5 comments about Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti.

1. The book is a one sided story told by a man who is "obsessed" with John Gotti. Full of news reports that could be fact or fiction. This author has made a ton of money off the Gotti name and continues to do so. He will not let go, we know $$$ motivates him, we know the name GOTTI sells/promotes his web site, articles, and books, but could there be more to the relentless vendetta he has against JOHN GOTTI or is it in Italians themsleves. A dirty little secret?? The rumor is Jerry Capeci uses a pen name, and in fact he is of "irish" ethincity by birth. Could he have a hiddin agenda which motivates his writings of Italian Americans negative light????? Let us know Mr.Capeci!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



2. John Gotti started out as a nobody from Queens,New York, who would later become the biggest know name in the mafia today. After he assassinated Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino family John started to climb his way up in the mafia life.Through out the book the authors go into great detail about John and the family. John was always a fan of the press and media, he wanted his name to be know to all. That was also exactly what happend. John was the most feared man in New York for most of the 80's and the early 90's. After gettin extreamly popular the FBI and RICO started to fallow him and bug his hidouts and homes. In the mid 90's John and his two main men Sammy and Frankie were arrested and sentenced to life in prison.After that the Gambino family fell apart.

   The book Mob Star was thrillin and exciting. After reading the first chapter it was hard not to put this book down. The way the authors go into great detail about what is going on and how it happens, you feel like you were in the same room with john at every moment.Mob Star is a very fast reading book,only because you can not wait to see what John Gotti gets into next.I would recomend this book to anyone who likes the Mafia or just wants to read an excilent book.




3. John Gotti started out as a nobody from Queens,New York, who would later become the biggest know name in the mafia today. After he assassinated Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino family John started to climb his way up in the mafia life.Through out the book the authors go into great detail about John and the family. John was always a fan of the press and media, he wanted his name to be know to all. That was also exactly what happend. John was the most feared man in New York for most of the 80's and the early 90's. After gettin extreamly popular the FBI and RICO started to fallow him and bug his hidouts and homes. In the mid 90's John and his two main men Sammy and Frankie were arrested and sentenced to life in prison.After that the Gambino family fell apart.

   The book Mob Star was thrilling and exciting. After reading the first chapter it was hard not to put this book down. The way the authors go into great detail about what is going on and how it happens, you feel like you were in the same room with john at every moment.Mob Star is a very fast reading book,only because you can not wait to see what John Gotti gets into next.I would recomend this book to anyone who likes the Mafia or just wants to read an excilent book.




4. When I picked this book up I thought I would get a nice history of Gotti. That was true to some extent but the majority of the book was devoted to the trials. If you are a lawyer or someone who is interested in that sort of thing then this book is for you. If you want a good read then pick up the Capeci book on Gotti,that is top of the line! You can also read this if you are having problems sleeping....



5. This book was accurate and for someone who is intrested and enjoys reading about John Gotti this is a great book for you to read. A little dragged out in some areas such as the Trials but very interesting. I enjoyed reading this book very much, as i believe you will as well

5 comments about City of Dreadful Delight: Narratives of Sexual Danger in Late-Victorian London (Women in Culture and Society Series).

1. I really enjoyed reading this spectacularly written book.



2. As someone who writes stories I like to get a perspective on literature and culture of stories that I try to reproduce, so this is why I would read a book like this.
   
   To that end the book put in perspective and context some of my favorite works like Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde with relation to my own works. On the plus side the writing was pretty quality and all of that, but on the negative side sometimes it seemed like one of the Dickens passages that goes on and on about all the different types of people in London. And sometimes there was little structure. Like this happened and then this happened and this women did this and this woman did that, and somehow this relates to the birth of shopping? The part about the shopping I liked though because you can see that today.
   
   I found the story of Mrs. Wheldon very compelling however, and a couple other stories where there was more prolonged focus on individuals and analysis of that in terms of the culture and other historical/economic and whatever factors.
   
   One thing about the emphasis on media explosion around sexuality and violence which culminated with the Jack the Ripper story... This was not really framed as part of any bigger picture (Maybe I'm thinking of traditional history and wars and crap like that)which I feel was a serious detriment. And I think sometimes these books present this revolutionary vision and then make a few references to reliable terms of history, like this was a catholic thing or a jacobin thing or something and I'm supposed to know all about that.
   
   I left thinking so this history she's writing about as gruesome as this might sound... that was just a big spaghetti incident or something?
   
   The crime hero was an interesting concept. I would like to have seen a more thorough condemnation of this personna, but maybe that's up to a psychology book I suppose. Like I was saying this should have been framed. It's hard to tell sometimes in this book in some parts if its just not an immersion in tabloid culture. In other parts it's clear that it's not, because something like Jack the Ripper is pretty big, but maybe you get my point.
   
   Well the book didn't suck and every once in a while after negotiating the history of spaghetti factors you came to a point where the author pointed something out and I was like wow I'm glad I read this far, which kept me going and I'm glad I read the entire book!



3. This source is a wonderful discussion on the dark side of Victorian culture. It is easy to read, stays on topic, and makes the stark differences and similarities between our cultures clearly apparent.



4. This book is a cultural examination of late 19th century Victorian London. Though this may be considered "tough sledding" in terms of style, it is nonetheless fascinating. The topics of study are: Social Darwinism, the dichotomy of East/West London, Women's organizations, the emergence of a well-read middle class, bourgeois charity towards the poor, liberalism, nationalism, sensationalism in the press, and the collective imagination of contemporary Londoners. Walkowitz's conclusion is both staggering and unexpected, explaining that the legendary Jack the Ripper may be nothing more than the embodiment of tabloid fancies and the overactive imagination of a well-read populace. This is one of my favorite historical monographs.



5. Excellent read!
   This book has everything that we should know about the late Victorian era, especially--but not exclusively--East London.
   In a nutshell, the writer develops her story of the exciting, but complex and fragmented city into a marvelous journey through the very late Victorian period, the journey that will [un]predictably end in a spate of heinous crimes perpetrated by an elusive killer who could well be--well, anybody. Walkowitz's culmination with the Jack the Ripper case will leave you wondering about the killer's motive as well as the rationale for his crimes.

5 comments about Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge.

1. This book was not titled or described as it should have been. This book was so far off base from the description on the front of the cover " A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge." No the book should have been titled " Boring account of religious cults." The author never focused on the story surrounding the pretence of this book. It was to be about a MURDER not religious history of the 60.s 70's ect. Did not even finish this book.



2. Well-written tale of neo-religious cult spinoffs that head down a dark and desolate path. Expertly told story should please students of religious history as well as true crime readers.



3. Very well written, although disturbing book: I didn't know much about the Children of God/The Family except for a short segment on 60 Minutes several years ago about Ricky Rodriguez and the murder-suicide. I read this book a few months ago, and it's still in my head. Definitely worth reading but the level of abuse described is horrific.



4. My name is Josh Bruni and while I haven't yet read the book, I have heard about it and would like to make a few comments about COG/the family.
   I was born and raised in "the family". I left when I was 20 in the year 2000. My mother and 6 brothers and sisters still live in "the family" in various parts of the world. I'll never rejoin and I don't recomend anyone else join. What a lot of people who've never been a member don't realize is, when you have been born into "the family" you don't know what "normal" is. When you leave, it takes a while, several years in my case, to realize how weird and twisted some of the things you've been taught actually are. Any book that exposes the inner goings on of that group, I strongly recomend. See also the book "Not without my sister" by ex-members of the same group.
   
   Josh Bruni
   [...]



5. This book provides a background and context for the murder-suicide of Ricky Rodriguez, the involuntary prophet-apparent of The Family, an international religious cult. Also known as The Children of God, the group began in the late sixties under direction of David Berg, a self-appointed prophet, polygamist, pedophile, and narcissist. It continues today, led by Karen (sp?) Zerby, Ricky Rodriguez's mother. The book is a very well-rounded account of the cult's beginnings, compared with other so-called new religions, written by a journalist who covered religion for major newspapers for many years. It's a quick, informative read. I also recommend Not Without My Sisters, a memoir by three girls who grew up moving in the cult around the world.

5 comments about Dirty Dealing: Drug Smuggling on the Mexican Border and the Assassination of a Federal Judge-An American Parable.

1. The early history of El Paso (my birthplace) was very interesting to me. My family and I moved overseas when I was 4 years old, so I didn't have much opportunity to know about my home town. To make a long story short,I discovered when I was 27 yrs. old that my "Dad" was not my natural father. I was informed of this books existence in 2003 by a maternal Aunt. Upon reading it, when I turned to page 200 my jaw dropped. The resemblance I share with the picture of Joe Chagra was uncanny. My children had the same reaction. Because of the time line the possibility of Joe being my natural father is not realistic. The book made reference to Lee being a womanizer before he was married, and after. Upon receiving a picture of Lee's oldest daughter many months later (we're about the same age) and the strong resemblance to one another, some of my uncertainties regarding my parentage have been dispelled. I may never know the truth about my natural father, short of DNA testing, so this is as close as I may come. If not for your book Mr. Cartwright, I would probably still be at square one. My mother, also a native El Pasoan, refused to divulge any information to me, hence the almost 18 year seperation, not only for this reason. I hear that Jimmy was reunited with a daughter he never knew about while in prison, but alas it wasn't me. I'll bet she's slim, attractive, with creamy-coffee colored skin though.



2. Like a Greek tragedy, the victims or players as some readers might want to call them, had no way out. All of them, good, bad, rich or poor, got entangled in a spiders' web of which they would never be able to get out.
   
   To some of us, money is the source of all evil. To others money is a commodity, a need, a necessity. The more we have, the more we want, and the more we want, the deeper we get into the quagmire of bad and possibly even evil.
   
   The author, Gary Cartwright, of "Dirty Dealings" does not aim a literary (literally speaking) shotgun at anyone in particular. He points the literary shotgun at everyone. Above all, he does not discriminate concerning the victims or players in the story. He tells it as it is; as it was; as it happened.
   
   The arrogance and dictatorship of many leaves the reader with fear, dread, and apprehension due to the fact that those who were supposed to uphold the honest, honorable pillars of good and justice were just as bad as those they considered the bad seeds of a society. For sure, two wrong's can never make a right, and likewise, two right's can never make a wrong.
   
   Mr. Gary Cartwright not only tells it like it was, but gives the reader an excellent background on the history and culture of city where the injustices by many---good, bad and evil-- took place.
   
   I highly recommend for everyone, regardless of his or her stature in life, to read this book.



3. I've read a lot of true crime books and the best ones take the reader through the mystery and ultimate solving of the crime in question.
   
   Most authors of true crime books realize that they are dealing with criminals, police, and prosecutors and they walk a fine line in trying to tell a story of a crime that has in some unique way become interesting enough to the general public to warrant a book being written.
   
   The author of this book, while going through the facts of these criminals lives and their crimes, from the first page on, glorifies these criminals and their murders and lifestyles. The facts of the crime(s) are secondary in this book to presenting these criminals as heroes because they have used the vast amounts of drug money to become vastly richer then they otherwise would ever become.
   
   In every single page of this book the criminals get the "good" adjectives describing these dope dealers and murderers as "robin hood" types and the judges and the prosecutors get the uncomplimentary words to describe them.
   
   According to the way this author portrays the people who murder and bring drugs into our society they are the good guys and the people who try to put them in prison, to keep them away from our society and children, are the bumbling fools always making mistakes and letting the "good guy criminals" go free.
   
   This author has a chance to present a more fair-sided book but instead opted to glorify the criminals and their drug crimes.
   
   If you don't believe what I say about this author idolizing the dope dealing criminals and murderers, then buy this book and read the first 50 pages.
   
   But don't waste your money and time and pay over 50 cents for it.



4. The true story of the Chagra brothers drug smuggling empire and high rolling gambling is an American classic. It is so engrossing that if you read the first page you will be hooked! ElPaso, Las Vegas, the murder of a powerful federal judge, sex, drugs, movie stars, gambling for extremely high stakes ... it has everything.



5. I enjoyed the story immensely but found the first half of the book before Lee Chagra was killed more interesting than the second half of the book which delved into his brothers' subsequent life of greed and excess. The book was a bit long and I found myself skimming over an excess of detail about Jimmy Chagra's life. There are lots of lessons in this book. A must read in my opinion.

4 comments about The Badge: True and Terrifying Crime Stories That Could Not Be Presented on TV, from the Creator and Star of Dragnet.

1. On radio, in the 1950s television version of Dragnet, and in its 1960s resurrection, Jack Webb was Sergeant Joe Friday, the straight-shooting, no-nonsense exemplar of the LAPD. In this non-fiction book, Webb tells the real stories of crimes that were too violent to be broadcast on "Dragnet." Among them are the famous murder of the "Black Dahlia," a woman who was tortured for days before her killer slit her throat, drained her body of blood, bisected it and dumped her in an empty lot. Another story that made my blood boil was the murder of a 10-year old orphaned boy, whose own mother had just died days before. His father lost a wife and, senselessly, a son within weeks to a murderer who killed for the thrill of it.
   
   Each chapter of the book is labeled with an LAPD rank, from Policeman, to Sergeant, to Lieutenant, all the way to Commissioner(s). The stories in the first few chapters are the most absorbing, as they demonstrate actual, hands-on police work. Yet, it was also interesting to read of problems which confronted, and still confront, Los Angeles and its police force at higher levels. The book particularly presents a good picture of Chief Parker, who is responsible for cleaning up the vice and corruption that marked the pre-1950 LAPD and setting rules that made officers proud to serve.
   
   A warning to 21st century readers: This book was written in 1958 with the stereotypes -- and the language -- common at the time. Some sentences might make you gasp: i.e., in describing race relations in Los Angeles, Webb writes that "It is a dozen collisions, the Oriental, the Mexican, the Indian, the Southerner (both Negro and white), the Easterner and the Westerner; intra-racial as well as one skin pitted against another of a different color." There are a lot of sentences like that, particularly in the later chapters, where Webb was trying to argue that the LAPD of the time was cognizant of ethnic tensions and attempted to ameliorate them. (As an unabashed LAPD booster, Webb marshals evidence to make his case that the department was addressing racism.) And, from a 21st century viewpoint, the LAPD war against bingo parlors seems terribly penny-ante, although perhaps justified by the "broken windows" theory.
   
   But the heart of this book is the stories of crimes great and small, and the police officers who solved them. A must for those interested in true crime stories, Los Angeles history, and the LAPD.



2. THE BOOK GIVES A GOOD INSIGHT TO THE HISTORY OF THE LAPD.....IT LETS YOU INTO CRIMES THAT HAVE HAUNTED THE AREA FOR YEARS AND GIVES YOU AN APPRECIATION TO THOSE WHO HAVE TO WEAR THE ACTUAL BADGE.



3. I remember watching "Dragnet" and "Badge 714" when I was a kid. I came across the book "The Badge" during my tenth year in high school, which was in 1960. I read it several times and remember being amazed by the contrast in the way Jack Webb wrote and the way he protrayed the Sgt. Joe Friday character. For some strange reason, this book has always been in the back of my mind, and so when the recent release of "The Black Dahlia" came about in the movie circuit, I, just on a whim, went to Amazon.com to see if an old edition of "The Badge" was floating around somewhere. I remembered that Jack Webb had written about this case in His book. I could not believe that, not only was it available, but available for under five frogskins, and new too boot!!!
   
   I am now in the process of reading this book again, and am again amazed at Jack Webb's ability to write. He was so far ahead of his time, in his ability to tell a story back then that even now, his writing is beyond the typical codswample that is available today. Jack Webb was always so robotic in the way He acted, moving about like he had a two-by-four piece of lumber tied to his spine. His writing ability was another story.
   
   I am once again amazed by this man's ability to write a story. Anyone who buys this book and reads it will NOT be disappointed. In fact, I would suggest that quite the opposite will be true.



4. It's amazing that 50 years after it was published this book is still a relevant account of police work in Los Angeles. It still captures the courage, determination, and even fear, involved with law enforcement. But, it now reads like a retro "cop talk" diary from the extraordinary Jack Webb. His language and tone is a peek back into the past, when Los Angeles was a much smaller place and a sense of community still existed. I love this book and I highly recommend it for anyone that has an interest in that time and place.

5 comments about Accardo: The Genuine Godfather.

1. Finally there is a book about the man that was the driving force behind the Chicago Outfit.While Sam Giancana has the fame and if often credited as being the Outfit's boss in the 60's, little is there any mention of the man who put him there.This is a great overall book with plenty of history on the man who the law couldn't lay a hand on.If ever there was a "successful gangster" it was Accardo, and this book explains why.This is also a great book to famialize yourself with Chicago's major organized players from Al Capone down to Joe "The Clown" Lombardo.



2. I find it amusing that every gangster biographer wants to elevate his subject to the level of being the most important figure ever in the history or organized crime. But one would expect a certain level of objectivity from a former FBI agent, even one who self-promoted himself for years as Chicago's number one Mob-buster. Roemer's admiration for adversary Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo is understandable in a way. Clearly one of the most untouchable mobsters of all time (though it is not true that he never spent a night in jail), Accardo's seventy year criminal career with no standing convictions shows he was no dumb hood. All the same, Roemer goes out of his way to inject Accardo into everything that ever happened in Chicago. His account of the Prohibition years is so far off the mark it's hilarious. He has Tony Accardo saving Capone from Hymie Weiss in the Hawthorne attack, which contemporary accounts credit to Frank Rio. He places Tony in New York with Jack McGurn, Anselmi and Scalise, and "a guy named Rio Burke" as the hitters of Frankie Yale in that city's first Tommygun killing. Strange, as I met the late Rio Burke and SHE never once mentioned handling a machine gun though she was a friend of Al Capone. Tony, McGurn, Anselmi and Scalise and "possibly Fred Burke" (in whose Michigan hideout the machine guns were found) are claimed to have been the St. Valentine's Day Massacre gunmen, on the basis of some bugged conversations Roemer claims to have heard years later and vaguely alludes to. More credible suspects, such as Gus Winkeler, who later ran Moran's former North Side territory for Capone and was highly publicized in the early Thirties, and Raymond "Crane-Neck" Nugent, who was once arrested at Capone's Miami estate, are dismissed as insignificant nobodies on the bare fringe of the Capone mob. Roemer goes on to have Accardo accompany Capone to the famous Atlantic City Mob convention, again at the expense of number one bodyguard Frank Rio, and conveniently oversteps the Philadelphia arrest and conviction of Capone and RIO by moving the meeting ahead one year to 1930. I find it amazing that a guy like Roemer could spend all that time investigating the Chicago Mob and display such little knowledge of its early years. No wonder the FBI took so long in catching up with organized crime! Roemer should have either stuck with the Fifties/Sixties time-frame he knew firsthand or else done some competent research on the pre-World War II era. As for the claim that Accardo had "more brains before breakfast than Al Capone had all day," well, like I said earlier, Tony's successful life in crime is impressive, and owes much to his low-key style but one doesn't need to distort history to emphasize this. And, when it all comes down to it, Capone was the guy who built the Chicago Mob and the guy who brought Accardo up through the ranks as well. Successful as he was, Tony was only following in Al's footsteps like so many others.



3. Incredible. Here we have a retired FBI agent writing about a thug who he claims is the best godfather ever. He writes so admiringly about Tony Accardo that I really believe he wanted to give Joe Batters a foot massage, back rub and ticker-tape parade. I had to put the book down before I puked. True, the writer covers a lot of ground in his homage to this killer-thug and parasite, but it's all wasted by his glorification of a criminal.



4. Retired FBI Agent William Roemer (1926-1996) takes an interesting look at one of Chicago's most infamous mob bosses. Anthony "Big Tuna" Accardo (1906-1992) was a player in the syndicate from the prohibition-era 1920's until his death more than six decades later. Once complimented as "a real Joe Batters" by Al Capone for having killed another mobster with a baseball bat, Accardo had a mix of toughness, brains, and closed-mouthed brawn. As the author shows, these characteristics helped him rise through the syndicate ranks and avoid the downfalls (imprisonment, early death) of many associates. Accardo ran or helped rule the Chicago syndicate as boss, consiglieri, and finally as elder statesman. Readers also get a look at the Chicago mob and its many sources of illegal activities. The author regards his subject with a mix of distaste and respect, as did so many others in and out of law enforcement.
   
   Roemer's books are very readable, but they suffer from a few doubtful claims and flirtations with the facts, not to mention some self-boasting by the author. Still, his easy-reading narratives on the Chicago mob are worth a look.



5. This book was much better than i first assumed it would be. Tony Accardo's exploits are well documented from early in his mob career all the way to his death. But Roemer,the author, tends to get in the way a little bit. He is the FBI agent that was after this guy, so he was fully aware of the vicious nature of Accardo and the Outfit as a whole. Yet he talks about Accardo as if he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Far too much praising of Accardo and self-promotion for my taste. But that aside, there isn't a boring moment in this book. It also clearly shows that Chicago held more power than all the east coast families combined. Overall, a very good read, if you can put up with the author.

3 comments about The Killer Book of True Crime: Incredible Stories, Facts and Trivia from the World of Murder and Mayhem.

1. The introduction to Tom and Michael Philbin's The Killer Book of True Crime: Incredible Stories, Facts and Trivia from the World of Murder to Mayhem states that the book's objective is to serve up a potpourri of delectable information about crime in a way that is entertaining.
   Perhaps the term "delectable" is not quite appropriate and a bit much in view of some of the gory details exposed in a few chapters, however, I have to admit that the book is quite fascinating and makes for a good read in providing readers with an insight into the seamy world of crime.
   
   Divided into nineteen chapters the authors serve us short bites of information pertaining to an assortment of crimes from robbery, organized crimes and gangs, prostitution, serial murder, mass murder, criminal investigation, rape, sexual perversions to terrorism, auto theft, death row, prisons, stalking, female killers, arson, celebrities and crime, kids who kill, and gory crimes.
   
   Each chapter includes a question and answer section containing some attention-grabbing data. For example, did you know that arson is the most expensive crime in America; costing more than two billion dollars a year in property loss and only sixteen percent of arson offenses ever lead to arrest. Who has spent the most time in jail and is still behind bars? The answer is William Heirens who has served over sixty-one years for the crime of killing a little girl and two women in 1946-a case that shocked the world. What percentage of pedophiles recover from their interest? None. It is generally believed that once a pedophile is afflicted, he will never change. Did you know that Brazil has the highest murder rate with almost forty-five thousand a year!
   
   Also incorporated in the tome is the unique jargon spoken by various criminals such as robbers, prostitutes, and inmates in prison as well as those individuals who investigate the crimes. And For those of you who enjoy reading about the comings and goings of celebrities, there is an entire chapter devoted to the crimes committed by such famous people as Ryan O'Neal, Pete Rose, David Crosby, Sean Penn, O.Henry, Kelsey Grammar, Sophia Loren, Denny McLain, Robert Mitchum and Stacy Keach. The chapter even contains a match game where you have to match the circumstances of the murder with a murdered celebrity.
   
   Some of the gory chapters include crimes of mass murder where we learn about Ronald ("Butch") DeFeo Jr. who in 1974 horrendously murdered his entire family consisting of his parents and his four siblings. Another one delves into the circumstances of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson where the authors reproduce the harrowing details of the autopsy report. We are spared, however, the murder scene photos that were too gruesome go show.
   
   Other features of The Killer Book of Crime contain quotes from people involved in crime in one way or another, match games where we test our skills in matching the correct mafia nicknames to the right gangster, who am I, and brain teasers. However, it should be pointed out as the authors have mentioned in their introduction, not all of the entries have a serious side. And included are also some of the funny and humorous conversations New York cops have encountered with criminals.
   
   Call it what you want, even morbid curiosity, however I have to confess that I did find myself wanting to know more about some of these appalling criminals and the horrendous crimes they committed. Moreover, in many instances the authors left no stone unturned in divulging all of the facts of a particular case. All of which add up to a very compelling read that will no doubt satisfy the appetites of lovers of crime and mystery stories.
   
   Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures



2. Title: The Killer Book of True Crime: Incredible Stories, Facts and Trivia from the World of Murder and Mayhem
   
   Authors: Tom Philbin, Michael Philbin
   
   Review: Many folks are interested, at least on some level, in crime. It is the car wreck mentality. Humans are fascinated by the illegal, the dangerous, but want to keep a safe distance from it at the same time.
   
   The Killer Book of True Crime will let you indulge your fascination with the underbelly of society, while sitting in the comfort of your living room. You can read stories on notorious serial killers, arsonists, and mobsters. Sprinkled within the stories are blurbs that detail slang terms used in the specific type of crime being discussed. There are even trivia questions, where you match the criminal with their crime.
   
   This book gives you a healthy dose of various crimes and criminals, from organized crime, to prostitution, to mass murder. And throughout the book, there are stories from police, coroners who deal with crime every day. The Killer Book of True Crime allows you a unique glimpse into the shadowy criminal underworld.



3. Perfect book for people with short attention spans. Chapters are short and to the point. Not the book to read if you want any in depth information, but a good read if you want to waste a bit of time that doesn't require much deep thought.

3 comments about How the Cold War Began: The Igor Gouzenko Affair and the Hunt for Soviet Spies.

1. I looked this book over at Borders and decided not to buy it when I saw that the author claims that the jury is still out on whether Alger Hiss was a Soviet spy. Frankly, it's my opinion that the Venona decrypts of KGB messages during the World War II era have pretty much settled this issue. Hiss was a spy and so were a number of other people that Ms. Knight seems to assert "reasonable doubt on."
   
   Also, the assertion by her that the Gouzenko case marred amicable relations with the Soviet Union after World War II is ludicrous. To use Marxist terminology, that alliance collapsed of its own contradictions (democracies allied with expansionist totalitarian regime). Also, setting aside the Hiss and Harry Dexter White Cases, Venona indisputably proves that the Soviets were running an extremely aggressive intelligence collection program in the West of a scope and nature that is not normally associated with friendly intent.
   
   So I would give this a pass, but if you have to read it, you should also check out a book called "the FBI-KGB War" by Robert Lamphere. Lamphere was an FBI agent deeply involved in many of the cases that this book discusses and in my opinion, he has a lot clearer view of reality than Ms. Knight.



2. (had to enter this in "kid's review" as i don't want to sign up for an amazon account (sorry, amazon!)
   Picked this up as it hit the store this week because of my fascination with the cold war era and the red scare. The case of Gouzenko, who defected in Canada, is riveting. I learned about his case in a history class, but had never read the details of this young man who decided to defect - setting off the most unbelievable chain of events. Knight's research is meticulous, and the case she builds about the lives ruined in the spy hunt makes this book a must for anyone who likes history and a good spy story. I finished it in two days, and it's still making me think....



3. The book is a gripping account of espionage investigation and the political fallout from Igor Gouzenko's defection to Canada in September 1945. Knight argues that the Gouzenko case triggered a change of public perception of the Soviet Union, from that of a wartime ally to that of a deceitful enemy. This change of perception, and the political outrage in the West over Soviet espionage, precipitated anti-communist hysteria in the US and became the opening act of the drama of the Cold War.
   
   Knight's analysis is certainly interesting, placing her clearly in the ranks of revisionist historians (those inclined to blame the US for the Cold War). Her research is very impressive; recently declassified Canadian materials are consulted at great length. On the other hand, the Russian side of the story is inadequately covered. Knight resorts here to a few articles or interviews by former Soviet intelligence officers, omitting archival evidence altogether.
   
   Granted, as she quickly points out in the beginning, archival access in Russia remains problematic, and Gouzenko files at the GRU archive are certainly out of reach. But other archives (e.g. the Foreign Ministry, RGASPI) are more or less open to researchers, and Knight's omissions are regrettable.
   
   As matters stand, only half Gouzenko's story is told in the book; the other - the Russian half - still remains to be written. Still, Gouzenko's life and times are examined in great detail. Knight shows something of an ambivalent feeling towards Gouzenko's personality, admiring him for courage but censuring him for egoism and arrogance.
   
   The one important problem that is barely mentioned in the book is Stalin's policy in the early years of the Cold War. Only once does Knight offer her opinion about the underlying motivations of Soviet foreign policy - i.e. that Stalin wanted to cooperate with the West *before* Hiroshima - but this important observation is not buttressed by any evidence, except for a reference to the Zubok/Pleshakov book (Inside the Kremlin's Cold War).
   
   And yet, Stalin's side of the story is exceptionally important, for if he ruled out cooperation with the West in the aftermath of Hiroshima, then did it really matter what Gouzenko did, or what Washington witch-hunters thought - the Cold War had already begun! The book's title is "How the Cold War began", but certainly without a greater examination of the Soviet side of the Cold War, we can never really tell how it all began. Nevertheless, it is an interesting book, well worth reading, well-written, full of insights and pertinent information.
   
   Also, towards the end the author defends Alger Hiss (arguing that he was not a Soviet spy), though she does not really offer much evidence to undermine the well-known public prejudice to the contrary.

5 comments about Suffer The Little Children (True Crime).

1. This book was difficult to read. I had to put it down many times because of the emotional stress I felt as I read of the tortures and attrocities claimed to have been done by Jesse Cummings. I'm not sure quite what to believe, since it seems to be quite biased, and since in other readings the testimony of the two wives seems contradictory, however it is quite informative of just how depraved a person can be (even if only part of it is true) and how pathetic people under the control of a sadist can become, even to go so far as assist or at least allow crimes against even their own children. It's just another case that makes me wish there were laws determining who was and was not fit to become a parent, because clearly none of these three people were, and the children did indeed suffer greatly as a result.



2. This man was not human! To beat a baby into convulsions is just sick. What I don't get is the women were so nieve to him and believed everything he said. Now look where they are. In prision for life. He should be put to death for all he has done and the lives he ruined. People like him make me sick and I hope each and every monster in this world pays for their in humanity.



3. This book was badly written, badly research, and doesn't even appear to have been edited for spelling/grammar mistakes. The writing is confusing because the author jumps around in time and then doesn't explain who people are in relation to the story. They just show up and then are gone. The research is obviously done be a bias person who is only interested in relating horrible facts, not actually proven events. It's a sad story that deserves to be properly portrayed. This book isn't that story. Save yourself the time of trying to read it.



4. Jesse James Cummings has two wives but I thought it was one wife and a girlfriend. Anyway, his true intentions are with this young niece, Melissa Moody. He kills her mother Judy Ann Mayo Moody who was also his own sister and later tortures, rapes, and kills his niece leaving her in the woods. It's one of the worst crimes in the midwest in recent memory. Jesse James Cummings is truly one of the most sadistic, cruel killers especially the treatment of his own niece. My heart goes out to the victim's family which is also his family. Ironically that the same family can produce a wonderful child like Melissa can also create a monster.



5. This book is riveting and full of details. The author spent a lot of time interviewing Jesse's two wives in their jail cell and got the whole story. This is a true example of battered wife syndrome that puts Karla Homolka's excuses and ridiculous pleas of innocence to shame. Although the way the book is compiled, it is slightly disorganized, I didn't find it too hard to follow. The amount of information and detail in it makes up for this. It's engrossing and you don't want to put it down.
   
   I did a search on google and discovered his petitions of innocence all over the place. His execution date is set for September 25, 2008. Kind of mean to say, but I'm happy about this. Although he tries to use the alibi that he was taking his sick father in for treatment the day Judy Moody was murdered, he only did it to ensure that he would have an alibi for the time of the murder. I don't believe he's innocent, he has way too much evidence against him. The world will be a much better place without a man that committed the horrific acts described in this story.

5 comments about Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder.

1. I was aware of the Black Dahlia murder as one of those notorious, super-mediafied events that was big enough to sorta stay in the public conciousness through the years. It's incredible to me that, after all this time, there is still stuff to discover about the murder. And one might be inclined to say why bother dwelling on it? And, for me, the answer is that this book is about something much more interesting than just the murder: it's about the connection between the murder, the murderer, surrealist art, and some of the major artists of the 20th century. The author's arguments are convincing and the connections they surface are -- to me -- amazing. It says a lot about art and the culture of artists. As an artist myself, I find this particularly interesting.
   
   I read some of the other reviews of this book. I think it'd be best if people who review a book have actually READ the book. Nobody would read this book and give it only 1 star. Even if you don't like the subject, you can't deny that the authors have approached the subject soberly, argue their points well, and that the research/images/writing are good. This is no shrill, sensational supermarket pulp product. It's a good read and an *interesting* read on many levels.
   
   I learned some new things about art, artists, culture and the experience was wrapped in a remarkable bit of art-historian sleuthing about one of the most grisly, notorious murders ever. The fact that one of the most horrific murders in US history was actually part of a dialogue with a major movement in 20th century art is, well, amazing...
   
   I recommend the book. Read it and you'll know what i mean.



2. 
   KUDOS TO MARK AND SARAH. As relates to the Nelson/Bayliss EXQUISITE CORPSE: SURREALISM AND THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, I would like to add my heartfelt appreciation and high praise for their outstanding research, dedication and documentation. I believe their independent and academic investigation, adds mountains of evidence to my original lay/foundational thesis that suggested surrealism and its art were the key to the DAHLIA crime signatures. Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss have connected the dots and the people and presented them for all of us to see. They have taken the long silent voices of those who knew (or suspected) and by holding up their works (riddles wrapped in mysteries)--HAVE MADE THEM SPEAK!
   
   Steve Hodel
   Los Angeles



3. This unusual book argues that the killer of Elizabeth Short aka the Black Dahlia was a Surrealist who worked on the Hollywood scene. It does provide a surprisingly convincing case that the killer was a member of a particular artistic school that had a particularly strong influence on the movies of the time.
   
   The book is very well illustrated with ghastly photos from the crime scene and is recommended to all true crime buffs.



4. There's some fairly interesting visual analysis here, but it's all but buried in overstatement and unsupported innuendo. Similarly, one can also see fragments of a fascinating story, though it, like the stronger visual arguments, tends to get lost.
   
   This is not a true-crime book, and anyone who purchases it expecting one will be disappointed. It's a book about the similarities between the Black Dahlia crime scene and works of avant garde and surrealist art that were made both before and after the murder. Some of these suggested commonalities feel like quite a stretch. (Man Ray's reclining nudes are nearly all corpses to the authors; a 1961 William Copely picture of a long-haired female nude, a doctor, and a set of surgical tools is cited as proof that the murder continued to haunt the artist for a decade and a half.) Others, especially those having to do with Marcel Duchamp's late work, are better supported, and genuinely interesting.
   
   With regard to the personal relationships between the book's principals, the arguments are often much weaker. (The authors spend the book's entire first half establishing surrealism as a bloodthirsty aesthetic whose proponents were entralled with violent criminality and the sliced-up forms of women. Then, after claiming Duchamp for the surrealist movement, the authors suggest that his apparent continuing fascination with the Black Dahlia murder would likely have been the result of a "personal connection" with the killing.) They do, however, do a fine and interesting job of documenting involvement between their suspect and Man Ray.
   
   The most compelling parts of the book are the ones that deal directly with their suspect, George Hodel. His life and predilictions recall Anton LaVey in some ways. Hodel's son, Steve, has also written a book about the Black Dahlia killing. That, I'd like to read.



5. One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel
   
   The authors...did an incredible job...Surrealism and The Black Dahlia Murder...it supports Steve Hodel's work...proving his father killed Elizabeth Short...