4 comments about Murder of a Prophet: Dark Side of Utah Polygamy.

1. The author may not be a John Steinbeck, it's his first novel, but with a little more experience, he could be. Nevertheless, his knowledge of the subject is beyond dispute. The novel made front page review in the Salt Lake Tribune, and the author has been interviewed on national and local television. Murder of a Prophet has caused quite a stir in Utah, especially among the 60,000 odd polygamists believed to live in Utah and the surronding states. According to the Tribune, it has been banned in the polygamist communities of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. The story, which incidently is very good, gives the reader a peek in the minds of polygamists prone to violence, which is not an unusual scenario in Utah. I was raised in a polygamist family, rejected the religon, but still have contacts among the subculture. Utah polygamists, paranoid by nature, are doing what they can to discredit both the author and his story, which is why I read it. They are afraid it paints all polygamists as abusers. It dosen't. It is an intense story about abuse of power and demented cult mentality. The polygamists would rather cover up their dark side than deal with it. It is interesting that those most critical of the book have read it cover to cover and are in the process of writing their own book, that is suppose to counteract Murder of a Prophet.



2. John Llewellyn possesses a unique insider's view of both the law enforcement world and polygamist culture. His investigative background and journalistic expertise combine in this fascinating, compelling and entertaining work. The characterizations are both believable and ironic and the plot is unique and intriguing.



3. but coming from a polygamist background myself, I see that the author has mixed up and disstorted a lot of facts. One fact that is kept very quiet is that Mr. Llewellyn was for a number of years a member of the apostolic united bretheren, a polygamist group located in Bluffdale, UT. Also, he only left after being rebuffed while trying to court a second wife. His story sure has changed!! I was born in Colorado City and have friends and family in 3 different polygamist groups and know a lot of the true stories. It is true that the Kingston group and the Colorado CIty bunch engage in forced marriages, and incest...



4. This is a very short book but very informative. I couldn't put it down. Once again, Llewellyn holds up his end of the bargain and does very well. It's a good story but very sad that something like this actually happens and still, no one does anything about this cult. Yes, there are some crazies in every cult or religion but this cult is consistently crazy in the fact that they blindly follow anything. Buy this book. You won't regret it.

5 comments about Suffer the Child.

1. I found this book on my dusty bookshelf and saw I must've started it a long time ago so I decided to try again. Just into the first few pages I realized why i might have put it down. But I continued to read and was instantly brought to tears of the horrific tortures this poor girl went through and the amazing capabilities she had to be able to cope. I was comletely baffled by how this child was able to endure and survive such torment and abuse from her mother, the cult, and numerous men. Though it made me sick, I just couldn't put it down. I had to reach the end to see the amazing outcome of this now grown woman. It was difficult to read but rewarding in the end knowing what those therapists were able to unveil.



2. Feels like I wrote parts of it. very scary and triggering . Read with care and if you have a past in satanic abuse, don't read it at all.



3. This book is amazing. It captivates the reality of child abuse dangers as well as the monstrousity of satanic cults. If this book were a movie, it would make "Sybil" and "The Three Faces of Eve" look like disney shows. It is a psychology course must-read, but I read it simply for its intriguing truth and complexity.



4. Most books leave the reader with a longing for more extensive knowledge of the healing process. Not this one. Judith Spencer does an excellent job of taking the reader from discovery of the abuse, denial, DID effects, and therapy. The details of the abuse can be triggering but also affirming if there are any doubts about the memories of Ritual Abuse. The long search for adequate help within the counseling community was down right disturbing as she was misdiagnosed over and over again. The most informative part of this book is the intimate detail of the therapy relationship and process. Her therapists were absolutely commited beyond the norm to her emotional health. READER BEWARE: don't expect to find similar therapists, they probably don't exist. My only disappointment was the lack of information about the relationship with her husband. As a primary relationship, it was certainly overlooked or intentionally avoided.



5. I picked this book up out of curiosity. I was not prepared for what I read. I wish I had never opened the book. If you get the least bit emotional hearing or reading about child abuse then don't read this book because the details of what this poor child endured - the torture, mental, physical, sexual abuse - are in the book. I fear these images will stay in my head for years to come. (I think Ms. Spencer did an excellent job in the way she presented the story to us regardless of its details). Like a previous reviewer, I too could not put it down because I had to see and believe that Jenny would overcome her horrors and be saved. Unfortunately the book ended before her therapy did so eventhough Jenny made great strides, in the end the readers don't really know if she improved or regressed.

5 comments about Hollywood Kryptonite.

1. The cause of George Reeves' death is anything but clearcut. It is indeed possible -- very possible -- that he was murdered. And, as this book points out, the three likeliest suspects are Eddie Mannix, Toni Mannix, and Leonore Lemmon. There is no evidence, however (not even of the most circumstantial nature)against any of these individulas. Suspicions -- yes. Speculations -- yes. Evidence -- no. More accurately, if such evidence does in fact exist, it has not been unearthed by the authors of this superficial, pointless book, which reeks of laziness. Did they even try to track down Carol Von Ronkel? Is she untraceable? Is she dead (though she'd be only in her early to mid-60s)? And what was the story with Mrs. Daley? Where is she? What does she have to say? Were the authors hinting that she and Leonore Lemmon were having a lesbian affair? Is that why she was going to travel on the Reeves/Lemmon honeymoon? Maybe Mrs. Daley was a lesbian. After all, it was ! well known that her husband was homosexual. Was it a marriage of convenience for both parties? The questions go on and on. Just don't bother looking for the answers in this book.



2. If you are not familiar with George Reeves' life and death, this book is interesting and provides quite a bit of factual background. Even after this book, the question remains: did Superman die by his own hand or was Reeves murdered? The scenario the authors present for the "murder" of Superman is hardly plausible. They suggest that the hired hit-man entered Reeves' home, while there were people (at least 4, besides Reeves) in the house, and that his plan was to use Reeves' own Lugar to commit the crime. Why would the murderer risk entering the rather small home while people were up and about? How could the murderer be sure that the gun would be on the nightstand, or that it would be loaded, or that Reeves wouldn't get to it first? Superman may have been murdered, but the version presented by these authors still leaves the mystery unsolved.



3. Whether the information in this book is factually correct, I do not know. I suppose the scenario is plausible, although others have pointed out that there are many weaknesses. It does seem unlikely that a "hit man" hid outside and waited for everyone in the house to be conveniently distracted before sneaking up the stairs and murdering George Reeves. However, anything is possible. What I did like about this book is that it at least addresses a mystery which was shamefully handled by the LAPD more than 40 years ago. There has not been much written about this sad story, and this book at least brings it to people's attention. I was only six years old when George Reeves died, and I thought he was God. Maybe I still do. Maybe, even if this book is factually inaccurate, it will lead to more factual information coming forth. Surely there are others with knowledge who have not been interviewed. And even if there aren't, and we never know the truth, it is still an interesting read. I found it somewhat healing. I have grieved over the loss of this great actor for years, and welcome any and all books, articles and news stories. This terrible story has been downplayed far too long. Let's give it the attention it deserves.



4. George Reeves was certainly an idol of mine (still is !).Even today, I enjoy watching the show .The authors of this book probably "Draw a long Bow" with some of their more fanciful theories but, as another reviewer has noted, at least "It's a Start" in regard to encouraging further investigation of Reeve's mysterious death. The mood of the era is nicely recreated and the book certainly gives us an interesting glimpse into the private world of our childhood hero.The basic facts of the case seem to be "All There" along with some detailed studies of the various personalities who were involved .The only part of the book which I found really hard to swallow came near the end when the authors tried to point the finger of guilt at some person who was watching "Superman" on TV when somebody else delivered an envelope of cash to him. The inference seemed to be that this guy was probably George Reeve's murderer (just because he happened to be watching the show at the time ? ... Come one, please, big me a break !).Still ,on the whole the book is worth adding to your collection if you're interested in the case. Reasonably entertaining .



5. Beware of this book.It should be totally revised or dismissed as nonsense.
   There are no concrete facts presented here and only a fictional tale.The forensic experts noted that there is a 98% chance that only Reeves pulled the trigger,given the angle of the bullit.What about the two bullit holes in the bedroom floor? My scenario: Reeves hears some laughter downstairs.Grabbing his house-coat,he slumbers downstairs to investigate.He finds his new girlfriend,Lenore, drinking and laughing with some mobster friends of hers.Reeves becomes upset and simply asks the goodfellas to leave.The wanton lush sardonically insults and ridicules Reeves.Maybe saying,'You sure weren't Superman last night!Kryptonite in your shorts,Super-Stud? Reeves devastated returns upstairs.He takes a pistol from the nightstand.Reeves then fires two shots into floor,directly above the party-goers downstairs.He then sits at the edge of the bed and fires the fatal shot to his right temple.Concerned she runs upstairs and screams upon entering the bedroom.The frontdoor flies open and the shocked evening guests flee. Understanding the devastation she has provoked, Lenoire then places two religious saint cards over the marred floorboard holes.The police are called an hour later.No foulplay is seen and the cause of death is deemed, a 'suicide'.The idea of Reeves being upset about being 'typecast' is nonsense.His agent informed him that the network wanted the series back into full production.Reeves' fellow cast members all related that he and they were all pleased with this.The truth seems that the Superman Reeves could stop a concrete dam from collapsing,yet, the mortal Reeves couldn't mend a broken heart from his shakey love relationships gone sour.-May George Reeves now rest in peace.

No comments about Sin, Shame, and Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Conviction of a Priest, and Cover-up in the Catholic Church.

5 comments about Rope Burns.

1. Robert Scott is a master in taking the finest of details and spinning them into a fascinating and easy to follow storyline. I found the Prologue somewhat off putting but fortunately stayed with it and soon became entranced and horrified at the same time with the telling of the multitude of horrific crimes commited by this demonic duo. I have lived in the areas mentioned in this book and even know some of the officials involved. It was very, very strange to be able to picture most of the places mentioned in the book and to know I had either seen or been to some of the places mentioned. It made the book all that more real for me. I came away from reading it with a new found awareness that is both disturbing and enlightening for me. NO ONE IS SAFE from having this happen to them. It is such a ramdom crime of violence. There are things you can do to reduce your chances of being a victim but Fate plays such a big hand in life, for good or for evil. I will be more vigilant for myself and warn people I care about. This book has made a difference in my life.



2. I was not thrilled with this book the writer was all over the place and I thought gave too much detail in things I really didn't want to know about and too little in things I wanted to know about. I think told by another writer this would be a very good book.



3. Rope Burns is your typical true crime but not about a typical crime couple. They are the preverted and disturbed version of Bonnie and Clyde. I remember this book well because I think the story about any heterosexual couple who gets their jollies by raping and even murdering innocent girls if pretty sick. This pair is one of a few in the criminal population to committ such horrific acts against young women and even children. There is suspicion and possible links to other unsolved cases but these defendents wouldn't dare confess unless there was something in it for them. They remind of the Gallegos case which happened also in Northern California.



4. This book has me scared to go anywhere alone. I love reading true crime books but this was a little on the sick side. I don't think it was as messed up as House of Secrets, but I'm glad its over so I don't have to ready it anymore.



5. Details sketchy. Would have like a more in depth description of events. Writer rambles on too much. I didn't even finish it. Next...

No comments about Little Book of Forensics.

2 comments about The Buccaneers of America.

1. This is a book about buccaneering written by one of the participants. Esquemeling was a Dutch physian who went to the Caribbean during the heyday of the Spanish Main. He was the surgeon to Henry Morgan's expedition against Panama City.

   Like many educated men of his time, he tried to be a scientific observer of the New World. As a result, you'll see descriptions of flora and fauna of the Americas mixed in with anecdotes about the famous and near famous of the period. The phraseology can be stilted in places, but that is how people spoke at the time.

   Is it worth reading? I certainly think so! It's valuable in the same way that Bernal Diaz's account of the conquest of Mexico is valuable, it gives a flavor for how the participants saw themselves. So, if you want real, this is it.




2. This is probably the original source for information of pirates. It contains such a vast compendium of information that it is difficult to select anyone in particular. The cruel reality of pirates is sometimes terrifying; however, in the context of their times this may not have been so shocking. Each reader will take away what they find most interesting. I find that the interaction between the pirates and the indigenous people of these island most intriguing.

5 comments about Amerithrax: The Hunt for the Anthrax Killer.

1. I was attracted to this book because I enjoyed the movie "Zodiac", (which was written by screenwriter James Vanderbilt) and I thought the Robert Graysmith criminal element may prove interesting.
   
   Sadly Graysmith had few cohesive thoughts in the book. It bounces around far too much from the death of Bob Stevens, to Mohammed Atta, NBC, Homeland Security, the CDC and back to AMI among others. The aforementioned are all critical to the story. When there is a gap in time and with such a detailed story it would have been better had it been tighter.
   
   Graysmith has not turned out to be my favorite author. But, when it comes to movies based on his original writing, such as "Zodiac" or commentary he provides on the Autofocus DVD discussing the investigation into the murder of Bob Crane, I have become a fan.



2. I work in biological counter-terrorism and I found this book to be extremely helpful to better my understanding of the mail based attacks that took place in September and October of 2001.
   Interestingly , I discovered that my company's product the Mail Defender was mentioned on page 411 of the hard copy.
   One point the book makes is that is extremely difficult if not impossible to unmask the predator, while the United States mail system still remains the most open and largest distribution system in the world.
   Please feel free to contact me anytime by email to discuss.



3. (This is a review of the Kindle edition.)
   
   The author has unquestionably done a lot of work on researching the history and personalities involved in the anthrax killings. The problem I had with this book was how unevenly it plays out. It jumps from a fairly good narrative true crime story to a poorly written overly detailed look at topics that are barely relevant to the story. Most irritating were the numerous repetitions of facts and quotes, as if the author were being paid by the word or presumed that the reader could not retain simple facts from one chapter to the next. The narrative is choppy and jumps back and forth across time more than is really necessary.
   
   I bought it as a reader with an interest in human response in disasters, not as a professional researcher. It may be useful to keep as a reference to refresh my memory on facts, but it is not what I would consider an enjoyable and informative narrative in the genre of true crime.



4. this was a fairly quick read. as we all know the plot, the writer offers many details unknown and some interesting analyses. i felt carried along for hundreds of pages, only to be dropped in the end without resolution - of course, our finest investigative services have publicly never reached a conclusion either. reading this book is a lot like listening to someone describe a web. there's no simple way to describe one with its concentric lines of slightly different thicknesses and angles. same with this book, the facts from different sites and the progress (or lack thereof) at each site make for a quite difficult story to tell. this was far from one of the best books that i've read in the past 12 months, but it is a topic in which i am puzzled. it is a worthwhile read, if you can tolerate the above limitations, new or used.



5. Not living in America, I knew relatively little about the Anthrax killer, so the story was new to me.
   
   Its strengths are the detailed review of the facts of the case, and the telling of the general history of biological warfare since WW2. It also tells us about the unfortunate victims and their terrible suffering.
   
   The trouble is, it tries to weave too many different things into a single narrative, which gets confusing. There is a lot of back tracking, and the story is interrupted constantly by anecdotes about Soviet, American, and Iraqi anthrax factories, previous anthrax leaks, the Una bomber, and various other mail-crimes, some of which are repetitive and not terribly relevant.
   
   I did like the book tho, it sent a chill up my spine more than once. Consider the fact that several countries now stock enough anthrax bombs to kill every person on earth! Terrifying when you think about it.

5 comments about A Father's Story.

1. I loved this book and I love to read and study about Dahmer. This is a great book but after seeing a documentary on tv about it, I am a little concerned about the authenticity of the information that his father is giving in this book. He makes a lot of claims about the state of Jeffrey's mother that she denies..... so that leaves me feeling ..hmmm??
   I have to imagine as a father, this book would be very hard to write, talking about the heinous nature of his son's life before prison. What is his motivation for this? Due to some of his comments, I believe perhaps he is a little bit "off" himself too and able to detach himself and provide mostly truths.
   On a personal note, I'm very disappointed that the prison left him in a situation where he ended up murdered. He could have and should have been studied. Not that the studies of Manson has answered all our questions, but when you get someone like Dahmer, it's got to be studied. He was willing to discuss his crimes and do all he could after his sick, twisted lifestyle came to an end.



2. Lionel Dahmer's memoir is the story of the dark journey of a father who was faced with the grisly reality of one of America's most notorious serial murder, mutilation, rape, necrophilia, and cannibalism cases. Lionel was a father who had to grapple not with losing his son to these unspeakable horrors, but with the fact that his son was the perpetrator. As a father, Lionel was asked if he could forgive his son, but before he could determine that, he had to forgive himself. The book presents Lionel's struggle with guilt, bewilderment, anger, and personal chaos during his son's life and in the aftermath of his arrest.
   
   The memoir stands alone in its straightforward prose, introspection, and complete lack of blame shifting. Lionel provides broads stroke of details of the crimes, focusing more on the individuals than on the headline-grabbing depravity of Jeffrey Dahmer's deviance. Throughout Jeffrey's youth, and during the trial, Lionel grappled with his own responsibility for his son's social maladjustment. He identified with his son's need for control, extreme fear of abandonment, and general solitary nature. Lionel even contrasts Jeffrey's zombie experiments with his own hypnosis-control experiments in childhood. After Jeffrey's arrest, Lionel never wanted him to go free, but he did hope and work for psychiatric treatment for the son he was never able to save.
   
   Lionel, I applaud you condor and introspection. You've written a book that will no doubt provide comfort to many parents of difficult children, and will help frame many of the "why?" questions felt by Americans with regards to your son's crimes.



3. On the heels of many a serial murder's crimes, we often find a different type of terrible person. There are often those who try to cash in on the deeds of something infamous, selling their tales to anyone that will listen, and there are those who try to make others forgive them and tell them they aren't to blame.
   It is an ugly world when this happens and uglier still when these things first march into view.
   
   When I first saw this book I thought it was the culmination of the two of these things, and I accordingly dismissed it for a time because the idea repulsed me and the few sensibilities I try to stay connected with. The thing that changed my mind on reading the book was an interview done with Lionel and his son a year or so before Jeffrey's death, when Jeffrey was setting with his dad and talking about many of the things that had transpired. Amongst many of the questions J.D. was asked, he was asked to tell his dad what he thought about what his father had written. This seemed to catch both of them off-guard a bit, but Dahmer finally responded by saying that the book captured things that even he had forgotten and that he thought the book was worth reading.
   Considering how reviled Dahmer was by what he saw himself as, I wondered what that meant and wanted to look into the topic. And what I found was what the title entailed - it as a father trying to understand how his son had become something that he couldn't come close to comprehending.
   
   Far from the read that True Crime readers might be looking for, this is the story of a father and the son he desperately tried to recall. It accordingly goes into the early aspects of the boy and delves into a few curious aspects that the father remembers, but it really spends a lot of its time trying to see where things "went wrong" instead of focusing on the gruesome details of what had transpired. That isn't to say there aren't references to the events that had transpired because there are, and that isn't to say that there aren't times when it seems like Lionel hopes he is blameless because all fathers would hope they were free of this guilt. The thing is that the point of the book is really to look at the exploration of a father wondering about the horrors his son was capable of and where that came from.
   It did this by exploring everything, even looking into the idea of love and wondering how one could possibly ever atone for something so terrible as what his son had done. It also looked at where the father could have gone wrong, and the ideas were - painful.
   
   I'm not going to go as far as some people and commend Lionel Dahmer for writing this book because I'm not sure anyone deserves a commendation for something like this. I will say that the book looked like a struggle, however, and that this struggle looked like one that seems almost unimaginable.
   I would rarely recommend reading of this type but, in this case, the reviews are merited and then some. Knowing the topic tells you if you are interested in it and, if you are, then this is a prospective normally never acquired.



4. I cried when I read this book, I'm sad for Jeffrey and it would have made WAY MORE sense to have him studied in a hospital to find out if this could be prevented in the future. I did not cry for Jeff, I cried for his Father,,,,,I'm the parent of a son who was troubled in his youth and I could just feel his sadness and grief over his son and I wept for him and his wife and his mother and all of Jeff's victims.



5. Having read this biography by Jeffrey Dahmer's father, I could not help but view it as a courageous book, and not motivated sheerly by profit-making. He had indeed been doing a lot of soul-searching before this book was written, during the investigation and trial, and I believe, probably since the entire story materialized and unfolded. He doesn't dwell on any of the unsavory details but must surely have been repulsed by them. Mr Dahmer's association to the killer and the reaction to him and his book can't have been one courted or desired, but neither is it something Lionel Dahmer appears to have run away from, but rather appears to have been thoroughly considered and faced in circumstances that would be extremely unwelcome and creating a deep sense of aversion in most normal human minds. While I could not wholeheartedly recommend this book simply on the basis for what it is and what it is about, it is unbelievable to me that Mr Lionel could actually find himself in such a position as someone's father with the recognition of his progeny had become such a bizarre,detestable and almost inhuman being..somehow. This question--'how'a person could in reality become such a being driven by such disgusting and perverse obsessions and desires, could never, and will never, be 'fully' answered. All one is left with are the 'facts', the details, of Jeffrey Dahmer.

No comments about The Lives and Adventures of All the Most Notorious Pirates.