No comments about No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels.

5 comments about Laci: Inside the Laci Peterson Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. If this is perhaps the first book you've read on the Laci Peterson case, you may find tidbits of information here. But, as someone who's read up on the case, this book offers only detached, article-type data and the prose cannot quite reach the heart of the reader. It's dry and dull, in other words. Dialogue in the book is limited mostly to "hard quotes", the prose is flat, and many details are skipped over in an effort to keep the book short.
   
   Details skipped include the blood in the truck and Scott's excuse for it, details about concrete evidence in the warehouse where he kept his boat, the phone call to Amber Frey on New Year's Eve when he told her he was in Paris when in actuality he was at a candlelight vigil for Laci, and left out completely is all testimony from Scott's half sister Anne Bird. There are no private words with either family, only media observations. The overall context of the book has the same feel as reading articles rather than interviews, and was written with a profound sense of distance from the investigation.
   
   Being honest, this is a flat and monochromic view of a true crime that stirred the hearts of an entire nation. I highly recommend reading Catherine Crier's 'A Deadly Game' to obtain the missing details, and reading this book only as a filler after you've read all other accounts.



2. It's the forensic side of the investigation. There are parts that are difficult to read; I have been reading true crime for years and the author is very descriptive. It's very interesting though. I would recommend it if you follow this crime story.



3. I bought this book at Barnes and Noble last year, and I couldn't even finish it. I had read Sharon Rocha's book a year prior, and, comparing the two books, there are a lot of inconsistancies with this one. For one, the author told us Laci's wedding dress was stolen, but in Sharon Rocha's book, she mentions that she has her daughter's dress. That's one of many inconsistancies in this book, and when it comes to believing a "true crime" author, or believing the victim's mother who was actually THERE front and center for this whole horrible ordeal, I consider Sharon Rocha more reliable. Aside from the overall sloppiness and inconsistance of this book, it was horribly written. I spotted many typos, mispellings, et cetera, that should have been checked over before being published. And where did he get these crappy half-truths (or, in some cases, flat out lies)? The back of a cereal box? In my opinion, the only reason for this book is so some sleazy, ex-CosmoGirl journalist could make a quick buck. It's truly an insult to a person's intelligence, and an insult to the memories of Laci and Conner Peterson.



4. This book is well written and can be read in a day or less. It is such a tragic story but one that needs to be told. Make sure you have a box of tissues handy because you will cry when reading much of the book.



5. I can't be quite as harsh as others, because a lot of work and research went into this book, and it's a fast read. I didn't hear as much about this case as others, so a lot of this was new. I think the author handled the family relationships well. But I can't believe where it ends. It's just suddenly stops, as if the author decided not to wait for the conclusion, and just ended it, without explanation. Perhaps an author note would have helped.

3 comments about OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency.

1. FDR seemed to have a natural interest in spies. Before World War II started he had contacted William 'Wild Bill' Donovan and asked him to set up a foreign intelligence agency along the lines of what the British were doing. He formed just what FDR wanted and it was called the Office of Strategic Services, a non-descript name that could have meant anything. ==The OSS was a crazy agency that grew like crazy, eventually reaching some 10,000 people. All in all, the OSS provided some useful intelligence. They performed some useful operations during the war. They trained some very good people. This book will give you all the details. ==This whole concept was done over the intense opposition of J. Edgar Hoover who fought with every skill he had to prevent what he considered competition with the FBI. ==After FDR died, Truman and Donovan didn't get along all tht well. Truman shut down the OSS, but shortly thereafter realized that the Navy, the Army and the FBI along with all the others didn't play well together so he set up the CIA a few months later. ==Of course 9/11 taught us that none of them play well together now.



2. This work was the first genuinely scholarly work on the OSS. The author, an academician, wrote it way back when most OSS works were memoirs or compilations of tales of derring do or sensationalistic political acreeds concerning intelligence matters; although the still interesting memoirs and tales were fact based, those early books were based solely on memory and not on sound documentation. In addition many sensational critiques of intelligence agencies and the CIA msntioned some OSS activities. The date of 2005 given is that of the reprint, not the original 1972.
   The former files of the OSS remained in use by the OSS's two successor agencies: the State Department's Intelligence Bureau (INR) and the War Department's Special Services Unit (SSU), which carried on the OSS's HUMINT clandestine operations. SSU in turn was folded in 1947 into the newly estabished CIA, which continued to use the classified OSS files and added to them. The former OSS files then continued in use for many years; in the eighties, the CIA finally weeded out sll the long since unecessary files concerning operational, organizational and procedural matters and sent them to the Nationsl Archives. Thia action resulted in a huge quantity of memoirs being written by veterans of OSS (c.f. Elizabeth MacIntosh's study of women in the OSS, "Sisterhood of Spies"), in technicals studies (c.f. John Brunner's "OSS Weapons" and in organizational histories (c.f. Yu's "OSS in China"). All of these and many similar recent studies I have reviewed on this site.
   This pioneering work by Harris is necessarily sketchy due to lack of sources, being based on a few scattered memoirs and incomplete and undocumented popular publications and interviews, snd riddled with omissions and errors, has been overtaken by events.
   The book is best looked at as a curiosity demonstrating the lack of public knowledge in its day, when CIA insiders remaining in the intelligence business were actively discouraged from publishing. Harris, having never been in the OSS, was not constrained by secrecy oaths from publishing what he could glean from no longer serving veterans and other sources.
   Why this was reprinted is beyond me. There are enough copies to be found in the used book trade to satisfy the completist collector of OSS related works while to those who are doing current research, it is simply an obsolete curiousity.
   Not all works published in the last fifty years are no longer of continuing validity; many first hand accounts and compilations of derring do tales are still valuble, for example "You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger". (c.f reviews on this site.)



3. Recent archival research has partly superseded "OSS," but it remains a valuable survey of America's main undercover service in World War II. As a pioneering history, some facts inevitably have been supplemented and/or corrected, but the overall outline presented here is quite valid. The OSS collected intelligence and executed some useful operations, along with a few blunders (e.g. Allen Dulles's peace feelers to Nazi Germany, which outraged the USSR and briefly imperiled the alliance). But their efforts were largely peripheral to the major ground, air and sea campaigns. The book's main value now may be to suggest topics and raise questions for future research. It also contains a more subtle message in documenting the idealism and (often) progressive sympathies of citizen-soldiers dedicated to fighting Japanese and German tyrannies. Smith's 1972 publication reflected the backlash against the CIA and US militarism during the Vietnam War era. His vision of a clandestine outfit which actually promoted positive change, and respected expertise, offers hope in our current time of troubles. A CIA that routinely violates the Geneva Conventions with torture and kidnapping, and chickenhawk officials who pervert information-gathering in their rush to disaster overseas, are unworthy heirs of OSS veterans and the leaders of their time.

5 comments about In the Name of Love: Ann Rule's Crime Files Volume 4 (Ann Rule's Crime Files).

1. The main story in this book by Ann Rule is about a successful entrepreneur who falls in love with an inexperienced younger woman whom he eventually marries. His wife is somewhat submissive in her marriage, allowing her husband to make the plans, decisions, etc. However, one business relationship becomes threatening to her husband and he suddenly disappears. The young wife becomes obessed with finding her husband and looks for every angle. She turns out to be a strong, assertive person in her own right. Ann Rule, as is her talent, traces their relationship through the years, and brings out the human element in this true crime story. There are several other fascinating short true crime stories in the book, all of which make it difficult to put the book down.



2. Ann Rule stories are interesting in that they are true but her writing leaves a lot to be desired. Takes to long to tell the story.



3. Gives wonderful and meticulous detail. How does this author find all this stuff out about her subjects? Very gripping and tragic true crime story about a couple who seemingly had it all, wealth, love and the admiration of their friends. Then...everything changed in a single night with Jerry Harris' disappearnce. His beautiful, young wife Susan has to bear months of wondering and waiting for Jerry to hopefully walk in the door, but that is not to be. At first, it seems that the much younger Susan is very passive and that she is submissive to her husband. However, she becomes a dynamo and formidable woman after her husband's disappearance. She fights Jerry's best friend, Steve Bonilla tooth and nail, as Bonilla is trying to get a piece of Jerry and Susan's financial pie. This all ends with Jerry's murder in 1988 and things are never the same again. Just goes to show that you can't trust your best friend sometimes!! Beware. Great read from Ann Rule.



4. I am a serious lover of Ann Rule books, but this wasn't one of my favorites. It really took a while to grab my attention, unlike other books I've read by her. Not her best, but still a good read when compared to most other true crime books.



5. In the name of love could have easily been a book in itself. The length is about 200 pages long. Ann Rule writes about Jerry and Susan Harris, a vivacious couple, who had money, friends, love, and popularity among their family and friends and associates. Jerry Lee Harris unfortunately made a deadly friend in Steven Bonilla who if he investigated himself would have learned that his best friend was a sociopath who would stop at nothing to steal Jerry's life and even his wife. For Susan and Jerry, their relationship seemed like an ideal marriage and partnership. They rarely fought with one another maybe about having children. Together, Susan and Jerry appeared the perfect match. When Jerry never came home one night in October 1987, Susan panicked and worried that something was terribly wrong. Regardless of his outcome, she would have been more relieved if he left for another woman then at least he would be alive. Sadly, he was killed that night and dumped in the desert. Found months later, the cause of death was determined to be homicide. Bonilla who was once Jerry's friend had become his enemy by badmouthing his life in death. Susan at a young age had taken up Jerry's businesses of successful clubs. The problems was financial but it didn't matter to Susan because all she wanted was Jerry to be alive and well. The news of his murder gave some closure that he was never coming to their beautiful home on Blackhawk Road in Northern California. The investigations into Bonilla's life and one of the guy's who turned in evidence against Steven and the killer revealed a shocking past of Jerry's best friend who attempted to kill his first wife by planning a bomb under her car that never went off because the guy cut the wires. Bonilla's life also included involving his second wife, Ginger, into buying supplies for a meth lab. The author omits the ingredients here purposely as if we can't find out on the internet. For Bonilla, Jerry was everything that Steven wasn't and he wanted it all even his young pretty wife, Susan, who he took for granted as dumb and ignorant. She surprised him by being stronger than he could have imagined by derailing him at every possible point. In the end of the story, it wasn't about money for Susan. She never recovered from her loss of the love of her life, Jerry Lee Harris. She has found a new life away from California and a new name. Bonilla is on death row, the killer is in for life, and the man who helped them get there only got three years. Of course, Ann Rule writes from a policeman's perspective because she was one for many years and you can expect her to be biased in that aspect. She does write about people's mistakes in judgment of others. Jerry Lee Harris was somebody who believed the good in everybody maybe that's one of his endearing qualities and faults.

5 comments about A Perfect Husband.

1. "He knew his infidelity was not all HER fault..." That sentence, which made me laugh out loud, summarizes the whole book: ridiculous. The author is talking about Kathleen Peterson's first husband, who has the gall to say that his cheating on his wife is not entirely his wife's fault. Gee, what a big man he is. Of course, the guy comes across as the jerk he is, but the problem is that Aphrodite Jones doesn't get it: she takes the guy at face value, as if cheating on his spouse said nothing about him.
   
   Jones also stars out with the description of an ideal evening that is ridiculous considering she believes that Michael Peterson killed his wife on that very evening. She even narrates what was on Kathleen's mind that night--and, unless she's a medium, there was no way for her (or anyone else) to know. The only thing Kathleen Peterson (RIP) was guilty of was a terrible taste in men, and she deserved much better--in her life, in her marriage, and in the book that was written about her. My condolences to her daughter, Caitlin.



2. To provide a perfunctory summary of Aphrodite Jones' A PERFECT HUSBAND, author Michael Peterson is accused of beating his wife, Kathleen, to death in Durham, NC, and then staging a fall down a flight of stairs. We later learn that Michael may have been involved 15 years earlier in a similar incident, that he is bisexual, and blah blah blah.
   It really doesn't matter because no story, no matter how interesting - and this one is - could stand up to the trashy incompetence of Jones' writing. This book exhibits all the hallmarks of the worst of the genre. Some of many possible examples:
   
   1. In what is likely an attempt to meet a required number of pages, Jones regularly repeats material. On page 245 she writes that "Caitlin's attorney, Jay Trehy, reported..." On 246 she writes "...attorney Jay Trehy had knocked..." On 247 she writes that "Caitlin and her attorney, Jay Trehy, were conducting an investigation..." Presumably Jones felt the need to emphasize that in the space of these three pages of narrative, Caitlin had not changed attorneys.
   And on page 56 we learn that, "...Kathleen had insisted that Caitlin remain close to her biological dad." Two sentences later, Jones writes that, "regardless of her new family with Michael, she wanted Caitlin to remain close to her biological father."
   It's almost as if Jones does not read what she is writing. Which would actually be sensible.
   
   2. Jones does no in depth research into the personalities, backgrounds, or psyches of the principal players in the story. Instead she substitutes superficial banalities to describe characters and events. Kathleen's sisters had "hearts of gold." A cab driver, totally peripheral to the story but who is asked to do a favor is described as "the kind stranger."
   "Barbara", a babysitter 15 years earlier in Germany, "after a weekend of fun would appear chipper every Monday morning, ready for a week of full time work." "Liz went all out, as did her friends, preparing mouth watering appetizers and extraordinary desserts."
   And, describing a wedding that took place 23 years before Jones wrote this book, Jones tells us that "George and Liz glowed...The pair looked stunning and shared vows that people believed could never be broken." What people?
   
   Jones has no way of knowing any of this, and as such A PERFECT HUSBAND is not true crime but is rather its superficial cousin, fictionalized crime/soap opera. Jones' writing about people and events of which she has at best minimal knowledge, results in the saccharine non-information shown above. Rather than illuminating, the descriptions render the subjects two dimensional and clichéd. There is really no information provided.
   
   3. None of the principal characters in this book are ever annoyed, irritated, sad, or surprised. They are all horrified, mortified, beside themselves, agonized, devastated, and, in what must have been the granddaddy of out of control emotion, "completely and utterly devastated".
   And let's not forget the tears. The characters in A PERFECT HUSBAND are perpetually weeping, teary, teary eyed. Sometimes they can even be found sobbing uncontrollably.
   But the king of this book's emotions is SHOCK! Everyone in this story seems to be continually somewhere on the shock continuum, whether entering it, in its throes, or coming out of it. It gets to the point where not even the residents of the region who have been following the case in the media but who otherwise have no personal ties to it are exempt. On page 251 we learn that "The public was shocked..."by a medical examiner's report. And on 220, "...folks in the Triangle region were shocked to learn that the Petersons had let so many charges pile up."
   I have lived in a number of places in America and have never personally witnessed this phenomenon, but it appears that the populace in the greater Durham, NC, area has an unusual propensity toward shock. Maybe it's the water.
   An unofficial count reveals at least 14 instances of the use of the words "shock" or "shocked". Jones apparently doesn't realize that continued extreme emotion results in no emotion. Or maybe she doesn't care. Devastation, shock, or whatever, becomes mundane if it's a constant and therefore not shocking or devastating. But Jones is really not attempting to provide us with any accurate sense of the way people experience emotions. She is again writing soap opera.
   
   4. There is a lot of silliness and just bad writing in this book. On 306, Jones writes that when the sealed-off stairwell where Kathleen's body had been found was reopened, "no one could have anticipated the mystic vapor that would exude from behind the plywood." Well, I guess not.
   
   On 80, Jones reports "There were two black dresses on sale, stunning dresses really," and that in the end "Kathleen opted to buy both." And in the next paragraph, "Yet suddenly here (Caitlin) was wearing that very dress that her mom so dearly loved. It wasn't black, actually, more midnight blue..." What color was that dress? And if it was in fact midnight blue, was it just a fit of whimsy that led Jones to initially call it black?
   
   In an interesting mangling of a cliché, Jones writes "Up until then, any bad news Caitlin had ever heard had been followed by a silver lining."
   
   And on page 131, "As she looked to the sky, Caitlin kept asking her mother for guidance, but she wasn't getting any signs."
   
   5. And, for someone who calls herself a writer, Jones misuses basic English vocabulary to an amazing extent. She writes that a fireplace tool "had been omnipresent in the Peterson home." I might have expected omnipresence from the aforementioned mystic vapor, but not from a tool.
   
   She reports that Michael's defense team "sat in the courtroom, looking somewhat glib." I don't believe you can actually look glib.
   
   We learn that the "jurors seemed mystified by Dr. Lee's grace, by his easy smile." Mystified? That would seem an inappropriate emotion unless Dr. Lee had a reputation of being graceless and unpleasant. Perhaps she means enchanted.
   
   And, astoundingly, Jones does not know the past tense of the verb "weep". My 15 year old has known for at least 8 years that it is wept. Jones believes it is "weeped". And it appears this way at least three times in A PERFECT HUSBAND. An example from page 122 which also illustrates the embarrassingly bad writing: "He simply cried, curled up on the floor and cried and weeped and weeped."
   
   Interestingly, I noticed that on the acknowledgement page, one of the people Jones thanks is her editor. She doesn't say why.
   
   A PERFECT HUSBAND embodies the worst of this genre. It is sloppy, incompetent, superficial, illiterate, and unintelligent. It would seem to be awfully difficult to write a book this bad, but Aphrodite Jones has pulled it off.
   



3. There is a much better book concerning this murder ( and the first murder ) committed by Michael Peterson. It is "Written in Blood" by Diane Fanning, and it is by far the superior book. Much less confusing, much less meandering, Fanning's book manages to span the time frame between two similar crimes of women associated with Peterson.
   
   Much more horrifying is the fact that the children of his first victim in Germany became his wards, and remained in his custody, loving him, the murderer of their mother.
   
   I suggest that anyone confused or put off by this author's style pick up a copy of "Written in Blood." Everything is more cohesive and the spine prickles much more pronounced.
   
   There will be no doubt in your mind that Peterson committed both murders. Evidently the courts agree with Diane Fanning, too, as Michael Peterson's final appeal against his life sentence was denied in 2007.



4. The story of Michael Peterson as the perfect husband is far from the truth. He was a closet bisexual as well as a philanderer besides being a best-selling author. I would love to have his success as a novelist even if it didn't lasted. He was married to a beautiful and successful woman, Kathleen Atwater Peterson, who loved him and their children. Three daughters and two sons although biologically together, Caitlin Atwater is Kathleen's only child. Michael had two adult sons from a previous marriage to Patricia Peterson who lives in Germany. He also became legal guardian to Martha and Margaret Ratliff who despite had a willing aunt to raise them in Rhode Island. Their mother, Elizabeth McKee Ratliff, died under mysterious circumstances in Germany where they lived at the time. As the story unfolds, Kathleen Peterson's sudden death is equally bizarre. Michael claims that she fell down a flight of stairs and died of a natural causes. The truth was that she was murdered by her own husband two weeks before Christmas 1999. Michael tried to convince others of his own sudden sadness but it was not fooliny anybody. He barely conceded to pay for his own wife's funeral expenses. As authorities come closer to sealing a case against him, they learn from Ratliff's death as well in Germany. They exhume her body despite her own daughters' strong belief in their adopted father's innocence. She died similarily. While the author conveys the family's plight on both sides, it truly is a double family tragedy. I'm going to acknowledge anything else written about this case except in this book.



5. A dyed-in-the-wool sociopath with genteel affectations and upper-crust snobbery and arrogance. He's a raving lunatic behind a mask of sanity. A most fascinating story. The supporting cast of characters (family members, attorneys) are compelling in their own right. "Written in Blood" is another terrific book on this case, and the film "The Staircase", a documentary about the case, is riveting and revealing. I was hooked on this one.

5 comments about Bad Boy: The True Story of Kenneth Allen McDuff, the Most Notorious Serial Killer in Texas History.

1. Disturbing. I'd watched a documentary about the "broomstick killer" and was curious about what made him tick. The book reveals what was behind the creep's actions. And that was really nothing, just a vicious, vacant man devoid of any pity or feelings. Written in a factual, chilling manner. Me thinks I learned a bit too much about this mad man.



2. This book reviews the history of Kenneth Allen McDuff... the only serial killer in Texas history, perhaps the entire world, to be sentenced to death, paroled, and then sentenced to death a second time. There can be no doubt that this book is impeccably researched and well written. The author certainly did his homework. While the story itself is inherently interesting, I do have some reservations about recommending this to the masses of True Crime fans.
   
   1. After being paroled from Death Row, McDuff manages to associate himself with numerous nefarious characters and many law enforcement officials from various cities and agencies. Given that McDuff had no real friends and prefered to surround himself with others to whom he felt superior and whom he could manipulate, the many criminal acquaintances and law enforcement officers mentioned becomes rather confusing near the middle of the book. A glossary of persons for quick reference would have been helpful and would have lessened the confusion.
   
   2. Given that the book covers a span of time nearing 30 years, a timeline of some sort would also have been useful to the reader. (Oddly, one of the final chapters reveals that during the trial, the prosecuting attorneys actually made a timeline for jurors. It is unfortunate that readers were not afforded the same privilege.)
   
   3. The ending of the book is rather anticlimactic. True, the reader knows from the get go that McDuff is eventually executed. However, a final chapter about the criminal mind behind McDuff's murderous activities might have given the book a more "finished" appearance and feeling.
   
   The final line of the book reads: "To the very end, he (McDuff) considered himself misunderstood, oppressed, and the victim." I believe this last sentence could have the been the first sentence to a final, closing chapter exploring those elements that may have contributed to McDuff's sociopathy and vicious personality. McDuff was not one to speak to authorities or mental health professionals about his upbringing and, even if he had, most of it probably would have been lacking in insight or filled with half-truths and lies. That being said, given that the author does include comments and insight from many who knew McDuff, intelligent conjecture about the criminal McDuff became would have been possible. Instead, the book simply ends in tepid disappointment.



3. I really don't understand the positive reviews of this book. It is poorly-written and amateurish, and the story-telling is not at all compelling. I would read 20-page blocks of this book and then forget about it for a month. The description of people and events is extremely thin, and it's obvious that little research was put into it. That might be forgivable if, as I said, the writing wasn't of such low quality. Compare this to a classic true-crime book like The Executioner's Song, and it's like a clinic for whoever wrote this book.



4. Being a true crime buff and former resident of Texas, I was really excited to read this book... When I finally recieved it and began to read it, I was truly disappointed. It is very poorly written and hard to follow. I normally read a book in 1 to 2 days and it has taken me 5 days to read this one. I do not recommend wasting time or money on this particular book.



5. Kenneth McDuff is probably the only murderer to be sentenced to death twice...in two decades! It cost at least four women their lives when McDuff was paroled in 1989.
   
   Learn the harrowing tale of how a serial killer was released after his death sentence was commuted and later he was paroled.
   He wasn't charged with his first known rape and murder of a teen girl due to sloppy prosecution and faulty paperwork.
   
   He routinely violated his parole and probation conditions,sometimes within mere minutes after appearing in court! Mr. Lavergne aptly states that McDuff had "no moral compass." He wasn't an intelligent individual,he was aided by luck and mysterious assistance in leaving Texas after his murders. His neurotic mother regularly enabled him with financial support throughout his life.
   
   There a few mysteries left unexplained, the chief being the identity of the CI that coaxed McDuff into helping to locate the burial sites of his victims while on death row.
   
   Gary Lavergne has done his research and written in detail the chilling actions of a serial killer that got to continue killing long after he should have been executed.

5 comments about Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder.

1. Living in Southern California, I always love reading true crime books with So-Cal historical content. Loved it. The pictures inside are fantastic (some graphic). There are pictures of Elizabeth Short in death and in life. There's also a great map of the Los Angeles area that gives 48 places frequented by Short and mentioned in the book. Some are still in existence too. Map also points out the site of the body discovery.
   The best pictures and illustrations I've seen in a true crime book.
   
   It's an exciting read from start to finish. As compared to some other Dahlia books I've read, I think this one gives us a glimpse into Elizabeth Short - the person. It's obvious from reading this book that the author has done extensive research to create the most accurate picture of one of the most haunting unsolved murders in Los Angeles.
   
   I think the author is right on the mark with his theory into the main suspect.
   
   Read this one before the other Dahlia books.



2. Severed is a truly great read. I was totally absorbed into this book. It's a brilliant, genre-breaking transcripted oral history noir, given by those involved, many of whom were still alive at the time, and are taken and crafted in the diffuse light of another less than promising LA Wednesday morning back in January, 1947, before the fog burned-off at about 10:30 AM. Then you could see her nude body, brutally tortured and completely severed at the midriff, drained of all fluids, carefully washed, and posed for the shutter bugs, who always got there first.
   
   The horror over on Norton, north of 39th. Street, south of Coliseum. Formerly Elizabeth Short of Medford, Mass. The paperboys always know the way. You should believe him when he says he saw a car there at six. A black Ford. That's what the morning paperboys know. That's what the morning paperboys did; fold papers and ID cars.
   
   Martin Lewis, the shoe salesman with a story to tell, to me, formed an interior ring of truth, around which Gilmore's other subjects have spun their true stories. That's how you know it's true. A slight return. It chords with something else, and it buzzes in your head...Gilmore has her there, for a moment, the Black Dahlia herself, and then is all but predictably knocked, skidding, off of her real killer's trail, just as his alkie protagonist and anti-hero, Lanky Jack Wilson is suddenly taken from him, and us, deus ex machina.
   
   "A signature sex killing." Ellroy says. I call it the perfect crime. Did Jack Wilson do Elizabeth Short in? No way in Hell. But, no matter. I suspect the real killer is in there, somewhere. Down the list. Lucid, and at times transfixing, written in seemingly effortless prose, and annealed with the inclusion of some truly shocking crime scene photos, this is the best place to start your own search for the killer, who could still be alive and at large. There is no statute of limitiations on the truth when it comes to LA's darkest and most infamous and unsolved murder case.



3. 
   I agree with the previous reader called Veronica T.
   
   This book is by far the best book on the subject of the BLACK DAHLIA, (written thus far). It's the only book written to date, that makes any sense.
   
   I've read other books on this same subject and most of them did not come close. Infact, some other books written on this same subject were down right un-imaginable & unbelievable (eg: some books proposed that the Black Dahlia serial killer was the "father of a known L.A. Police Officer",and this was stated in the other books... without showing many facts,other than a few photos that looked nothing like the Dahlia, etc...).
   
   However, by contrast, the facts in this Gilmore book are very well presented by the author.
   An easy book to read.
   As I said, it's the best one out there on the subject.
   
   PS: The photos in this Gilmore book are so shocking, so plz beware (gulp!).



4. Due to the mystery and sensationalism surrounding her murder, Elizabeth Short has been much over-glamorized by both the media and crime buffs alike. In "Severed," John Gilmore does an amazing job of portraying Ms. Short as a real person...warts and all. I've read many works on this case (both fictional and non-fictional) and this is the first one that's left me feeling as if I could relate to Ms. Short as a human being.
   
   I think what I admire most about this book, though, is the author appears to stick to the facts and ONLY the facts. I get the impression that if something wasn't documented and couldn't be verified, Mr. Gilmore elected not to include it.
   
   Unlike some other readers, I feel that Gilmore's theory of who killed Beth Short is probably the most plausible of any I'm aware of. It may not be the sexy revelation we've all been wishing for, but as Freud said, "sometime a cigar is just a cigar."



5. I really liked this book. I bounced back in forth between 2 authors and am I ever glad I picked this one. Had heard of Black Dahlia and was a little familiar with the case. John Gilmore really made it interesting and filled in all the gaps! I read the whole book in one day, staying with it till 3:30 am.!I have since bought another Gilmore book. I will be buying more, he is a phenominal writer!

5 comments about Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century.

1. Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper attempts to avoid the facts with his personal opinions & assumptions as if real life were just another movie for him to rate on a thumb scale. The first 6 chapters (which is as far as most people will read) is a total whitewash of the facts. The rest of the book attempts to blend this whitewash with tabloid trash. Two thumbs way down, Mr. Roeper. Any educated person can find immediate problems in the first few paragraphs of the book with his casual unsourcable rant about the "Debunked" physics of the WTC collapse on 9/11 in the 1st chapter entitled 'The Steel Didn't Have to Melt'. True Mr. Roeper, the steel wouldn't have to melt for parts of the building to collapse; but ALL THREE of them symmetrically into their own footprints at the speed of gravity? Impossible! And, yes the steel did have to melt, since molten metal was found in the ruins of ALL 3 BUILDINGS for more than 7 weeks after the collapse. One would only need to watch a speech by Architect Richard Gage or Professor Steven Jones on Google Video for a true professional analysis of the WTC collapses.
   
   I could spend all day rebuting the first 6 chapters of this disorganized regergitation, but his unsourced opinions aren't worth much time. If you would like to know about the Clinton's criminal background watch 'The Clinton Chronicles' or 'The Mena Connection' for free on Google Video. If you would like to know more about the JFK Jr. assassination watch 'The Assassination of JFK Jr.' for free on Google Video. For more on the media blackout watch 'Spin' by Brian Springer for free on Google Video. For more on the levees being purposely blown during Hurricane Katrina watch 'Katrina Levee Blown Up' on YouTube.
   
   His blending of the facts with the other tabloid trash stories in this book is a poor attempt at discrediting & dismissing expert investigators & field professionals as tinfoil wearing kooks. Now that's what I call black propaganda & it's not going to work on anyone who's already been exposed to the dreadful truth. Mr. Roeper needs to stick with his movie critiques & leave the physics & criminal investigations to those with an appropriate job title.



2. I completely agree with Demon Ted's review, especially regarding the 9/11 issue. Roeper's book adds no weight to the subjects he talks about. If he were a full-time lawyer, academic or a serious journalist and scoured more facts, I would've have given a better review. Of course the book would have been too technical, academic, and dense, but serious subjects like 9/11, JFK, Lady Di's death, deserve that level of scrutiny. The fact that Roeper dabbles on these matters and then tackles the subject of the Virgin Mary image on the cheese sandwich is....comical. 9/11 alone deserves volumes of research, what was Roeper thinking? The book in my opinion would have been better if he decided to stick to either the lighter or heavier issues, not mixing up the big-scale national events with the trivial ones like... miracle cheese sandwiches. Let the 20/20 professional John Stossel walk that "thin" line.
   To be fair, Roeper has always been a commentator on various news feeds so this is book form of that, so I suppose He needs to be givven some slack for now writing more "deeply".
   All Americans, especially journalists, should see the various 9/11 videos on YourTube that DT describes. Many of the videos are from professors and engineers from top universities. I am a firm believer now that all three modern all-steel buildings could not have fallen the way they did. They WERE "taken down", using professional demolition terminology. There is even footage from the owner of "Building #7", the third buiilding that "collapsed" where he states that he agreed that the building be taken down, even before 9/11 happened. There is more to the 9/11 story than what we were so conveniently "told".
   Mr. Roeper should stick to movie reviews but even then, I will no longer read them nor rely on them. Anyone remember Michael Medved, who was also once a well-known movie critic? He's now a right-wing nutcase weirdo my- morals-are-better-than-your-morals know-it-all, with his own web and radio show. Is there something about being a movie critic that makes one all of a sudden think they're an expert on just about everything in REAL life? At least Roeper has not yet become a full-blown right-wing-neocon whore like the Medved-O'Reilly-Rush-Hannity-Coulter crew.
   Ultimately though, I'm very glad though that Medved and Roeper have both come out with their own polical or social views. We see their true colors, so to speak, and that's good! They're entitled to them, like all individuals, public or private. But their particular slant or judgement on matters OTHER THAN MOVIES makes one question the viability, quality or reliability of their other judgements, INCLUDING movies. It's kinda like a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or gulp, a family member you thought you knew. You think they're a nice, fair, honest, compassionate person. And they are on the outset on most things. They have and feed their kids, pets, mow their lawn every week, volunteer at their church, etc., but then one day they talk about how they don't like the blacks they see now in the mall, or on another day they confide on how gays are "ruining marriage", or they believe that evolution is just a theory unlike intelligent design. Or that a woman or a black person would not be a good president at this time. You think twice about that person now, how his/her outlook on life is skewed a certain (scary?) way. That's kinda how I now view Mr. Roeper, though not as nearly as bad as the fictional examples above (in my real life though these people exist, sadly).
   I've never really liked Medved's movie reviews and was lukewarm toward's Roepers. Now I won't even bother. And I'm not always in-line with Roger Eberts reviews either. Geez, looks like I'm on my own regarding movie reviews. But wait, there is always a chance the O'Reilly-Rush-Hannity-Coulter camp will start doing movie reviews. Yay! I hope so cause I need a good laugh, because Roeper's book made me cry now that I have one less movie reviewer I can somewhat trust. Thumbs down on the book.
   To be honest though, I'd rather have a 100 Richard Roepers doing a gazillion movie reviews than a single Michael Medved doing one movie review. Unfair and unbalanced I know, but you need that to counter the fair and balanced news reporting so prevalent and reliable out there these days ;-)



3. This was a fun informative read. It makes you shake your head to think that so many people buy into the strangest theories about how something happened rather than going to the most practical and common place. I guess people don't want simple and common place. My only complaint about the book was that some of the theories got a lot of explanation...almost too much. I was surprised to find several urban legends and conspiracy theories that I had never heard of. I guess those believers would say I had my head in the sand. Recommended.



4. Richard Roeper again writes a book that is very enjoyable to read.I recommend every one to get yourself a copy to read.



5. Roeper had me hooked from his FOXNEWS interview about his book - though in the book he makes his distaste for FOXNEWS apparent.
   
   However I really was hoping for more - more on the JFK assassination hype, more on Roswell "cover-up," and other moronic conspiracy theories.
   
   His film reviews should also cover the "Parallax View" which is another far-fetched "evil government cover-up conspiracy" flick which is even worse than "Capricorn I" if that were possible.
   
   His point about the "9/11 truth"-squaders is well-taken - if there had been any conspiracy the same ruthless government would have had all of these morons buried in a mass grave under a toxic nuclear waste dump! ! !

5 comments about Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family.

1. This book is brilliant! Only gifted readers will be comfortable reading it though because it is an incredible read! THE TRUTH WILL AMAZE YOU if you are clever enough to hang onto the pages as you turn them!
   
   I admire Mr. Bowden so much because this book is based on 7 1/2 years of research and detective work. The detective work starts with one individual and spirals into a nonfictional mystery of global proportions leading the reader to a place where their reality of what being a U.S. citizen means is forever changed.
   
   THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR EVERY CITIZEN IN THE UNITED STATES!! EVERY PARENT SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
   
   
   "Saying NO to Drugs"... isn't working folks!! THE WAR ON DRUGS is a BLOG to keep the average American from reading books such as this!
   
   Our leaders are making sure the drug problem won't go away . THIS IS A PROFOUND BOOK ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND THE ERASING OF OUR DEMOCRACY.
   
   Thank you Mr. Bowden for having the courage to write it!



2. 
   
   Charles Bowden has written a well documented story of a span of time in the drug history of the U.S./Mexico border. Certain drug cartels intertwine and are involved with the same several families for years. Thousands of people are put into bondage, murdered or disappeared with little or no trace of them ever again. Many Mexican politicians, even a president or two, are involved with the drug scene and with stealing and removing to other countries, the wealth of Mexico. One murder, which is never solved conclusively, has enormous impact on the life of one DEA officer and on the survival of his extended family. It's a raw picture of one of the reasons to not allow wholesale amnesty of illegal aliens.



3. When I read this book, back in Dec. 2002, I didn't realize just how it would change my life. It altered my perception of reality forever and I am 60 years old. Mr. Bowden has made a compelling case for the failure of the War on Drugs. In heartbreaking detail he summarizes the story of a family in El Paso who suffered greatly as a result of their child being murdered by another child. But the background to the War on Drugs is as byzantine, complicated and murderous as it gets. Its as if the average U. S. citizen lives in a completely alternate universe where this issue is concerned. It also explains why millions of illegal immigrants cross our borders every decade. Five years after reading this book, I am still affected by it every day. May I suggest Sibel Edmond's gag order case and the MadCowMorningNews as another place to go to understand the nexus between terrorism and drug trafficking, greed and money laundering. Great book--though a complicated read at times---images of the desert are beautifully described.



4. An all to honest look at the war on drugs. This book takes you down some very dark passages. Things will not look the same again.



5. My emotions ran the gamut from rage, indignation, incredulity, to fear.
   ANYONE considering moving to Mexico or doing business in Mexico, or for that matter any more including the U.S., should read this book!

5 comments about Serial Killers.

1. Joel Norris, in this book, shows his penchant for getting names, dates, and facts about real crimes wrong, while also managing to invent several nonexistent crimes. As with his other works, the inaccuracies and errors make this book useless for any serious investigator. Absolutely unreliable.



2. The thing that puzzles me about this book is that no-one else seems to have picked up on its author's psychobiological theories, even though "Serial Killers" was published in 1988. I've read more recent books on true crime and haven't come across Norris's psychological or physical profiles of serial killers. I don't know whether this means his assertions are being ignored, or whether his work has been superceded or found to be incorrect.

   At any rate, it is very absorbing reading. Dr. Norris takes the reader right into the bizarre, distorted mind of a serial killer. The author should know how they think, since he is a psychologist who has worked within the American prison system and has had the opportunity to interview several serial killers face-to-face, including Theodore Bundy, Henry Lee Lucas, and Bobby Joe Long. In his preface, Dr. Norris claims to performed five hundred interviews over a period of four years (my assumption is that he interviewed the same person multiple times, as I don't think there are five hundred serial killers in prison even over a four year period). What he found was that the patterns of parental abuse, violence, neglect, childhood cognitive disabilities, and alcohol and drug abuse were virtually identical for all of the convicted killers that he interviewed.

   One of most important developments in the battle against serial murder was the formation of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia. Dr. Norris discusses several of the cases they solved, and also goes into detail about patterns of behavior they detected. For instance, serial killers are compulsive trollers, who travel over ever widening areas to locate their victims. The trolling patterns appear very early, even before they commit their first rape or murder. They also experience a biological rhythm very akin to a menstrual cycle. For some, the cycles of behavior are akin to deep brain seizures that alter perception and behavior without physically incapacitating the individual.

   Dr. Norris focuses about a quarter of his book on five serial killers who tell the stories of their lives and their crimes in their own words. The five are Henry Lee Lucas (sentence commuted to life in prison by then-Governor George W. Bush in June, 1999), Carlton Gary (still on Georgia's Death row), Bobby Joe Long (still on Florida's Death row), Leonard Lake (committed suicide while in custody of the San Francisco police), and Charles Manson (in San Quentin, awaiting parole).

   The chapter on Charles Manson is especially interesting, because the author discusses serial killers in groups, i.e. 'killing pairs' or 'families.' Almost 28% of all serial killers bond with others and commit their crimes in company. Killing pairs such as Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, the father/son team of Joseph and Michael Kallinger, the Kenneth Bianchi/Angelo Buono team of Hillside Stranglers, and the homosexual companions Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole all emerged as subjects of study in the 1980s.

   If killing pairs are so common, why were all of the criminal profilers (those on T.V., at least) so surprised when the Maryland sniper deaths turned out to have been caused by not one, but two men?

   Maybe they should have read "Serial Killers" before going public with their theories.

   Last of all, Dr. Norris develops his own profile of a serial killer, including a list of "Twenty-one Patterns of Episodic Aggressive Behavior" that includes items like "Ritualistic behavior," "Extraordinary cruelty to animals," "Evidence of genetic disorders," etc. I found this author to have planted himself firmly on both sides of the nature versus nurture debate.

   I bought this book second-hand and one of the more disturbing things I discovered while reading Dr. Norris's list of twenty-one behaviors, was that someone who had read the book before me had initialed eight of the twenty-one items!




3. very imcomplete.Speck,isnt in book..theres beter ot there fast service.very fast using frrree delievery jimmi



4. I thought this book was a lesson in how to write "off the cuff" and not back it up with scietific data. There are no references to any research articles and his only expertise seems to be in his claim that he has interviewed a few serial killers. For example, where does he come up with his phases of serial killing? What validity is there to an aura phase, at which point the serial killers senses become heightened? This book is rubbish if you are interested in a scientific, rather than an imaginative, view of serial murder.



5. Basically, Norris describes various killers and their crimes, and then goes on to make broad "scientific" statements about the psychology and biology of serial killers, without much real evidence at all. If you buy into the theory that webbed fingers and large earlobes are good predictors of psychopathic behavior, maybe this book is for you. Otherwise look elsewhere.