5 comments about Behind Bars: Surviving Prison.

1. Prison is a mean ugly horrible place. The rules are all subjective until someone wants them to be otherwise. Prison is about politics not justice in America. Prison is about so much more than just what what happens in the court room.
   
   There is NO book that can teach you to survive in prision because, life in prison is never a static picture. Prison life is just that LIFE. The minute you take an physical or intellectual snapshot of a living thing it changes in the next instant. The whole deal about surviving in prison is being able to adapt to change. Prison is an environment whose constantly changing factors are designed to keep newbie's and punks off guard. Prisons are run by the convicts with the help of the officers in ways designed to maintain many differing constantly shifting balances of power.
   
   In prison Alliances needs passions angers and the power that goes with them are in constant play shifting ebbing and flowing to meet the needs of the moment. Survival in prison is all about making sure you know what the next game is BEFORE IT IS PLAYED by the officers or inmates. Each prison has its own heartbeat, culture and niches' that no one book could ever prepare you for. Simplistic answers to complex problems like to avoid rape fight for all you are worth in prison is stupid. Yes fighting will delay a rape but fighting alone is just posponing a rape in prison.
   
   Surviving in prison is about fighting but also includes using your cunning to situate yourself in ways that give others reason not to see you hurt. Sometimes surviving prison is about being more brutal, cold hearted or creul than others. Smart people with skills can sometimes survive because, if you can write great legal breifs or have other other legal skills valued in prison you can work it to your advantage so you have protectors.
   
   Develop non-sexual skills that help those with power in prison so they help you in return. Help strong respected inmates who have nothing but personal protection to offer you in return write, draw, learn to read or achieve some other life goal they want for themselves. I guess what I am saying is their is no one cut and dry way of surviving prison. What you must do to survive prison is learn to see opportunities that allow you to survive without being turned out before anyone else sees and takes advantage of them.
   
   Funny as it seems there are some inmates who are tired of the stupidity of prison and they would protect from all harm someone who is teaching them. Prison is about learning how to see and exploit every opportunity to survive you can identify before it is detected by your fellow inmates or destroyed by prison staff \ administration. No book can teach you how to survive prison because surviving prison part instinct, part psychology, part bluff, part bare handed fight and part a sadistic will to do whatever it takes to survive. A book that hopes to teach you how to survive prison is obsolete the minute the words are written because, prison life changes in real time.
   
   In prison you can get your head kicked in for just being unimaginative with your game because, if your game is lame it is considered a disrespectful insult to those you are trying to run it on and that can lead to a brutal fight. Read the book for fun and background but don't expect any book to prepare you for survival in prison because no matter how good a book is, prison life is so much more hellish and real than even the best intentioned man's words can convey.
   
   Surviving prison has to be done in a way that conveys your own style because trying to follow a books advice on surviving prison is like thinking living in prison is a recipe you can copy. Surviving in prison is no recipe it must become part of who you are on the deepest levels of your psyche and soul because it it is not you will be beat down for being fake, not real. See if you think a book will prepare you for prison life you will be up hells creek without a paddle when that book runs out of ideas. This book will not have the right solution for every issue you will face in prison life. The book can not supply dynamic solutions and problems in prison are the most dynamic you will ever face because, change from moment to moment is how convicts and officers keep you off guard and ready to be used and exploited. Real inmates don't need no book to survive prison and that will be your down fall that will tell on you.
   
   Use the book to get in touch with the person you are on the level of the most real and prepare that person for prison situations you see in this book. First rule of survival in prison is keep it real, if you can really fight fight, if you can really con then con, if you can exploit then do it but be true to your skills. There is no such thing as fair in prison anything that allows you to survive another minute in prison is as an intact man is always fair. Your job in prison is to survive by fighting to be and stay real without BS about your life and your dealings with others. See everything and say nothing. Never snicth and sometimes to avoid more beatings by knowing when to take a beating prison is filled with complicated decisions that no single book can ever deal with fully. Thats the problem with this book it answers questions but not in the detailed ways that take into considerations all the complexities of prison life.
   
   You are a fool if you think prison inmates are not smart. Convicts are some of the smartest people alive they are in prison because they chose to employ their vast skills to antisocial tasks. No one single book will ever explain the complex nature of surviving prison life so read the book for insight but don't go inside thinking you KNOW prison life because this book could make you just smart enough to make dumb mistakes prison might not decide to forgive.



2. KK REVIEWER' Guidebook to a Distant Country
   Yes, you are a good person. But a relative or friend may not be so law-abiding. And stuff happens. Here is what to do if you are ever arrested (mostly what not to do) and what you can expect if put behind bars. Written by two professors of criminology one was a former correctional officer, and the other served eleven years in federal custody, including maximum security. They know what they are talking about, and they dispense their straight dope with surprising clarity and uncommon elegance and wit. (One chapter is called 'You've Got Jail!'). They've written a guidebook to a distant country and its alien customs and ways may you never arrive there. You get street-smarts from inmates and wise counsel from the Man. I rank my books by how dog-eared they are this one had nearly every page marked and underlined. This is one of the books you want to read before you need it.



3. There is some good advice in this book, but it is really only for men who face incarceration. There is a scant chapter devoted to women, which in my experience offers little useful info.
   
   Of course, if one is facing incarceration, any good advice is very slightly comforting.



4. My sister is in a county prison, so I sent her this book. She said she loved it ... even found some things to laugh about ... and passed the book amongst all her acquaintances there.



5. My daughter was the victim of a stalker, who will soon be facing years in prison. Unlike a lot of the people who read this book, I purchased it because I wanted to read what a terrible place prison is so that I can feel that he is truly being punished. While this book did answer many questions that we had about the arrest procedure, bail, etc. I would have liked more in-depth information about day to day prison life. The book just gives a brief summary about most topics, and doesn't go into detail at all.

5 comments about She Wanted It All: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and a Texas Millionaire.

1. I had seen Celeste's story on Power Privilege and Justice and Snapped and had been curious to read more about this woman who struck me as vindictive, unredeeming and just plain evil.
   
   She has absolutely no good qualities at all. She uses everyone around her for her needs only. Her own daughters are treated like servants. I didn't blame Tracey Tarleton for shooting Steve Beard. She was another of the countless victims that Celeste used for her selfish reasons only. True crime fans will not be disapointed with this great read.



2. A great book. Could there ever have been a more accurate portrait of a true-blue gold digger? Why some women (and men) feel a sense of entitlement to the money/property of others simply because they are (or were) married to a financially successful person is beyond me! You want money? WORK for it! Some lazy people would rather marry for it -- or kill for it! Great book. I felt so bad for Steve's family. They were helpless and had to sit by while Celeste planned, plotted and executed her plan to murder Steve -- all for the money. What a shame. Kathryn Casey is a great writer. I used to be hooked on Ann Rule, but got tired of her "Series" books. Now, I'm going to be looking for more stories written by Ms. Casey. She did a wonderful job of showing what a shallow and callous gold-digger Celeste really was.



3. Being a true crime sleuth, I used to think Ann Rule was the best true crime writer ever. This book wiped my thought on that completely away. This author had such an amazing way of telling a great story, kept the book flowing from one page to the other, had amazing details about all of the characters. It felt like I was actually there witnessing it all myself. And the courtesy photos were superb too. I like to check back and forth while reading who the main characters are while I'm on that certain chapter. And while I did say "characters" I do know these are true stories. Still after I read this story, I went online to find out more about everyone involved. I have recommended this book to all of my fellow true crime pals.



4. Kathryn Casey might be the Ann Rule of Texas true crime. This book is a complicated web of interesting characters including a bisexual, sociopathic gold-digging monster in the form of a beautiful woman named Celeste Beard who has no conscious for her actions. She would do anything to get what she wanted which was easily lying, cheating, having sex with men and women, manipulating her lesbian lover Tracey Tarlton who comes across as sympathetic but disturbed character, her ex-husband Jimmy Martinez who was having an affair with her during her last marriage to millionaire Steven Beard who tried as hard as others to get away from the monster in his bedroom. Celeste manipulated people as easily as she breathed. She was worse than any hurricane or tornado to hit Austin high society on it's knees. Her first husband was so terrified of another nasty divorce that he committed suicide even though he was married to a different woman and far unlike as Celeste was even in her youth. She made outlandish claims of abuse by her own adoptive father. Worse, she was a mother to beautiful identical twin girls who wanted nothing more than to be loved by their mother. They were also victims of Celeste's abuse to the worst degree. She manipulated Kristina to cover up for most of her own crimes. Jennifer and Kristina's relationship were always strained by Kristina's loyalty and devotion to Celeste, their mother. At one point, they stopped calling her mom and referred to her as Celeste. In my opinion, Celeste is more terrifying than any monster as this book makes her out to be. I felt sorry for Tracey who got caught up in Celeste's web of lies and terror and that she shot an innocent older man who she believed was terrorizing Celeste and abusing her. She is serving 20 years in the same prison as Celeste but separately away from her.



5. Goes into very much detail. You'll find yourself hating this woman. But don't be too harsh; possibly she was a product of her biology.

5 comments about Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho.

1. Ed Gein was just CRAZY INSANE!!!!! The author did a good job in trying to figure out what in the WORLD could have compelled someone to such insanity. Good read



2. Quest que cest,yes, just what is it about those psychokillers past,present and future that holds our attention.Words are used to define their acts such as ghoulish,fiendish,psychotic necrophilic deviants etc, but why do they do it and just what is the root cause of their extreme antisocial behaviors.How can one live with these episodic,violent bloodbaths and continue to function as if all was right with the world.Deviant is an excellent start on your quest for comprehension.It chronicles the life and times of one of the most notorious killers who wasn't all that notorious at all, at least during the daylight hours.Edward Gein,a local town simpleton who took the oedipal complex way too far and acted out in the only way he knew how, was well on his way to becoming a legendary boogieman. The research is sound and factually based on the circumstances of his early life, his distorted relationship with his mother and those around him.His penchant for nocturnal,necrophilic activities such as grave robbing, his unique use of skin and bone applications in home decorating ideas you would never find in Better Homes and Gardens,and the art of human butchering are all here for the reader to digest.For those who enjoy this stuff it is a fast read,a real page turner.Gein is practically iconic now given that this occurred in the late 1950's.The setting is yet another rural,midwest,one horse town described by some as the dead heart of Wisconsin,an appropriate description for Plainfield, a dismal,barren,isolated patch of mostly dead farmland with nothing to do except slowly go insane.Ed Geins actions are considered to be the bedrock of most of our literary and cinematic killers,all fashioned and linked in some way to what he did and how he did it.Schechter does a good job in keeping with the facts without too much conjecture or sensationalization.Deviant is all you'll need if you want to know about the grandaddy of them all,the actual example all of our most nightmarish killers were modeled after.Just how many deaths,local disappearances and actual grave robbings took place has remained a mystery. He admitted to some things but could not recall others.A real cool character that Ed Gein.He was someone you would never suspect which is why he evaded detection for over a decade.How could the local idiot commit such horrible acts?This is the crux of the facinating field of forensics and psychiatry with regard to the criminal mind.There is a potential Ed Gein in every town in America,hell the world as well.Read and learn about them and hopefully you might not be next on the menu for decapitation and flaying which for Ed Gein assisted in his hobbies of dress and jewelery design. This book is a winner and will enhance the macabre section in your library.



3. Good book if you looking for information on Ed Gein. Some very good picture included in book. Lots of inside information about the ghoul of Wisconsin. Some information in book is widely known, but there's lots of information that is generally new from most news reports on Gein. Really helps you to understand (somewhat) the makings of a killer.



4. Excellent for fans of true crime novels. Very strange facts about killer, Eddie Gein. Couldn't put it down!



5. This book is very easy to read, very well written and does keep one going til the end. It's not too horrible but factual and gory enough to be very interesting. Really morbidly fascinating reading.

5 comments about Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the People's Temple.

1. Originally bought as a source for a research paper, i had come into this searching for a simple first hand account of the Jonestown incident. However, once i began reading, Seductive Poison evolved into much more than just a primary source. What sets this book apart from any other literature on the accounts of Jonestown is Layton's honesty. She provides the reader with a background of information leading up to joining Jim Jones and finally wraps up with the eventual mass-suicide. Instead of focusing primarily on the final events of Jonestown and the actions of Jim jones himself, Layton tells her story, from beginning to end which will help others understand why anyone would have gotten up and followed a man such as Jim Jones.
   Before beginning this book, i was skeptical. I had many questions about the followers of Jones, their motives, their mental state, what they believed in and I was worried that Layton might try to sway the reader in one direction or another. However, that is not the case. Seductive Poison provides the reader with facts, journal entries, letters, and most importantly, Photos of the loved ones she describes throughout the entire book.
   Often the writing of memoirs such as this involving such an emotional attachment don't live up to the story itself. However, Deborah Layton is a talented writer which allows the reader immerse themselves in the content rather than focus on the pros and cons of the writing. From her steady attention to detail to the heartfelt commentary, Layton has truly pulled off a winner. Because of her first hand situation in the Peoples Temple, Seductive Poison is informative. Anyone interested in seeking the ways and workings of a cult, how cults come-to-be cults, why anyone would join one or just looking to read of a women's personal journey of coming into her own, should give this book a chance. I did, and I'm thrilled with my choice.



2. 
   Book came within a short time and was in the shape that seller told it was in and even better.



3. I read this book in 3 days. I couldn't put it down. It keeps you wanting to know more! It made me sick how many people were involved with such a mind-freak! They didn't even recognize what was going on. This is a must read!



4. I had seen a documentary a while back on PBS, and Deborah Layton was one of the many former members and survivors who gave commentary on People's Temple and specifically the Rev. Jim Jones. In introducing Layton, there was a marker under her name that indicated she had written a book titled, Seductive Poison, on the infamous death cult. I ordered it. All I can say is that Layton's memoir is an altogether fascinating read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, because her very detailed account is absolutely all consuming, riveting in the best sense of the word when it pertains to memoirs; no stone is left unturned, and all the recollections are thoroughly laced together to form a disturbing portrait of how and why seemingly normal and intelligent people get emeshed in cults. And when they realize that they are in one it is often too late. Deborah Layton, among others, were the lucky ones.
   
   Jim Jones was the charismatic pastor of the Disciples of Christ, a liberal Protestant denominationin that was a member of the National Council of Churches; it too was the division that housed People's Temple. Combining Scripture and Christian dogma with Marxist and Leninist philosophies, he espoused the concept of Liberation Theology, in essence, creating a social Gospel where people of all classes, colors, economic levels, ages and education would be a part of. In addition to the questionable socialist teachings, Jim Jones love-bombed his congregation, telling them how special and unique and important they were in the eyes of Jesus Christ, how what he required was the will of God, for he was supposedly the microphone of the Holy Trinity. And who can fight that concept? Bit by bit, people gradually gave their will over to him, assuming that his Divine influence was beyond question. And gradually, they became automatons, shadows of their former selves doing the will of their Father.
   
   Aside from the fact that Seductive Poison is beyond exceptionally well written, it is the inside details that Layton offers that makes her memoir especially pulsating, particularly her details on the "white night", where members were so deeply indoctrinated that they on many an evening had practice drills to drink the cyanide laced punch. She also gives vivid details on the types of punishment used in Jonestone. The evil perpetrated upon children was especially disturbing: "...There was also the Well, a punishment used especially for children. They would be taken to the well in the dark of night, hung upside down by a rope around their ankles, and dunked into the water again and again while someone hidden inside the Well grabbed at them to scare them."--Page 176.
   
   The spying, turning against loved ones, cruel assorted punishments, disturbing and nonsensical harangues all kept people in line until they flew off Guyana, to the Promise Land. Yet it was anything but that, and many had to suppress their inner feelings of disappointment for fear of severe retribution.
   
   There is a lot to say about this work; it raises serious questions and offers important answers, paramount being that individualism is indeed a very good thing and following your own will is not something to be taken for granted. It also sheds light on why people join cults, to be a part of something bigger than themselves, to live in a community where those who have nothing have something of far greater worth: love.
   
   Seductive Poison works as sociology, history, a family record, psychology, autobiography; it works on so many fronts and conveys so much. Religion is a good thing, but sometimes it is best to appreciate it from afar.



5. I have been fascinated with the Jonestown story ever since the first reports of the massacre emerged in '78. The combination of elements; the jungle, a charismatic leader, poisoned flavor aid and an assasinated congressman all made for an irresistable tale. The action plays out more like a novel than a real life event. The cult story has been told several times, but always by outsiders. Now we have an eyewitness account from Debbie Layton, a top officer in the People's Temple.
   
   Seductive Poison is not written in the professional style of other books, and it is all the more authentic because of it. Enough reviews have been written already, so I will not get into details, but will comment on a few aspects. First of all, this book will hold your attention and is never dull at any point. The ending will bring a stoic to tears. And if the description of Layton's escape from Guyana does not send shivers down your spine, you need to see a doctor.
   
   In the end one cannot help but reflect on all the victims and what could have been. Children could have grown, lives of a sort lived out in the Jungle or elsewhere. Instead over 900 were snuffed out in hours of madness, part of one the strangest events on record.

5 comments about The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers.

1. This is one of the best books availible for those interested in True Crime and the history of Serial Killers. The author has compiled a fast read and profiles for each person. Very detailed, It is a basic knowledge of the essential info. If you want more detailed profiles of certain serial killers i would recommend that you buy a book based on a certian individual.
   
   But this is a great basic info source.
   
   Most Recommended.



2. It's a pretty long read but it does contain some written material that might be inappropiate for some readers.What I really like about this book is the aspect of every serial killer which deals about their background as well as why would they committe such a crime that forever haunt us till this very day.Michael Newton does provide info that'll help us think and learn about who they are and what they are.Make no mistake that this book will give you everything you need to know about them except the only thing I wish that this book should have is more photos.Anyway,do yourself a favor and check this book out.



3. This book is pretty well written, with only a few minor complaints. First some of the region specific killers are missing such as John Norman Collins, but over all is very complete. The addition of a quick reference guide in the back that explains both solved and unsolved cases is a nice touch.
   
   This book along with Harold Schecters Serial Killer Files make a fairly complete analysis of the more deranged and sociopathic killers out there.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone curious about some of the most despicable people out there.



4. According to prolific crime writer Michael Newton, 84 percent of the world's active serial killers are in the United States.
   No doubt this is more a tribute to the relentless, 24/7 instincts of America's overheated information industry than to any inherent tendency to greater savagery in American folkways.
   And while Newton does not assess the impact of information-gathering on perceptions, he does takes pains to rebut claims that serial killers are a modern phenomenon.
   They must always have been with us. Newton says the first "documented" example was Locusta, who poisoned Emperor Claudius in ancient Rome; but both the Sumerian legend of Gilgamesh and the Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf" appear to describe what we would call serial killers.
   But across cultures and centuries, whatever it is that motivates serial killers seems to fall into easily delimited categories, once local details are stripped away.
   For example, there are "black widows" who poison husbands or family members, usually for money; "bluebeards," the male version of the black widow; plain robbers; religious fanatics; and various kinds of sexual deviates, of which the "ripper" is the most horrifying and best represented category in "The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers."
   Though Newton does not say so, accounts of "werewolves" from medieval and Renaissance Europe read exactly like the cases of pedophile rippers from today's newspapers.
   Whether we understand any better than the medieval jurists who blamed such brutal crimes on shape-changers is a question. We certainly subdivide the practitioners into more divisions than the medievals did: organized serial killers vs. unorganized, territorial vs. nomadic vs. stationary, solo vs. team.
   But Newton is rightly skeptical of FBI "profiling," which he says has never yet led to the arrest of a serial killer. Most arrests come through routine police work, though often the killer kills many times before leaving enough evidence to identify him. (Serial killers are, by definition, secretive; unlike mass killers, who seldom bother to hide their crimes and often wait quietly to be arrested.)
   The total of kills by some of these fiends certainly indicates that more police officers would not serve to lower the total number of victims.
   For one thing, some of the highest (but hardest to prove) totals are run up in hospitals and nursing homes where deranged nurses and doctors (or in one instance a janitor) can kill helpless people secretly. "Baby farms" where unwed mothers used to be sent to give birth were another opportunity for repeated, easy murder, but that one has become less common with changing attitudes toward bastardy.
   At the end of the encyclopedia, Newton lists several hundred active serial murder cases in which no suspect has been identified. It is an impressively scary list, although your chances of being serially killed are, compared to a lot of other unnatural ends, small.



5. It is written like an encyclopedia! Hahaha.
   
   It was a good simple easy read lots of basic facts.
   
   If your looking for those shockinng details. You are not going to get it here.
   
   The x-ray of albeit fich pelvis with the needle insterts was pretty interesting. Not much else.

5 comments about Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail.

1. Marching Powder was a great read. Despite the actions that led Thomas McFadden into the San Pedro prison system, you root for him to succeed in this sub-world that is ruled by the best and worst of capitalism.



2. In early 1998, while traveling solo through South America, I was told I had to visit Thomas McFadden when I got to LaPaz. After I visited Thomas, I told two other travelers, so I can see how his tour business was so large. When I came back to the USA, I only told a few people about visiting Thomas because being a female traveling alone it wasn't the smartest thing I ever did. So, when I read about this book in Oprah, I was so excited to read his story. I thought the book was very well written, easy to read and very entertaining; I think everyone who reads this book will like it.
   
   Some of the reviews don't believe his is for real, but I know he is. As far as embellishing I can't comment on that, but he is a very likeable guy. I spent the day with him as his visitor. He was extremely courteous and nice. In the afternoon, I didn't know how to repay him for showing me around so I asked what I could do for him. He wanted a pizza from outside the prison. When I came back with the Pizza it was when visiting hours were ending, so Thomas bribed the guards to let me in. I didn't know all this until later. I was brought to his section and locked in. At that moment, I was pretty scared. But, once I found Thomas, we had a fun time eating p



3. I coldn't put this down once I started it. The three other people I lent it to, felt the same way. It is an amazing story of one of the most bizarre prisons in the world and what it took to survive there for 4+ years.



4. This was an amazing book. It read like fiction in the sense that I couldn't put it down. Everything was so unbelievable that at first I thought this was fiction! But no, it was all real. Talk about a messed up legal system...



5. Marching Powder is a ghost written account of an Englishman's incarceration in an Bolivian jail.
   
   Whilst the book is no great work of literature, the amazing world that it uncovers is worthy of reading about, and intriging enough to make you want to read on and on.
   
   Unlike other prison memoirs that I have read, such as The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison (highly recomended) - this prison is not the ultra violent place you might imagine.
   
   As long as you have the money, prisoners can live a reasonably comfortable life, set up businesses, have friends over to stay, even go out night clubbing!
   
   A good read - purley for the insight into such a weird world.

5 comments about Forensics For Dummies.

1. This book caught my eye in the library and I plan on buying a copy for my own shelves. It makes an excellent, basic reference book. But,I have many problems with the editing of this book, particularly toward the end (pages 246 and 254); unfortunately, that happens in many, many books: a lazy editor reads half or two-thirds of the work and thinks, this is pretty good, and then drops the entire matter. I have found, as an editor myself, that the second half of a book is usually of poorer quality than the first half. Nevertheless, as a reference, it is a great jumping-off point, if you are so inclined.



2. I'm writing a romantic suspense. I used this book the first day I received it. A great reference, easy to understand and non-forensics-person-friendly.



3. Great intro book to a fascinating specialty. Fun for CSI junkies like myself. A good read.



4. I found this book and love this type of thing and found it to be very well put together and organised.
   
   It is ideal as a reference if you are writing crime or simply want to impress your friends!
   
   Very good for people who are training either in police, crime scene attendance and obviously forensics.
   
   A must have!



5. This book is great for anyone who is interested in the forensic field, or anyone who is just interested in how the whole process works. It breaks the timeline down and the tools used to solve the crime. It also has a great section in the back, that tells you about 10 famous crimes and how they were solved. I loved reading this book. It is a must have for any future CSI's.

5 comments about The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation.

1. A great book to explore the field and career opportunities. Very descriptive book. Wonderful for reasearch or leasure reading.



2. This is a 'how to' book: how to secure a crime scene; how to collect fingerprints (and feet, lip, and ear prints); how to identify blood splatter patterns, etc. It's not quite detailed enough to be considered a text book, unless the teacher uses supplementary material, but it is packed full of real-life examples, which is why I read it.
   
   This book is divided into five sections:
   
   "The Scene of the Crime"--some crime scenes are impossible for the first responder to completely protect, e.g. the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City after it had been bombed. For one thing, people had to be rescued from the ruins. Some of the more interesting examples in this book involve the movement of evidence off of the scene, e.g. a bullet that passed through a victim and lodged in a passing bicycle.
   
   I was also interested to discover that many states employ 'civilian' forensic technicians (it's cheaper than paying for another police officer). The swab-wielding cop is slowly fading from the American crime scene.
   
   "Working the Scene: the Evidence"--One of the best prints from a nightmarish crime scene came from a Christmas chocolate. Evidently the murderer didn't like nuts and put the chocolate back into the box, along with a beautiful print of his thumb.
   
   Criminals who stage crime scenes are often the easiest ones to catch. One man murdered three people, then dressed up in a gorilla costume and wrecked the house, just the way he imagined an enraged gorilla would have wrecked it, including a swing from the ceiling fan that ripped it to the floor.
   
   At first, the ident officer, Patricia McGuire was puzzled by the print of a four-inch finger tip. After the murder scene was thoroughly analyzed, it became obvious to her forensic team that it had been staged. They checked with the local costume shop, found out who had recently rented a gorilla suit, and arrested him for murder.
   
   "Working the Scene of the Body Human"-- One of the most surprising items in this section is how little DNA is still extracted and processed from crime scenes. Hopefully, as DNA becomes quicker and easier to process, it will become a major focus of a crime scene. One challenge of processing DNA from a crime scene is that it is so easy to contaminate the surroundings with the forensic team's DNA.
   
   Forensic Odontology is another fascinating tool. Be sure to check out the anecdote of the perp who bit himself in an effort to mislead the police.
   
   "Working the Scene: Different Stages"--A short section covering explosives and computers. Even as DNA can reveal a criminal's physical presence, so his computer can reveal the presence of his shoddy little mind, whether it be through pornographic photographs, bomb making instructions, or internet scams.
   
   "Working the Scene: Different Skills"--Another short section which includes the contributions of K-9 units and forensic photographers. Digital photography has actually made a criminalist's job harder because of the ease by which digital photographs can be altered.
   
   This book's numerous appendices delve into the qualifications needed, and types of jobs that are available to people who are interested in a career in forensics. "The Forensic Casebook" is a good overview for future criminal investigators, and could also be considered supplemental reading for TV 'true crime' fans (Hint: Columbo and the various CSI programs really take a beating for their sloppy investigative work).



3. Gave as a gift, my mom loved it...speedy (and reasonable) shipping, very pleased



4. I plan to study forensics next year and wanted a taster to whet my appetite. I was very pleased. It starts with the basics and very methodically explains all of the procedures from the initial arrival at a crime scene to its closure. All of the steps are explained perfectly and it is a great book to dispel the erroneous notions as portrayed in popular T.V. shows. All of the lab work is explained and it is easily understood. I would recommend this book to anyone with a genuine interest in forensics, and the procedures undertaken to resolve crimes.



5. I bought this book for my daughter. The idea was that she was really into forensics and wanted to learn more about the subject. Unfortunately, this book was so bad, she never finished it. I gave it to her as a research tool, and within a few weeks, she'd discovered so much from other sources that she started to doubt how informed this book was. She said it started out interesting, but as she learned more, the factual errors and inconsistencies drove her away from the book. She's still following forensics, but this book is not on her reading list.

5 comments about If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation.

1. This book may seem heavy and undesired to one who has not experienced this type of relationship before but it is surprisingly raw and heart provoking. I myself have never experienced anything like this and yet I found myself involved and in relationship with Janine and Amy. The story touches a deep part of my heart connecting me to the struggles that many women face. The story inspires a fight for the cause to protect the real lives of women who experience this every day. I will never forget this story. It has inspired strength and courage of heart.



2. Clearly Janine Latus has used her sister's death as a lever to enter the book publishing world. As many others have noticed, the title leads one to anticipate a tale of Amy's life and death. Half way thru the book I began to realize that Amy's murder was just a come on so that Janine could tell the story of the most important person...herself!
   
   It was at this point that the writing became redundant and the author unlikeable. After Janine gives us the basic outlines of her marriage to Kurt, she incessantly belabors the points with tale after tale. I almost wanted to shout 'I get the point already!'.
   
   It is clear that Janine was too caught up in her own psychodramas to notice her sister's slide into a destructive relationship. From this book, it appears not much has changed.



3. I just finished reading this Janine Latus book and I was very surprised that this book had little to do with the murder of her sister Amy at the hand of her boyfriend. Rather the book drones on about Janines relationships and her boring marraige.
   
   She mentions Amy a few times and doesn't get to her murder until like page 200..
   
   PASS!!!



4. Janine Latus does a fabulous job of describing the slippery slope of abuse. This book is written beautifully and captures 2 stories of abuse that many can relate to.



5. "Today Ron and I are romantically involved, but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me. However, hopefully it will give you enough to go on to at least question Ron and make sure, if he is behind it, that he won't get away with it."
   
   These were the last words 37-year old Amy Latus would ever write in a letter penned on April 29, 2002 to the Knox County Sheriff, a letter which she placed in her desk drawer at Kimberly-Clark Corporation to be discovered by her co-workers after her sudden and inexplicable disappearance on July 5th. Her battered and partially decomposed body would not be found until July 22nd at a construction site wrapped in painter's tarp, her boyfriend and killer Ron Ball's tools of the trade. It was as if Amy knew with all certainty of her savage fate.
   
   "If I Am Missing Or Dead", a memoir that made the New York Times Bestseller List, isn't so much about Amy as it is about her older sister and author Janine Latus and her angst-ridden childhood and adolescence, as well as the dysfunctional and abusive relationships throughout the better part of her life, particularly her marriage to now ex-husband Kurt. There are few words to describe what one will feel when reading the painful retelling of Janine's subjection to physical and verbal abuse as well as Amy's violent and untimely death at the hands of a man from whom she only wanted love. Expect anger, frustration, sadness and the inability to put the book down until you have reached the very end in an attempt to once and for all read of the resolve and peace that Janine finally acquired, Amy's death in 2002 serving as the catalyst for her emotional release. Part biography and part autobiography, the book is written in an accessible and easy style and at just a little over 300 pages, is a quick read. It is short, but most definitely NOT sweet and emotionally gut wrenching to the last.
   
   Both Janine's and Amy's story are clear examples of psychologically abused women following a cyclical pattern of behavior in which they subconsciously seek out potential abusers because they know nothing of normalcy and/or healthy relationships with men. Janine admits to this herself when she says that Amy "never had a good relationship with a man, nor a relationship with a good man". This stems back to their childhood and their strained relationship with their father, a man who drank copiously, largely disregarded their mother's feelings and made inappropriate, unpleasant and derogatory sexual overtures to Janine, her sisters and their female friends. He is inarguably a sexist pig and indifferent towards the girls' discomfort; after Janine is ruthlessly groped by the father of neighborhood kids she is babysitting, her father apathetically responds with, "If you tell anyone what happened, you'll be known as a slut."
   
   Their upbringing steeped in the guilt mongering and misogyny of the Catholic Church did not help matters.
   
   "In church I learned: Girls are seductresses, starting with Eve, who got us all kicked out of the Garden of Eden by being weak, by taking a bite from the tree of knowledge, and - most important - by enticing poor, innocent Adam to do the same. Everything bad can be traced back to women, and the only way to make up for the lustiness of my gender is by acknowledging my guilt, carrying it, wearing it like a badge." (pg. 29)
   
   It is from both the apathy of the church and of her father that Janine and Amy are destined to suffer in every romantic relationship. Janine says about her losing her virginity to a boy named Kenny that "he actually does love me, with the puppyish devotion of an 18-year old. He says it's because I am incredible, amazing, but I think it's because I give him sex. I will think that and think that and think that. With man after man. I will think that each wants me only for sex, that sex is what I have to offer." (pg. 34) This is only the start of her many afflicted romances. First there is Michael, who takes Janine to an eye-opening Thanksgiving dinner at his parents' house where his father hurls the turkey against the wall in a rage when his mother forgets the yams in their lovely and extensive spread. When Michael flies into his own rage on a skiing trip and severely beats Janine, she runs into the arms of her future husband, a doctor named Kurt who is married with a child on the way.
   
   Kurt seems to be the man of her dreams but once she accidentally wrecks his new Mazda shortly before their wedding, all bets are off. Initially genteel and loving, he graduates quickly to physical and verbal abuse, hurling one unfounded accusation of infidelity after another derived from his fears of rejection and self-induced paranoia. He also belittles her, spitting at her more than once about her feminist views and using passive-aggressive statements to pick fights and incite guilt trips ("If you don't want to have sex, just say so", "You want to f*ck him/he just wants to f*ck you", "every time I try to do something nice for you, you ruin it!"). He is imperious and anal to the nth degree, from his insistence on the alphabetized pantry to the skimpy, revealing clothes he pushes Janine to wear despite her self-consciousness and physical discomfort. This rages on until she finally leaves him about a year after they adopt a baby girl named Sarah. Knowing it is no longer just her that is affected by the darkness and animosity of her marriage, it propels her to ultimately put a stop to it once and for all.
   
   Meanwhile, Amy deals with the rages of her alcoholic husband Jim and once she finally works up the courage to leave him, she soars to greater heights and acquires her job at Kimberly-Clark as a pricing analyst. A few months after graduate school and gaining her first-ever mortgage in her own name, Amy has her fateful run-in with Ron, an unemployed house painter from whom she consistently craved physical affection and received nothing but grief. Amongst all the insincere love notes and whispers of sweet nothings that Amy so believed were genuine are pleas for financial help. After bailing Ron out of jail after his third DUI and paying his exorbitant legal fees, she also purchased a $30,000 truck for him and supplies for the start of his own house painting business. All told, Amy loaned him over $50,000 before he ruthlessly murdered her and lied about it. It's hard to understand why she put so much faith in Ron, a man so unreliable and untrustworthy that most women would never have taken a chance on him, continuing to support him when her gut instinct told her to stop. Ron even refused to consummate their so-called relationship because "he respected her too much to have sex with her", making it perfectly clear that his loyalty lay with her bank account.
   
   The memoir ends with the finalizing of Janine's divorce, the ceremonious spreading of Amy's ashes and Ron's murder conviction two years after Amy's death.
   
   Bottom line: A ruthless and eye-opening dissection of abusive relationships, I (and Janine, most definitely) can only hope that those currently in an abusive situation who read this memoir will find the strength within its pages to stop the vicious cycle once and for all.

5 comments about Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob.

1. Black Mass is an unbelievable account of the illicit relationship between two Irish mobsters from South Boston (Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi) and their FBI handlers (John Connolly and John Morris).
   
   The book begins with background on South Boston and the "us against them" mentality of the residents. As a young boy, John Connolly looked up to and admired Whitey Bulger, a local gangster, and left an indelible impression on Connolly one day when Bulger rescued Connolly from a fight. Years later, when Connolly was assigned to the Boston FBI office, he sought out Bulger to turn him into an informant, hoping to make a name for himself. Bulger's younger brother was president of the state senate and Whitey by this time was head of the Irish mob in Boston, both highly regarded in their own circles.
   
   Though Connolly may have begun the relationship with good intentions, it very quickly turned corrupt, and the information Bulger supplied Connolly was self-serving, and Connolly, never having grown out of his idolization of Bulger, did all he could to keep Whitey's record clean. The Irish and Italian mafias had a tenuous relationship, so for Bulgur, informing on his competition got them out of his way, and as long as he worked with the FBI, he was untouchable. Bulger's partner in crime, Stevie Flemmi, as it turned out, had been an informant for several years before Bulger. Rather than the FBI handling them, Bulger and Flemmi cultivated a bond with Connolly and Morris to ensure that they could do anything without fear of punishment. Reports were made up, lost, or taken; phone calls from other law enforcement agencies were ignored; Bulger and Flemmi's importance was inflated; and they were always one step ahead of a sting. Under the protection of the FBI, Bulger and Flemmi were involved in racketeering, gun running, drugs, and over a dozen murders - and got away with it.
   
   What amazes me is that supposedly Connolly and Morris only benefited by $7000 during the two decades that Bulger and Flemmi were informants. Initially I believe that Connolly just wanted notoriety, but he is also flamboyant and likes living the high life, which it appears he did.
   
   Eventually Morris' conscience bothered him enough to start talking, but it still took several years before Bulger, Flemmi, Connolly and Morris were indicted. Connolly warned Bulger, enabling him to escape. Flemmi, on the other hand, still thought that Morris would tell the court that this was all a mistake, and get Flemmi off as he had done for so many years.
   
   As far as I know, Bulger is still a fugative and on the 10 Most Wanted List. I hope that regulations are now being followed to ensure FBI handlers are accountable for their action or inaction, and that the chain of command is aware of what the agents are doing. This was a well-written and engrossing story.



2. This book was the first book to be written on the Bulger/FBI scandal. For those who don't know; James "Whitey" Bulger ran Bostons Irish mafia for almost 20 years. He also was a Top Echelon Informant for the FBI. As such, they let him get away with all types of crimes, including murder. Making matters worse, his younger brother Billy was the Senate president of the Mass. state Senate. Another brother, Jackie, was a juvenile court judge. This family took corruption to new heights. Eventually they fell. Whitey is now one of the top 10 fugitives. This book by two Boston Globe reporters, details the Bulger brothers, their history, Boston politics, and how they all came together. This is a good book. The only problems are because it was written in 1998-1999, some things have changed ( For example, Bulgers partner in crime, Steven Flemi, has pleaded guilty to several murders, and is doing life without parole ). Also, there wasn't enough written about the Top Echelon Informant program and all the problems with it. I'd recomend getting 2 other books along with this to get a complete picture. 1 is Dangerous Alliances by Ralph Ranelli; the other is The Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr. All 3 books should give you a complete view of this scandal.



3. This item was exactly what i ordered in the exact condition that i ordered it in. Would definitly do business with seller again! Thank you



4. Just could't put it down. What a story. What was sad about the book was, it was true.



5. The scene is Boston, starting in the 1970s. The FBI has made it a top priority to clamp down on organized crime (in this case, the Mafia, populated by the Italians of North Boston). John Connolly, a very young FBI agent, is called to the Boston office to work in the Organized Crime unit. The idea was that if he could find someone to rat out the Italians, the FBI's job would be made much easier. Connolly begins to cultivate James (Whitey) Bulger, a former acquaintance from Connolly's old neighborhood in South Boston. Bulger was a career criminal, beginning his future occupation as a young boy, and he and one of his associates, Steve Flemmi, had ties to the Italian mob in Boston. Whitey was also part of a gang in Southie. He became an informant for the FBI, and in return, he was given protection by the FBI. His information was very helpful and did help to put away some of the Mafia guys, but in the meantime, he also gave info on anyone in South Boston that he considered might be standing in his own way as he rose up through the ranks of the criminal underworld. The authors, Lehr and O'Neill, used a variety of first-hand sources to not only write this book, but to break the entire story in the Boston Globe. What they examine here is basically the true cost of the information provided by Bulger. While he's giving them good information, he's also being allowed to literally get away with murder. I won't go further into this book, but I picked it up the other night and could hardly put it down once I started. I guarantee you that if you have an interest in organized crime, this is a no-miss story. I would like to say that I was appalled by the sheer abuse of power from members of an institution created to protect the American public, but frankly, it's getting harder and harder to be surprised any more. Very well written and very taut; I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in organized crime, the FBI, in the so-called Irish Mob in the United States or in true crime in general.