5 comments about Cause of Death.

1. Warning, you have to be just a bit morbid to pick up this book. The dust jacket says it all, this author has dug through the autopsy reports of some famous people to find the "real" cause of death. Keeping the tabloid effort of the publisher aside, this is a somewhat interesting book if only from a "looking at an accident" form of macabre curiosity. As far as the writing goes, the author does a good job of keeping the complex medical terminology down to a minimum and when used is careful to explain them in layman's terms. Overall interesting and well-written if you are in to this type of book.



2. The Foreword by F. Lee Bailey tells of his friendship and admiration for Dr. Cyril Wecht. He also "highlights a truth which most Americans do not readily comprehend: that our legal system is not in its essence 'a search for truth' at all. The system is in reality a search for those truths which at least one of the lawyers want to bring to the fore, and not those truths which are too hot ... for either of them to dare to handle" (p.xvi). The Introduction tells of his personal history, experience, and expertise. "Cyril Wecht is the Sherlock Holmes of forensic science" says Alan Dershowitz. Or a Dr. Joseph Bell?

   Chapter 1 deals with the assassination of JFK. The single bullet theory, from a scientific standpoint, is a deliberate attempt to cover up the truth (p.22). It was one of the worst investigations of a homicide he has ever seen. The autopsy was done by a inexperienced military pathologists. He attempted to get the autopsy reports, which are public records, for the Garrison investigation; but the Federal government would not allow it! Page 35 tells of his examination of the physical evidence. The preserved brain of JFK was missing. Page 43 points out that the forensic pathologist who disagreed with him had economic dependencies with the Federal government. He tells of a computer program that can analyze photographs to show details not observable by the human eye (pp.51-3). It detected alterations in the autopsy photographs. Dr. Wecht helped to develop the scene in the movie "JFK" that demonstrated why the single bullet theory is silly. He found the attitude of the Kennedy family "completely incomprehensible" (p.74). [Perhaps they were authoritatively advised of a shameful genetic disorder that must be kept secret?]

   Chapter 2 deals with the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The fatal bullet was most likely the first, which hit him behind hi right ear. The other two bullets were fired into his right armpit. [As if he threw up his right arm as he fell.] Sirhan was shooting from the front, and could not have killed RFK. The appointed defense lawyer never mentioned this. Chapter 3 deals with Chappaquiddick, the accident that killed Ted Kennedy's political future. No autopsy was done on Mary Jo Kopechne. The accident was considered just another weekend car crash (p.94). Any wooden bridge could be slippery with dampness. Page 101 teaches that you shouldn't tell Polish jokes when your judge is Polish; he denied their motion.

   Chapter 4 deals with a Doctor convicted of murdering his wife. Dr. Wecht says for a jury to find a person not guilty, the jurors must feel that the defendant was framed by the police, or that it is possible that someone else committed the crime. Chapter 5 tells of the case of Jeffrey MacDonald. When a case is tried several years after the crime, the determination of what happened is limited to the evidence collected at the time. Jeffrey started a new life, then his father-in-law started a crusade to convict him. The old scars could be either self-inflicted or the result of multiple attackers. Jeffrey's psychological profile did not suggest a person who would suddenly snap and kill his wife and children

   Chapter 6 tells of his review of the toxicology report of Elvis Presley. Many drugs were present; the levels suggested accidental death, not suicide. Dr. Nick was indicted for over-prescribing drugs for the King, but acquitted (p.147). Other chapters deal with Jean Harris, and Claus von Bulow. They are warnings against the recreational use of drugs. The other interesting stories deal with lesser known people. In dozens of cases a person appeared guilty, but the evidence was circumstantial and the person was innocent (pp.180-1). Page 196 explains why a defendant should not testify if they are "very self-confident".




3. The book is a easy and intreging read. Every chapter is devoted to a different crime, so it never gets boring. This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who works under Cyril Wecht at the Allegheny County Corenors (?) Office and after hearing all the tales he had from his time learning from Dr. Wecht, I had to learn more. I recommend this book as a breather when your in the mist of a tough semester and you to relax



4. There is a very interesting Forward written by attorney F. Lee Bailey in which he comments on the cases covered in the text from a defense attorney's standpoint. Wecht also holds a law degree so having the two views of the ME and the attorney, really made this book a captivating read!

   Wecht personally examined the assassination evidence in the National Archives and found that significant pieces were missing including JFK's brain, a fact that had gone previously unreported despite two inventories one listing the items and the second excluding them. Wecht unsuccessfully attempted to trace the missing evidence and has placed an Appendix in the book entitled Where is JFK's Brain? detailing it's journey up to its disappearance. Note this is the only attempt that was ever made to recover this evidence.

   Wecht gave testimony to the Rockefeller Commission and was completely misquoted. Wecht was asked to serve as a member of the pathology panel on the House Select Committee on Assassinations. He alone spoke against the single bullet theory the others had close government ties to protect. Wecht's adamancy caused him to loose out on offers he would have otherwise received.

   Wecht examines the medical evidence in the RFK assassination and clearly proves that there were two gunmen, meaning a conspiracy did exist and the evidence presented in the Chappaquiddick chapter raise some interesting questions about Ted Kennedy's conduct that night. Wecht blows the lid off the cover up over Elvis Presley's cause of death. The book also explores other famous cases including Dr. Charles Friedgood, Jean Harris, Claus von Bulow and a few not so well known.

   Cyril Wecht is the foremost ME in the country. This book is the Bible of death investigation!




5. Both a doctor and a lawyer, the brilliant Dr. Cyril Wecht gives us a good, if not too brilliant, book about JFK and various other murders and strange deaths. It is a shame that Wecht's books fail to capture his true essence, because he is not only a very intelligent, brilliant (there's that word again!) man, but he is a dynamic, charismatic public speaker. Something just seems to gets lost on the printed page. Still, worth your time.
   Vince Palamara
   Pittsburgh, PA (presented with Dr. Wecht at COPA 1995 & 1996)

No comments about Deadly Greed: The McEachern Murders in Hamlet, North Carolina.

5 comments about Pray for Us Sinners: The Hail Mary Murder.

1. The best part of this book is the author's description of southeast Passaic County, New Jersey, where the action almost exclusively takes place. Clifton, Paterson, and the industrial Passaic River valley are evoked quite well, especially the area's weird mix of industrial might, industrial blight, and lower- to middle-middle-class residential. The kids are the same dumb (but the author unconvincingly claims throughout the book that most of them are smart), wasted youth described in so many true crime books lately (e.g., Bully, Smoked), with an ethnic twist. All you need to know about a crime that was sensational back in the early 1990s but is probably forgotten now, even in northern New Jersey.



2. This wasn't your typical true crime novel. It was well-written and not exceedingly repetitive as many true crime novels are, repeating all the facts over and over again throughout the telling of the story. The fact that this was a murder case involving 6 typical teens, yet atypical teens, makes it all the more interesting. This book was hard to put down and unlike many novels, it seems that the murderers get for the most part, what they deserve.



3. They were as different as six teenage guys could be. They ranged from fourteen to eighteen years old. One was an altar boy and Eagle Scout; another was a high-school dropout who worshiped the Mafia. Nevertheless, Robert Solimine remained the perpetual outsider, the kid too nerdy to ever fit in. But what started as cruel but not unusual ways to punish one of their own escalated into an unthinkable plot for murder. Finally, while all six boys sat in parked cars next to their high school, Solimine was convinced to recite the Hail Mary-and then garroted with an extension cord from behind. Suddenly, the plan sketchily, even jokingly, conceived by a group of seemingly typical suburban New Jersey youths had become an irretrievable act of monstrous evil, a crime that horrified the nation.
   
   From the reporter who alone covered both trials in the Hail Mary murder case comes a riveting true crime story-and a shocking expose of the violence simmering beneath the deceptively placid surface of the Ameriacn teenage dream.



4. i didnt get to read it yet. i actually found out about this book from my grandma today. my family never told me what happened when my cousin (James Wanger) stop showing up at family events. now i found out y. im about to read it and see how true it is. pretty crazy.



5. The murder of Robert Solomine, Jr. is as senseless as a crime can get. What's so abhorrent is that there's no motive and the boys involved were so young to be that callous. These kids just got it in their heads that Rob had to die, and found enjoyment in plotting ways to get rid of him. Although the three boys who were present tried to convince the judge that they didn't think Wanger would actually go through with it, they did nothing to stop him or help Solomine before or during the murder. If it seemed unreal to them, it's indicative of their lack of value of life. I admire Solomine's mother for her ability to channel her energies to making changes in the juvenile justice system, but I disagree with her that the boys' behavior was due to lack of parenting. Many parents have rebellious or wayward children, through no fault of their own. This was a very well written and sad story.

5 comments about Dr. Sam Sheppard on Trial: The Prosecutors and the Marilyn Sheppard Murder.

1. Once you start reading this book you won't be able to put it down!!!! You don't have to be interested in law to enjoy this book. From the very beginning this book grabs your attention and makes you keep reading. The Sam Sheppard murder case was a truly intriguing case and this book about the trial clarifies the true facts on what really happened the night of the murder. This book is a must read!



2. Several books have been written about the famous Marilyn Sheppard murder case. The great majority of them have been decidedly pro-Dr Sam. Now, at last, the prosecutors have broken their silence as far as books are concerned. This is an extremely interesting account of the third Sheppard trial (the civil suit against the state of Ohio, brought by Sam Reese Sheppard for wrongful imprisonment of his father, Dr Sam Sheppard). The photographic material is outstanding: finally I can see what coroner Gerber meant when he spoke about a surgical instrument having made a bloody imprint on Marilyns pillow case (not that he was right about that, but the strange "instrument-like" impression is clearly visible). The most powerful aspect of this book is that it is completely focused on evidence and facts. There is, for instance, an appendix with the original police report and various statements by Dr Sam. The reader can read, line for line, the cross-examination of Dr Sam Sheppard during the trial in 1954. This emphasis on the facts of the case enables the reader to interpret the available evidence in one or the other direction. My only criticism (and the reason for not giving five stars) is that the focus tends to be so much on the evidence and law aspects that the human beings sometimes get a little lost. Otherwise, an excellent account and probably the last word on the Sheppard case (although this case seems to be a neverending story, so one never knows...).



3. The Marilyn Sheppard murder mystery refuses to die. It's a good guess that if her ghost were to rise out of the grave and identify her actual killer, it wouldn't change anyone's settled convictions about the case and the question of who the murderer was. That said, William Mason and Jack P. DeSario's narrative of the third (final?)Sheppard trial three years ago should settle some of the long-standing myths and misconceptions about the case that is believed (erroneously)to have inspired "The Fugitive" television series. This is a detailed, passionately argued and frankly partisan account of prosecutor Mason's successful defense on behalf of the State of Ohio against Sam Reese Sheppard's wrongful imprisonment suit. As such, it offers a blow-by-blow account of the assertions made by Sheppard's attorney Terry Gilbert and how Mason and his staff demolished them during the lengthy civil suit that ended with a decisive verdict for the State on April 20, 2003. It's all here: the obligatory rehashes of the murder, the 1954 trial, the 1966 trial, the decade-long campaign by Sheppard's defenders to finger Richard Eberling as the real killer, and the bizarre legal strategies that culminated in Terry Gilbert's courtroom defeat? Most interestingly, Mason and DeSario's account suggests fascinating questions that it does not answer. Why, for example, did Sam Reese Sheppard and Terry Gilbert insist on presenting the jury with the narrative of a"happy" marriage for Sam and Marilyn Sheppard--an ironic echo of Sam's foolish lies about his marriage during his initial interrogation and inquest? Why did Sam Reese and Gilbert overhype the implications of their much-touted--but ultimately disappointing--DNA evidence? Did they really believe that the evidence in their civil suit was that strong--or did they gamble that the State would fold before or during the trial and reach an out-of-court settlement? Mason and DeSario don't answer these questions but their book effectively recapitulates the relentless evidence that persuaded the 3rd Sheppard jury.
   The book might have benefited from a change in tone. Although it is told in the third person, it is clearly from Mason's perspective and might have had a slightly less self-justifying tone if related in the first person. Mason's anger over the tactics and assertions of the plaintiff are evident on almost every page and it would be interesting to more directly encounter the personality muted by the third-person approach here. Bottom line: this book convinced me more than ever that Sam Sheppard was guilty. It's hard to believe, after reading this book, that Same Reese and Gilbert dared to show up in court with such flimsy "new evidence." It probably won't change any minds about the case but it is at least a worthy if lone counter to the seven or so volumes that have trumpeted Sam Sheppard's alleged innocence since 1954.



4. I have believed that Sam Sheppard was innocent since I first read an article about this case when I was ten years old. I'm from Ohio and felt Dr. Sam was tried and convicted by the press and public.
   When I purchased this book, adding it to my Sheppard murder case book colection, I tried not to accept the evidence presented in the book. But there is one piece of information that chilled me to the bone and made me reconsider that Marilyn's killer might very well be Sam. Marilyn's step mother told the prosecutor that when she and her husband, Marilyn's father, went to the Sam parent's home the day the murder occured neither Sam's mother nor father mentioned Marilyn or what had happened. They showed off their new house, offered cookies and tea and acted as though it were just another day. Also there is evidence that Stephen Sheppard might have assisted Sam in covering up the murder. Read the book and when you get to those parts it will creep you out as well.
   I feel bad for Sam Reese Sheppard, Sam and Marilyn's son. I know he feels his father is innocent, but he was in the courtroom when this evidence was presented, did it ever cross his mind that his father might have done it? Perhaps not premeditated, but a rage killing that he felt he had to cover up to save his reputation? On the other hand how could anyone carry that burden all those years and never tell anyone? If Sam's family helped didn't it bother them as well to be a part of it?
   This is the first book on the Sheppard case told from the prosecution's point of view. In this book Marilyn is the victim and not Sam, although she was always the victim, I really needed to read a book that would speak for Marilyn and this book does just that.
   Whether or not Sam Sheppard is guilty he was still not given a fair trial the first time around. This book is a real eye opener about the Sheppard case. Read it, it will make you think and reconsider your own opinion regarding this historic case.



5. Yes, if you want the truth --THIS is your book, should be titled "Dr. Sam Sheppard, Guilty as Hates"; which is probably where he resides... And you remember the "clawed" instrument that was such a mystery and they thought it was a medical instrument ? Well doesn't every home in America have a device called a hammer (it has a clawed end.)

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.

4 comments about Blood Oath: The Conspiracy to Murder Nicole Brown Simpson.

1. "Blood Oath" [The conspiracy to assassinate Nicole Brown Simpson] by Steven Worth and Carl Jaspers The book asserts that an elite team* of white supremacists- neo Nazi's** planned and executed an elaborate "psyop" to assassinate Nicole Simpson, frame O.J., discredit the LAPD and LASD, and generally discredit the American judicial system. The authors are contacted anonymously by one of the conspirators who remains anonymous and is known as "Skinner". All other conspirators get nick names in the story. He then dictates over numerous calls on public phones to Worth over the Summer of '95 how the deed was planned and then done. The book is a compelling and a very scary account that more closely matches the known facts/timelines etc.... The authors (Worth) in a phone interview claimed that the book is all true and was afraid for his life as was his informer "Skinner". * The team is depicted to be made up of former staff level American officers, ex Special forces types, ex- law enforcement , counter insurgency types etc.. ** called the C.A.U.S.E. [Christian Aryan Underground Secret Enforcers



2. Sophisticated frame of O.J. Simpson or clever hoax? That is the question which needs to be answered by examining this detailed and revolting account of the murders culminating in the trial of the century.
   The devil is in the details, and there is much to discuss in Skinner's story.
   Let's begin with the surveillance of Nicole in January 1994. It is known that Bill Wasz was stalking Nicole, and stole Paula Barbieri's vehicle during this period. Wasz was arrested on January 31, 1994 in possession of Barbieri's vehicle, and a notebook containing info on Nicole's activities. Yet Wasz could not be "The Enforcer" because he was in prison following his arrest. Subsequently, it has been reported that the author has spent considerable time interviewing Wasz in prison.
   There is no mention of Nicole's phone conversation with Faye Resnick on the night of her murder, in which Sydney Simpson has said that her mom was fighting and crying with her "best friend" on the phone. Why is this ommitted in Skinner's story?
   The most astonishing event of Skinner's story is the witness to the murders that night, Nicole's mysterious lover who arrived at 10:12 PM, and fled out the back gate at 10:41 PM. Skinner says there is "something familiar" about this black man. It could not be Marcus Allen, who left on a flight out of the country at about the same time. My suspicions rest on Ron Shipp, who is believed to have harboured a romantic interest in Nicole, and who may have learned of the murders before they became public knowledge. Dominick Dunne has revealed that one of his confidantes was contacted by Shipp in the pre-dawn hours of June 13, 1994 with knowledge of the murders.
   There is one glaring error by the author. On page 294, Worth says that Stephen Singular was contacted by an informant claiming inside knowledge of the crime on April 25, 1995. In fact, Singular was contacted by his informant in the summer of 1994, many months before Skinner broke his silence.
   While it is true that Singular's book does corroborate Skinner's story, it is disappointing that neither book has generated much media discussion. Overall, Skinner tells a compelling and convincing account of the murders, but there are still some questions to be resolved.



3. I stumbled across this book in an Afro-American bookstore. A customer who had just heard a review of this book on the radio pointed it out to me. I snatched the book up because (in my experience) books like this disappear from distribution shortly after being published.
   
   I'm one of those who believe in "alternative" politics and history. If you are a conspiracy buff, you should add this one to your collection. You may have questions about was the authors' theory, but this book still raises disturbing questions and possibilities.



4. I bought this for a laugh, and was not sorry I did so. To judge from some of the other reviews, some people took this seriously, but it's patently false ... something that doesn't need saying, as by now almost everyone knows that Simpson is guilty. Still, its well done, in that the story is twisted around to fit the known facts. A curious book that I'm glad to have in my collection, for novelty value alone.

5 comments about Blood Games (Signet).

1. This was a typical Jerry Bledsoe book -- I could not put it down. I searched for months for this book after having read his other three true-crime novels. I finally had to buy one used. This book tells the story of three young men whose lives came together in horror and tragedy. Chris Pritchard arranged to have his friend, Bart Upchurch, murder Chris's stepfather and mother (and possibly his sister) in order to collect a $2 million inheritance. Bart had Neal Henderson drive him to the house and then help him dispose of the evidence after the murder. The stepfather died in a brutal attack with a baseball bat and knife. The mother miraculously lived. Neal spilled first, but not until almost a year after the crimes. He pled guilty and got 40 years. He was paroled after a little over 10 years on 12/11/00. Chris decided, within days of his trial, to plead guilty. His mother and sister learned of his plan to have them murdered, but surprisingly stuck by him. He was sentenced to life plus 20 years and would have to serve 19 years before being eligible for parole. Bart was sentenced to death, but his death sentence was vacated in October 1992 and he was resentenced to life. He apparently maintains his innocence, and despite looking like an all-American college boy during his trial, he has been transformed into a typical prisoner. He has a web site, www.freejbupchurch.com, which has a recent picture -- matted hair, nasty facial hair, and absolutely no trace of the good-looking boy he was at the time of the crime and trial. This book will make parents afraid to send their kids off to college, it will open your eyes to the availability and dangers of alcohol and drugs to teenagers, and it will make you beg Mr. Bledsoe to write another true-crime book! If you can get ahold of a copy, new or used, it will be well worth your effort and money.



2. Bledsoe should take a bow for this chilling description of the murder of Lieth Von Stein and near murder of Bonnie Von Stein, with her 19-year-old son, Chris Pritchard, the one who planned it all to inherit millions. That's not giving away the book, as he's mentioned as the killer on the back cover! I was ecstatic that this book was out after I read Cruel Doubt by Joe McGinniss, another awesome depiction of this bloody crime. Joe apparently couldn't get the defendants' families to cooperate, and Bledsoe did. It was great to see into the minds of the killers and to learn about what their family lives were like growing up that might have affected their choices as young men.

   Through the literary trick of imagery, Bledsoe makes the reader see the crime occur and understand the feelings of the defendants and their family members. Bledsoe gets to the very heart of the American family and how even the best and most doting parents can have children who become criminals. Of course, no parent is perfect, as Neal's and Bart's were not, but these young men had the background that many people have who later become doctors, lawyers and successful businessmen. If only these men hadn't chosen drugs, they could be among the successful. They had so much promise. Bledsoe brings home, through interviews with these teens and their parents, the reality of evil, as it can strike anyone, and how one rash decision has such dire, final consequences.

   Also worth mention was the care and concern of the teacher who discovered Neal's genius and Bart's exceptional talents. Even to the end, he was defending them, making it clear he didn't agree with and couldn't condone their actions. A truly caring person this teacher must be!

   As a true crime author myself, I can only say I hope I can someday climb into the caliber of Mr. Bledsoe, and I thank him for a terrific edition to America's true crime genre!




3. I vastly enjoyed this book and thought Mr. Bledsoe did a marvelous job of reporting this horrible crime. What a bunch of sick kids! And the parents - gave the children everything but morality and a sense of responsibility. One mother just ups and abandons the entire family 'cause she had to be alone to "think" (i.e. or move into an apartment with another man.) Each and everyone dropped the parenting ball big time. Christopher's mother really amazes me. To think that she dotes on the "child" responsible for arranging to have her entire family wiped out so he can get some cash. She should be a sympathetic character but to me she just comes across as over-indulgent and insipid. Hello! Your son wanted to kill you, your husband and your daughter! What are you thinking? What were they ALL thinking?



4. Bledsoe does a much more thorough and even-handed job of telling the story of the murder of Leith Von Stein. By the time you are done with this book you will have not be at all certain that the right people have been convicted for this horrendous crime.



5. I have to say that I read McGinnis' book, Cruel Doubt, first and I have to write here saying that this is the better book of the two events. I found McGinnis' writing to be slow, evolving, but still an excellent book overall. Bledsoe establishes a better understanding the Upchurch family and the Von Steins as well. Although both books do cover the events in Washington, North Carolina with great detail and information, McGinnis' writing is slower than Bledsoe who manages a faster pace and plenty of detailed information as to what the authorities handling the case. It also helps that the author lives in Ashboro, North Carolina. Bledsoe understands the life of living in the South. I have tremendous respect for both authors here. The story is sad but true. A family is forever destroyed over a battle with money since that was the main motive behind the killing of Leith Von Stein and the attempted murder of his wife, Bonnie. Fortunately, Bonnie survived the attack but barely. Her children, Angela and Christopher were suspected. While Angela who slept through the whole incident unawakened raised eyebrows and suspicion, it was nothing more than insult to injury. She would have been attacked as well in the house. Her brother, Chris, who was obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons, drugs, girls who wouldn't give him the time of day, and trying not to disappoint his mother and stepfather. Christopher's crimes are unspeakable and unforgivable but not unbelievable. Who is to say that the video games today wouldn't spark the same motives for murdering your relatives with the hopes of living on a nice inheritance? Sadly, Bonnie who is against the death penalty pleaded for the young men not to receive the death penalty. If the jurors were allowed to hear her victim's statement, maybe the outcome would have been different. I believe that the victim and the family have every right to protest that sentence as well.

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!"

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!