5 comments about The Fox and the Flies: The Secret Life of a Grotesque Master Criminal.

1. The fox and the flies.
   
   An outstanding read, This book is filled with history. The fox and the flies chronicle the life of Joseph Silver. Silver terrorized women in South Africa in the late 18th century and early 19 century. Van Onselen believes that Silver should be a jack the ripper suspect. He points to several coincidences in the book and makes a good case for Silver being Jack the ripper.
   
   The book is filled with maps that detail the time period in which the story takes place. It is rich in content and it's outstanding in it's detail, giving the reader a great vision in the time and surroundings of the era being discussed. He really sets the mood of the time period. The way Van Onselen describes the location you can easily imagine being there.
   
   The book takes you methodically through the life of Joseph Silver and some ancillary characters that Silver has some acquaintance with.
   
   Van Onselen makes several great points and backs them up with facts in this book.
   
   This book is an great read, very well written. I couldn't put it down. The story and the detail in this book are incredible.



2. Van Onselen is articulate and persuasive, and it's a pleasure to read his kind of writing. And he gives a good picture of the underside of South Africa at the time of the Boer War, and after. The book is worth purchase for that.
   
   As for the connection between Lis/Silver and Jack the Ripper, no. All the connections are a stretch, there is nothing, certianly, that would convict him in court or even cause a grand jury, America's own kangaroo court, to convene. And without Jack the Ripper what is there? A nice book about an artful con man who operated in England, South Africa and the Americas at the turn of the 20th century.
   
   If you're a history buff it's well worth the read. If you're a Ripper buff, go to the coffee shop and spend your money on a latte and wait for the next theory.
   
   Anne Olson



3. this book tells a story of a long-forgotten (if ever well-known) criminal, but does so in such a burdensome and long-winded fashion that it's painful to read. The book needed a better editor (if there even was one) or a better writer, such as Erik Larson, who took similar material and created the shimmering Devil in the White City.



4. This is no ordinary gangster tale. It is sophisticated -- yet eminently readable -- transnational history. Van Onselen uses his skills as a social historian to trace Joseph Silver's peripatetic wanderings around the Atlantic World in the late ninteeneth and early twentieth centuries. From his birthplace in Poland, Silver left the world of the shtetl behind and blazed a trail of vice and violence that took him to London, New York, Pittsburgh, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Windhoek. Van Onselen both tells a gripping tale and offers insight into the interplace of sex, race, ethnicity, and class in the making of the modern world. Brilliant.



5. It really is incredible that the author was able to amass this much detail from his research and investigation.
   At the end he declares that the culprit written about in this book, is indeed, jack the Ripper and it all makes sense.
   Read this.

5 comments about The DIARY OF JACK THE RIPPER: THE DIARY OF JACK THE RIPPER.

1. Okay, say the name on the tip of your tongue - The Diary of Jack the Ripper - and watch as the dollar signs flicker before your eyes. It was bound to happen sooner or later. The reason why the Diary is still popular today is because a few Ripperologists attached their name to it and few have had the guts to actually say that they where wrong and walk away from it. The Diary is essentially a mini-volume of notes allegedly written by James Maybrick, around the time of the Whitechapel murders, that sign at the end as "Jack the Ripper". So how does it read? Well it is reasonably fair to say that it is very creative reading and does keep you entertained, but then again that is exactly what it is meant to do. What we know today is that it is undoubtedly a forgery because the owner of the book Michael Barrett simply admitted to forging it himself. End of story, really. So you might enjoy this book but remember that it is only fiction and the case is still far from solved.

   What one must remember is that James Maybrick is still a Ripper suspect and was a Ripper suspect long before the advent of the Ripper Diary so don't discount this suspect just on the bases of this book being a forgery.

   Click on the authors name and have a good look around. I am sure you will be impressed and the message will finally sink home. Shame about the Ripperologists who went pair-shaped hooking up with this book as the Real McCoy. There have been a few causalities because of it.




2. I will be brief for Dr O aka James OBlivion gives in a verbose manner plenty of material for us to not be taken in by Harrison's enthusiasm for the maybrick/ripper theory. I bought and read the hardcover before barret's (the diary owner) confession-retraction and retraction of the retraction that the diary was a hoax. Then that it was not a hoax but that he was mad that his wife ran off with the publisher. (frankly I lost track of where he is in the cycle now) The Story in the book is GREAT regardless of wether or not it is true. People geat really worked up over the whole thing but the truth is Nobody can prove who did the ripping now and this book was written about one theory. HOWEVER, the true worth of the book lies in the sad tale of a drug addict obssesed with his wife's possible infidelity. Whats Ironic is that If Barret told the truth that he had his wife write the diary in words he came up with for Maybrick, he was tragically predicting his future state. "My thoughts will remain intact, for a reminder to all how love does destroy".



3. "The Diary of Jack the Ripper" has the unenviable position of being one of the more recent entries into the "final solution" books on the Victorian serial killer. In all fairness to this book, I think nearly any book hitting this saturated genre is to be expected to be faced with criticism and skepticism.
   What makes this book different from earlier books and books published since this one is this book purports to be the actual diary of James Maybrick, a cotton merchant and, according to this book, the most debated and elusive serial killer of all time.
   Without debating on the authenticity of the diary or the book itself, which could be an entire tome in and of itself, I found the book to be an interesting read. Did I take every sentence as gospel truth? No. Reading it with a grain of salt was the best way to read it. Yes, it seemed like the book was written to work around the facts laid out in the diary - - but it was still an interesting twist on a century old mystery. And the story of James Maybrick, killer or not, was certainly interesting. Did he eventually overmedicate himself to death with arsenic? Did his wife Florie murder him? Or did she do as he asked, per the diary, and put him out of the misery of his life? Definitely a worthy story itself.
   Will we ever truly know who the mysterious and depraved Jack the Ripper was? At this late date, probably not - - and so there is no way to say absolutely with certainty that any suspect put forth is undeniably a killer or undeniably innocent. But it keeps the mystery alive and keeps the Jack the Ripper market ripe for yet another worthy suspect . . .
   Recommended for the true crime buff or Ripperologist.



4. I first read Shirley Harrisons 'The Diary of Jack the Ripper' in 1993 and was completely intrigued. Here for the first time was something concrete against someone thought to have been the Whitechapel murderer. Evidence that seemed to be more than circumstantial and to my utter surprise everyone seemed to revolt against the very idea. Instead of reading what the book had to tell with an open mind, people automatically claimed it to be a hoax, bashing everything the author implied. Then recently I read the 1998 updated version of the same book, which included new evidence and more information that had come to light during further investigations. To date, Shirley Harrison and Paul Feldman have spent many years trying to solve the mystery of this elusive diary and subsequently, the watch. Its been the most expensive Ripper investigation to date. And still today, no one has conclusively been able to prove that the diary or the watch is fake. People jumped on the band wagon when Michael Barrett 'confessed' to having supposedly forged the diary. Anyone with half a brain have since realised (as the author did) that this could not possibly have been true. All the evidence he gave to support his 'confession' has been disproved.
   
   Why people are so vehemently against the idea that James Maybrick could have been The Ripper I dont know. It seems strange that many would rather accuse men with a lot less evidence stacked against them, than seriously consider a man who could clearly have been guilty.
   
   However, I do admit that the 1993 version of the 'The Diary of Jack the Ripper' is a lot less detailed than the updated 1998 version. This makes sense as Shirley Harrison didnt have much time to research everything in depth prior to going to print. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, intrigued by the life of the man who may or may not have been the Whitechapel killer.
   
   Diary aside, the life of James and Florence Maybrick was intriguing enough to warrant this book as worthy of reading. I would however recommend that you read the '98 updated version for a more comprehensive view.



5. this book goes on and on about how this diary by jack the ripper is for real and not a fake.that parts ok ftom a real life history point of view,but what really makes the book is the part at the end where ,for sanitys sake,the write out the diary in its original form.all the gut-wrenching late night antics of a arsenic addicted whore slasher are brought brutaly to life.unless youre the kind of desensitized gore loving maniac that gets into this stuff,id steer clear.this makes csi:LAS VEGAS look like mary freakin poppins.very gory.

1 comments about Drenched in Blood, Rigid in Death : The True Story of the Wickenburg Massacre.

1. This account of what happened in the "Old West" two Centuries ago presents and excellent insight into the history of our Country. Without fixing blame, the author gives names, dates and places regarding the Wickenburg Massacre. He also provides informative maps and word-of-mouth information to support the disregard for, not only American Indians, but for any idle pioneers traveling from East to West who were not part of the established Mormon(LDS)settlement in Utah. I was amazed at the attempts on behalf of the Mormon leadership to cover-up what actually transpired and pass it off as an unfortunate mistake, when it was clear that [they] routinely displayed a total disregard and distrust for the well-being of anyone not within [their] folds. As history later disclosed the true story of the Wickenburg Massacre, the hierarchy of the Mormon Clan endeavored to make retribution by erecting to the memory of those "slaughtered" a simple monument. Today, this veneration of enduring historic significance gives notice that something tragic did, in fact, occur at that specific location and on a certain date. However, an indepth account would be difficult to find in any history book. And, although the LDS archives recognize such an incident did take place, it is unlikely [they] will ever take full responsbility for any inhumane actions taken by past LDS leaders. The only trace of such acknowledgement came when [they] bannished one member for actions he took pertaining to the massacre. The author obviously spent much time to personally research archives and fund this collection of printed and word-of-mouth accounts passed down from one generation to another. The maps he provides in this book present an outstanding overview of the geography as it appeared during that time frame. As earlier stated, one cannot find this calibre of factual data in school texts and, it is doubtful, primary and secondary educators would be permitted to teach history in this fashion. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this look into a small part of the history of our Country, and we have shared it with our children and grandchilren. "Two thumbs up!"

4 comments about Murder of a Prophet: Dark Side of Utah Polygamy.

1. The author may not be a John Steinbeck, it's his first novel, but with a little more experience, he could be. Nevertheless, his knowledge of the subject is beyond dispute. The novel made front page review in the Salt Lake Tribune, and the author has been interviewed on national and local television. Murder of a Prophet has caused quite a stir in Utah, especially among the 60,000 odd polygamists believed to live in Utah and the surronding states. According to the Tribune, it has been banned in the polygamist communities of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. The story, which incidently is very good, gives the reader a peek in the minds of polygamists prone to violence, which is not an unusual scenario in Utah. I was raised in a polygamist family, rejected the religon, but still have contacts among the subculture. Utah polygamists, paranoid by nature, are doing what they can to discredit both the author and his story, which is why I read it. They are afraid it paints all polygamists as abusers. It dosen't. It is an intense story about abuse of power and demented cult mentality. The polygamists would rather cover up their dark side than deal with it. It is interesting that those most critical of the book have read it cover to cover and are in the process of writing their own book, that is suppose to counteract Murder of a Prophet.



2. John Llewellyn possesses a unique insider's view of both the law enforcement world and polygamist culture. His investigative background and journalistic expertise combine in this fascinating, compelling and entertaining work. The characterizations are both believable and ironic and the plot is unique and intriguing.



3. but coming from a polygamist background myself, I see that the author has mixed up and disstorted a lot of facts. One fact that is kept very quiet is that Mr. Llewellyn was for a number of years a member of the apostolic united bretheren, a polygamist group located in Bluffdale, UT. Also, he only left after being rebuffed while trying to court a second wife. His story sure has changed!! I was born in Colorado City and have friends and family in 3 different polygamist groups and know a lot of the true stories. It is true that the Kingston group and the Colorado CIty bunch engage in forced marriages, and incest...



4. This is a very short book but very informative. I couldn't put it down. Once again, Llewellyn holds up his end of the bargain and does very well. It's a good story but very sad that something like this actually happens and still, no one does anything about this cult. Yes, there are some crazies in every cult or religion but this cult is consistently crazy in the fact that they blindly follow anything. Buy this book. You won't regret it.

5 comments about The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money, and the CIA.

1. As an Australian I was both surprised and gratified that an American journalist should want to trace the extraordinary history of the Nugan Hand Bank's Australian operations. This great document decribes the most cut-throat, heroin dealing, crime syndicate ever to have sullied our shores, and all under the covert auspices of the C.I.A. Kwitny's research is exhaustive and his even handed way of presenting his findings is exemplary of fine journalism. The implications hatched in this veritable can of worms will have net-sleuths busy for years tracing the myriad references to the numerous associates of Nugan Hand who vanished into the night only to surface again in the Irangate scandal. Essential reading for anyone trying to come to terms with the scourge of heroin, the world arms trade and those members of the U.S.'s covert agencies that spread misery in their own and other countries...Read it if you dare!



2. On the advice of a friend who knows one of the "Cast Of Characters" (a "Yank In The Bank"), I ordered a used copy of this long out of print book. What an eye opener. It's amazing what a group of "former" senior military officers and spooks can get up to when allowed to run amok overseas. You name it and they got away with it. Even though some of the principals are dead, nobody has been held accountable for the myriad of crimes that have occurred abroad. With the lack of support rendered by the U.S. government (especially the F.B.I.), it makes one wonder how "former" some of these players really were. It's also amazing how many of these same people reared their ugly heads years later during "Iran-Contra". Read the book and then decide for yourself.



3. This book ties in nicely with Bo Gritz,
   Stan Montieth, Rodney Stich, Fletch
   Prouty and Tom Valentine works on the
   same type subject matter. Also check
   out Terry Redd's Compromised which
   gores both Clinton and the Bush, the
   Presidencila Elder. Highly recommended.



4. If the press was doing ots jobs, then Ronald Reagan would not have been able to appear in public during his Iran-Contra period without also being bombarded with cries of "What about Nugan Hand!"
   The Nugan Hand scandal appears to be the biggest, dirtiest scandal to reach the upper levels of American government since Watergate. The suicide of Nugan and the flight of Hand occurred in Australia, but the scandal had all-American origins. If Australian authorities and reporter Jonathan Kwitny are right, then the coverup, which continues, involves at least the Defense and State departments, the CIA, the FBI, the Commerce Department and the National Security Council.
   Such a coverup must reach at least into the president's Cabinet.
   First a word about Kwitny, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. No investigative reporter in America is more highly regarded by other reporters, dating back to his exposes of the corrupt Teamsters Union Central States pension fund in the early '70s.
   Frank Nugan was an Australian shyster. Mike Hand is an American, an ex-Green Beret decorated for heroism in Vietnam, later a CIA spook. Starting in 1973, the men set up a bank and a number of other financial companies, eventually opening offices around the world, though East Asia was their happy hunting ground.
   Nugan Hand Bank may have been set up to launder and over up CIA money transfers; the Caribbean banks that performed that service folded about the time Nugan Hand Bank was set up.
   It is not proper to be too definite about Nugan Hand. Because of incompetence by Australian investigators, many of its records were spirited away after Frank Nugan's death in 1980. (Kwitny says, "For an American, used to FBI efficiency, it is hard to imagine cops so spineless that they let criminal suspects carry evidence away right under their noses, while waiting for permission to examine it." That was written before Oliver North's testimony in the Iran-Contra scandal. Americans would have less trouble imagining such a thing now. 2007 update: This review was published in 1988. Kwitny's naivety seems quaint in the 21st century.)
   "This isn't a book for people who must have their mysteries solved," Kwitny warns. No, it is only a book for those who need to have their eyes opened.
   It is possible to say definitely that Nugan Hand laundered money and moved cash between countries where it is illegal to export cash. Many of their clients were trying to hide money from tax collectors -- for Australians, Nugan Hand usually charged 22 percent for this service.
   Nugan Hand also was definitely, though ineffectually, trying to work illegal arms deals, and it probably was involved in a large-scale opium/heroin scheme in Burma.
   Certainly, most of its prominent employees were con men, brothel keepers, dope and money smugglers, disbarred lawyers and other sleazy types. Its other top employees and consultants were retired generals of the U.S. Army and admirals of the U.S. Navy and former officials of the CIA, including former director William Colby. What, Kwitny asks, were men like that doing in association with the most notorious whoremasters and heroin pushers in Sydney, Australia?
   For one thing, they were encouraging Americans who had served under them in the armed forces to place all their cash with Nugan Hand. Some of these men worked in places like Saudi Arabia, where there are no banks.
   The generals and admirals later claimed that they, too, were victims of Nugan and Hand, but documents prove that these high officers were still taking in cash after Nugan Hand was in bankruptcy. Where the cash went is a mystery. The depositors didn't get it back.
   Working with fragmentary records, receivers guessed that Nugan Hand owed more than $50 million when it crashed in 1980. It was probably much more -- many of the people who placed their money with Nugan and Hand were in no position to make claims against the estate in bankruptcy.
   Nugan and Hand and their employees lived high, but they couldn't have spent $50 million on themselves in four years (though they started in 1973, the cash didn't start to flow in torrents until 1977.) the receivers found assets of only about $2 million.
   Someone looted Nugan Hand after Nugan's death. Who?
   There is a Hawaii connection to all this. There was a Nugan Hand Hawaii Inc. At the very least, Nugan Hand illegally engaged in banking in the USA without being regulated as a bank. When pushed by Kwitny, various agents of the American government have said that Nugan Hand's crimes, if any, occurred on foreign soil. But this explanation will not explain why Nugan Hand has escaped inquiry for its banking irregularities here.
   It gets worse, right up to cold-blooded murder.
   But the greatest value of "The Crimes of Patriots" is not just its partial exposure of a nest of very nasty crooks. Kwitny links it to a continuing pattern of lawlessness in the name of American national security that centers in the CIA -- and taints Congress and the highest levels of the executive branch. "As the theory of perpetual covert action is exercised, our national security is perpetually in the hands of criminals," he writes.
   This is not news to anyone who has studied the activities of America's spymasters. But that is a tiny fraction of the voters. (See also my review of George Crile's "Charlie Wilson's War.") The torpor of most citizens in the face of repeated revelations suggests that they think that eggs have to be broken to make a spy's omelets. It is the virtue of "The Crimes of Patriots" to demonstrate that this is not so. Others have said as much, but seldom has the message come from anyone with credentials as respectable as Kwitny's.



5. This book is an expose' into the Nugan Hand international bank and it's connections to the CIA.
   Jonathan Kwitny is a top-notch investigative journalist and he doesn't disappoint with "The Crimes of Patriots".
   
   Among the topics in the book:
   The origin of the "French Connection".
   
   Fraudulent enterprises such as Ocean Shores.
   
   The CIA's involvement in the overthrow of Australian Prime Minister Whitlam.
   
   A shared office building and secretary used by both Nugan Hand and the D.E.A.
   
   The work C.I.A. agents did for Muammar Qaddafi.
   
   Mr. Kwitny cites the work of Alfred McCoy on the "the Golden Triangle" and international heroin trade.
   He also covers money laundering operations, particularly for drug traffickers. Nugan Hand had to ba a C.I.A. asset!
   The author has frequent footnotes documenting the sources for specific information.
   
   The cast of characters includes some famous intelligence operatives, high ranking military officers, con artists, Air America pilots, and just about any other type of people you would expect in a best seller spy novel. But "The Crimes of Patriots" is nonfiction and very well done at that!

4 comments about Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia.

1. Few incidents in American history have inspired more legend and controversy than the so-called "Mafia Incident" of New Orleans in 1891. Following their acquittal on a charge of assassinating Police Chief David Hennessey, eleven men of Italian extraction were shot or hung in possibly America's worst lynching. The episode nearly led to war with Italy and embellished accounts of the story have appeared in countless books and articles, including Herbert Asbury's The French Quarter and the sensationally embroidered Brothers in Blood by David Leon Chandler. Richard Gambino attempted to debunk the "Mafia" aspect in his book Vendetta, a fine work that's almost convincing in its portrayal of the event as merely the result of anti-Italian bigotry. But all is not as it seems and the investigations of Thomas Hunt, a first-rate organized crime historian, and Martha Macheca Sheldon, a relative of the most prominent lynch victim, have uncovered a compelling reassessment of the case. Joseph Macheca, the fruit-shipping magnate, was neither innocent nor a Sicilian Mafioso but a native-born Louisianan and Confederate war veteran active in both New Orleans politics and crime. Both he and Hennessey come across as less than martyrs but both must be considered in the light of their time, when machine politics was the rule, street duels the norm, and New Orleans still very much a gaudy frontier town. But it now appears there was an early-day Mafia at work, and equally sinister forces within the Democratic Ring and the police department, and that the victims--eleven of the nineteen accused--were very selectively chosen in what was more a political conspiracy than the impassioned mob act portrayed in past accounts. This is a well-written and classic re-appraisal of a celebrated case and essential reading for crime historians. And, yes, this was the birth of the American Mafia.



2. As I was reading Deep Water, I found the book open up to a time long ago but not so far away. It is an insight into how one family affected it's community politically and financially. It is truly an education in the behind the scenes working of the Mafia. How they come together in secret to control everything from the slave trade to fixing elections. The Mafia formed unions to control the ports bringing in food stuffs and guns. Deep Water doesn't stop there. It covers the daily life of a family dealing with jealousy and vengeance. It is a complete work of a time which has been covered up until now.



3. On a chilly fall night in October 1891, New Orleans Police Chief David Hennessey was shot by unknown assailants near his home, and died several hours later. After a rumor spread that his last words were "Dagoes did it", anti-Italian sentiment seized the city. Nineteen men of Italian birth or descent were accused of orchestrating the chief's murder. When a court of law declared them not guilty, a mob stormed the jail where they were being held and killed eleven of them. Some were beaten and shot, others were hung. This mass lynching remains a dark spot in New Orleans history.
   
   In Deep Water, Hennessy's assassination and the mass slaying of his suspected killers is revisited from the perspective of J.P. Macheca, a fruit-shipping merchant with intricate ties to the city's corrupt Democratic ring and evolving American Mafia. Legend has credited Macheca with being the earliest Mafia `godfather'. Authors Thomas Hunt and Martha Sheldon make a convincing argument for the theory that the lynching of Macheca and ten of his alleged co-conspirators was not a random and rabid act of mob retribution for Hennessey's death, but rather a spectacular execution whose victims had been chosen well in advance.
   
   The book is also an engrossing look at Louisiana history during the Civil War / Reconstruction period. J.P. Macheca fought for the Confederacy, and during the postwar years, he behaved less honourably by moving in Sicilian underworld circles and instigating vicious attacks on African Americans. His fortunes declined when he did not soften his rougher instincts to stay in tune with the gentrification of the times. His export business failed, his old friends and allies abandoned him, and the final stop in his downward spiral was a bullet in the skull.



4. Tom Hunt, writing with a relative of Joseph Macheca, a 19th-century merchant and victim of the 1891 New Orleans mass lynchings, puts everything together to give readers a full account of the background to the lynchings and the rise of the New Orleans Mafia. Highly recommended for the Mafia researcher.

No comments about The Crimes of the Rich and Famous.

3 comments about Stopping the Presses: The Murder of Walter W. Liggett.

1. As a former Minnesotan, I was interested in this generally untold side of Minnesota history. I have lived in Minneapolis and loved it, but was shaken by these horrors that long preceeded my time there. I would have appreciated more specific addresses and names of businesses where events took place as it would have put the story in a more real context, but only for those familiar with the city. It is almost unbelievable to imagine the kind of opposition that existed to those publishing information which went contrary to the public image desired by those in power-both "legitimate" and underworld people. I'm glad Ms. Woodbury used her research skills to write this work. It does indeed exonerate her family, and her respect for her parents is well deserved, especially her telling of her mother's grace and dignity in coping with this tragedy.



2. Marda Woodbury's look at her own father's death is a gripping and well-researched look back at a tragedy and possibly a government cover-up. Woodbury does an excellent job of re-evaluating her father, Walter Liggett, and his death. Her father was an old-school muckraker in Minnesota and one of the most vocal opponents of then-governor Floyd Olson.

   Not being familiar with this particular case before I read the book, I was concerned that this would be some sort of apologistic, revisionist history. However, the more I researched the case, the more I found that Woodbury had given a fair assessment of the murder and of her father's career.

   The book is a case study in how political machines worked, a good look at the rise of gangland in the heart of the Midwest, and a really interesting history of Minnesota journalism in the 1930s. Liggett argues that her father was too good of an advesary, knew too much and couldn't be bribed - all fatal ingredients which spelled his demise.

   I wish Liggett would have explored her father's reputation as a blackmailer. While she makes several references to it, and while that was many the gripe of many of Liggett's contemporaries, she doesn't seem to do as thorough of a job in researching the claims of blackmailing as she does in other parts of the book. While that particular area isn't exhaustively explored, the book still seems to have objectivity and balance.

   Woodbury should be complimented for her well-documented research and her crafty ability to present this case in a new light, some half-a-century after it happened. She has done not only an admirable job in her role as a historian, but we also are given a first-hand account of what happened to the family and a look into the private dealings of Walter Liggett.




3. Marda Liggett Woodbury has done a first class job in researching and describing the life and death of her father, a leftist newspaper publisher who was murdered in front of her in 1935. But she does not simply write a sentimental account of her relationship with him, but delves deep into the history of a time and place. In addition, it tells the story of one man's decision to expose a deeply corrupt instituion, one whose faults he could no longer ignore. Attacking the very political party he had long supported, he exposed candidates ties to the Twin Cities's Irish and Jewish Mobs and vowed to bring down their most powerful Political Boss, Minnesota Governor Floyd Olsen. It was a crusade that would cost him his life. When he couldn't be intimidated, framed, or bribed, he was machine gunned to death before the terrified eyes of his wife and children. The shooter was identified as Isadore Blumenfield, alias "Kid Cann" the boss of Minneapolis's Jewish Mafia. I will leave you to find out the result of the trial by reading the book. In closing, as a religious conservative, I agree with virtually none of Walter Liggett's political stances, but in one regard I admire him. When the Liberal Party he supported became just another crooked political machine, he turned on them with a vengeance. For that, I wish there were more like him today.

1 comments about No Kill, No Thrill: The Shocking True Story of Charles Ng - One of North America's Most Horrific Serial Killers.

1. An excellent read about the grisly crimes of two men bent on a killing spree to satisfy their twisted needs. Very interesting information on how the RCMP helped to convict one of the mass killers

4 comments about Every Mother's Nightmare (Onyx True Crime).

1. this book has very little information in it. When I got through reading this book I was shaking my head wondering. There was very little information about this crime. All I learned was that two beautiful children were murdered & their mother's did everything they could to find the murderer & have him or them punished.



2. I have read this book several times and it affects me deeply each time I read it. My heart breaks for Mari Winzen and Jude Govreau. I thought the book was written in a very compassionate matter. It was a horrible tragedy from the beginning but it was made worse because the mothers had to wait almost two years for an arrest and then there were constant delays before there was a trial. Mari and Jude walked the road to hell and made it back in one piece and I have a lot of admiration for them.



3. This was an awful experience for two mothers to go through. Children brutally murdered and endless problems abounded. It makes you realize justice is not always swift and easy. I don't see how the mothers survived without killing someone themselves. It was a difficult read at times, trying to remember the aka's of protected sources, and other information was confusing. There were what I think were errors but there was no way to confirm. I do think a better job could have been done with the writing considering the important subject matter. All and all it did tell you what happened.



4. This is a every touching book to me cause I knew Tyler the little boy that the book was written about. I just loved the book. And every time I read it just brings back memories that are just to sad. I loved the book.