5 comments about Fourteen: The Murder of David Stukel.

1. This is a book that you just cannot put down. It is a horrendous story told with professionalism and yet with compassion and honesty, encompassing a rural neighborhood in the 60's that was changed forever with one brutal unforgiveable act of violence. Despite the harshness of this story it reminds you of the wonderful person David was and the strength of his family whose loss was unimaginable.



2. 
   Perhaps it's because I began my teaching career at Joliet East High School. Then again, perhaps it's because I taught mostly freshmen. For whatever reason, I can hardly bare to look at the face of David Stukel on this book's cover. Freshman boys were an interesting lot. Some were men-in-the-making with peach fuzz above their lip, and heads that turned at any girl that might pass by. Others were still little boys, small in stature and a bit uncomfortable with the transition from eighth grade. After school, theirs was still a life of bicycles and play. The descriptive narrative used to describe David Stukel painted a picture of one such "little boy." Further details brought to life this freckle-faced young boy whose ears had yet to grow into his face. The telling of the murder brought 1968 into my living room. Without missing a detail, Bill O'Connell breathed life into the murder and its aftermath. I could see and feel David's fear. I could feel his confusion when asked to comply with demands foreign to him. I could feel his insides cringe as foul, "bad" curse words met his ears. He was a fighter without training or gloves in an arena without bounds.I could feel his defenselessness in the foreign world of bullies, vile language and the desire to harm. I could feel his horror. Through the expertise of a gifted writer, Bill O'Connell brought David into my home. His expert writing forced me to look into David's eyes. His writing enabled me to hear David silently mouth, "Help."
   
   For anyone who has children, this book is an eye-opener to the world of bullies. For anyone who values justice, this book portrays the disappointment of a broken legal system. For anyone who wonders about the impact of family life on the future of a child, this book reveals the ugly truth. Fourteen by Bill O'Connell is a page-turner, a heart breaker and a must-read.



3. A small Midwestern town, a quiet farming area, made up of multi-cultural, working middle class families in the late 60's. When one weekday afternoon as people headed to the comfort and protection of their own homes, an unspeakable horror occurred, at the back steps of what was considered then, a safe place. Bill has done an excellent job bringing all the facts and players into clear view. I could not put it down once I started reading it. These events changed not only the lives of those closest to it, but everyone in that community. Thanks Bill for attentively putting together all the facts, faces, places, and stories and doing it with grace and thoughtfulness. Even for someone opposed to violence, this book is a must read. The tale that it tells puts a light on evils that might lurk in your own backyard.



4. I couldn't put this book down.
   
   Bill O'Connell has crafted a well written, compelling account of an old murder which made as little sense when it was committed in 1968 as it does today. Meticulously and thoroughly researched, this book details the crime without being overly judgemental about the perpetrators - a difficult thing to do - and lets the reader form his/her own opinions about them. The other reviews describe the book well; I won't attempt to copy them. "Enjoyable" might not be the best work to describe the story - I'll fall back on "compelling" again. All I can add is that I couldn't put it down.



5. A wonderfully written and enthralling book. I went through a myriad of emotions while taken through this absorbing story. Mr. O'Connell is a gifted writer.

5 comments about The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe.

1. he tries in this book but fails and because he just researched the old story through the old hollywood lies but when he does mention nancy maniscalco her real daughter and in such a way as if she were related to the kennedy's it makes one sick what a sellout if he was that close to the reality and then went for the old crapola see www.marilynmonroefoundation.com for how to get the real uncensored story of the real woman and her daughter published by the marilyn monroe foundation



2. I share the concern of amazon reviewer Thomas Hughes that author Donald Wolfe accuses people close to Marilyn of being communists.
   
   This didn't detract much from Mr. Hughes' love of the book, but it sure gives me a problem.
   
   The 2005 movie "Good Night And Good Luck" spells out the danger of accusing people of communist tendencies. Donald Wolfe should watch it.
   
   I can try to defend just one of the deceased victims of Mr. Wolfe's witch hunt. Dr. Ralph Greenson was the best known psychoanalyst in California in the 1950s and 60s. He was a professor at the UCLA medical school in that era before David Geffen put his name all over it.
   
   I simply cannot believe that Dr. Greenson attended Communist Party meetings as late as 1962 when he counselled Marilyn as the last months of her life ticked away. He also supported JFK, so why support a leader who tries to overthrow communism in Cuba?
   
   UCLA probably was just as bureaucratic and underfunded in 1962 as it is today, but it's a real stretch to think that a professor at the medical school endorsed communism. Then I'm supposed to believe that he hired one Eunice Murray to spy on Marilyn on behalf of the party?!?
   
   Don't get me wrong, I accept that Jack and Bobby used women as toys including Marilyn. But the Communist Party could care less about that.



3. Nancy Miracle wrote the real story and Mr. Wolfe stole what he could the only real story is told and available through the marilyn monroe foundation marilyn monroe had a real life and that real life is available =through the marilyn monroe foundation only



4. Hi ! I may be wrong but I don't think Don got it right this time - his book on the Black Dahlia, on the contrary, is by far the most convincing that was ever written on the subject. What killed Marilyn is most probably a serial killer that I happen to have encountered myself. His name is nervous breakdown. But why for godsake did Peter Lawford introduced her as the "late" Marilyn Monroe at Kennedy's birthday party ONLY 3 months before she died and would for ever be referred to as the late Marilyn Monroe ? Was it a most cynical inside joke given the fact that - as we know it now - he and his brother-in-law Robert F. Kennedy are rumoured to have visited Monroe on the day she died ?



5. Every page in this book is rediculous. Try and find a credible source for many of the claims made in this Book...i dare you to.
   I have never, in all my years of researching Marilyn, read such horrible falsehoods and flights of fantasy than dished up by Donald Wolfe.
   It doesn't really matter because much of what Wolfe calls "evidence" is just complete nonsense. His sources include such con-people as Robert Slatzer and Jeanne Carmen and, most laughable, Marilyn's housekeeper's former son-in-law and handy man who suddenly claims "he saw it ALL"....what ALL entails is a convoluted mess of mystery sources and second hand accounts that don't amount to a hill of beans.

5 comments about A Criminal and An Irishman: The Inside Story of the Boston Mob - IRA Connection.

1. You don't have to approve of the lifestyle choices of this thug to enjoy what is a great story. This is not really a morality tale per se although from the writer's warped perspective there is the redeeming aspect of the the whole in that Nee's passion was supporting the IRA terrorists by buying and shipping a huge magnitude of firearms for the "soldiers" to use to fight for their freedom. ( Great pains are taken to keep the arms dry so they are outfitted with plastic bags that the IRA soldiers store in the bogs ) A million dollars worth are shipped "free of charge" by the Boston irish patriots-I won't spoil all the fun for you readers. Whitey is only a supporting player in this particular shenanigans , but he does get artfully dissed which is a small pleasure... The bottom line is that all that honor and bravery aside,
   there was no small amount of criminal shake downs, thefts, and all sorts of nefarious doings that supported the criminals self and family , but then again- he never said he was a "good guy" !



2. I had high hopes for this one, in light of the pros working with Nee. It just seemed to degenerate into a political polemic, however, about half way through; almost like two mini-books with stange pacing by the editor. Without trying to, I found myself mentally substituting "Al Qaeda" for IRA, trying unsuccessfully to differentiate in my mind why these guys were substantially different from middle eastern "freedom fighters". Left unexamined was the tragic way his family started him on his path in life, making him a really angry guy in general. Despite service in the USMC, he doesn't refer to himself as an American throughout most of the book. I really wish I could have liked this one more but I know plenty of guys like Nee who made better life choices.



3. This is a solidly wriiten book on criminal activity in Boston and arms smuggling to Ireland. The author pulls no punches about what he did and offers no apologies to the lifestyle he choose. You can either love or hate him but he seems to be a respectable guy from this book. The co-authors do a pretty good job putting his voice into a readable manner.



4. This is the best book in its class. Nee is everything that Mac, Weeks, Shea aren't. He is truthful and honest. Nee's story puts it all into perspective and negates all the other fiction. Nee's story is the one that you want to hear about. Recounting the events of his life, that he remembers. The South Boston gang war chapter is outstanding, and the valhalla chapter is almost a "how to smuggle" for those of you interested. Nee's story is both moving and compelling, with his sentiment towards his brother and his belief in the IRA as opressed people. Nee's image of Whitey Bulger is outstanding. This is a definite good read. buy it.



5. A Criminal and an Irishman is a terrific read, particularly for anyone interested in American connections to the defiance of British rule and oppression in Northern Ireland. Highly informative and entertaining, the novel also provides a great deal of excitement in its recounting of its anti-hero's adventures as a criminal and a gun runner for Irish freedom fighters. Pleasantly, it avoids glorifying crime, yet it does provide insight into why Pat Nee made the choices he did, as both a criminal and an Irishman. Further, it provides facts too often ignored in the US press about Britain's continuing atrocities against Nationalists and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Anyone who wants to know the truth about what goes on in that enemy-occupied country would do well to read this book.

3 comments about Evil Summer: Babe Leopold, Dickie Loeb, and the Kidnap-Murder of Bobby Franks (Elmer H Johnson & Carol Holmes Johnson Series in Criminology).

1. What would make two wealthy, seemingly well-raised teenagers gleefully kidnap and murder another neighborhood boy? Each generation has asked this question during the eighty-three years since this event became the "crime of the century," and John Theodore has, to the extent possible, provided an answer in Evil Summer. Theodore begins with his own childhood recollection of becoming aware of the murder, then recreates the 1920s and the atmosphere of wealthy Hyde Park, Chicago, always depicting the humanness of the parents of both victim and perpetrators. The story is interesting throughout; I especially enjoyed the informative and eerie epilogue.



2. I have been aware of this heinous crime for several decades, but have never read a book about its specifics. Therefore, I am assuming this book is correct in its facts. It is certainly an interesting read. Two teen-agers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, decide they are intellectually superior to anyone else, and decide to test their theory by murdering a child at random. By the grace of God they lost track of the first boy they spotted coming home from school, and finally settled on 14 year old Bobby Franks. One of the two murderers was playing tennis with him the day before, not knowing that Bobby would be the victim. Clarence Darrow defended Leopold and Loeb by introducing "three wise men from the east" to cast doubt on the sanity of the defendants. Besides the victim you really have to feel for the parents of Bobby Franks. His mother remained in denial repeating that "Bobby will be home soon." Several photographs are included to supplement the text. This despicable crime took place in Chicago in 1924 during the Capone and O'Banion beer wars, and it reminds me of a similar twosome, Robert Tulloch and James Parker, of Chelsea, Vermont, who murdered two Dartmouth professors in 2001 in a thrill killing. Both partners in crime most likely wouldn't have committed the crime without the support of the other, and both believed their intellectual superiority would prevent them from being arrested. Both are very tragic stories. Considering I don't have any other book on Leopold and Loeb to compare it to I would highly recommend this book.



3. As a young girl growing up in Chicago I remember watching Nathan Leopold on television when he was released from Statesville prison. I asked my Mother who he was and she told me he and another young man had killed a boy name Booby Frank. I became interested in the Crime of the Century and read the books Compulsion as well as Life plus 99 years and the Crime of the Century and now add this book to my collection. You can feel Chicago in 1924 and the hysteria that was to be the trial of two young men who held such promise that summer. The question why still haunts after all these years as does the human toll on the boys families..the Franks, The Leopolds and the Loebs. Babe on his way to Europe and the pride of his family with his intellect and potential for greatness. Dickie..handsome, charming, loved by all who meet him collide with Babe to do the unthinkable for what seemed to be just a thrill. Together they could do what as individuals they could not kidnap and kill a superior crime or so they thought. Darlings of the media who sought their every words and then gleefully waited for the hangman to put his noose around their necks. Enter Clarence Darrow the Old lion who surprises by pleading his clients guilty avoiding a jury trial and pleads for his young clients lives instead. The book covers the crime, the trial and the aftermath.. Babe and Dickie slowly adjusted to prison life and found redemption in the library and taught at the prison. Dickie killed in prison by James Day who was upset that his prison bank account could no longer be funded by the Loebs. Babe would continue the work they started until his parole many years later. Nathan Leopold is often used right or wrongly as an example that a prisoner no matter how heinous the crime can be rehabilitated. The sadness of all this is the greatness both Babe and Dickie might have given the world if not for a seemingly innocent ride in a roadster.

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 The No Spin Zone: Confrontations with the Powerful and Famous in America.

1. Bill wrote a great book.No Spine Zone was terrific.My grandma read it to me and explained and answered my questions.
   Thanks Bill for a great book.



2. Bill O'Reilly, a television Commentator, shares his criticism of American society today. In this book he includes sixteen different topics where he shares two sides, his views and those of an individual who is deeply involved with the pertinent issue at hand. Thereby leaving us to decide which side of the debate we agree with. Though he does set up each of the topics with commentary. If you have watched Mr. O'Reilly's television show you will recognize all of these debates. Among the relevant issues debated in this book include or are with George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, pedophiles, sex, violence, capital punishment, taxes, drugs, and more. Each chapter stands alone, so you do not need to read this book sequentially. Chose a topic that interest you and keep your own score on who won the debate. The book does have some strong language. I bumped it up to 4 stars from three for this is a quick and easy read. So read it and make up your own mind.



3. It was a gift for a relative. Four of these books were sent, instead of the various ones that I ordered. Not sure if a refund was made for the other 3 returned books?



4. First of all, Bill tells you what the book will be about. Then he proceeds to give you the important parts of the coversations with these so-called celebrities. I wouldn't want him to report every boring word in the conversations. This book is the opposite of liberal. I enjoyed the book every much. Bill is a good thinker and he says what he thinks. Read it and get smart. If you don' like it, write your own book, if you can. We need more people like Bill O'Reilly. Go, Bill, Go. Don't stop writing.



5. Watch the program but don't read this book. This book is just a summary of years of reporting. The book doesn't hold new substance and is just around to make money.
   
   What he does in this book is to show interviews he had with powerful people. The interviews don't look as good on paper. He then criticizes them the same way he does on the program. He goes on and on on the program about these interview so if you watch the show regularly you know what this book is about and will be disappointed not to find something new.

5 comments about 13 1/2: Twelve Jurors, One Judge and Half-Assed Chance: a Serial Killer in His Own Words.

1. I absolutely LOVE true crime books. This one takes the cake. You will travel through the life of Tommy Lynn Sells from beginning til death row.
   It is very well written and I wouldn't be suprised if it is made in to a movie. This book is so engrossing and so real that virtually any reader will find it hard to put down. You will lock your doors day and night after reading this book!



2. This book was pitched to a newsgroup that I belong to by the author. I was looking forward to reading this.
   
   Big mistake. I should know better.
   
   Turns out this book is nothing more than a pack of self-serving lies. The entire book is rife with passages designed to make you think that Tommy Lynn Sells is misunderstood. That he is the product of a horrific childhood. But you know what? All he is, is a cold blooded killer. Nothing he can say will ever explain away what he did, the young lives that he destroyed to appease his own bloodlust. Nothing that he or this author can say will ever illicit sympathy. He does not deserve it. She should know better.
   
   And, as I said I should have known better than to read this book. I should have learned my lesson after reading the Making of a Serial Killer by Danny Rolling and Sondra London. I have yet to find a book that was written with the help of a serial killer that doesn't attempt to make the killer into something he is not. Or one that is not used by the serial killer to relive their crimes.
   
   There is a reason that this book is self-published. It's poorly written, it lacks flow, and even the most basic verifiable fact is twisted and distorted.
   
   Tori Rivers, did, however, manage to turn already disturbing material into gruesome, graphic filth that left me feeling dirty and violated. I can only imagine how the victim's family's must feel.
   
   
   "Tori Rivers" should have left her appetite for 15 minutes of fame back with Arthur Shawcross. There are only so many times you can milk a dead cow.
   
   I won't be using this book for anything other than to line my garbage can.



3. This book is truelly one of a kind. It takes you into the mind of a serial killer and how his thought process works. I enjoyed the book tremendously and hope there are more to come like this one.



4. I am giving this book a 5-star review. It was a fairly easy read. Once you start this book, you just want to keep reading. I guess part of me wanted to know what was going happen next, and the other part of me just wanted to get to the end. This was a glance in to the twisted and perverted life of Tommy Sells, a convicted serial murderer. This attempt at giving the readers an inside peak of what goes on in the mind of a rapist and killer is successful. I do not think that the author is trying to glorify or give reason to Tommy Sells unimaginable acts - you must remember that this is in his words.



5. Rhiannon has no idea what she is talking about, she is taking her personal dislike of the author (due to her lack of having published herself) to reflect her supposed dislike of this book. I doubt she ever read the book. Rhiannon seems to only give good reviews to people who seem to be able to help her serve her own purpose. She is a very jealous person when it comes to someone else's talent. I would recommend any book that Rhiannon trashes.

1 comments about Skeletons in the Closet: Stories from the County Morgue.

1. Skeletons in the Closet: Stories from the County Morgue covers puzzling forensic mysteries culled from a range of co-author Stephen Cohle's cases as medical examiner for Kent County, Michigan: his accounts will appeal to a broad audience, from health and criminal justice studies college-level libraries to public lending libraries. Over twenty riveting, real-life stories offers a forensic mystery and twist, making for a striking collection.

5 comments about Hidden Evidence: Forty true crimes and how forensic science helped solve them.

1. This book could also be called The Big Picture Book of Forensic Science or The First Book of Forensic Science. It seems like a picture book for adults, and the photo-to-text ratio is the main problem I had while reading this book.

   The text seems to be an afterthought and there is no depth to it--just a bare recital of the facts of a particular case, forensic discipline, or procedure. The photos and illustrations more than compensate for the text, although many of them are gruesome [including the now-famous photo of Jack the Ripper's last victim, one of the most stunning crime scene photos of all time]. I've read about forensics for many years and this book was, to me, lame, but its just the basics text and great photos and illustrations make it an ideal book for someone who has no previous knowledge of forensics. It is a great introduction to the field.




2. This is a picture book for adults about forensics. The photos and illustrations are amazing, varied, and, often, gruesome and graphic. The text seems like an afterthought; nothing more than the basic information is given, and each case study covers the facts and very little else. This book is not for someone like myself who studies forensics, but rather for someone who is hooked on CSI, doesn't know anything about the topic, and wants to read more about it. This book is a much better general forensics overview and has more detailed information [and more information generally] the The Forensic Science of C.S.I.

   Hidden Evidence also explains the major types of forensic science [ballistics, DNA, trace evidence, etc] and uses case studies to document each field. Overall, this book is a good starting point for anyone interested in forensic science.




3. This book is good and has a lot of info. if your into forensic Science. This book is pretty interesting if you want to learn in this subject. If you have to do a report on a science subject this is pretty good but its kind of long.



4. Hidden Evidence , by David Owen is a intriguing book about 40 different crimes and how forensic science was involved in solving each one. This non-fiction book covers forensic science cases from 1775-1988. This book has everything from carpet fibers to fingerprints to DNA testing and how each one put someone away in jail.

   Hidden Evidence is placed everywhere around the world. Forensic Science is going on at anytime and everywhere. "Whenever you have excluded the impossible , whatever remains , however impossible , must be the truth"(Owen 8). Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said that quote referring to all of forensic science. "Large fragments of glass can sometime be fitted into the lamp or window pane from which they were broken for a positive match , or the glass can actually preserve a record of the order in which events really happened"(Owen 180). David Owen knows what he is talking about and he should know with his 50-year forensic background.

   One thing that stuck out in my mind was all the pictures in this book showing the evidence of some of the cases and or examples of certain instruments that are used in forensics. I feel that this book was well written. I think anyone interested in science should read this book especially if you are interested in forensics.




5. Very helpful book for my son who has a class project on forensic science. He used one of the photos for a clay skull. I recommend this book.

5 comments about Hot Blood (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. this expose of the otherwise ignored goings on in the world of Hunters and Jumpers is shocking to those not on the "inside". To others, it is business as usual. Unfortunately. Truly appalling is that these people who KILLED their horses for money are STILL involved in the business. AND there are others who didn't get caught...

   This book is a MUST READ for anyone involved in the horse world.




2. Anyone involved in the showing of hunter/jumper horses on the
   A-Circuit should read this book. It is well researched and I could not put it down. Although it came out in 1996..the same thing is going on in 2004.
   I show horses & what I have seen during the past few years in the name of "sport" is disgusting. This book accurately portrays the greed, lack of character & criminality of some so-called horse people. It is such a shame for the honest,good horse professionals out there. They usually get drummed out of the A'Circuit if they won't play ball w/ the crooks that have control
   In the Virginia, Maryland area, it is business as usual. Drugging horses & ponies, showing lame animals, ruining them & "having to put them down"...because, "oh well, they can't do the job anymore" & collecting insurance to buy another expensive horse & pay more commmissions to the trainers & middlemen.
   I've seen a well- known broker/dealer of ponies becoming rich by lying & conning unsuspecting parents who are listening to the "advice" of their trainers...not realizing that they are all tied in on the "con". Kickbacks, pay-offs, drugging,not claiming sales/commissions on tax returns, falsifying the true ages of horses & ponies, as well as, falsifying vet records. You name it, it's happening right now.
   AHSA (now called USEF) the governing body of show horses has been completely ineffectual in rectifying this criminal behavior. When trainers are caught using illegal drugs on their ponies & horses, they get a mere slap on the hand. The type of customer that stays w/ them is just as bad...the win at all cost attitude w/ no regard for the harm it does the horse or risk for the rider...many who are children.
   I applaud the DA in Illinois who went after these scum (some who are currently still involved in the horse business)
   I think a criminal investigation should be opened up on this entire racket. It is a huge fraud.
   THis book accurately depicts the horse show world right now.



3. The FBI could not solve the Helen Brach murder because I think an FBI agent found the truth and was payed alot of money.
   
   When the FBI screws up or gives up on a case they give it over to possibly the most corrupt organization in the world! (The ATF)
   
   The ATF mainly special agent John Rotunno pays informants to lie for them. Joe Plemmons and Cathy Olsen have lied over and over again then 10 years later totally change their stories to make money and lie for the ATF!
   
   Michael and Donna Hunter have been paid lots of money and let off crimes to say exacltly what the ATF wants to set people up.
   
   Alot of what you read in these Helen Brach murder books are ATF lies to help set people up. Joe Plemmons and Cathy Olsen have just proved that by lieing for the ATF. Joe Plemmons, ATF John Rotunno and Chuck Goudie have just been caught in a big scandel!
   
   Look on the internet and see the truth of the Helen Brach murder investigation. This will go down as one of the biggest blunders by the ATF. Please take note of ATF agent Bob Hauffmans remarks on Jan 10, 2005 on CBS 60 minutes saying that he can substantiate one of the three ATF woman agents saying they have been sexually harrassed by ATF agents. He went on to say that in all of his years as an ATF agent, (all of the criminals he has put away have more HONOR than the TOP OFFICIALS OF THE ATF!) He said I know this is sad commentary but this is my experience working with the ATF!



4. Excellent reading and an amazing and startling story of the greed and determination of some of high society within the equestrian industry.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone involved in the Equestrian industry.
   
   Jack Fort Lauderdale, Florida



5. A real page turner. Ken Englade did an excellent job organizing and presenting all of the people, facts, and situations involved...not an easy task.