5 comments about Saved by the Light.

1. The author of this book got struck by a lightning (in 1975) through a phone line and barely survived. He visited afterlife and he was given a life review there. It wasn't pleasant because he had been a self-centered and mean person. He had loved fighting and served in the army too, in Vietnam. In the afterlife he got to relive the pain he had caused to others. But, anyway, he came back to continue living as a totally changed man.
   
   The first two chapters of this book I would recommend to any military professional. But as a whole this was slightly strange a book. Odd visions of future, psychic abilities... And the author's mission in life became to piece together some strange device. -And the story continues in another book...



2. This is the book that got me started in believing that there is truly another side here. Dannion's account of his near death experience is both real, riveting, profound, insightful, descriptive, believable and astounding, all at once. This is a can't put it down read and I've recommended it countless times.
   
   Sally Shields, TheDILRules.com



3. If this book doesn't change your paradigm on life and death, you are hopelessly entrenched in a stagnant, antiquated belief system. If Dannion was accepted by the light, with his life on earth, the rest of us have nothing to worry about. His life, death, recovery and transformation makes this book hard to put down.
   
   The one line in the book I always come back to, is when Dannion is out of his body, looking down as the EMTs are loading his lifeless physical body into the ambulance, and he is thinking, "Gee, I thought I was better looking than that!" Nice touch Dannion.



4. The impression I get from this book is that Brinkley is trying to cash in on the popularity of Betty Eadie's wonderful book, "Embraced by the Light." But I don't believe this guy. What lost me was his claim that the angels told him to open a chain of health spas. Uh huh.



5. Er, folks, there's something you should know about the author - he was exposed as a phoney combat vet in the book "Stolen Valor." Brinkley claimed to be a Marine sniper in Vietnam when he had his first "near death experience." His military records (obtained by the authors of "Stolen Valor" through the F.O.I.A.) show he drove a truck in California during his service - the guy never got anywhere near Vietnam.
   
   If you want to take spiritual advice from a liar, hey, be my guest.

4 comments about Court TV Presents: Murder in Room 103: The Death of an American Student in Korea--and the Investigators' Search for the Truth.

1. This is the first book by CourtTV's Harriet Ryan. She has written extensively for the CourtTV site, but this is her first book, and I hope not her last. This is a very confounding case, very succinctly told, interesting from first page to the last. These girls were American students studying in Korea. They had been there for only 2 weeks when, on a drinking/partying weekend, tragedy stuck which left one of the girls dead. The circumstances of the case were a mystery from the very beginning, but Ryan illuminates the Korean way of justice, walks us through it, and compares it to our own. The story is terribly sad, not just because of the death of a young girl but because of the havoc wreaked on the other girl's life. I hope in time Kenzi will be able to reclaim her life and will be able to smile again.



2. This is a book that should be on every true crime maven's must-read list.
   
   Following the brutal murder of a young American college student studying abroad in South Korea the authorities are confronted with a perplexing mystery. Was the young girl murdered by an American GI she met that evening in a Seoul nightclub frequented by off duty GIs or was she killed by a Korean intruder in her sleazy Seoul motel? Contrasting the radically different investigative skills of the Korean police and the US Army MP investigators, the author follows the investigation as it runs its lengthy course. Following the arrest of a most unlikely suspect the Korean authorities try the defendant according to Korean legal procedures which are shockingly different then ours. The trial and its ambiguous aftermath lead the reader puzzled as to whodunit.
   
   Kudos to Ms. Ryan for producing a real page turner!



3. 
   In her MURDER IN ROOM 103, Harriet Ryan presents the story of Jamie Penich, a foreign exchange student who was murdered in a cheap hotel in Seoul, South Korea. Her friend and fellow exchange student, Kenzi Snider, is eventually charged with the crime. Ryan's book is, more than anything else, a look at investigative techniques - specifically the accuracy of the results obtained by an investigator with a preconceived theory who repeatedly interviews a suspect while refusing to accept any answer that does not fit his preconceptions. It also deals with the ethics of this kind of investigation. Ryan shows how this kind of investigative technique can, especially with people who wish to be cooperative and to not offend, lead to invalid confessions.
   
   Ryan's writing is competent, literate, and intelligent. She does not engage in unnecessary drama, nor does she impose her personality on her narrative. In summary, MURDER IN ROOM 103 is a professional piece of work.
   I have rated it three stars, though, because I just didn't find the story interesting enough - though the basic subject is worthy of discussion - to warrant 294 pages. There is a fair amount of repetition in the narrative, and while it does not reach the annoying level regularly attained by the low level true crime hacks, it does little more than add to the length of the book.
   I do think that given her writing ability, a scholarly article by Ryan on the subject of investigative techniques could be rewarding. MURDER IN ROOM 103 is not a bad book, but neither is it particularly compelling reading.



4. This is a wonderful book and it is full of information. A student in one of my death investigation classes asked me if a person could falsely confess to a murder. Her question was based on Ms. Ryan's very informative web project on the court-tv site.
   
   The answer is prety clear, yes people falsely confess. In this case, there is a very good opportunity to bring the person(s) who committed this murder to justice. This is an absolutely fascinating, yet tragic story.
   
   This book will keep the heat on the person who did this terrible crime.

1 comments about The Confessions Of An American Black Widow.

1. this book is about a cheating woman who has her lover kill her husbands for the insurance money .
   
   Gregg Olsen is a top true crime writer.

5 comments about A Cast Of Killers: The Twentieth Anniversary Edition.

1. While "A Cast of Killers" makes for an entertaining read, rest assured that that's all it is - entertainment. To be blunt, not only is the book full of errors, but it reads as either the hokiest mystery ever written, or at a failed attempt at irony, the irony being that it plays out like a Hollywood murder mystery.
   
   The biggest problem with this book is that one never knows whose research the book is relying on - Vidor's or Kirkpatrick's. There are holes in this story big enough to throw a cat through - if they are holes left by Vidor, then Kirkpatrick should have filled them. If they are holes left by Kirkpatrick....ahem.
   
   While the books does most certainly invoke the Hollywood of the 1920s, when the movies were in their infancy, it ultimately fails to either, A. shed a great deal of light on just who William Desmond Taylor was, or B. even plausibly solve the mystery of his death. I.e., most of the information about William Desmond Taylor in this book is either assumed or inferred - with little evidence to corroborate it.
   
   SPOILER ALERT:
   And as for the facts surrounding the murder that Vidor and/or Kirkpatrick present... to say that most of them conflict or simply do not compute is an understatement. For example - apparently Paramount wanted to hide the fact that Taylor was a homosexual, and sent in a team of studio employees to scour his bungalow in the hours after his death. Vidor/Kirkpatrick's evidence for this assertion is what Vidor (or was it Kirkpatrick?) apparently read through the lines of the police reports, and the insinuations of a not-so reliable associate of Taylors. Yet, after we are supposed to be convinced that Taylor was a homosexual, we are then asked to believe that Mary Miles Minter's mother killed Taylor because she thought he was going to run off with MMM. And considering that part of the evidence for this solution to the mystery is calls back and forth between WDT and MMM around the time of the murder, with WDT encouraging MMM to leave her mother and come live with him, and MMM's belief that he wanted to marry her... well, you get the picture. One doesn't know what version of WDT to believe, which ultimately hurts the book.
   
   And, to sum it all up, in his acknowledgements, Kirkpatrick mentions Bruce Long, whose Taylorology website/newsletter provides more intelligent insight into the WDT murder than Kirkpatrick or Vidor ever imagined, calling Long a "fan" of the murder. A FAN for the love of God! Kirkpatrick would have been wise to heed this FAN'S counsel. Maybe the book would have been better.



2. A Cast of Killers is a fascinating account of the murder of William Desmond Taylor and a sleuthing director King Vidor on the trail of who murdered him. Vidor wants to make a film about the Hollywood scandal which turned up no results and left an open case for the police. Along with Colleen Moore, lover and business partner, Vidor researches a case filled with contradictions and cover-ups.
   
   This book's print is rather large, and it makes the 300 pages go back rapidly with aid from the intriguing story. It is also highly suspenseful and entertaining. Even if the reader has no idea who William Desmond Taylor, Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter, or King Vidor are, he or she will still most likely enjoy the book.
   
   The afterward is outdated by now because the book was published in 1986. All of the Hollywood names mentioned are no longer living, and it is doubtful that any of the others are alive anymore.
   
   Even under the assumption that the story is true, one finds it hard to believe because of the format of this book. It reads like a fiction mystery novel or an episode of the popular television show Law and Order. However, this book is hardly credible. The "facts" in it are said to be from private papers King Vidor had together that were set aside for his film project. These documents consist of transcripts illegally obtained from the police and interviews from witnesses or friends to witnesses that are not deceased. None of these documents are properly cited; there is a lack of a bibliography or an appendix. The only citation states that the information was received from Vidor's son who made his father's notes available to the author. The claims the author makes about this book being the "true story of Hollywood's most scandalous murder" seem strange considering how much effort Vidor put into attempting to prove his theory. Kirpatrick seems to have made no such effort.
   
   Other questions come to mind when regarding the validity of this book. How did Kirpatrick come across the information that Vidor knew who killed Taylor and why were the findings so easily given to him after Vidor decided NOT to publish the information in fear of hurting people? And if the book were published because the author felt that no one alive who remembered or was attributed to the case would be negatively affected, why then did the police department not confirm the accusations in the book as being valid and close the case?
   
   This book is controversial, even today. If it were less sloppy, it could have been a major breakthrough in the case of William Desmond Taylor. As it is, A Cast of Killers is a highly entertaining and enjoyable work of fiction. Taken literally, it is only comparable to such trash as Hollywood Babylon.



3. A Cast of Killers is a once-in-a-lifetime read: a nonfiction tale told in the style of the best detective fiction, based on the memoir kept by the "private eye", moviemaker King Vidor, discovered by would-be Vidor biographer Sidney Kirkpatrick. Vidor didn't make the film he wanted to, based on the facts he uncovered and the conclusions to which they led, because some of the principals in the case were still around, and could have been hurt by the revelations (they also could have sued, forcing him to prove the allegations in the now forever-unmade film in court).
   
   But Kirkpatrick wasn't under that kind of threat in 1986, and he told the story in book form much as I think Vidor might have told it on film--except that Vidor would have set the film in the 1920s when it all took place. The book follows Vidor's own investigation, undertaken in the late 1960s, and offers the conclusion he arrived at, not as the final word forever, but as the only possible conclusion given the information he'd uncovered.
   
   The murder of prominent film director William Desmond Taylor in 1922 nearly destroyed Hollywood--or, at least, the resulting scandal nearly did. Two prominent stars, Mary Miles Minter and Mabel Normand, did have their already star-crossed careers destroyed by the revelations that came about as a result of the murder. Vidor's investigation gives reason to doubt some of those revelations, if not all of them.
   
   What is obvious is that a murder investigation was tampered with, and quite possibly severely, by a number of the principals in the story, with the hoped-for (by the tamperers) result that the truth was never known, the most likely suspect never brought to trial. The way this all happened, as revealed by Kirkpatrick in true detective fiction style, is fascinating reading.
   
   Then there is the matter of the movie studios' (specifically Paramount's) desperate need to do "damage control" after Taylor's murder to keep even bigger scandals from emerging, the kind that would have condemned the movie business for sure in the moral atmosphere of the 1920s, in which such a "sin" as drinking alcohol was forbidden by law. How and by what means this "damage control" was accomplished is another fascinating aspect of the story.
   
   There have been and will be those who carp at the conclusions King Vidor (and Kirkpatrick) have reached as to the identity of William Desmond Taylor's murderer and said murderer's motive, citing this possible discrepancy and that not-fully-proven assertion. The credo of a great detective of popular fiction asserted: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
   
   To accomplish this, you have to be in possession of a great deal of information about the crime, and about everyone even only peripherally involved, as well as the intelligence to sort it all out. Vidor had this uniquely complete perspective, knew many of the people involved, and most importantly knew the Hollywood of the era in which it all happened.
   
   I don't think we will ever get a better, or more surprising, or more satisfying take on one of the great unsolved crimes of the early 20th century. I'm personally sold on Vidor's conclusions. I wish he'd made it into the good film he'd have been capable of doing, though his reasons for not doing so are clear and compelling.
   
   Most importantly for those who love detective stories, fiction or fact, this is a "fireplace and hot chocolate" kind of book, guaranteed to provide great recreation and something to think about. I loved it, I've read it through six times, I'll probably read it a few more!



4. This book reads like an exciting Hollywood murder mystery (which it is), but after reading Robert Giroux's version (Deed of Death), I am inclined to believe that Kirkpatrick's version (based on research by Hollywood director King Vidor) has taken a few liberties and definitely put more weight in some of the juicy (but not necessarily true) anecdotes. Still, if you want a "can't put-down" book that talks about Hollywood of the Silent Era, you won't go wrong with this one. The subplot about Mary Miles Minter and her family is a little creepy, and at the end, somewhat sad as well.



5. "A Cast of Killers" holds a number of surprises. A true murder mystery that blends silent film stars,corrupt law enforcement,and sensational journalism into a unique cocktail of intrigue and deception. For plot it ranks with the best of classic mysteries and proves the cliche that "fact is truely stranger than fiction. A must read for film and mystery fans.

1 comments about Heat: Fire C.S.I. and the War on Arson and Murder.

1. This book is great. it really shows you the ins and outs of Arson Investigations. It keeps you entertained and makes you feel like you are their going through the cases. One interesting part about this book is that, while some books keep you on one case, this one has many different cases that are each about a chapter, and you really get to see the history and different personalitys of the Fire Marshals. If you are interested in a new kind of detective story or you are considering going into Firefighting or becoming an Arson investigator this book really helps explain what it takes, and at the same time, entertains the reader. One of the best stories is, An F.M. goes into a building and gets in a fight with a suspect, having to finally injure him by shooting him. One of the cops comes up to him and says, you damn FM, you need a real gun. So the FM goes out and buys a Magnium, and he said suspects never put up a fight again.
   
   but all in all, this book was great, you learn about fire and the men that fight them and the stories that are told. i just wish the book had been longer, because although it was great, i wanted to keep reading, i didnt want it to end.

5 comments about Internet Slave Master (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. Living in the Kansas City area I was particularly interested in the John Robinson case and followed it avidly. Glattt has done an excellent job in recounting the case and his research is first class. He also goes further and breaks new facts on the case which have never come to light before. I was very impressed by his writing style and attanetion to detail. I would recommend this to all true crime fans and have done so. This one is way up there with In Cold Blood.



2. This story blew my mind. I had just finished the book when I stopped for fuel at the NM/AZ state line on I-40. There was a state police computer printout hanging on the door, warning women against chatting with men on the internet because of the "internet slavemaster." The state police (NM) were asking for any information in connection to this internet entity. I couldn't believe it.

   Then, when I arrived in Holbrook, AZ, I ran into four highway patrolmen at a truckstop diner and asked them about the notice. We engaged in an hour-long conversation about how a predator like this can disguise himself as an upstanding member of the community and keep everybody fooled. We had the book out and several people seemed mesmerized by our discussion of this story. It has that effect! It is just so unbelievable that people are astounded.

   If you have not read this book, get it! This man was the first to harness the internet for serial killing. Boy, it will drive home the fact that there is no safe ground anymore. If you have children, you will be concerned about what they are doing online. It will make you look at your computer in a whole new light. It will also make you start wondering about all those upstanding citizens that you know so well ... or do you really know them at all?

   There is a flip side to this story - the world of S&M and the women that were surfing for a "master." This man could not have lured them if they had not been presenting themselves as victims. That is where the game is so dangerous - you just never know when it is going to get out of hand. I would think that it is not something you would readily trust to a stranger. I think that is the part of this story that astounds people the most. Why would a woman readily place herself into the role of slave to a complete stranger?

   The author has done a fabulous job of presenting the facts in a flowing narrative that keeps you reading. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. I can't imagine what he could have done to improve it. It was outstanding!




3. John Robinson was a businessman, Eagle Scout and Man of the Year. Very few people knew the real John Robinson. Three quarters of the book deals with the prior crimes committed by John. He was always setting up new businesses and trying to get people to invest. Each time the police caught him, he would start up another business.
   While only a quarter of the book dealt with his new found internet lifestyle. The book was well written except for the ending, when the reader is left wonder what actually happened.



4. This is a must read book for all of the people who interact on the net with "FRIENDS".



5. I first came across this book as it was listed in another reviewer's listmania list. Given its lofty reviews, I was excited when I finally came across a used copy of this out-of-print book. For the most part, the book did not disappoint.
   
   John Edward Robinson may go down as the first internet serial killer. However, the route to his crime was less than conventional. From fraud, theft, to various other scams, Robinson fits the profile of a career criminal. It was only when his BDSM lifestyle began to spiral out of control that his criminal world closed in on him. Like many criminals, his crimes became sloppy toward the end of his run. Even if Robinson appears reasonably clean early in the book, the search warrants toward the end lend an explosive image to the crimes.
   
   The one major flaw I saw with the book is its inability to finish the story. The book ends with the case going to trial. Why end the book before the story is finished? I needed to do an internet search to learn of the court rulings.

No comments about Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War.

1 comments about Warlords of Crime: Chinese Secret Societies--The New Mafia.

1. The superb and meticulously honest journalist Gerald Posner wrote the "Warlords of Crime" back in 1988. The project took place during a more naive era when many including myself thought the drug war might be winnable. Posner takes us on a journey to learn about the drug warlords of Chinese heritage. These ruthless outlaws carry out their nefarious activities throughout the world. They have no hesitation in either bribing or murdering their fellow human beings. Life is looked upon as an inexpensive commodity in a culture that traditionally values the collective over the individual. Most are members of criminal organizations going back hundreds of years. A warped sense of family values underpin their organizational structure. Enduring long prison sentence for the sake of the clan is regarded as a proud duty. Delayed gratification and self discipline are virtues taken for granted. Mere physical courage alone is not deemed sufficient for advancement. Superb management skills and patience are instead mandatorily required for those hoping to be promoted to the top echelons of leadership.

   Posner finds that some of the police officers who have sold out to the warlords often have the best arrest records. It turns out that the warlords do everything to help their partners in law enforcement to publicly look good as possible. Even allowing some of their less esteemed comrades to be arrested is accepted as a price to be willingly paid. The risks are high and rewards mostly nonexistent for lawmen poorly paid and commonly despised. The Oriental culture often does not perceive policemen as professionals deserving of honor. On the contrary, only the so called economic losers usually apply for police training. Needless to add, many of those choosing this line of work do so for corrupt reasons. It should be added that policemen at the turn of the twentieth century in the United States were also thought to be jerks and too lazy to do anything else. Warm respect for police officers is far more prevalent in countries actively encouraging political and cultural equality of the masses. Unfortunately, just like governments in Central and South America desperately trying to evolve towards democratic stability, the Asian nations have the added burden of drug money threatening their fragile political institutions.

   I have enormous respect for Gerald Posner. Nonetheless, I am compelled to confront him with an awkward and disturbing question. In this book, Posner refers to the routine torture practiced upon suspected Asian drug lawbreakers in their respective homelands. Posner does not condone such police behavior, but neither does he condemn it. One distinctly gets the impression that Posner at least subconsciously accepts this as a price that must be grudgingly accepted if we are to win the war on drugs. What does Posner believe about our current efforts to defeat the drug barons? Should we, as I strongly advocate, host the white flag of surrender? Posner thinks the legalization of drugs would likely entice some people to experiment with drugs that might otherwise continue to shun such self destructive behavior. I have no reason to disagree with Posner on this point. That is indeed what occurred when the USA ended its national prohibition of alcohol. Almost certainly this phenomenon will be repeated if we also legalize drugs. Nonetheless, do we not have larger concerns demanding our attention? Should we continue to jeopardize the civil liberties and safety of all citizens to protect the few who may be seduced into a life of low self esteem and existential wastefulness? Illicit drugs are ridiculously low in price and virtually available in most areas of the United States. Have I perhaps overlooked a more recent appraisal of the drug war by Gerald Posner? Has he thoroughly thought about this matter since 1988? If not, it's time for the author to revisit the issues surrounding the "Warlords of Crime."

5 comments about Murder in Hollywood: Solving a Silent Screen Mystery.

1. Having anticipated Charles Higham's treatment of the unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor to be the book-to-end-all-books on the subject, my disappointment was palpable as I trudged through the final pages of this incoherent, typo-ridden volume. Presuming that Higham's facility with biographies would transfer well to the true-crime genre, I expected his effort here to be as polished and well-researched as his previous work; instead this book is a convoluted mess. Besides going into lengthy, irrelevant detail about the lives of people having absolutely nothing to do with the murder (i.e., Neva Gerber, Julia Crawford Ivers, etc.), Higham rambles endlessly, repeating himself often while at the same time curiously managing to contradict himself. His irritating habit of drawing conclusions without providing any real evidence to support his theories throws the entire presentation off kilter. For example, his insistence that an unidentified suicide victim found in Connecticut was Taylor's former employee, Edward Sands, simply because Higham feels that Sands should have killed himself, is simply preposterous. To add insult to injury, this book seems not to have been proof-read - there are a plethora of glaring typos that even a second-grade child would have caught. The fact that Higham had access to files previously unavailable only frustrates the reader further, as his continuous failure to present this new evidence in anything approaching a cohesive fashion denies the reader a clear understanding of such material. Perhaps I expected too much simply due to Higham's reputation - but I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. Its one saving grace (and perhaps what makes it a worthwhile volume for the silent film buff) is the sprinkling of rare photos including portraits of Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter and a strange photo of the usuallly dapper Taylor in a frilly nightgown(!). In my opinion, anyone interested in the William Desmond Taylor murder case would do better with the two previous books written on the subject: A Deed of Death by Robert Giroux and A Cast of Killers by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick. Both vastly surpass Higham's scattered tale in clarity, form and content, and both have a style and cohesiveness that Higham's sorely lacks.



2. The unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor is a striking and unusual case, in the sense that Taylor's still-mysterious life was perhaps even stranger than his death. I don't believe I've ever read of a homicide where there are so many bizarre characters involved, and so many contradictory, missing, outlandish, and disputed pieces to the puzzle surrounding this enigmatic antique dealer-turned runaway spouse-turned vagabond-turned actor-turned director. I have yet to read one account of the case that does not directly clash with all the others.
   
   Unfortunately, Charles Higham has done nothing at all to clarify, let alone solve, this frustrating homicide. I am amazed that his publishers allowed such a muddled, weak book to go to press. He simply launches the book with an assumption of who the guilty party was, gives a glib "solution" to the murder based on what he airily calls "circumstantial evidence" (evidence that he never sees fit to share with his readers,) and, essentially, forces his audience to just take his word for it that this is what happened. While I can't dispute that it's possible the murder unfolded as he claims, on the other hand, Higham gives us no proof whatsoever that it did. The rambling and irrelevant digressions noted by previous reviewers are, I think, simply necessary padding to cover up the fact that his case against his prime suspect could be summed up in two or three lines.
   
   Higham also has the annoying habit of dropping in little bombshells without providing any elaboration or even evidence of his claims. He says former DA Buron Fitts may well have shot himself using the gun used to murder Taylor. How does he know? He claims his alleged murderer made a "deathbed confession" to a nurse, who subsequently disappeared. Where did this story come from? Much of Higham's book is based on an unpublished memoir allegedly written by a now-dead man, which claims he had a long affair with Taylor. Is this memoir at all accurate? Corroborated by any other accounts? Or could it be fraudulent? If Higham bothered to find answers to these questions, he kept that to himself.
   
   All in all, this book was a most irritating read.



3. This is Charles Higham at his worst. Sidney Kirkpatrick's A Cast of Killers is still hands down the best.



4. I read 'A Cast of Killers' in one sitting in 1986. I think its a fascinating, well written intro to the William Desmond Taylor murder of 1922. However, countless film purists(none of whom have published their own research) deride it as not being factual to the point of complete invention, even though the author used King Vidor's notes. Vidor and Kirkpatrick were storytellers, first and foremost.
   That being said, I think 'Murder in Hollywood' is getting a bad rap here. I do think it requires some knowledge of the players in the Taylor case, is a tad dry and whether Mr. Higham's conclusions are definitive is anyone's guess. I for one, really don't want this grand old mystery solved; 85 years later, I think its insoluable. While MIH does tend to branch off the trail a bit: the last few pages, which focus on Higham's take on the murder, held me in a grip: as any good story should ultimately do.
   Regardless of how this tale is told, Mary Miles Minter and Mabel Normand were tragic figures; one had the benefit of an early death, the other...who knows. Baby Jane? Sunset Boulevard? Neither? What is needed to complement this is a more detailed look at Minter's later years from 1957-1984.
   **For a bonus, pop over to You Tube, search 'Mary Miles Minter' and you'll hear a 1970 audio recording of the old gal talking with the author(in that arresting but creepy Broadway-British accent he refers to in MIH) about her visit to Taylor's body at the funeral home. Delicious!
   Bottom line: If you're nuts about old Hollywood, I recommend this as a companion to ACOK...critics of both be damned.



5. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. ITS A HACK JOB FULL OF LIES AND THATS ALL THIS HIGHAM DOES. LOOK AT ALL THE LIES HE TOLD OF ERROL FLYNN AND WAS PROVEN WRONG BY FRIENDS AND THE FBU FILES HE SAID HE USED AS THE FOUNDATION FOR HIS BOOK.HE JUST REWROTE OTHER AND BETTER BOOKS.THIS MAN IS A MERCHANT OF LIES AND BASELESS ACCUSATIONS.HIS BOOKS ARENT GOOD ENOUGH TO UE AS TOILET PAPER. HIS PUBLISHERS SHOULD BE ASHAMED.

No comments about Love and Death in Kathmandu: A Strange Tale of Royal Murder.