No comments about CIA Briefings of Presidential Candidates.

1 comments about Lo Capos, Las narco-rutas de Mexico (Best Seller (Debolsillo)).

1. I think is an informative book that covers really well the subject, however, the author in the first chapters spend too much time to attack some people in the Mexican Government that are not really related to what the book is about. The rest of the book is very precise and informative!.

No comments about The Encyclopedia of Crime.

4 comments about Deadly Relations.

1. This true crime book focuses on a prominent New Orleans nuclear family. The father, Leonard Fagot, was a handsome former marine and war hero, who became a wealthy attorney. Father to four beautiful girls, he made sure that they wanted for nothing in the dream house that he and his wife built. Unfortunately, as the girls grew up, their father seemed to change, exhibiting more and more of his less stellar personality traits. He became totally domineering and erratic in his behavior.
   
   When he made a troubled local teenager his girlfriend, practically keeping her under his wife's nose, the marriage disintegrated, and he began a personal downward spiral. His maniacal personality would see him insure the lives of his sons-in-law. When one of them died a seemingly accidental death, it was suspect, but when a second one bit the dust, it was definitely murder. Coupled with the fact that Leonard Fagot would also maim himself, losing a hand and an eye in order to get the insurance money, the reader may infer that he was certainly a disturbed individual.
   
   Told as a first person narrative by two of his daughters, the book suffers from an inability to distinguish between the voices of the two daughters. Moreover, it offers little analysis as to why this man would totally unravel towards the end of his life and undo a lifetime of work. Was it drugs, money, madness or all of the above that drove Leonard Fagot to do the unspeakable things that he did? Even after reading the book, the reader is left unsure. The daughters who wrote this book, one of whom testified against the father at his trial, are virtually unlikable, as is the rest of the family, rendering them unsympathetic in their tragedy.
   
   The book contains eight pages of black and white photographs and is moderately interesting at best. Only true crime enthusiasts will get a modicum of enjoyment from reading this mediocre book.



2. This is the book that was made into a movie starring Robert Uhrich and Gwyneth Paltrow! The book is even better! ENJOY!



3. Very interesting story that I don't remember hearing about when it happened. Very well written, by two non-professional writers. My heart went out to this family. It must be terrible to love someone and see his life unravel right before your eyes. Especially when the consequences of the unraveling are violent and deadly. This man tore his loving family apart. This was a story of drug addiction that lead to mental illness, or maybe the mental illness was fueled by his drug addiction. It was very sad.



4. I have seen the movie based on this book many times, and I loved it. Once I found out there was a book, I jumped on eBay and bought a copy. I am so glad I did! This is a great book, and I'll admit, it was a little difficult to NOT picture Robert Urich as the dad, or Gwyneth Paltrow as Carol.
   
   My attention was held the whole time I was reading it, and I really didn't want to put it down. I highly recommend to anyone who can find a copy to buy it, it really is that good!!! Leonard Fagot went over the top in his obsessions with those life insurance schemes of his,...

5 comments about Made Men (Seven Brothers).

1. I am on the fence with this one. It wasn't bad but there wasn't necessarily anything that was good about it either. Smith attempts to piece together the 1,000 hours of evidence with the known history in order to show us the downfall of the DeCavalcante family. We see it; we see the Mafioso family crumble under the weight of its degenerate members, so Smith succeeded there. But it is his telling that hampers this book from being an out right winner.
   
   One thing that particularly frustrated me was that you would be reading along and Smith would describe something. It would seem as though it came out of nowhere and didn't really belong, but you shrug your shoulders and take it as part of the story. Then further into the book he would talk about that exact same scene, word for word. With no explanation. And this didn't happen just once. It happened repeatedly. Why he did this I could not make sense of it. Additionally, he would have some scenes where you know there is not a wire and Smith could not have known what was said. For example, when Joey O, Anthony Capo and I think Gallo were waiting in a stolen car outside Majuri's house to whack him we are given a word for word recital of their conversation. Yet they were in a stolen car and the three people in the car were not informants, so how does he know this? This was where Smith would try to recreate the scene, which is also where a loosely based scene was turned to fiction in order to further the book. This happened several times.
   
   There were some redeeming qualities. For one, Smith has a dry sense of humor and you can sense it throughout the book as comments are dropped in between the mob's conversation. Additionally, we would read some of the conversations that were going on and can't help but laugh at these violent men. Some of their conversations are hilarious, and I give credit to Smith for strategically interspersing some of these amidst other such despicable acts throughout the book. It adds a comical element to the DeCavalcante crime family, and other crime families, that are usually glossed over.
   
   All in all, a decent rendering of a fall of a crime family. I would read other books first, such as The Valachi Papers, Wiseguys and Underboss, but this is a good addition for anyone looking to read more about organized crime.
   
   3.5 stars.



2. I have to say that I must agree with the comment in the Literary Journal review, above, that the writing in this book is disjointed and repetitious. It was so broken that in many cases it was hard to follow. The author jumps from person to person with little background and less connection from one part of the book to the next. I was all ready to like this book. I've been a big fan of The Sopranos, so I was very interested in this book. Unfortunately, it was hard to enjoy. It also lacked the saving grace of those little bits of insider information that can be so fascinating. It just wasn't there.
   The author could have taken the approach of directly linking the people and events in the book with Sopranos people and events. In fact, it looked like that was exactly where he was going. At one point he mentions several events from real life that directly coincide with Sopranos events. But then the book disappoints by not linking people, beyond the most general terms and far too seldom to enjoy.
   Overall, this book was a big disappointment. I can't recommend it at all.



3. Fun, but a bit dull ... Flashes of real humor here, and some insight into how the mob of the '90s worked. But I was expecting the story to build to a real climax, and since it never ended in the trial of the protagonist (antagonist?), there was no resolution. This isn't the fault of the author, necessarily, because he probably had to work against deadlines.
   
   But if you want to know the real story of the DeCavalcantes, it's more interesting to read the NY papers' accounts of the trial in 2003. Among the sensational revelations that never made it into this book -- the head of the family was rubbed out for being gay! (This inspired the famous story line in 'The Sopranos' centering around gay Vito.)



4. I don't know about this one folks. Starts slow but makes up for it with an even slower finish. Up until Vinnie Ocean is made boss, this book was like watching grass grow. Sorry fellas, but don't waste your time.



5. Im 85 pages in and nothing has happened. I dont know where its going or even what its about.

5 comments about Bloodletters and Badmen: A Narrative Encyclopedia of American Criminals from the Pilgrims to the Present.

1. This book is so big and fantastic I have read it twice. Each criminal and gangster is a story in their own right, and most are dispicable as one can come. The only problem is I wish Nash would put recent killers in his book, ala O.J. Simpson. (or the one armed man who framed him).



2. 
   I bought this book when it first came out in the hardback edition but it got misplaced, somehow so, I was pleased to see the up-dated version available in paper back and I ordered it.
   
   It is a fanatstic book, chuck full of information and pictures and very interesting to read. It's a great book for true crime enthusiasts. I recommend it.



3. I just want to correct the reviewer who called the female murderer Gretchen Baniszewski in his review. Her name is Gertrude Baniszewski.



4. Typical stuff from Nash, one of the premier hacks of our time. Old tales openly lifted from other sources get retold with a lot of tabloid style writing and occasional adherence to facts. There are so many better books out there on crime and criminals. If you care about good writing and solid research, avoid this one!



5. This book was an interesting read from cover to cover, but there are ways in which it could have been improved. For one thing, Nash spends far more time than I'd have liked giving us blow by blow accounts of the exploits of Wild Western outlaws and Mafia gangsters, then gives comparatively short shrift to people who are, arguably, of much more current interest, such as serial killers like Jeff Dahmer or Ted Bundy. Some mass murderers who had already had their sprees when this book was last updated are left out completely, such as James Huberty. In short, Nash seems to have some very clear biases about what "badmen" he felt were important, or interesting, and the others got short-changed, if they were brought up at all. My feeling is that if Nash wants to do books that are primarily about the Old West or the Mafia, let him do so, but when he purports to give us a book that covers the full spectrum of United States violent criminals, I expect a more even-handed approach. Not only that, but a number of serial killers were also left out, apparently for no reason other than that the killer remains unidentified (such as the Zodiac, or the Axeman of New Orleans.) Given the impact and terror that those worthies had on the general public at the time they were operating, their absence here is very hard to take.
   
   Additionally, the book could have really used a more skilled editor to catch all the typos, mis-spelled words and goofs in typesetting. I don't know about other readers, but when I see a grossly mis-spelled word as I'm reading, I stop myself and have to mentally correct it before I can continue. An occasional one that no one caught is, I suppose, forgivable, but the rampant stream of them in this volume was asking too much.
   
   Overall, the book was a good read, but there is definitely room for improvement should Nash ever update it again.

4 comments about Meet Me For Murder (Pinnacle True Crime).

1. I HESITATED @ BUYING THIS BOOK, SINCE I HAD ALREADY READ A BOOK ABOUT ONE OF THE GIRLS MURDERED. I AM GLAD I WENT AHEAD WITH IT. IT WAS VERY INTERESTING ALTHOUGH VERY SAD. THE AUTHOR DID A GOOD JOB-YOU CAN JUST FEEL THE EXCITEMENT KRISTI JOHNSON MUST HAVE FELT, ONLY TO BE MURDERED. MY HEART GOES OUT TO HER FAMILY. SHE WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GIRL



2. Meet Me for Murder is the combination of several photographers who are really predators ready to kill a young pretty girl. The book starts off talking about Kristine Louise Johnson who was raped and killed by one of those photographers after he claims to be casting for a James Bond film. Of course, he orders her to buy black stilleto heels and a short skirt and she meets him in the Hollywood Hills. I have seen the Dateline special entitled Murder in the Hollywood Hills. Of course, it's not the first time or the last time when a supposed photographer abducts, kidnaps, rapes, and torture unsuspecting women who aspire to be models and actresses especially in Hollywood. The author starts off with one story and goes with others and that's my problem with this book. If the author had organized it to allow the reader to read a chapter or two on one predator rather than going back and forth with the murder of Kristine Louise Johnson. Unfortunately, the author jumps back and forth and worse the L.A. District Attorney's office writes in the end of the book but it makes no sense to me to have him writing because it is going to be somewhat biased and based on the Johnson murder. Lasseter never explains why he is part of the book and that's another problem.



3. The case of Kristi Johnson, 21, who was viciously murdered when she met Victor Paleologus for a supposed modeling job centered around a James Bond script. As it turns out, not only was the job a fraud but Paleologus was a perverted psychopath with homicidal tendencies coursing through his veins.
   
   That case alone would not have made much of a story, considering that it is not all that uncommon, but the author Don Lasseter had enough forsight to relate several criminal cases very similar to Johnson's in the same book; including that of Linda Sobek, a former NFL cheerleader who was murdered in an almost identical scheme.
   
   The combination of these stories makes for one interesting book. It is definitely recommended reading for anyone who enjoys true crime!



4. If you know any young women or teen-age girls, this is a must-read. It has helped me see just how easy it is for them to fall prey to these scams. Well done.

1 comments about Into the Minds of Madmen: How the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit Revolutionized Crime Investigation.

1. Many true crime fans, myself included, have torn through the books by John Douglas and other ex-members of the Behavioral Sciences Unit or BSU. We marveled at their ability to deduce intricate details of a killer's personality and lifestyle from the type of crimes they committed. We read with wonder at how they became almost overnight sensations after helping catch Wayne Williams, the man convicted of the Atlanta Child Murders.
   
   Movies have also engrained them in our psyche. From Silence of the Lambs and Manhunter, we see these men as brave, driven, and inteligent almost to the point of clairvoyance.
   
   But what are these men really like, behind closed doors? And how did they come to form the group that law enforcement agencies and laypeople alike admire and respect?
   
   That is where Into the Minds of Madmen starts. It is not a book filled with chapter after chapter of car chases, midnight plane rides, or stakeouts to catch a serial killer. Instead it deals with the minutiae of how the Behavioral Science Unit came into being.
   
   Granted, there are stories of how the team of "profilers" worked on several cases. But the goal of this book, as they state clearly in the forward is not to "resort to retelling the same sensational serial-killing stories," but instead to tell of the formation of a group that would revolutionize crime scene investigation and the methods used to catch serial offenders.
   
   I will admit, the book can be a bit bland at times. But there is a lot of history contained in these pages, history you won't probably find anywhere else. And several of the men who spoke with DeNevi and Campbell, agents who worked in the early years of the unit, give a hint at some of the theories, books, and studies they read, which led them to create this new method of criminal investigation.
   
   For those folks that are truly interested in the BSU, not just the thrilling stories, this is a must-read. The history contained here and the chance to get a glimpse into what made these men tick, how they developed the advanced procedures and methods almost taken for granted today, will give you a newfound respect for these men who blazed a trail that has given us all a better feeling of security.

5 comments about The DD Group: An Online Investigation Into the Death of Marilyn Monroe.

1. David Marshall's "The DD Group: An Online Investigation Into the Death of Marilyn Monroe" is a must-read for anyone interested in learning the truth about the premature demise of Hollywood's most enduring star. The book examines all aspects of Miss Monroe's death by carefully reconstructing her final hours and analyzing the facts in a logical, detailed, and organized manner. Medical and forensics evidence is carefully dissected, and the possible agendas and questionable credibility of several key associates of Miss Monroe's {as well as a number of contemporary biographers} is presented for consideration. The book contains numerous startling new facts never revealed in any other Monroe biography, information which is compelling, ground-breaking and startling in the extreme. The intense research conducted by the participants of the group is impressive and unprecedented, and Mr. Marshall did an admirable job condensing what must have been an intimidatingly vast amount of information into a concise, well-written and thoroughly gripping investigative report. I highly recommend this book to anyone searching for the truth about what happened to Marilyn Monroe on the night she died. Fact and fantasy will become very easy to discern, and readers will arrive at a possible conclusion which is credible, realistic, and devoid of sensationalism. This book is a tremendous accomplishment, and you will never look at the death of Marilyn Monroe the same way again.



2. I liked the format of this book, researcher sharing comments and formulating their opinions. Perhaps a better way of looking at what happened than individual writers have done. Worth a look see.



3. 
   Just finished the book this morning. Couldn't put it down since I purchased it a couple of days ago! I believe it has demystified so much here about Marilyn that it has to be very close to the last word on the subject. I took an interest in MM a few years ago and read many books on her. I was so impressed with her life that I wrote a three-act play called "Bye Bye Baby" about her last thee days. It hasn't been staged yet but one lives in hope! It was heavily biased by the Slatzer, Wolfe angle [murder] but since I read this book I'll have to re-write it removing this bias. After I read it I immediately went to Matthew Smith's Last Words to see if the DD Group's versions matched in any way. I believe, with a little bit of editing, it has second-guessed the Marilyn's tapes which weren't published at the time! It all makes sense now!!! However, although I really believed all along that she had been murdered, I now believe she did kill herself and that she made her mind up after RFK'S visit. It would seem that her whole world caved in then. When she asked Dr. Greenson "Did you take my Nembutal?" I think she was calling his bluff. She probably told him earlier that she only had one or two left and hid the 24 or 25. He may well have given her a shot of a small, controlled amount of Nembutal, with this knowledge in mind, when he returned, advising her to go to bed immediately. [I think most psychiatrists can and do give shots]. Remember that her total well-being depended almost entirely the esteem in which the Kennedys held her. If that was lost irretrievably, MM was lost. And it looked pretty final at 4.00 that Saturday. Dr. Greenson alone couldn't keep her from ending her life, even though he was indispensable to her in many ways. She was too intelligent for them all but must have made up her mind that afternoon.
   MM must have felt lonelier that evening than any other time in her life and in that lonely bed in Brentwood she must have sobbed herself into that deep, deep sleep. I do believe now that she did say "Say goodbye to Jack..." to Peter Lawford. It's so, so tragic.
   This book is a wonderful, intelligent and compassionate insight!!! I am forever in their debt.
   
   
   Seoirse O Dochartaigh, Donegal, Ireland



4. This book made me re-examine my opinion as to the death of the great Marilyn Monroe. The book was so well researched (by so many), debated and documented. I actually changed my opinion as to the mode of her tragic demise because of it...I still don't believe that MM intended to commit suicide, which correlates to BOTH of the author's final speculations as to how she died, but I am swayed by the opinion that others were (innocently) responsible for her death, due to gross negligence. This negligence made it absolutely necessary to hide the real way MM died. (it saved careers)...Her Dr.'s. had an unknowing hand in her death, and even Mrs. Murray, which would fit in to why she said, "Why, oh why, after all these years, do I have to keep hiding this..." Marilyn did not intentionally commit suicide...That is my opinion after reading this excellent book. Your opinion may be different...That is what is so great about this novel...It leaves room for the reader to formulate their own opinion based upon the facts presented...Read and enjoy!



5. Great book. If you are interested in theories and thoughts of other Marilyn fans, this is the book to read.

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

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



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



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

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




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



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