr.They are the products of that 1950s hidden romantic relationship.) The authoress ,Gertrude Stein, with Isodore Fish, may have written the Lindbergh ransome notes.However,that is speculation only.All the major writers of the 1920s,knew about the kidnapping plot.Hemmingway,Fitzgerald,Willa Cather,W.Somerset Maugham,George Orwell,Sherwood Anderson,Edgar Cacye,William Faulkner,etc.,knew about the plot.John Condon was a close associate of David Willentz,and was the real estate agent to Richard Hauptmann.The "Lindbergh Ladder" was of sawyered wood that came from Hauptmann's attic and ultimately from a lumber-yard in South Carolina,with contacts to David Willentz. You do the addition,and go figure . Prime example of a top government conspiracy!
   Updated-nov.25.06.-Beware of the History Channel! I taped a day's worth of programmes,and watched this morning.There was a segment on Lindbergh,Edgar Cayce and ESP.The programme claimed that the baby was sadly found in the flower-box,several feet under the nursery window.That is not true.An infant was found one and half miles from the Lindbergh estate,just over the county line and by an orphanage run by David Willentz.



4. For goodness' sake, how much evidence do the conspiracy wackos need before they come back to planet Earth? Fisher shows how Hauptmann a) had the money, b) owned the wood that was used to make the ladder, c) owned the nails that were used to make the ladder, d) had a criminal record involving threats on babies and the use of ladders, e) gave up work as soon as the ransom was paid, f) never worked again once the kidnapper was paid his money - and much more. His book (and his original and more comprehensive earlier work) should be a breath of fresh air for the conspiracy theorists. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing will convince them that Bruno Richard Hauptman was a thoroughly evil child murderer.



5. "The Ghosts of Hopewell: Setting the Record Straight in the Lindbergh Case", Jim Fisher, Southern Illinois Univ. Press 1999, ISBN: 0-8093-2285-4, HC 161 pgs., plus 18 pgs. Notes; 10 pgs. Biblio.; 6 pgs. Index; and 20 B & W Illus.-Photos. 9 1/4" x 6 1/4".
   
   Author Fisher, both law graduate and former FBI agent (albeit but 6 years), writes again after some 18 years of studying the Lindbergh case. He previously authored "The Lindbergh Case" in 1987. This book is divided into 3 sections: I - The Case, II - The Theories, and III - The Evidence.
   
   Above all, Fisher takes on the disbelieve(r)s who profess innocence of Bruno Richard Hauptmann (BRH) in the kidnapping, murder and ransom of baby Lindbergh (Eaglet), Mar. 1, 1932. Fisher underscores in great detail the Hauptmann handwriting found both at the crime scene of kidnapping and later in ransom notes - and cites detailed peculiarities believed conclusively incriminating by virtue of a writing 'tic' or unique agraphia that provided a discrete signature to BRH's written vocabulary. Further details are also proffered on Hauptmann's failed stock market transactions, purchase of ether, etc., financial difficulties by lack of employement, and a past criminal record.
   
   Fisher is distressed by the impetuous publication of defectively researched books beseeching acquittal of BRH and culpability by 'the usual suspects' that embraced hired help, relatives, and he censures that most disturbing 1993 book "Crime of the Century: The Kidnapping Hoax" by Ahlgren and Monier.
   
   Aside from a few unneeded repetitions, i.e. ranson letters, etc. the book's intent is to checkmate (or dispose of) opposing viewpoints and to present new supportive information - and admittedly, it is well written with legal and forensic evidence presentations which must now be balanced by the reader against Ahlgren and Monier's indictment of the father, Colonel Charles Lindbergh, whose alleged prank and subsequent kidnap hoax went awry. With all parties dead, one's beliefs may well reside within the domain of the prevailing or most current best writer of truth and/or fiction, so choose wisely or not at all. I am currently transfixed in a decision-making process akin to game theory.

3 comments about Friend of the Family: An Undercover Agent in the Mafia (Hardcover).

1. I have not as of yet read the entire book, only excerpts from it, but I am sure that it will be amazing. This incredible story is about my Grandfather, Ed Robb!



2. Over the past several years there has been an immense body of literature, fiction as well as non-fiction, devoted to the topic of the Mafia. In fact, colleges are even offering courses analysing Mafia Literature. It seems we have an insatiable appetite when it comes to reading about these wise guys.

   The newest book to be unleashed is D. Lea Jacobs first work of non-fiction, FRIEND OF THE FAMILY. According to the inside flap of the book, Jacobs is an established author of historical fiction, writing under a different name. In view of Jacobs' previous writing experiences, it is not surprising that the book reads like an adventure novel rather than a non-fiction tale.

   The crux of the story centres around two of the most famous successful undercover criminal operations in the annals of the FBI, the Coldwater and Pizza II operations. The main protagonist is the FBI's first and probably one of the best undercover agents to work against the Mafia, Ed Robb, known as Tony Rossi to the Mob. It was Ed Robb who in fact pioneered the tactics, techniques, and procedures that continue to guide today's FBI covert operations.

   At times reading the multitude of facts, stories and players, seemed like I was watching a spider weaving its web and eventually capturing its prey. Although, I must admit, it was very often difficult to keep track of all of the names tossed around. However, thankfully, to rectify this problem, an appendix at the back of the book lists the cast of characters. It also indicates to which Mafia family each of the bad guys owed allegiance and who were the good guys.

   Apart from describing and analysing the various sting operations of the FBI, the book also explores the conflicts faced by the main protagonist. The mental stability of Ed Robb played an extremely important role in the overall undercover operation. As mentioned in the book, " a deep undercover penetration could change forever the mental makeup of the participant. Like the death of a loved one, a wrenching divorce, or any other extremely stressful emotional trauma, they are never forgotten and the effects are permanent."

   There is no doubt that the facts and insights Jacobs presents are by and large absorbing, and often unexpected. We are reminded that behind the tough guy mask of these criminals are often paranoid personalities who can concoct infantile schemes leading to their downfall. One moment they may be gentle, funny or sad, and in the next moment they believe they are invincible and that nothing can harm them.

   review by Norman Goldman




3. Over the past several years there has been an immense body of literature, fiction as well as non-fiction, devoted to the topic of the Mafia. In fact, colleges are even offering courses analysing Mafia Literature.
   

   
   It seems we have an insatiable appetite when it comes to reading about these wise guys.
   

   
   The newest book to be unleashed is D. Lea Jacobs first work of non-fiction, Friend Of The Family. According to the inside flap of the book, Jacobs is an established author of historical fiction, writing under a different name. In view of Jacobs' previous writing experiences, it is not surprising that the book reads like an adventure novel rather than a non-fiction tale.
   

   
   The crux of the story centres around two of the most famous successful undercover criminal operations in the annals of the FBI, the Coldwater and Pizza II operations.The main protagonist is the FBI's first and probably one of the best undercover agents to work against the Mafia, Ed Robb, known as Tony Rossi to the Mob.

   
   It was Ed Robb who in fact pioneered the tactics, techniques, and procedures that continue to guide today's FBI covert operations.
   

   
   At times reading the multitude of facts, stories and players, seemed like I was watching a spider weaving its web and eventually capturing its prey.
   

   
   Although, I must admit, it was very often difficult to keep track of all of the names tossed around. However, thankfully, to rectify this problem, an appendix at the back of the book lists the cast of characters. It also indicates to which Mafia family each of the bad guys owed allegiance and who were the good guys.
   

   
   Apart from describing and analysing the various sting operations of the FBI, the book also explores the conflicts faced by the main protagonist.
   

   
   The mental stability of Ed Robb played an extremely important role in the overall undercover operation.
   As mentioned in the book, " a deep undercover penetration could change forever the mental makeup of the participant. Like the death of a loved one, a wrenching divorce, or any other extremely stressful emotional trauma, they are never forgotten and the effects are permanent."
   

   
   There is no doubt that the facts and insights Jacobs presents are by and large absorbing, and often unexpected. We are reminded that behind the tough guy mask of these criminals are often paranoid personalities who can concoct infantile schemes leading to their downfall.
   One moment they may be gentle, funny or sad, and in the next moment they believe they are invincible and that nothing can harm them.
   

4 comments about Murder at Holy Cross (Berkley True Crime).

1. This is a very well written and very well researched book about a sordid crime that gripped South Florida. I followed the case closely when it first broke, so I found the book especially interesting. The author, a veteran true-crime journalist, did a remarkable job revealing never-before-disclosed details about the goings-on at Holy Cross. He delves deeply into the characters of the victim, a nun, her killer, and the clerics who lived and worked at Holy Cross. He also provides historical context, especially concerning the Catholic Church. True crime fans will find this book very compelling. It is a real page-turner and a terrific read.



2. Students of American history may find Murder at Holy Cross somewhat reminiscent of the early 19th century lurid accounts of the purported goings on inside Catholic convents and monasteries. Two hundred years later we are still shocked by the immorality exposed by the author at this Florida monastery. A very frank account of what can happen when people( here the head monks) have absolute control over the lives of young men who are studying to become members of the order. Highly recommended for true crime mavens.



3. MURDER AT HOLY CROSS is the story of the murder of Sister Michelle Lewis, a nun at the Holy Cross monastery in Miami, by Mykhaylo Kofel, a young Ukranian monk-in-training. Holy Cross, though on the surface a mainstream institution, was in fact anything but. The founder and head man, Abbot Gregory Wendt, specifically chartered his operation so as to be totally independent from either the Catholic or Byzantine Churches. And Holy Cross specialized in recruiting teenage boys, an unheard of practice in usual monastery tradition, from the Ukraine to train as monks. Holy Cross was, then, essentially a rogue operation responsible to no controlling authority, with Wendt as the head rogue. When Sister Lewis was murdered, Wendt and his right-hand man, Father Damian Gibault, did not cooperate with investigators, concerned only with controlling the damage that the murder, and Kofel's allegations of sexual abuse at the monastery, would do to their fiefdom.
   
   Peter Davidson has written, intelligently and professionally, a fine book.
   He eschews the tired soap opera trotted out by lesser writers, sticking to a journalistic approach. His research into the backgrounds of the young Ukranians and of Michelle Lewis are good. And the allegations of homosexual abuse by Wendt and Gibault are dealt with in great detail.
   My only minor complaint is that I wish there had been considerably more background information on Wendt and Gibault, but it is unlikely that Davidson would have received their cooperation.
   
   MURDER AT HOLY CROSS is not a "big" book, but neither is it a rush to print trasher. It is short, an easy read, and highly recommended to true crime lovers.



4. Abott Gregory Wendt and his priestly partner, Father Damien Gibault, established Holy Cross Academy as a Catholic school which also boasted a small monastery for young monks in training. However, things were not as they seemed. Wendt was not really an Abott as he lacked the proper credentials and training. He just assumed the title because he felt himself worthy of the title. In addition, Father Gibault, who should have been under supervision, was not. And, unbeknownst to Sister Michelle Lewis, a nun who worked tirelessly at Holy Cross for 10 years, she was not really a nun. You see, Abott Gregory Wendt did not wish to follow the rules of the Catholic Archdiocese, so he effectively "divorced" Holy Cross Academy from the Archdiocese... a legal maneuver that left Sister Michelle without a convent, and Abott Gregory Wendt accountable to no one.
   
   In a series of tragic events leading to a death, Sister Michelle Lewis was bludgeoned and brutally stabbed in her small bedroom on a hot, summer evening. A trail of bloody footprints led to the monastery on the campus grounds, where Mikhaylo Kofel was quickly identified as the murderer. When he confessed to police, he also disclosed the shocking details of two pedophilic priests who controlled every aspect of the young monks lives, and insisted that some of the boys sleep with them at night. Police investigators soon found themselves investigating not only a murder, but allegations of child sexual abuse.
   
   Without disclosing all pertinent details, I will state without reservation that MURDER AT HOLY CROSS is a book well worth the investment of time to read it. I do wish there had been more individual and familial history available pertaining to Abott Wendt and Father Gibault, but these two losers refused to submit to any formal interview with police investigators and "lawyered up" befor Kofel could even make a full statement about the murder of Sister Michelle or the abuse he suffered for years at the hands of Wendt and, less often, Gibault. Attempts by the author to contact both men went ignored.
   
   As a practicing psychotherapist, I have given the murder of Sister Michelle Lewis a great deal of thought. Mikhaylo Kofel reported that Sister Michelle was often angry with him and treated him unfairly. Perhaps she did. However, I doubt Kofel murdered Sister Michelle simply because she was perceived as an overbearing, "mean" nun. It is much more likely that Kofel lashed out at one of the few persons available as a target for his building rage and fear. Allowed almost no contact with anyone outside the monastery and having been effectively imprisoned in the United States during the crucial formative and adolescent years of his devlopment, Kofel had nowhere to go and no way to seek assistance from his family in the Ukraine. Too afraid to act out against his aggressors and unable to physically overpower Wendt or Gibault, Kofel unleashed his anger on the only person over whom he could exercise power or reclaim some sense of self... a defenseless nun asleep in her bedroom.

5 comments about My Life in the NYPD: Jimmy the Wags.

1. Jimmy does it again! This book deals with his years in the NYPD, and goes right up to the start of his PI career (the first book). As before he delivers the goods retelling his most amazing and dazzling stories of life and crime in New York in a personal and well written way. The book also deals with the person behind the badge, the associates, the friends, the family, and not the least the importance of not letting the job get to you. Starting out in the 60's to the early 90's the way cops work has changed tremendously and Wags takes you on that ride!!! Recommended read.



2. I don't read much. I found this book on this site, read the reviews, decided to order it and give it a chance. Of all the books i have read, this is the most interesting and funniest books.

   After showing a few funny parts to my friends, they all said i have a sick humour. One part reading about a guy who tried to kill him self by jumping off a building but fails. The way it was written was soo funny. Anyway, there are many many more interesting/funny parts.

   After i read it i came online to buy Wags first book, but because it is no where to be found, i haven't been able to get it yet. However i have bought 2 other books similar this 'My Life in the NYPD."

   Very enjoyable read.




3. 
   A terrific memoir of life as a cop on the streets of New York's tough Alphabet City neighborhood. Wags' book is loaded with fascinating, well told stories. Especially moving is the author's recollections of his dad, also a police officer, and how they would sit side by side listening to "Dragnet" on the radio. The experience apparently fueled Wags' dreams of becoming a New York City cop. My Life In The NYPD is much more enjoyable than Wags' earlier book about his catastrophic "career" as a PI/bodyguard which ended in a felony conviction. Aside from a nasty, totally unneccessary intro by racist, homophobic shock jock Don Imus, this is a unqualified five star read. Assuming he must have at least a dozen more great tales of his life as one of New York's Finest, I hope Wags finds time to write a sequel.



4. This is a book that all cop buffs will love. It is a series of war stories and observations garnered from the author's twenty-two year career with the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Told in a voice that rings true, this no-holds barred, straightforward account of life in the NYPD from 1968 to 1990, a time of turbulence and changing policing philosophies, will grip the reader. The author lays it all out for the reader in an engaging manner-the good, the bad, and the ugly-keeping the reader turning the pages until the very last.



5. I bought this book after reading the Kindle sample and could not put it down. Being a 24 year Military Veteran, I related to a large portion of the book however, the Author has skillfully ensured that even a layman with no history of law enforcement can identify with the stories and events. Very well written Mr. Wagner! Hope to see more from you in the future.