No comments about If I Die...: A True Story of Obsessive Love, Uncontrollable Greed, and Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

5 comments about House of Secrets.

1. I READ THIS BOOK ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO ANDI STILL REMEMBER IT. THE TITLE IS DEFINATELY HOW THIS STORY GOES! IT'S UNBELIEVABLE HOW ONE PERSON RULED OVER COMPLETELY ONE WHOLE FAMILY. I'LL NEVER FORGET THIS BOOK!!!



2. Here is another Cauffiel book that I recently re-read and am left wondering what ever happened to the children of the Sexton family, and little Dawn & Shasta, and how are they doing these days?
   
   This story is highly disturbing yet I find myself re-reading it about once every year or so.
   
   I would love to see a cable special with interviews from the family members and an update on how their lives have fared since everything happened. There is virtually NOTHING on the internet and, like Cauffiel's book on the Alan Canty case, unfortunately both cases happened before things like this were really-super-highly publicized. The Sexton case broke out in the 90's, but I don't remember it much....just...want...updates.....!



3. Whoa is all you need to say once you've started to get into this book. The crimes perpetrated by the mother & father of this family are so disturbing! I found this book to be so easy to read & so gripping. It's sad that it's a true crime story, but it does make for a seriously wild ride! Mr. Cauffiel is a great storyteller. He does not insult the average reader, he understands that not everyone is an investigative journalist or policeman. He writes in a very comprehensible style that is not dumbing down at all.



4. I still remember this book very well. Maybe because it is that I never read about a dysfunctional family like the Sextons. They are a large family. Both parents are involved in horrific acts of child abuse. The House of Secrets have children so terrified to misbehave and suffer the frightening and painful consequences. I think the crime of killing a family member who married into the family and became a father of a young son was bad enough. When his infant son was also murdered, it made me cringe with anger over such behavior. Family members are disposable but the author paints a very clear family portrait about their upbringings and backgrounds in West Virginia and their migration to Ohio to get work. It is clearly the family patriarch of these Sextons who rules with an iron fist and a dark hand to torture his children. His wife is no better. I don't blame their backgrounds because the Uncle is reasonable and consciousable regarding his brother's behavior. The Sexton parents are just horrible people who should have never had children. Now these children who are adults by now are completely damaged like war victims or concentration camp survivors. Nothing in life could further damage them anymore even a prison. This is one of the worst cases of child abuse that I have read about in recent history. Why it wasn't reported to the authorities, because the children were so terrified of the punishment later on including the rapes, the incest, the physical abuse, etc. that went on in that home. The house of secrets Sextons migrated to Florida where they were finally caught and brought to somewhat justice. I still remember reading about the young boy who married one of the Sexton girls who was supposedly already married in a sick way to her own father. He would be killed along with his son. I remember reading about them being buried properly in Ohio together. It was just a sad, horrific story of child abuse and a family that should have never been.



5. As a book I will have to rate the writing five stars. It was easy to follow along and kept my attention. As a true story, this has been the most sickening book I have ever read considering I have read many true crime books and do read many of Anne Rule's books as well. What a twisted father? This family takes the word dysfunctional to a new height.

5 comments about The Unquiet Grave : The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country.

1. Mr. Hendricks' book is burdened with the same dichotomy (Multiple Personality Disorder/schizophrenia) as the Euro-invaders' ever-shifting policy/pendulum on what to do about "the Indian problem." The first part of this book does a salutary job of explaining to the unfamiliar some historical bases of the white "Westward Ho!" "Manifest Destiny" expansion across the North American continent, its effect on Native Americans, and the rise ("AIM is good") of the American Indian Movement. But parts of the second part - the fall ("AIM is bad,") could pass for being ghost-written by nemesis J Edgar Hoover and his COINTELPRO'd FBI.
   
   Though flawed in some "facts" and reporterage, Unquiet Grave is marketable and intelligible to the masses and it is important that wider cultures read this (in the Aretha Franklin sense to RESPECT the Native cultures, delight in diversity, and abhor forced "assimilation and "THINK") about what the US Government did - not only in the Miner's Canary sense (If the US Government so cavalierly abrogates/ignores its treaties with the First Nations before this Nation - what does that tell other sovereign nations with whom we seek to entreat?) but also the Santayana sense ("those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.")
   
   For a fuller understanding of Wounded Knee I (1890); Wounded Knee II (1973,) and context, this reviewer recommends my List "The water's still running and the grass still growing, so .? " including
   
   Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (Civilization of the American Indian)
   and
   Robert Redford/Sundance Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story
   
   What did Bill Janklow do? /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer "What do you mean 'illegal alien,' Pilgrims?"



2. How this tome ever got past the editors and into print I will never know. What is the author trying to say? It is never clear. The first part of the book seemingly is about, among many, many, many other things (way too many if you ask me), the murder of Annie Mae Aquash - and great detail is included about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of her death. Abruptly at some point in the 2nd part of the book, we find ourselves at the trial of one of three people accused of her murder (none of whom were ever mentioned in part one, and, as to whom there is virtually no biographical detail included). At the same time, the book includes voluminous biographical detail and digression about many, many, many other individuals, for no particular reason it seems. I finished the book because I wanted to see if the author was going to bring this tangled mass of trivial and unimportant details together in some coherent way, but alas, all I got for the effort was high blood pressure. Among the book's many other flaws are these: the author reports on at least one trial, but seemingly has no grasp of trial tactics or evidentiary rules - he chastises lawyers for not bringing up details that (a) would have been irrelevant; and (2) would have been inadmissible; the author too often says things like "but we will never know . . . " about things that are perfecty checkable, things he could have fact-checked if he had chosen to; and, the author seems to believe in a big conspiracy or two that must explain all of the loose ends he leaves, but he never explains what those conspiracies were about and who was in them. Has he ever heard of topic sentences? I am astounded to read the other positive reviews posted here about this book. I consider it to have been an utter waste of my time, and a disservice to the topics he attempted to cover.



3. Steve Hendricks did the best job of any in documenting what happened during this period of time between American Indian people and no-Indian people in one document.
   I was deeply committed and involved within the Indian communities because for some strange reason yet unknown to me I have been very close to Indian people since my youth.
   I suffered and experienced the daily abject poverty with them in their homes and could not realize why they could never share what most of the people called the American Dream. I knew part of the answer was almost a
   total culture of poverty rather than the Indian cultures I had learned about in school.Multi-generational abuse,physical,sexual,and substance abuse,was the direct cause of much dysfunctional behavior I witnessed.I decided early in my life and to do whatever I could do to help change whatever I could in my lifetime that would stop this injustice. I would give my own life to change that.
   I always deplored most organizational efforts to accomplish anything however I joined the Michigan Chapter of the Great Lakes Indian Youth Alliance and the American Indian Movement. The reason why I joined is because for the first time in my life I could feel the surge of self respect,self actualization and spirituality within these organizations,and the individuals and Indian Communities involved at that time.It was a refreshing healing wind of change like you feel after a thunderstorm.
   I actually thought the young brilliant Indian Warriors were street/woods wise and spiritual enough to avoid the pitfalls of other dominant culture civil and equal rights organizations but ultimately as far as I am concerned the movement became more and more corrupt exactly like the enemy as it matured.
   Individual's like Russell Means,Dennis Banks,Ed McGaa,Floyd Westerman and others less visible continued to self actualize and work hard to individually accomplish the original goals of their and our youth in rather unusual ways after AIM died. I know that each one is committed to do what they can do to improve the lives of their families,extended families,and Indian Nations. Sometime being human they fall short of our and even their expectations. They do what they can as Warrior in spite of almost total overwhelming repression by the United States Government and the American society. However humanly flawed they remain in my mind truly contemporary Warriors of this century.
   I also feel Steve Hendricks and many others are doing their best to bring out the truth and documentation of constitutional and personal injustices of those days.I expect other individuals with information to come forth with their knowledge and writing because our society is even much farther away from the truth and principals that this Country was founded on today.
   As far as I am concerned whoever killed the active committed lives of the Freedom Fighters,Ray Robinson,Anna Mae Aquash, Neogeshick Aquash the FBI Agents, and the others made a serious mestake and destroyed the purity, beauty,and Sacred Place of the Movement. The murderer or murderers who called for the hit on the precious Warrior Anna Mae Aquash in that instant killed AIM with the same bullet. They will pay for that decision deep within their soul.
   I was pleased to see a that the Law Library at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law purchased the copy of The Unquiet Grave I am reading for their students.
   It is my hope and prayer that the youth of today will read everything they can get their hands on work, and commit to make justice a reality in their lifetimes.
   As long as this abuse, poverty, and injustice remains in our society no one will be free. Until the truth is known we will all be in a "unquiet grave" just waiting for the next shovel of dirt.
   If you want to broaden your knowledge,be alive,and aware at least read this book and those that will be forthcoming.



4. Usually works with this amount of research end up a boring read and destined for the bottom of the book pile. Not so with Unquiet Grave. Good thing I'm retired as I was glued to Steve's book for three days. Whether you are from this part of Indian country or elsewhere, you will find this book a remarkable storytelling backed by solid documentation and a balanced critique of all the players from that era. We complain about journalists who concoct a regurgitated version of the news. This author was not afraid to wade knee deep in a significant analysis of historical events that shaped American Indian civil rights. What disturbs me here is that the author or any citizen for that matter must seek legal action to obtain records from OUR government that are clearly records open to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. That should bother us all.



5. A number of important books have examined the role of AIM in awakening the American Indian to the plight they have been subjected to. These include Russel Means Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means and Dennis Banks Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks And The Rise Of The American Indian Movement. While the movie Incident at Oglala - The Leonard Peltier Story has added to the story, this very insightful story examines the role of the FBI on the American Indian reservations, especially Pine RIdge and others in the Mid West. It deals extensively with the mysterious 1976 death of Anne May Aqash. This is a heavy book that makes the FBI out to be a truly negative influence and examines the continuing negative role of the U.S federal government vis-a-vis the reservations.
   
   Thoguht provoking and important.
   
   Seth J. Frantzman

5 comments about Serial Murderers And Their Victims (The Wadsworth Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice Series).

1. Being one of the lucky people in this world to study from Dr. Hickey at Fresno State, I consider this book and the Dr. to be two of the most amaizing sources of knowledge in this dark field. If you begin reading this book knowing nothing about the topic, you walk away being a sudo-expert in the field and study of Serial Killers



2. After reviewing and studying the material within this cover, you will see life in a different way. We all want to see the good in people; As any physical realm, there is the duality from good to evil. What exactly happens when what we see the destructive nature of man? What makes the destructive destructive? Who are they? What do they think? Where do they come from? and What will they do next?
   This book helped me to breeze through my serial and mass murder class ... AND actually lock onto possible perpetrators in real world scenarios.
   After reading this book and studying the nature of homocide, you'll be analyzing everything through rational choice. When you walk down the street, youll look at everyone as you notice their demeanor and watch their subtle actions. You'll look at the small and obscure nuacnes in nature as you enhance your deductive reasoning. Most of all, you will build a base in whch to combat becoming a victim.
   I highly recommend the first piece you read in this book to be (pg 278) "An Interview with a Male Serial Murderer". This passage will restrain you to read and study this work to its end if not for learning, but to possibly stop a tragedy such as this from happening to someone you love.
   You should supplement this book with TV: A&E, Biography, and History Channels will suffice.



3. This is an excellent reference book, but what really makes it stand out is the "Mind of a Killer" CD-ROM included with it.
   
   The videos and searchable information on the CD-ROM really bring the subject vividly to life. There documentaries on about a dozen famous cases with footage I'd never seen before including confessions made to police, interviews and courtroom scenes.
   
   I was also impressed with the mapping system that plots the locations of different cases or types of cases with all kinds of search options.



4. I am a graduate student of Dr. Hickey's at California State University, Fresno. I came to this institution specifically as a matter of curricula, and I must say that after a review of the literature both broad and exhaustive Dr. Hickey's book is the closest thing we have to the reality of our special killers' doctrine. What is most compelling about this piece of literature is the open mentality that is greatly lacking in nearly every other book out there. We have relied to a great extent on the works of the FBI and, in a much more aniquated way, the works of Freud and the general positivists.
   
   This text is certainly a sociological treatise, but even more so it underlines the issues inherent in both criminology and a general study of human nature. What should be garnered from this read is what we DON'T know as compared to what we do. One must applaud Dr. Hickey for his ability to admit that the evaporative quality of this field of study is prevalent and must be dealt with.
   
   Of particular interest is the discussion of the mythology surrounding "serial killers" and the true affect with which they operate. Take these things for what they are worth and you are left with many questions. I have no doubt in my mind that this was the objective of Dr. Hickey, and is ideally the objective of any social scientist. Those who wish to comprehend the nature of serial killers will not find all their answers here, but they may find some questions that our humanity dearly needs to be addressed; the most important part.



5. Of the many, many books I have read on this topic (which is one of my areas of interests) this is book is by far the best one I have read. This would be, in my opinion the most complete, informative and unbiased work on the subject.
   The book covers just about everything most readers would like covered on Serial Murder. It covers fact, fiction, history, definitions, in fact everything you could imagine. I could not believe just how much is packed into the 380 odd pages.
   Not only is the book a wealth of knowledge on the subject (and many related areas eg Stalking, Insanity Defences) but is also loaded with 'Profiles' of many individuals (and teams) to illustrate the area under discussion. Many tables also provide interesting reading.
   The book also looks at the phenomina of Serial Murder in countries other than the USA.
   Another thing I really like is the way Hickey presents various aspects and theories. Hickey discusses all the theories, views etc along with their apparent strenghts and weaknesses. For example, other authors I have read flatly dump the FBI Psychological Profiling Model. Hickly presents all the pros and cons on the topic in a very unbiased manner.
   This book is not just a good book, it is a great book. It is a 'must have' in your collection, if this is your area of interest or you really want to learn about it. If someone asked me for just one book to read on Serial Murder, this would be the one. It covers so many topics within a topic, yet it is concise and very readable. The average person with no knowledge on this topic would walk away with a good 'working knowledge'.
   I have read the book twice and have now been drawn back to a third read.
   I will now be searching for other works by this author and congratulate him on a 'classic'.

No comments about Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused (Critical Issues in Crime and Society).

5 comments about Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from NYPD's First "Hip-Hop Cop".

1. This book from what other reviewers said really doesn't add much new info in terms of the much-publicized deaths of TuPac, Biggie or Jam Master Jay ... which is one of the big motivations I'm sure most of us consider reading a book like this.
   
   Also the fact that this book was written by a cop from the once secret "Hip Hop police" is also somewhat novel.
   
   You'll spend most of the first 20 pages sifting through this guy trying to straddle the fence -- sounding official & professional to rep police but also trying to come off as empathetic and altruistic in his quest to "save" hip hop's elite from crime & corruption.
   
   Read this book with a grain of salt!!!!
   
   I dropped it after Page 21 (go to a bookstore or library and read the bottom 2.5 paragraphs).
   
   Parker's basic premise in his defense of policing hip hop is NOT that he sees the stars as needing protection (which is why soooo many rappers still roll deep, packin' heat!), but rather that so many are still so heavily involved in criminal activity he's doing what he does for public safety.
   
   Give me a break.
   
   Who's really afraid of Ludacris? Jay-Z? Kanye West? Chamillionaire (or 50 Cent for that matter)?
   
   Parker dares to use the term "public safety" in this defense and discusses how any number of acts of gunplay could "breakout at any time" when rappers are in public.
   
   Let's see, we've got ...
   
   A raging war in Iraq & the threat of nuclear terrorism.
   
   Ongoing police brutality issues.
   
   Trickle down damage from crooked politicians.
   
   Real crime.
   
   All kinds of sexual predators.
   
   Increasingly fragile school systems not to mention poverty, intolerance & all kinds of social ills.
   
   Yeah, Parker's doing a great job defending society from public enemy No. 1: Poor black men who use hip hop success to rise to a better life.
   
   Skim the book's latter chapters for the minor details you seek if you'd like, but I pass on reading more of this crap.
   
   I'm sure he's got interesting stories to tell, but this book just reads like an opportunist looking to make a fast buck by preying on the weak-minded blind enough to believe rappers (code for young black men) must be tamed.



2. I bought this book with much anticipation as I have followed the Tupac and Biggie murders. With that being said, the read was hard due to the NUMEROUS grammatical errors on every page. Also how much can this guy pat himself on the back and call himself the "hip-hop cop"? His ego and lack of copy editing ruined a potential five star book.



3. Extremely disjointed, skips from place to place with out explanation. Reminds us several times he is the hip hop cop. It was so badly written that I had to put it down. Too bad as he has great stories to tell but needs a good editor.



4. I am a NYC Assistant District Attorney specializing in gang prosecutions. I was hoping that Det. Parker would provide insight into hip-hop crime. Instead, he simply promotes himself as the true savior of both law enforcement and hip hop. Simply put, he is frequently wrong on the law (i.e. he does not know what a predicate felony vs. a persistent felony; or how cooperation agreements work). Additionally, he fails to mention (until 2/3 the way through his book) that he currently owns a security company that is frequently hired by hip hop celebs and the music industry. It would have been helpful to know this earlier to discovery his bias. Finally, his analysis of the problem between the police and hip hop boils down to the police should be more respectfully and informed on hip hop and hip hop should stop shooting each other. Not very deep and not worth the time.



5. The best quality about this book is that the author doesn't hold back. He's dropping names all over the place. He's being completely open and honest with the reader. He writes to the reader like he's talking to his best friend. Sometimes, he's even ratting out his other cops. The guy was taking alot of chances with his career and his own life by writing the things he wrote. I've never seen anywhere else where a cop was so honest about what his job was.
   Now, there are problems with the book. The book is long winded. It goes on much longer than it needs to. The book is very self serving. The author loves to name drop about the people he's met.
   However, this seems like it's about as close to the truth as the general public will ever get to know about these murders. He's really showing outsiders what the system looks like from the inside.
   Alot of the hip hop cases, the author wasn't direcly involved with. Very often he speaks of rumors that he heard regarding cases. It's alot of hearsay and supposition. On the other hand, sometimes the author is telling facts of cases that were never revealed anywhere else in the media.
   I thought it was interesting that their were no arrests in any of the hip hop cases that he mentioned such as: Tupac, Biggie, Jam Master Jay, Busta Rhymes, etcetera. It's as if this was a top cop who decided he would rather be part of the hip hop scene than solve cases. I think at some point in his career he had forgotten he was a cop and just wanted to hang out with the hip hop crowd. Arresting the guilty didn't seem truly important anymore to this guy so much as serving his own personal interests.
   For the no holds barred, openness and frankess of his writing; this book deserves 5 stars. The author risked everything to tell his story.

No comments about The Art of Political Murder.

5 comments about Disco Bloodbath: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland.

1. I haen't read the book yet, but I met James St. James, Alig, Keoki, Julie Jewels, Bella Bolski, The It Twins and others back in 1988 and 1989. I was only 17 back then. My friends and I partied at the The World, Red Zone, Mars and numerous outlaw and after hour parties. Drugs were never in short supply. By the time Michael got really big, I'd foregone that clubkid scene for more docile (!!) hiphop shindigs.
   Can't wait to read the book and see the movie.



2. I have read the Clubland, written by a Village Voice journalist, and believe it to be much more accurate. The fact that St.James is a part of this scene makes his point of view vulnarable to biased opinions, especially considering his not-so-innocent ways himself. Clubland also puts the story in a bigger picture and connects the dots much better. I'd prefer Clubland any second over this book (I have no affiliation to either book's author, publisher, etc). One important thing is that the subject of both books is (same subject) very interesting and anybody who's been in NYC or been to a club in the 80s and 90s should read one of these books (Clubland is a much better read, too)..



3. Before reading the novel, I had originally previewed the "Party Monster: the Shockumentary." I had vaguely remembered Michael Alig and his club kids from a few television talk shows, which only made me want to read more, and learn more about the story and the lives which they all lead.
   
   After much searching, (trust me, being from a mostly Catholic town in Iowa, there was a lot of searching) I finally found it, and brought it home to see if it would live up to my high expectations.
   
   What I found surprised me, though I won't say entirely shocked me, and I found myself laughing out loud throughout the entire novel.
   
   St. James not only paints such a vivid portrayal of what he lived through, but somehow manages to find humor within it. I couldn't help but stop my boyfriend from what he was doing to dish out the part involving Christmas lights through immense giggles.
   
   He recollects and dishes out what many drug addicts and ex-drug addicts wouldn't admit to, including the large amount of nothing he had accomplished trying to become a writer while being continuously purged into a K-hole.
   
   I don't want to talk too much about what St. James discusses in the novel, as I don't want to give some of the finer points away for anyone who cares to read it, but I must say it is a MUST READ for anyone who enjoys a little bit of comedy mixed into the horrific murder story of Michael Alig and Angel Melendez.
   
   This book not only met my expectations, but it greatly exceeded them. I'm now buying the nonfiction novel written by Frank (who is mentioned as well in "Disco Bloodbath") to learn more about the times when the Club Kids were all the rage.
   
   (I would just like to briefly add that many people think James St. James is profitting off of Michael Alig's story. Though much of the novel discusses James by himself, his emotions, and how he felt about things, and him recalling his own witnessings before Michael had even arrived in New York. Towards the end of the novel, you must read the "Letter to Michael" in which it also states of one of the last times he spoke to Alig, in which he states that he is writing the book because it "really, really upset him." After all, isn't that what many journals are about?)



4. The perfect "Beach Read", funny...and really smart. I loved it, and I crave more from James St. James. Where is he?!?!



5. This is a cute little read. Almost gives off the impression of a sick and twisted fable. However, James keeps it light (almost too light) and yet for some reason I enjoy his off-beat humour. A cute little read about a sad reminder of the sickness instilled in some people, amplified by the effects of drugs and alcohol.

5 comments about Gangbusters: How a Street Tough, Elite Homicide Unit Took Down New York's Most Dangerous Gang.

1. If you live in suburbia and want to get a good picture of life in the inner city this is the book to read. I have to admit the book was a little unnerving knowing that ive hung out on a few of the corners where some murders happened, imagine my surprise when reading this book! What would have made it better is if we had a more round about picture on the victims, and the perps. As many inner city kids know when your raised seeing one way of life from first sight sometimes you dont know anything else... its not an excuse but maybe we shouldn't only look at the criminal/punishment aspect but a reform aspect. Some kids grow up seeing from first sight there parents smoking crack//shooting dope, or making there family income off of a spot, they're not told go to school and do good, theyre told quit school get a job, pay half the rent, and if you want a couch buy one cause i traded ours for $30 of dope. imagine growing up with this message, which is as strong as the messages for you to suceed were when you were growing up. how hard is it to do good when all you know is societies "bad" and thats normal to you. its probabally just as hard as a "normal" person being bad instead of "good."



2. As much as I enjoy books of this genre, Gangbusters read like too much of a report. The book was dry, and the overwhelming number of players in the book had me flipping to earlier chapters to see exactly who I was reading about.



3. This book caught my eye because I remember when the Wild Cowboys weren't in books but instead running the streets of Washington Heights and they were known as the Lenny Boys. Being a native New Yorker from Washington Heights, i only saw the good side of the Lenny boys lifestyle...the money, cars, weed, and women. Oh yes, they were making money illegally but from seeing these guys in the streets no one would ever imagine that they were responsible for so many murders in NYC.

   The book did a decent job in informing the reader of the investigation which lead to the downfall these drug-slingin' bandits but left out much of what was needed to understand Lenny and his compadres day to day lifestyles.

   I wish there were pictures in the book to bring to life these people who did things which are hard to believe actually happened, even for someone like me who was born and raised in the same streets these guys come from.

   This is a true story, without a doubt, but i feel maybe some parts were omitted and or exagerated to make the book much more dramatic. Also, the writer could have left out more of the political game that is played down in the DA's office and elaborated more on the events that earned the Lenny boys the title, Wild Cowboys.

   I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to get a taste of what it is like living in a neighborhood where crack dealers are as visible as the police themselves and wield just as much firepower as they do. But remember, it's only a taste!!!




4. "Gangbusters" is an okay, but not a great book about criminals. You want a killer read about crime? Try "Black Mass: The Irish Mob, The FBI and A Devil's Deal" by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. Now that's a wild book. And all true too.



5. I once live on Beekman but moved before all the Redtop Yellow top saga really got moving, reading this book let me see what my brother and his kids lived through, Mr. Stone really captured the gang and there doings well

5 comments about Joey the Hitman: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer (Adrenaline Classics Series).

1. Some good anecdotes. My problem with this book is that, in contrast to books written later, it is totally anonymous. Might have been necessary in the old days, but those were the old days.



2. I read this many years ago when it first came out entitled as 'Killer' and thought it was a fascinating look at the business of crime. However, I just bought the reissue and noticed that a whole chapter devoted to Joey and his feelings about women was dropped. Why so? Were the publishers getting PC about a Mafia killer so as not to offend new readers? Anyone have the original? And does anyone have any info on Joey's real name? A mention was made of his obit in Time magazine...date and issue anyone?



3. I read the original "Killer", by Joey, back in the early 70`s.I also saw a masked "Joey" interviewed on the Sunday evening talk show "Open Mind" by David Susskind. Susskind berates Joey, at one point, for using the slur"Pollack". Susskind said"You wouldn`t want me to use an anti-Italian epithet, would you?"Joey retorted."I wouldn`t care, really, since I`m not Italian. I`m Jewish"(Susskind was stunned!) Also, in "Killer", Joey recounts a meeting in a NYC club with the reputed Columbo crime family soldier, Carmine Di Biasi, in which he describes shoving the barrel of his revolver into Di Biasi`s mouth after Di Biasi "insulted my Ethnic backround". All in all,this is not a Primer on organized crime.To really enjoy this book you are better off reading a few other books first, such as "Mafia USA","The Grim Reapers","Pictorial History of the Mafia" or "The Vallachi Papers".



4. The nagging things about this book are it's many inconsistencies. He said he was making 150 dollars a day starting at 11, but he later says he knows what it's like to make no money. What, as a 10 year old? Or he had 10 poor years with his family? He says he was a tough teenager, didn't care if he lived or died. Then he says he got that attitude at 28 when his wife was murdered. And he seems to have been everywhere and have seen and know just about everyone who is/was famous in organized crime. There's a bunch of others, I'll let you find them, as you can add an extra star for entertainment in looking for them. But these things point to a subject that was made up and not consistent because its not real. If you want a real account of "hit" men, read Murder, Inc. It still rings modern even though it was written in 1951. And you can't put it down.
   
   I give this 3 stars because of it inconsistencies.



5. JOEY IS for real. The services he purveys are death and destruction. And as a blood member of the American Mob he is also qualified to speak on hi-jacking, smuggling, loansharking, operating liquor stills and making porno films. But his specialty is murder, and he tells all about that.
   
   This is the story of a man without conscience, in his own words.
   
   "A good hit man goes out, does the job, comes home to his family and can ssit down and eat his dinner with no problems. See, the thing I do best is kill people."
   
   " I have never killed an honest man. And I have never been convicted. All I need is a clientele- a demand for my services."