3 comments about Global Outlaws: Crime, Money, and Power in the Contemporary World (California Series in Public Anthropology).

1. There's little doubt in my mind that transnational crime networks are vastly understudied relative to their impact on global health, security, and economics. Anthropologist Nordstrom clearly agrees, and lays out the fruits of three years of field work in this loosely arranged triptych of illegal (or as she would put it, "il/legal") trade. Broken into twenty brief (6-10 page) chapters, the book starts with the micro of a lone war orphan hawking cigarettes in Angola and slowly zooms out to the macro of international trade and finance. Each chapter opens with a photo, which helps to ground the discussion in the lives of people, rather than policy. The framework is an ambitious one, attempting to tie together a very broad range of material, and it doesn't always work. For example ports are the focus of three unconnected chapters rather than one sustained narrative.
   
   Others have written about much of the same material before, especially the drug trade, the arms trade, and overhyped blood diamond trade. However, these accounts are generally written from a journalism or policy perspective -- none that I'm aware of have grounded their material in such deep fieldwork, nor written about it with such a good ear for the pithy quote or telling anecdote. One of the central themes of the book is that while drugs, arms, and diamonds get all the press, her fieldwork reveals that trafficking in more mundane goods, such as food, is ultimately a much larger part of the informal economy in much of the world. Particularly chilling is her expose of the international shipping industry and just how laughable the customs and security controls on it are. (The same problems are also well documented in William Langswiesche's Atlantic Monthly essays collected in the book The Outlaw Sea).
   
   Unfortunately, the positive aspects Nordstrom's writing are sometimes weakened by the kinds of arcane theoretical digressions and awkward terminology that often pop up in works by academics. The writing is alo marred by a certain shrill tone when it comes to the workings of large multinational corporations and a somewhat snide approach to the operations of international aid and relief agencies. While I don't generally disagree with her analysis, I find the strident and bitter tone somewhat diverting from the truths she lays out. Criticisms of structure and writing aside, this is a valuable, and quick-reading work that anyone with an interest in world affairs should check out. Nordstrom has done a stellar job in illustrating the pervasiveness and flexibility of informal trade networks, and how they can be manipulated around the world to move just about anything, anywhere.



2. If you want to change your thinking about how the world works and adjust it to how the world really works, then read this. If you want to believe that everything is on the up and up, then don't read this. The work covers everything from cigarettes to port security to portable wealth to banking. While most of us recognize that we live in a global world, we often forget that this global world has trade happening in the back room of the cafe with the help of the banks. This is a very honest look at many forms of illegal trade and finance from a very human perspective.



3. An intriguing look at the culture and economy of smuggling and other illegal commerce, Global Outlaws opens many windows to provide a wide range of perspectives on the illegal economy, from the selling of a single smuggled cigarette in an African town to the movement of shipping containers (and their contents, legal and illegal) through a number of major American and European ports. Carolyn Nordstrom provides a rich view of the interdependencies of legal and illegal commerce, both the mundane (cigarettes, washing machines) and the exotic (endangered species of fish for high-end restaurants world-wide). She gives a sense of the range of people and networks involved in these activities, along with the benefits (how else could people get drugs to remote battlefields?) and the threats (could there be a bomb in that container of Barbie dolls?) of smuggling.
   Much of the book represents deep field work at its best. Her presentation of trans-national shipping and port security contains good information that is not integrated so well as other parts of the book.

5 comments about Damned to Eternity: The Story of the Man Who They Said Caused the Flood.

1. Pitluk is an amazing story-teller who offers incredible insight about a life changing event that ripped apart a small town. I had a hard time putting this book down! It is remarkable how much research this book must have taken, and the amount of detail that is covered -- yet it feels like a quick read that is easy to follow and digest. I found myself truly sympathizing with Scott, while at the same time, I kept wishing he would have done a few things differently to change his own fate. Pitluk brought to life a storm that will forever impact the people who lived through it. Thanks for sharing the story!



2. I live in Quincy Illinois, which is directly across the river from West Quincy.I was 13 back in 1993. I put many hours into filling sandbags that summer. Even through I wasn't directly affected by the flood, it hit home when the levee broke that night. The great fight to hold back the flood waters was defeated in a matter of moments.
   This book mainly describes James trouble childhood, and continues into his ever troublesome life. Its a must read if you were affected by the Great Flood of 1993.
   It also goes into great detail about the ever so infamous Webster School Fire. I'm firefighter and paramedic now. I have heard many stories and tales regarding the Webster School Fire. I've seen pictures from that day.
   
   An awesome book that lets the reader decide whether he is guilty or not guilty!



3. I LIVE IN QUINCY, IL WHERE THIS BOOK IS BASED. IT BROUGHT BACK SO MANY MEMORIES. IT IS VERY WELL WRITTEN AND EXPLAINS THE EVENTS IN GRAPHIC DETAIL. IT MADE ME WANT TO CRY AGAIN WHEN I RECALLED THE HORRIBLE REALITY OF THOSE EVENTS. THUMBS UP!!!!!



4. DAMNED TO ETERNITY: THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO THEY SAID CAUSED THE FLOOD tells of a young volunteer twenty-four-year-old who tried to help protect a small town's levee during flooding - and was charged with causing the break intentionally when it failed. His conviction resulted in farmers collecting from insurance when otherwise they wouldn't - and resulted in a life sentence despite the fact no one died during the flood. His story is eye-opening and revealing - and he proclaims his innocence to this day.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. The story of the arrest, trial and imprisonment of James Scott for "intentionally causing a catastrophe" is a large, black mark on the American justice system. Adam Pitluk, in his recent work, "Damned to Eternity", has masterfully woven a story that reviews the many aspects of Scott's life... one that could only be described as misfortunate from the time he was a child growing up in Quincy, Illinois. The author makes no excuses for the lawlessness and harm that Scott caused, but the focus of this book, the great midwestern flood of 1993, is told in a riveting fashion by Pitluk, and given new facts that arose at the time of his second trial, it's a wonder that Scott remains is jail.
   
   Pitluk has a terrific narrative style, which makes the book hard to put down for even a minute. He's a natural storyteller in the best possible sense and if one hadn't had much empathy for young Scott in the beginning, one can only come away with a new feeling as the years progress. Injustice is all around us, but it takes a good writer like Adam Pitluk to expose it. I highly recommend "Damned to Eternity".

5 comments about A Rose For Her Grave & Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files).

1. I read this a year ago and I'm reading it again now. Out of all the criminals Ann Rule writes about, Randy Roth boggles my mind the most.
   
   This man had a plan for EVERYTHING. He was able to pick vulnerable women, almost a sixth sense for him to find the right woman to manipulate so his next plan could be put into action. Of the women Ann writes about, most of them (except perhaps Donna Sanchez (first wife) and Lily Vandiveer (babysitter, side dish) all experienced the same thing - a short, romantic courtship with great sex, then after the marriage (except for Mary Jo who was uninsurable due to a history of cancer)insurance policys and an icy, miserable coldness.
   Long story short, 4 wifes, 2 of which he murdered, and the aftermath of the two dead wives is devestating. Randy Roth would only date/marry women with children, so after each relationship ended (whether it ended in death or by other means) crushed children's lives as well as the unfortunate woman.
   I guess I'm so blown away by this story because you would almost think someone of this caliber (and you have to read to understand what I'm talking about) would be hooked on drugs or maybe institutionalized at some point in their life. Randy was physically fit, anti drug/tobacco/alcohol, but none the less a lying, stealing, cheating, child-abusing murderer.
   
   Once you read about Cynthia, you'll see what this man is capable of. She went from one person to almost another in their year of marriage. At least she is reunited with her beloved Tom.
   
   Campbell's Revenge is one of the shorter stories in the book, but absolutely HORRIFIC. The other short stories in this book are good as well. I see they were already listed by another reviewer.



2. I absolutely love Ann Rule. She is an amazing true crime writer and no one out there writes like she does. I have read about 7 or 8 of her books and have not found one yet that I didn't like. They have all been great and very hard to put down I find myself sitting down for hours just reading and reading. This book was no exception! I love when she does the crime files where she puts more then one story in the book. Those really hold my attention because I feel like I get more out of it. I would recommend any Ann Rule book to anyone who truly enjoys true crime. If you start out with Ann you'd better end with Ann too because I've read other true crime books by other authors and NO ONE has even begun to compare and they definately did not keep my attention at all. Ann RULES!!!



3. Indeed, the Randy Roth story is the highlight of the book. I won't rehash the details, but readign it does tend to leave one rather sad, that this animal got away with hurting so many innocent people, whos only mistake was perhaps beign a bit too needy. One can only hope he's earning a proper punishment behind bars, and not running his own little prison gang or something.
   
   I did however regret that there was no way to really examine the mans upbringing, and what made him the way he was. Perhaps he was neglected by a mother who doted over her daughters. His mother certainly sounded like a piece of work. Would also have been nice if Miss Rule had done a 'where are they now' segment at the end of this tale as she's done with other books in the is series.
   
   So basically after all is said and done, I'd recomend this book. A good start to an exceptional true crime series.



4. Former policewoman Ann Rule once again displays her remarkable narrative talent as she covers half a dozen sordid crimes. The book is primarily about Randy Roth, a modern bluebeard who pushed his wives off cliffs when he tired of them and desired their insurance and social security benefits. Through the author's readable prose we get to know the killer, his victims, and the officers that eventually solved the case. Among the additional sordid cases in these pages are a rapist who returned to kill his victim/accuser after he was released from prison, a jilted husband that hired a "hit lady" to do in his wife, and a couple women who were tragically done in by fiends. Rule has a nicely readable style and great sympathy for the victims, which makes reading her narratives somewhat more palatable from a moral standpoint. Still, these are books about tragedy, despite Rule's sympathetic prose and the commendable efforts of law enforcement to solve these crimes.



5. I could not put this book down. It was very well written and the pages seemed to turn themselves. I couldn't wait to get to the end! The only dissapointment was when I was all done and didn't have anymore Ann Rule to read.

5 comments about Murdered Innocents.

1. Having read and sang the praises of Corey Mitchell's last two books I knew I had to pick up this one. I am glad I did. This book starts off with a bang and never lets up. It is tragic, sad, joyful, scary, gruesome, tender, sweet, hopeful, mysterious, and more.
   
   The victims in this book come alive unlike almost any other true crime book I have ever read. These beautiful girls seemed like honest sweet girls who did not deserve to die in asuch a cruel fashion.
   
   Mitchell's ability to make me question the guilt or innocence of the killers is masterful.
   
   Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!!!



2. This is a well written book. True to the facts. How sad for these families. Corey did a great job describing in detail the murders, the suspects, the line of questioning, and finally what happened in court. He is a great writer and can't wait for the next book to come out.



3. This book was very gripping and yet sad. It tells the story of 4 innocently wasted lives. Corey Mitchell is very good at holding my attention.



4. Corey Mitchell uses such imagery in this book like when he mentions the deleted scene from The Exorcist I actually got chills because I remember the scene vividly. It made what he was describing that much more intense.
   
   This is a great book and it did indeed leave me with lots of questions Mr. Corey so we shall be chatting soon :)



5. In MURDERED INNOCENTS, Corey Mitchell presents the story of the rape and murder in 1991 of 4 teenage girls in an Austin, TX, yogurt store. The store was then set on fire to cover up the crime. Amid the confusion at the shop - policemen, firemen, EMTs - the crime scene was not processed as well as it might have been. For the next 8 years the Austin PD haphazardly followed leads with no results. Then, again seemingly at random, they began an investigation of a suspect, Michael Scott, who eventually implicated himself and 3 of his friends. The book is written in linear time and in typical true crime fashion: crime description, investigation, trials, and sentencing.
   
   There are some praiseworthy aspects to MURDERED INNOCENTS. Mitchell, as I previously discovered when I read his DEAD AND BURIED, is an intelligent, literate writer. This book is honest - the product of a lot of hard work and research. There is no soap opera, no suggestion of how the reader should think, and no bias in Mitchell's presentation.
   I think the best and most thought-provoking sections of MURDERED INNOCENTS are the transcripts of the police interviews with two of the suspects, Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott. I find reading transcripts of generic police interviews boring, but these are anything but run of the mill. The lies, intimidation, threats, refusal to accept answers not fitting a predetermined scenario, all mixed with feigned friendship - your good cop, bad cop - perpetrated on the subjects by a police department, desperate after 8 years to solve an horrific case that had a massively traumatized the city, was nothing short of outrageous. Mitchell's narrative requires the reader to question how the use of these techniques renders it possible to actually determine anyone's guilt or innocence. I couldn't see how anyone would be able to convict the suspects in this case, though they may well have been guilty, based on the confessions elicited from them after long hours of questioning in a psychological environment that must have felt like trying to think in quicksand. And the confessions were the ONLY evidence there was.
   
   There are also facets of the book which I felt were less than successful.
   The trial section is boilerplate and too long. Some of it is necessary as it ties the case together, but it is really not that interesting.
   While just my personal preference, I would have liked a lot more back story on the boys who were accused of the crime. There is some - more than you'll find in a lot of true crime - but to me the more the better.
   Mitchell is totally capable of this and proved it in DEAD AND BURIED.
   
   Ultimately I just felt that except for the police interrogation scenes,
   MURDERED INNOCENTS is just not that interesting a read. It isn't a bad book, but neither is it very compelling, and toward the end I wanted to be finished reading it without actually having to read it.
   True crime readers can do a lot worse than this book, but I wouldn't put it at the top of my list.

5 comments about Stripped: Twenty Years of Secrets from Inside the Strip Club.

1. 
   
   this book was ok..but poorly written..and disconnected.
   Read..Ivy Leauge stripper and Dance to Despair ( Memoirs of
   an exotic dancer) by Rebeckka Sathen Black...these books were
   excellent in comparison..Lap Dance was also very interesting...
   take our word for it...we are exotic dancers and nobody knows
   it better than us.....



2. I enjoyed the book for several reasons. The best part, for me, is the "Lessons Learned" section at the back and his apparent self-actualization. What a victory that must be, especially at his age. I read a lot of biographies so I can learn how to use other's experiences as a guide for my own. I met Brent at Vegas airport Border's during a plane delay and yakked his ear off (sorry man) over his success as a published writer. He's a great guy and had some great insights on living. I wish him and his wife the best of luck and hope someday myself I can stand in that spot signing something I've written as well.



3. Naked in Haiti: A sexy morality tale about tourists, prostitutes & politicians is a book about prostitution, but it is set in a place that doubles a strip club. Lots of girls get naked in this book. They strip out of their church clothes, their work clothes, their stripper clothes, and sometimes it gets kinky. They strip to Stravinsky! There's even an anti-striptease - a girl puts her clothes back on in just the sexiest way you can imagine. I think stripper fans will enjoy this book. Hey - I should know - I like strippers and I wrote this book!



4. This book was recommended to me by a Vegas native at the airport and am I glad she did. I read three books a week on average and I read so much crap it's not funny. This is a gem in an ocean of mediocrity. I am so glad the author picked up writing and expect him to be a great success. Don't worry Brent, with talent like this the money will come. Highly recommended.



5. I bought this book expecting something totally different. It was extemely boring and the author also had a problem with keeping his story straight. In one chapter he made it seem like almost everybody got beat up and you should tip your life away. Then in another chapter he totally says the complete opposite. The author had a tendency to make sure the reader knew he was hardcore. Please, give me a break.
   
   I would not recommend this book even to my enemy.

5 comments about Manson: The Unholy Trail of Charlie and the Family.

1. The book is full of the same old media hype and slanted views. It is well written, but there are some errors in the pictures. There is a picture of the girls at the garbage bin and RuthAnn (ouisch) was erronously named "Gypsy". Gypsy (Catherine Share)is not present in the pictures with the girls at the bin, it is Ruth Ann Moorehouse. Also, there is another picture with Mary Brunner and an unidentified "family" member. She is actually Catherine Gilles. I would have expected the names in the captions to be correct, since obviously much research went into this book and such errors are really unwarranted.



2. I was expecting more from this updated version of the 1971 book ,"The Garbage People"
   As a period piece its just ok. Ed Sanders book "The Family" is far better and more detailed,and much more interesting.
   This book jumps all over the place,gets some key facts wrong and misses out on important information...i.e., Paul Watkins,a major player in the real life story,isn't mentioned until the last 10 pages of the book,then only briefly!
   Also,as mentioned by another reviewer,the author has the annoying habit of incorrectly naming Mary Brunner as Marie O'Brien in the story,yet names her correctly in the accompanying photo,it's been almost 40 years, we don't need the stupid alias' anymore, besides, these people's real names have long been public knowledge,what with all the other (much better)books and various websites.
   The only positive part was the addition of some new,and frightening photos.
   Get "The Family",or "The Sharon Tate Story" instead,this is only for collectors.



3. Published years ago as THE GARBAGE PEOPLE, this revised and updated classic is still the reliable text dealing with Charles Manson and his ragtag, violent family. The real horror and sickness of these people comes through the text. It is disturbing and unforgettable indeed, and none of these individuals should EVER be let out of prison. No one can commit such horrible deeds as this and hope to be reformed in the same lifetime. Yet Manson, who apparently never did any of the murders himself, comes through as this broken Svengali who orchestrated the evil deeds. The photographs are very graphic, showing all of the victims in death. The writing is terse and sharp, almost hard-boiled, as is much of what John Gilmore writes. Yet that can be deceptive, as one enters this world Gilmore creates in much the same way you would let your child walk into a lion's den. An education, indeed. There is a powerful lesson here and I'm still trying to sort out...

   I'll never undserstand how the lovely Sharon Tate, eight months pregnant, was butchered like a lamb being slaughtered, and for what? Though confined for life, these killers have been able to marry, have children of their own, and claim to have found "God". They ask us to forgive them while we are still weeping for poor Sharon and the others. In an indirect, oblique way, Gilmore, in reminding us of things we should never forget, seems to drive this question into the reader. He has fixed it so I'll never forget, nor will I ever understand such brutality in the human condition. Despite some petty grumblings from other reviewers (who have obviously missed the point), this book is an imporant aid in our attempt to understand and deal with the darker side of the human experience.




4. John Gilmore's account of Charles Manson and his followers (the "Family") is the stuff of which nightmares are made. This is a frightening book though it places the reader inside the events, including the murders committed. You are left with the feelings of horror and dread. A fascinating story, very well written, which leaves you feeling the world has gone mad.



5. I found this book by John Gilmore to be a real revelation into Charles Manson and his so-called Family. This is still one of the best books on the case. Helter-Skelter tells the story from the District Attorneys position, and Gilmore tells the story from Manson's side. I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about All She Wanted.

1. I purchased this book soon after its release, and I would suggest anyone with an interest in it to read it. Teena Brandon is described as a young, two-faced scammer who charms and lies her way into people's lives, hoping to find happiness. Although some consider her to be a lesbian, Teena identifies herself as a hetero male soul born into a female body. Her thievery, head-games and heart-games made her an easy target. The book does a wonderful job of offering some background on the two young men who savagely beat, raped and murdered Teena Brandon in cold blood. While Teena Brandon's own actions may have helped to prompt her troubles, she did not deserve rape or murder. Nor did she deserve to be ignored by the Sherriff. There's always a better way to handle being deceived, and there's too much ignorance in the world. I felt the film, Boys Don't Cry portrayed Brandon more like an innocent, confused kid who just wanted to live a gay life. I got a completely different impression from the book. But, as always, the book is more informative. Also, 'true crime' does not usually contain strictly facts. There are lots of opinions and fabrications about the feelings and relationships of those involved, and they often get passed as facts. Aphrodite Jones writes well and this chiller won't put you to sleep. I wish only the best to the Brandon family, including Teena herself and those trying to identify themselves in the world.



2. The title turned me off, since Brandon identified as male and "All She Wanted" is yet another slap in the face, turning the back. Not that Mr. Teena was an angel by any stretch but he preferred the male pronoun later in life.
   
   As in Cruel Sacrifice, grammar and punctuation needed serious help. Does Ms Jones actually have an editor? Lana Tisdel is All S/he Wanted's Melinda Loveless-- way too much focus on Ms Tisdel in text and image as there was with Ms Loveless and her family in Cruel Sacrifice.



3. Many people are referring to Brandon Teena as 'her' as does the author throughout her book. It's clear by doing a little bit of reaseach Brandon preferred male pronouns. People are also to comparing this book to Boys Don't Cry. Boys Don't Cry is not a documentary, it's a work BASED on actual events. That means that it does not follow the actual events of Brandon's life in Falls City, the creators had the freedom to add and subtract details and facts. If you want a good documentary about the life and death of Brandon Teena try The Brandon Teena Story.



4. The book was pretty good, had alot of background info which I find more interesting than the trial info.
   It did seem to me though that the author sympathized more with Lana that Teena's mom, JoAnn. She commented on how "pretty" Lana looked on the Maury Povitch show, and that JoAnn didn't attend the show because she "felt like she had bigger fish to fry." And she also seemed to make a litttle dig about how neither JoAnn nor Tammy went to Falls City to get Teena when she was calling and telling them what happened.
   HOWEVER...my main issue with this book, and maybe I am being a little petty here, is that in the back of the book where it shows the author's photo it looks as though she doesn't have a top on. I know it doesn't show much skin but come on was this really necessary? It made me wonder what was for sale, the book or the author herself?



5. after watching boys dont cry, i wanted to learn more about brandon teena; so i got this book and i got the movie "the brandon teena story". i found this book quite interesting and i like her other books as well. i admit it was confusing at times; but it gave a good idea of who he was and what he went through to be accepted. if you are reading this review for the same reasons that i got the book; then i say go ahead and buy it - worked for me

5 comments about A Death in Belmont (P.S.).

1. This book seems half fiction / half non-fiction. The way the story is told by Junger is close to a fiction novel. I had never read before about the Boston strangler era and I really enjoyed the way Junger kept some suspence in the intrigue while mixing multiple facts related to the story.
   
   The book starts very well. The first part is pretty easy to follow and keeps the reader turning pages. The fact that Junger used to live in the neighborhood where the strangler (Albert Di Salvo) may have committed a murder adds some credibility to the story. In fact, the book starts with a picture showing Junger and his mother with Di Salvo. The latter used to work at Junger's home, and being less lucky, he could have strangled his mother too ! This main idea of Junger "knowing" the killer from so close adds some interest to the book.
   
   The problem is in the second part of the book where too many "less interesting details" are hard to follow. In some parts the storytelling seems to be heading nowhere. The book could easily have been 100 pages shorter. Anyway, interesting read for the price (look for bargains !)



2. This may not be a Perfect Storm, but Junger's still in excellent form here. Illustrates the racial inequities of the sixties--and perhaps of today as well.



3. A quick read of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion upholding the conviction of Roy Smith proves Junger's story to be highly inaccurate, misleading, and consistently manipulative. The damning evidence presented against Smith at his trial is withheld from the reader.



4. This was a great book. It is a fresh take on the old story of the boston strangler. Junger looks at it from every angle, going into the history and time and place where the investigations and trial ocurred. Absolutely an amazing book.



5. A very good book that was easy to read. It often seemed like a novel. I particularly liked the "Conversation with Sebastian Junger" by Jill Owens at the end of the book. I pointed out some subtleties that I missed.

5 comments about Ted Bundy : Conversations with a Killer.

1. First, I want to say that I love Ted Bundy and reading anything about him. That's why this book got 3 stars instead of maybe 1 or 2. From everything else I've read about him, this is nothing new. And the way it's presented is so BORING. You can see how manipulative Ted is in his monologues which are often verbose. A lot of times he doesn't make much sense.
   
   If you've read a lot about Ted Bundy, I wouldn't recommend this book. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule is a much better book. I guess if it's your first time reading about him, it might be interesting.



2. Ted Bundy murdered over 30 women in the late 70's and has a kind of cult status among people who are obsessed with serial killers and voilence, which is not why I read this book. I read this book because I was hoping it would shed light on a problem which seems to be a product of modern American society.
   The First half of this book is very interesting. Ted creates a hypothetical psychological model of a killer and in the third person describes how this person developed from a regular guy with deep emotion issues into a full fledged mass murder. That part of the book is very frightening and thought provoking. Ted describes the killer's initial fascination with alcohol and violent pornography. From there he describes the slow progress of the killer instict: how his trips to the pornographic book stores became more frequent and urgent, how he spent a year spying in women's house before almost attacking a woman one night, followed months later by an actual attack, then a rape and killing.He also describes the killer's remorse between killings and his frequent promises that this would be the last one.
   Toward the middle of the book it gets pretty boring. The second interviewer takes over and keeps trying to get Ted to admit his guilt, which he won't do. Most of the answers in this half of the book are evasive and tiringly repetitive.
   It is redeemed in the last interview in which Ted makes some rather interesting statements about how it is our society which creates the serial killer. He also talks about how this a problem which manifests itself rather early in the life of these sick men,and what's even more frightening, he states that for every man arrested for multiple homicide there are five or six more that are not caught. With a little money, Ted states, a man can kill indiscriminately for the rest of his life without fear of detection. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Abnormal Psychology.



3. Pages and pages of verbatim interviews with a megalomaniac, even one as twisted as Ted Bundy, get dull after a while. It would be a necessary reference book for anybody writing a doctoral thesis on Bundy or the psychopathic mind, but really holds little interest for the average reader.



4. I found this little number in my local used bookstore. Having been fascinated with Ted Bundy over the last couple of years but yet to read anything in depth about him, I bought it, hoping to learn something new.
   
   Unfortunately, "Conversations With A Killer"'s biggest flaw is Bundy himself. I feel really bad for Michaud and Aynesworth; they honestly try to write a ground-breaking book about the case, and Bundy promises them before the interviews that he will reveal to them "the truth about everything." How could any print journalist say no? Rather than embarking on the horizon of a new look at Ted Bundy, however, the duo are instead treated to interview after interview of Bundy whipping them around this way and that, never once giving them the kind of information they need.
   
   After initially being asked point-blank about his whereabouts during the crimes he is committed of and clamming up immediately, Bundy is instead offered the ability to speak of these crimes in the third-person, freeing him from self-incrimination. Instead of offering any new outlooks, however, Bundy dances about, choosing to "speculate" about the killer's mental workings and treating us to paragraph after paragraph of half-baked, psycho-analytical noodlings. I'm surprised Michaud and Aynesworth didn't fall asleep while interviewing him; when Bundy's not pumping his side of the testimony full of mostly-nonsensical, winding explanations of the "killer's" mindset, he chooses to be very vague about his choice of words, offering a lot of "could be" and "might have been that, also might have been this" and "I don't know". And, of course, he denies absolutely everything about his involvement in these crimes, standing infuriatingly adamant about his innocence all the while. Michaud and Ayneworth ask him numerous times about his whereabouts during crimes or about the testimony of witnesses, and Bundy is rarely ever able to give them an answer, either sidestepping the question and weaseling his way into another subject, or simply refusing to answer at all.
   
   The book does have a few positive marks, as few as they are. The first few chapters of the book do offer a decent, albiet selective, history of Bundy from youth to the (then) present, revealing an education in words passed on by his mother, crippling shyness during high school, and his strange fetish with socks. Also detailed are his struggles with bi-polar disorder, using his escape from jail in Glenwood Springs as a compelling example. Lastly, one can glimpse some truths behind Bundy's words, including the dangerous influences that both "stress" and pornography had on his transformation into a serial killer. However, while these are great tidbits for a newcomer to Bundy's persona, they're not nearly enough to provide one with a fulfilling look at the man and his life & doings.
   
   As for Michaud and Aynesworth, they humble Bundy at the beginning and are eager to try new approaches, but as the book is chronological, it is easy to grasp their growing impatience with Ted's mind games. Aynesworth gets especially agitated, and his multiple outbursts of anger at Bundy (only to be met with smiles, jokes, denial, irritation, and sidestepping on Bundy's end) are by far the most interesting parts of the book. And that's got to be a sad statement: that the anger of one of the authors at the subject of the book is ultimately more interesting than the sum of the book's parts.
   
   I can't really recommend it. Only those truly interested in Ted Bundy or the way his mind works could grasp much enjoyment out of it. Much of the book will just bore you to tears. An interesting first look at Bundy, it proved to be a vastly unfulfilling one for me, and I hope that Ann Rule's "The Stranger Beside Me" will prove to be much better. Good luck next time, Steve and Hugh.



5. I enjoyed the insight on how Ted Bundy thinks and how manipulative he could be. On a more personal level, some of the things he said are eerily similar to the way I operate. For example, when he said he used to fantasize about having an endless supply of socks and underwear so he never had to worry about a clean pair being available. I impulsively buy a new pack of each every two or three months, long before I've had to throw any out. I could go a month or more without washing laundry and never run out of clean socks or underwear. Many times throughout the book, I found myself thinking, had I been the right age, at the right time, in the right place, I would have gotten along with Ted, and wondered if I'd have made a suitable victim, although he probably wouldn't have "gone there" with someone who was a true friend.
   
   Similarities aside, I was more interested in the details of the crimes, the investigation, trial, and sentencing. In that respect, this book was not what I had hoped for or expected. Any time the interviewers got too close to the topic at hand, Ted would veer in the other direction. At times it got so painfully slow and repetitive, I found myself skipping entire paragraphs, then going back to re-read just in case I missed something interesting or important.
   
   If all you're interested in is Ted Bundy: The Man, this is a great book with plenty to offer, although according to one reviewer, it's nothing new. I wouldn't know, as this is the first book on Bundy that I've read. It just wasn't what I was looking for, and I guess I shouldn't hold that against it.

5 comments about In Cold Blood.

1. When this book was first published it was a sensation, it makes the furor over the Da Vinci look mild in comparison and it made Capote a superstar. What makes this book unique, besides the fantastic writing, was the fact that Capote completely emersed himself in this project, he turned over every stone and completely manipulated everyone involved, to learn every angle of the story. This book is a complete tour de force, this is a book you will never forget, not just because of the crime, so vividly recreated, but also due to Capote's haunting prose. Highly recommended, lives up to all the hype. It's just a shame it ruined Capote, as nakedly ambitious as he was, he was also a true talent.



2. I have spent much of my life planning to read the great novels but as of yet just have never found the time. Recently I discovered a wonderful alternative is listening to audio books. As of today I have now heard a number of great works but Capote's novel is in a class by itself. The writing is amazing. He owns the English language. Never does he settle for a second best way to describe a thing but writes with the precision of a master craftsman. Describing the deceased mother, whose eyes remained open, Capote refers to them as "death dulled eyes". Speaking of the shrubs he speaks of their "camel-like indifference to drought". Every sentence, every phrase, from cover to cover, is both poetic and gripping. Unlike many authors who begin strong and then begin to dull as the chapters progress, Capote keeps the freshness of his prose up throughout the work.
   
   Simply put, this novel is on level beyond what most of us have ever read. And I must note that the reader on the audio version is intimately involved in the text. The reading in no way detracts from the power of the novel, but actualy enhances it - if that is possible.
   
   This is one of the top 3 books I have ever heard or read - a masterpiece!



3. I read the book many years ago, enjoyed it then, and after the movie Capote, decided to listen to the book. It was great in both audio and book form. Capote was really intrigued by these two murderers so, most of the story involved their lives. The details of the act itself was scarey.



4. I have always been a Scott Brick (Narrator)fan. Now I am also a Truman Capote fan. I can not recommend this book enough. After I listened to this masterpiece I rented the movie "Capote". It was also a great experience.



5. This is a great classic but you have to devote some time to listening to the CDs, as you would to read the book. Can't complaint about the convenience though; ability to listen to the CDs while driving, at work, at home, etc. is wonderful. If you haven't tried an audio book yet, do so, you will find it to be quite an experience!