2 comments about The Murder of Abraham Lincoln (Treasury of Victorian Murder (Graphic Novels)).

1. Once again, Geary takes a complicated crime and presents it in an understandable -- and very enjoyable & redable -- level.



2. This is the seventh in a very high-quality series that includes Lizzie Borden, Jack the Ripper, H. H. Holmes, and Charles Guiteau. Think of it as "Classics Illustrated" for adults. Geary's black-and-white crow-quill drawing style fits perfectly his carefully narrated history of the sixty-two days between Lincoln's second Inauguration and his entombment in Springfield, by way of the assassination plot, the unsuccessful attacks on Johnson and Seward, Booth's convenient escape, and his death in Garrett's tobacco barn. I've long thought there was more there than meets the eye, with the focus on the peculiar actions of Stanton, both before and after Ford's Theater, and the author mentions those points in passing, but he sticks pretty close to the official train of events. An excellent piece of work.

5 comments about Deadly Innocence.

1. Ok i have read this book a total of 6 times, from front to back. I absolutely believe that Karla was really a "battered wife" and she assisted in the heinous crimes, but only against her will. Yes she may have had a smile on her face on the videoptapes, but one thing will remain the same, she didnt do those things because she enjoyed doing those things, she did that stuff because HE made her. I can completely relate to being scared of my spouse, and under his control i would do anything he wanted. As many people who say that she is as evil as Paul, or that she got off way too easy, just dont understand the control a man can have over a woman. Before Paul, Karla was a confident, self contained person, and she would have never done anything as heinous as these crimes without a man like Paul to make her. But this book is the best one out so far, And i highly recommend this book.



2. This sordid tale stayed with me for a long time. It even prompted me to rent movies mentioned in the book that Paul Bernardo tried to emulate. The story is well written and very detailed and caused me to tell everyone I know about it as I read it. We still joke about "Snuffles". Read this and you will be in the know!



3. Until I read this book, I thought Anne Rule's the Stranger Beside Me was the best read to date. I could not put this book down and a week later I cannot stop thinking about these 2. I couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for Karla after all that Paul did to her. I can see how a young girl could be mentally "screwed" up and brainwashed after encountering and having their first relationship w/a man like Paul. I too have been a victim of abuse and can somewhat understand what this mentionally and emmotionally does to a person although I left long before it could get worse (I was a few years older than Karla before I got involved w/an abusive man so maybe I just knew better.) I do believe that Karla got off too easy but I don't feel that she should've spent the rest of her life in prison. 25 years would of been sufficient for her but I also believe that Paul Bernardo is probably the sickest most evil man I have ever read about and am very glad he is spending the rest of his life confined in a very small space. I think for the kind of person he is this is the perfect punishment, way worse than the death penalty which Canada does not have. Although maybe he should be left alone in general population as Dahmer did. It's sick to say but I'd love to see some of the torture retuned upon him. You cannot help but HATE this man. A very well written book and must have for any true crime fanatic such as myself.



4. I love to read; however, if a book bores me, I tend to put them down, never picking them up again. This book, on the other hand, was a page turner. It was well written, detailed, and interesting. What a tragedy though for the families involved. As far as True Life Crime books go, this one was fabulously written.



5. This is a very good true crime book. The authors start out detailing the attacks that took place and the information provided about them. They then took the time to talk to the friends of the couple and more of the story is revealed. We see the murderers as human beings who drink and hang out with their friends, and how their friends saw them as people and never expected them to commit acts that are so inhumane, despite the flaws that were visible in the relationship. (Karla moved too quickly with guys, she was too submissive to Paul. Paul was a jerk who always cheated on Karla when he left town, etc.)
   
   More of the story is revealed as Paul is arrested, and Karla begins to tell the police and her friends and family what was REALLY going on the entire time (And it's beyond horrific.) As the book progresses, it's revealed that Karla herself is possibly just as crazy and the trial (complete with video tapes) shows us the true depth of the depravity that they sunk to.
   
   I agree with all the reviewers who think Karla should still be locked up. I can't see her as anything but a disgusting psychopath who is just as bad as her husband for participating in these acts (whether he ordered her to or not) and doing nothing to stop them.
   
   Once again, a good read, an intense, detailed book that will make your skin crawl and probably give you nightmares. You almost don't want to give it five stars because the actions described are so inhumane and awful, but it deserves them.

5 comments about My Life Among the Serial Killers: Inside the Minds of the World's Most Notorious Murderers.

1. This book is written by a claimed profiler. However, there is no profiling in the book. My favorite book by a profiler is Mind Hunter by John Douglas. In that book (plus Obsession), he goes into details of the crime scene and what things mean. You learn what it means if the killer covered the face of the viction (they knew them and were ashamed), young versus old crimminals, etc. Helen's book has very little details about crime scenes (we like to figure it out, that is why CSI is a popular TV show). No profiling information on the clues in the scene to help investigators find the UNSUB (unknown subject, I learned this from the Mind Hunter book), etc. Helen spends more time on her personal thoughts, thanksgiving dinner, her children shouldn't watch her TV appearances about killers, tea in the afternoon, going to Brazil, etc. and too little on crimes. She also is all over the place with her theories. At the end of the book she claims that DNA is encoded to make a serial killer, and with a stretch relates this to Minority Report, etc. However, there is a compelling arguement from other profilers that some event triggered the change. Ted Bundy was social until his long time girlfriend dumped him. Ted switched and targeted young girls with long dark hair (just like his ex had), and many of the others have abusive households. Helen talks about tv appearances and helping in the insanity defense for crimminels - I get the feeling that she is all about feelings, not a fact based person (John Douglas says that once the monster is created - it cannot be reversed - done). This book does touch on Ed Gein (leatherface from Texas Chainsaw masacre, Norman Bates, and others), John Wayne Gacy (the clown who rape/murdered young buys), and Bobby Joe Long (brutal rape and death of women). However, even a short TV special on Bobby Joe Long had many more details of the tracking and catching of him than this book. Helen claims it was seeing a missing person report on TV that led Long to let her go (he felt sorry for her?). But from other reports it seems that she talked to him and told him that she wanted to be his girlfriend - this threw off his circuitry. This second explanation makes more sense in the literature. Helen also discusses hypnosis (a relaxing state where both parties agree to participate) as a scientific method, acts as if satan worship killings did happen (this media hoax was uncovered), throws in Freud psychology (just about all scientists today believe he was just a weird guy with an infactuation for women). Helen seems to be touchy feeling through the whole book, I felt he was this, or that. She constantly talks about how the men treated her with disrespect because she is a woman - it really sounds like she is trying to prove something with this book. Detailed, insightful profiling and crime description rather than fluffed up theories that DNA can pinpoint all future serial killers would go a long way towards gaining respect in the community. This is my least favorite of this type of book, and I LOVE these types of books. I recommend you instead read Mind Hunter by John Douglas, Obsession by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, or The Evil that Men Do by Roy Hazelwood. You will learn details and how the profiler's mind and experience work. The last book by Hazelwood even has a crime scene in the back that you try to apply what you've learned about profiling in. I did pretty well, because I read about profiling by Douglas, Olshaker and Hazelwood, not anything from this fluff piece by Dr. Helen (note: beware of someone that constantly reminds you that they have a PhD rather than presuade you through knowledge and facts - Helen, this means you! The only positive for this book, given the others, is that it had some non-US serial killers like a French guy (Gilles de Rais) from the 1400s. But not enough to warrant purchase. Get Mind Hunter instead!



2. Unfortunately Dr. Morrison reveals herself in this book and in her various TV interviews/documentary appearances as far too emotional, self rightous, and just plain in error when it comes to certain facts regarding serial killers.
   
   If I were to list all of these erroneous comments, this review would fill the computer screen. Let me just point out one error. Pg 24 of the paperback version...."No serial murderers are addicted to drugs, drink or even smoking"
   
   Interesting....tell that to Jeffrey Dahmer who used alcohol heavily in order to facilitate his killings. He was an alcoholic even in high school and would drink to the point of blacking out.
   
   This is just ONE brief example of heavy alcohol use by a serial murderer indicating an addiction versus normal social drinking. So how can Dr. Morrison make such an erroneous blanket statement as "NO serial murderer is addicted to........."?
   
   Just by nature alone, serial murderers are addictive...they are addicted to murder for one. It's not a stretch that, aside from killing compulsively, certain of these indivduals may also demonstrate other compulsive behavior such as addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, smoking, etc.
   
   Bottom line...don't confuse yourself with glaring errors by reading this book. Instead turn to those written by more learned & practical minds such as Robert Ressler, Dr. Park Dietz and others.



3. Her 'life' among the serial killers? Her life is among children and she will occasionally go get to visit the lesser known serial killers. What a pathetic attempt to capitalize on the 'serial killer' phenomenon...and to advance her own silly theories. Oh, and her *epiphany* that serial killers are addicted to killing? DUH! I think I figured that out when I was about 17 and had just begun studying serial killers.
   Do NOT waste your money.
   If you want a real expert, watch Dr. Michael Stone on "Most Evil"



4. Dr. Morrison, if she is in fact an MD, seems to skip over the blindingly obvious in her assessment of these killers. I mean does she honestly belive that relentless phsyical and mental abuse from childhood and rape at 16 would have NO IMPACT on a serial killer? Is she serious? Does she actually still retain a license for practising medicine/psychiatry or, hopefully, has she been disbarred?
   
   
   It seems hard to tell as she veers from a fruedian perspective wherein all physiological inputs are null and void to a purely frightened and judgemental one, that the killers did it soley because they wished to where in fact she bases her judgements. Frankly, as a former defense attorney, I would run a mile before I let her get her hands on my client.



5. Can you imagine spending time with a serial killer after they have been caputed? Dr. Helen Morrison has with the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Bobby Joe Long, and other serial killers. In this book, she writes about her life as a doctor among those monsters that we envision. She doesn't find them to be monstrous but their actions such as murder, mutiliation, kidnapping, necrophiliac, and others are truly monstrous. Dr. Helen Morrison seeks the individual behind the monster and what causes men to do such monstrous actions. Ironically, women serial killers are few and Wuornos killed more out of a defensive reaction after a lifetime of trauma, abuse, and abandonment. Wuornos was a product of society who lashed back but she never denied her crimes and went to death even fighting the appeals. Serial killers especially those examined by Dr. Helen Morrison were mostly men and usually caucasian. What would white men who have more of a power in our society need to kill so mercilessly against the defenseless? Dr. Morrison doesn't always get her answers clearly because serial killers are not as dumb as we liked them to be in slasher films. Dr. Morrison without going insane herself has lived a life where she does the unthinkable in spending time with serial killers looking for something that would explain their actions. We'll never know the actual truth behind what makes a serial killer to prevent others.

5 comments about The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case (Ohio).

1. The Wrong Man is a gripping and provocative look at the sensational murder trial(s)of Sam Sheppard. While in high school in the 70's, I member first reading about the case in F. Lee Bailey's book 'The Defense Never Rests'. Neff's book takes you behind the headlines of this infamous case and moves forward from the day of the crime and through the various incarnations of the case in the state and federal courts. He looks in depth at the participants and suspects in one of the century's greatest 'unsolved murders.' This case is a clear example of a man and a family destroyed by politicians and the press. These folks refused to let the facts get in the way of a good story. Sheppard's life and reputation were lost because the case was tried in the newspapers and television, instead of the court room. Oddly enough, through three trials in a 'search for truth' justice was never served. It is ironic that Neff's objective review of the case as a journalist and a 'member of the press' may be the closest the Sheppard family ever gets to finding the truth and obtaining justice. This is not simply a regurgitation of the headlines but a probing anatomy of an infamous crime and what happens when a 'good story' over takes the facts, a community, and our system of justice. It also shows why our freedoms guaranteed by the constitution (including the freedom of the press) must be jealously guarded against all who would take them away. I could not put the book down once I started reading it and strongly recommend it to any one who enjoys the true crime genre or reading law related novels. Here, the facts are stranger (and more interesting) than any fiction one could invent.



2. Mr. Neff certainly did his homework on researching this case. A very interesting book, I could hardly put it down. I had to skim over the chapter on the last trial, but otherwise, it is a very good book.



3. James Neff grew up in Cleveland during the murder and trials. Those in the Cleveland area believed Dr. Sam was guilty, those living further away were more likely to believe in his innocence (p.xi). Biased coverage by the media can affect people for decades. While this book was being written, the prosecutors tried to commandeer his research (p.xii). The author is a prize-winning journalist and editor, who was a reporter and columnist at the Cleveland 'Plain Dealer'. This very readable book tells about the commercial rivalry between the "Sheppard clan" osteopaths and the allopaths who controlled Cleveland's hospitals. The Sheppard's suburban hospital performed therapeutic abortions, considered as murder to many in Cleveland (p.37).
   
   Part 1 tells of the crime, trial, and conviction of Dr. Sam Sheppard. The county coroner disliked the "Sheppard clan", Dr. Sam was the suspect from the first day (p.16). Marilyn had fought her attacker, she had 15 lacerations on her head and 35 wounds overall (p.18). Important evidence was lost by mistake (p.19). Dr. Sam had physical injuries from a powerful blow to the back of his head (pp.28-29). Dr. Sam's rescue vehicle for car accidents in 1953 had irked the medical establishment (pp.36-37). Stories were leaked to the press to make Dr. Sam appear guilty (pp.39-40). Dr. Sam's family all backed Marilyn when there were problems in their marriage. Dr. Sam had been copying the permissive life style of the rich and famous in Los Angeles (p.48), but Marilyn tolerated Sam's affairs (p.65). There was a trail of blood drops from the kitchen to the cellar, Dr. Sam had no wounds. They was never tested by Mary Cowan, the co-worker and close friend of Coroner Dr. Gerber. People's minds were made up by the stories in the press (p.71). There was no forensic evidence to tie Dr. Sam to the crime (p.91). Possible evidence for an intruder was neglected (p.95)! The local press and court system were convinced of Dr. Sam's guilt (p.127). The prosecutor used Dr. Sam's adulteries as a motive for murder (p.133). The coroner testified that a "surgical instrument" was the murder weapon but there was no factual basis for this claim (pp.142-144). After many days the jury decided on murder second degree (p.166).
   
   Part 2 tells of the appeals to reverse the conviction. Defense lawyer William Corrigan hired Dr. Paul Kirk, the "founding father of criminalistics" (p.174). The prosecution concealed evidence that suggested an intruder (p.175). Kirk found evidence to support Dr. Sam's story (pp.179-184). Coroner Gerber used his political connections to damage Kirk (p.187). The flashlight murder weapon was found in the lake, then neglected by the coroner (p.190). Chapter 22 tells of Richard Eberling's early life. In 1961 Paul Holmes published his book which presented Kirk's findings. Dr. Steve Sheppard was introduced to Francis Lee Bailey, who sued to get Dr. Sam's conviction overturned (Chapter 26). Bailey believed he could win an acquittal (p.242). The Supreme Court overturned the conviction. The retrial resulted in a 'not guilty' verdict because of the blood spatter evidence and the testimony for a third person's blood (p.281); there was reasonable doubt. But Dr. Sam's victory was followed by personal defeats. His surgical skills deteriorated; he also drank. Ariane divorced him, Dr. Sam became a professional wrestler (p.287). His drinking continued until he died of a liver disease (p.289). Chapter 32 tells of the career of Richard Eberling and Oscar B. Henderson. They gained power and influence under one Cleveland mayor. An elderly woman where Eberling lived died form an accident, a fracture like Dr. Sam's (pp.299-300). Later Eberling got a life sentence for murder, forgery, theft, and related crimes (pp.305-306).
   
   Part 3 tells of Neff's investigations. Marilyn's death did not fit the usual profile (p.333). Kirk's old files were found, the blood sample pointed to Eberling, but not uniquely (p.336) Neff explains the "hard facts" why Dr. Sam did not kill Marilyn (Epilogue). [You can look up NY vs Charles Stielow for another example of local prejudice against the facts.]



4. Really an outstanding book. I am the same age as Sheppard's son and grew up in Ohio and I remember the murder well. Although too young to follow it and later in my college and professional life did not have the time to follow the subsequent trials, it was very interesting to read about it.
   
   If this crime were committed in the last 35 years, Dr. Sam would never have been initially convicted. With the Miranda Act and subsequent advances in DNA and other investigative methods there's no way that a conviction could have ever been obtained, if the trail venue had been changed and the jury sequestered. There was far too much of a rush to judgement by the corner, police, and prosecutor. Being a political animal his ego was bruised and he was out to protect his professional reputation and he showed his pettiness when Dr. Kirk subsequently refuted many of his determinations. There's far too much reasonable doubt to ever convict Dr. Sam. It's shows how the press and the police can railroad a big profile murder case. Not to mention the botched police investigation.
   
   The corner and Dorothy Kilgallen should have Dr. Sam's conviction on their souls. The judge told Kilgallen in a meeting in his chambers before the trial that Sheppard was guilty as hell and that it was a open and shut case. Kilgallen should have disclosed that conversation and the judge should have been removed.
   
   There was a terrible injustice done to the Dr. Sam and his family. It ruined their entire family. His mother committed suicide roughly ten days after the initial trial, and his father died several weeks later. It ruined the lives of his brothers and only child. Also in subsequent trials the prosecutors and police continued to back the conclusions of the police, corner and prosecutor from the original investigation and trial in 1954.
   
   I don't buy the arguments that Ms. Connelly wrote that Sheppard is guilty, which she posted in a review in 2001. It's amazing how the system sticks up for itself.
   
   By the grace of God this terrible injustice could have happened to your or my families. This is a compelling book and a must read if you remember the case. It's hard to put down once you start reading the book.



5. I don't know if I can bring myself to read one more Sheppard book or not! I am a forensic pathologist and crime scene reconstructionist. I grew up 50 miles east of Cleveland and remember vividly the headline "Marilyn Sheppard Murdered." I was ten years old. I followed the trial and believed Sam was innocent and continued to believe that until 1977 or 33 years later. It was a very strongly held belief! I had a chance to attend a seminar when Dr. Lester Adelson spoke on the case. I just KNEW I would hear a totally biased presentation. On the contrary, it was completely unbiased while fully enlightening! I can tell you that Sam Sheppard was GUILTY. 1. The house was amateurishly staged to be a burglary. No one who has seen houses that have been burglarized would be fooled by this amateur staging and believe it was a burglary. Burglars choose empty residences if they can. Admittedly, sometimes they do enter occupied houses so I don't count this as a strong point. 2. No burglar would enter an occupied home, see a large man asleep and then pass him to go upstairs when his only exit was blocked by the man. 3. No burglar who disturbed Marilyn would have taken the time necessary to find a weapon and then beat her 23 times. He would hit her once to knock her out and get the heck out of there. 4. Hitting her 23 times indicates incredible rage. 5. No one would remove a T-shirt from an unconscious man to wipe his hands when there were nearby curtains he could grab. Try to undress someone in a T-shirt who is not helping you. It is extremely difficult, to almost impossible, because the neck won't give and you can't tear the seams by hand and I don't care how strong you are! And the murder weapon? 6. There was a phone on Sam's bedside table, presumably for nighttime emergency calls, but there was NO LAMP on that table. Are we supposed to believe he woke Marilyn to turn on the overhead light whenever he got a call at 2 or 3 am? I don't think he did. There are many more points but I am not writing a book here. Those who choose to believe even now that Sam is innocent will not be swayed by what I have written, I know, but I had to lay out some of the facts. AND, I will always feel sorry for Chip.

5 comments about St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone.

1. Since I can still vividly recall when the Roger Corman film "The St.
   Valentine's Day Massacre" had its broadcast premiere on network television many years ago, I was eager to read this "definitive" new account of the 1929 mass murder on North Clark Street.
   Unfortunately,
   I regret to state, this book proved to be a disappointment.
   
   Clearly, the authors, William J. Helmer and Arthur J. Bilek, both know the subject, but their book is less than satisfactory. Most of my specific questions were left unanswered and I did not glean much new information from reading the book.
   
   The book is poorly organized. It seems as if the two authors divided the writing workload and submitted chapters separately without conferring with one and other. As a result, there is a tendency towards disjointed repetitiveness. After reading for the third or fourth time that the 1924 assassination of Dean O'Banion ignited open gang warfare between the North Side gang and the Torrio-Capone mob, I think the point had been established sufficiently.
   
   Did anyone proofread the final manuscript? This book would have benefited from editorial revisions and simple fact checking. I had to stop counting the misstatements, incorrect dates and other clearly erroneous collateral facts before I got a headache. Illinois did not hold two General Elections during November of 1924, but, according to the chronology, Cook County officials and President
   Coolidge were elected on separate dates. Similarly, the Black Sox
   Trial did not take place in the Federal District Court.
   
   There is some solid writing here and there, but, taken as a whole, it seems as if the book was compiled in great haste to meet an arbitrary publication deadline. Transitions are handled clumsily and the text meanders too much. It is not always necessary that everything be placed in strict chronological order for a historical account to be effective, but it would have helped in this case. The profiles of the principal gangsters and Chicago politicians are merely stereotypical thumbnail sketches. The meager bibliography and footnotes do not merit attention.
   
   The best portions of the book describe the coroner's inquest and pioneering efforts in the field of ballistic testing. There is also a lengthy discussion of how the Federal Bureau of Investigation failed to cooperate with local law enforcement authorities and withheld information that may have provided a solution to the criminal investigation years later. The photographs, editorial cartoons and newspaper headlines, however, are well chosen and will be of interest to most readers.
   
   As a topic, this true crime book held great promise and potential, but the execution was lacking (no pun intended). The final result is akin to having a pair of honor students earn a "C-" on their combined term paper after pulling an all nighter rather than applying themselves diligently and earning the "A+" that the entire class knows that they are well capable of. Someday, I hope that a revised edition of the book will set the record straight.



2. Reviewed by Kathleen Dowdell for Reader Views (3/07)
   
   Authors William J. Helmer and Arthur J. Bilek present new information about Chicago's infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre that is sure to throw a twist in people's thinking and spark new research for many historians about life in Chicago during the 1920's prohibition era. They contend that the massacre was a mistake stemming from the fact that the killers showed up too early and slaughtered the wrong group of people, missing the intended victim, Bugs Moran. Instead, six of Moran's gangsters and their friend Dr. Reinhart Schwimmer were gunned down in a dimly lit garage in bloodbath fashion. In an effort to quickly report the news, much speculation and guesswork by both the police and the press was reported and accepted as gospel to this day.
   
   After sifting through pages of Chicago politics, facts about misguided law enforcement officials, and data about the origin of the Thompson machine gun, it remains crystal clear that the February 14, 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre had a huge impact on Chicago's reputation and branding as the gangster capital of the world. New evidence about Al Capone is examined and presented that shows how the misguided political reform movement helped him rise to power in the early 1920's without much effort on his part, yet leaving his name synonymous with Chicago.
   
   In the authors' attempt to examine the massacre itself, they uncover revised and contradictory information that sheds new light on this old story. Accompanying all these facts is a wonderful chronology compendium that summarizes Chicago's vice, crime and corruption. As stated in the bibliography, much of the information in this book was obtained through books, booklets, and newspapers as well as personal memoirs of Georgette Winkler, widow of one of the gunman, Gus Winkler. The authors do a good job guiding the readers' thinking, forcing the reader to look at this information in a new way and perhaps rethink the traditional reported accounts of the incident as bogus. This in itself causes critical thinking that may lead to further research on the subject.
   
   This book is truly an in-depth look at Chicago's prohibition era that discloses pages of information about this great city. I would recommend "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre" to any collector of books on Chicago as well as someone just interested in the massacre itself. Even if you don't agree with the point the authors are trying to make, the book itself has many historical facts and information about Chicago politicians and gangsters, the very people who had a critical role in shaping the climate of the city.



3. I'll be up front about two things before reviewing this book. The first is that one of the authors, Bill Helmer, is a close friend of long standing. The second is that I am a True Crime author myself, with a first-hand knowledge of the difficulties that accompany the research and writing of this kind of story: inaccurate newspaper coverage, carelessly compiled police reports, and of course the passage of time, which slowly and mercilessly kills off the survivors of the era who could have shed new light on a long-ago event. To cover a 1929 mass murder that the law enforcement agencies of the day chose to downplay for their own reasons is an enormous challenge that Bill Helmer and Art Bilek met with a commendable degree of success.
   
   "St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone" is the first book to take a serious crack at the mystery surrounding the killing of seven Bugs Moran followers in a freezing Chicago garage in February 1929. The genesis of the murder plot, the identities of the actual shooters, and their subsequent fates are described in a breezy style that makes the book appeal to the casual reader as well as the more hardcore historian who wants "just the facts, ma'am."
   
   One of the more knowledgeable parties who read the book was George 'Bugs' Moran's surviving son, who vividly remembers the day the Massacre took place and recalls the frantic aftermath like it was yesterday. He told me recently that Helmer and Bilek's account of the crime tallies neatly with what his father had to say about the subject over the years. He admitted to enjoying it immensely.
   
   A previous reviewer criticized the book for not offering a thorough list of sources. It's only been in the last few years that detailed footnoting and bibliography lists that exceed the content itself in page count have been proper form outside of academic texts and histories approached from a scholarly perspective. When my first book, "Guns and Roses", came out in 2003, I was told that notes weren't really necessary. I insert them as a matter of course now, but my point in all this is that Bill Helmer and Art Bilek made no serious errors of omission in this area.
   
   "St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone" is by far the most definitive account of the Massacre that has been published to date. And if that's not enough, it also has the seal of approval from the surviving Morans. That fact in itself should more than compensate for a couple of repeated sentences or anorectic footnoting style.



4. Most people know at least the outline of the St Valentine's Day Massacre: Hoods dressed as cops mowed down members of the Moran gang, who were lured to the SMC Cartage Company to take consignment of liquor from Detroit. Moran, the primary target, escaped from Capone's killers. In this account, Messrs Blek and Helmer make use of a previously neglected primary source; a memoir from the wife of one of the participants. They also investigate the FBI archives, and make a convincing case that Hoover deliberately withheld information that would've solved the murders. Along the way, the authors also show that the commonly accepted explanation for Moran's top leaders being in the same place at the same time, is seriously flawed. First, these guys did NOT do manual labor (unloading whiskey cases); they weren't dressed for it-or a daylong trip to Detroit. Second, due to increased US Customs activity on the Great Lakes, Canadian exporters insisted on "Cash and Carry"-so a "delivery" was unlikely at best. Finally, even after the massacre, the average Chicagoan, while knowing of Capone, considered him a Cicero gangster even in 1929. Most of his reputation was built after his downfall in the 1930s.
   The authors also tie in the Frankie Yale murder, and show how at the time revolutionary ballistics research linked Yale's murder to the massacre; but neither the press nor the police were overly interested in that fact (which would've directly implicated Capone). The account goes beyond just the massacre and its aftermath, to clearly show how it contributed to Capone's decline in Chicago crime. The book is fully footnoted, and includes an excellent chronology of organized crime in Chicago, from Big Jim Colossimo around 1910 to the suicide of Frank Nitti. Overall, if you have an interest in the massacre itself, or in the gangster era, this is a highly recommended resource.



5. This book was more of a chore than an enjoyment to read. It wandered and skipped forward and backward years at a time between paragraphs. The authors tended to elaborate on all sorts of different characters while virtually ignoring the two main ones. Al Capone was, evidently, not very well known outside of Underworld Chicago and Bugs Moran is barely mentioned at all, much less any sort of detailed account of their lives leading up to the Massacre. Frank Nitti and Mayor Bill Thompson receive much more mention than either Capone or Moran. Go figure! I would much rather read 100 pages of readable, concise and pertinant information than to try and work my way through 300 pages of rambling. Honestly, the Chronology and the Notes section were much more interesting than the book itself.

No comments about Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

5 comments about Massacre in Munich: The Manhunt for the Killers Behind the 1972 Olympics Massacre.

1. Massacre in Munich is one of the most fascinating books on the murder of the Israeli Olympians in 1972 & the following manhunt by the Mossad. Abner, the somewhat reluctant Mossad agent, gives a thrilling account of how the murderers were killed. To date, it is one of the most accurate accounts of the Mossad strinking back to protect Isreali citizens. One of he most interesting sections is the epiloge where Bar-Zohar discusses criticizms of his book. Also, the prologue by Abner is a good report of his reasons of joining the team. Basically, in the light of the fanatical Islamo-fascist terrorism today, Abner would do it all again. Finally, the attitude of the Mossad, how they treated & abused their agents is quite an eye opener.



2. After reading 65% of this book, I put it down because it was not the book that the title had led me to expect, nor was it a book that I wanted to read. It is a multi-generational history of a particular family and their involvement in Palestinian terrorism. Munich is NOT the central focus of this book.



3. This is an interesting and well written history of the Salameh family and the Black September terrorist group; however, the focus is not strictly on the 1972 Olympic murders as the title would lead one to believe. After having finished the book, I have a much better understanding of the hostilities between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and the tragedy of the Israeli Olympians is only one of many. It also makes me believe even more that the United States' "war on terror" is not a war in the traditional sense, but a way of life for generations once the terrorists choose a target.



4. I cannot disagree strongly enough with the negative reviews of this book. I just completed it and I could not put it down. It is excellent and fills in many areas I had no knowledge of. I highly, highly recommend this book.



5. This is a well written and fast paced version of events surrounding Black September and the Munich Olympic Massacre and the aftermath. Well worth a read.

5 comments about The Broken Circle.

1. Set in Farmington, New Mexico during the early 1970's, this book tells the story of a brutal triple homicide committed by three white teenagers against local Navajo Indians. Almost as cruel as the crimes themselves, was the fact that the boys received extremely light sentences. This book sets forth the moral dillema of this tense period of Southwest history in light of the cultural differences which existed between the Navajo way and the non-Indian world. The book is fast-paced and hard to put down. Perhaps most interestingly, the book tells a true story. If you enjoyed the movie, Incident at Oglala, you will love this book



2. The book has been interesting since its inception.The author conjured it from a mass of interviews during a summer some years later. Granted, the book is haunting, tragic and disturbing. The text, failed to understand the horror and confusion of the Anglos. I am well aware of this. Ronny Haynie, 3601 Sunset Ave. 1974....Farmington, New Mexico



3. The book has been interesting since its inception.The author conjured it from a mass of interviews during a summer some years later. Granted, the book is haunting, tragic and disturbing. The text, failed to understand the horror and confusion of the Anglos. I am well aware of this. Ronny Haynie, 3601 Sunset Ave. 1974....Farmington, New Mexico



4. Very well written, gripping, and entertaining despite the gravity of the subject matter. Well worth reading.



5. I read a review of this book some years ago when it first came out. It sounded like a fascinating story so I made a mental note to keep an eye out for it at the book stores. Time went on and I still hadn't come across it so I ordered it off Amazon.com. When I got the book I was a little aprehensive at first. The subtitle, "A True Story of Murder and Magic in Indian Country" made me wonder if I was going to get the facts or the myth. When I started reading the first few pages, I was worried that I was going to get a skewered perspective of the events. As it turned out, none of my concerns were realized and, instead, I got an excellent review of a sordid event in recent history.

   The main events of this story take place in the early 1970's. Three Native Americans were brutally murdered by three White teenagers in Farmington, NM. The author introduces us to the story through his own eyes as he discovers the tense aftermath of the murders and the reaction to the light sentencing that the youthful murderers received. Although just passing through Farmington, Rodney Barker finds himself suddenly involved in the turmoil. The events are etched in his mind and, when he dicovers more about it some years later, he decides to investigate the whole story.

   Mr. Barker does a very good job in telling the story and trying to do so from all available perspectives. He is sensitive to the Navajo's point of view and goes to great lengths to bring that perspective to the reader. Yet, despite his partisan introduction to the story, he seems to have done a pretty good job of getting the "Anglo" perspective as well. There are times when there doesn't seem to be a reasonable response to some of what has happened. Yet the author often brings us just such a response. He follows the lives of the perpetrators and we find ourselves actually starting to care about them in their later lives. He leaves not with answers but with an awareness instead.

   People not familiar with the tension of communities that border Native American reservations will find these events hard to believe. For that matter, so will those who do live in such communities. I read a Native American columnist once who said that the worst racism against Native Americans can be found in those communities that border reservations. Mr. Barker's book is an example of that statement at its' worst. Unfortuanately, while it makes us aware of this problem, it leaves an emptiness as we look for a solution to the problem. Why was it that the teenage activity of "rolling" intoxicated Indians in Farmington was allowed to happen? Was the author's explantion of the problem overstated or was the community's response to it understated? I live near an Indian reservation and I can attest to stereo-typing and tension between the races. However, it is nothing like the description of the situation in Farmington. Thus I am wondering about many things as a result of reading this book. The success of this book is that it has made me thing about things that need to be thought about.

5 comments about The Last Victim: A True-Life Journey into the Mind of the Serial Killer.

1. Don't waste your time. This book is more about Jason Moss and his egomania then it is about serial killers. It did not offer any new insight or information at all.



2. The author apparently had alot of spare time to mess with serial killers. All poor Jeff Dahmer needed was to be loved.
   
   Too bad John Wayne Gacy didn't make soup out of the author.
   
   The worst of all the books on serial killers I've read.
   
   I wanted to use no stars, but, I had to choose one :(



3. This book is certainly not the worst True Crime book I have ever read. However, it presents with some obvious problems. It is NOT a journey into the mind of serial killer as much as a journey into the mind of the author. Much of the book is about the author himself and his own thoughts. While the book is organized and understandable, the style of writing is rather juvenile and lacking in depth. That said, the prison visits Mr. Moss had with Gacy were interesting and somewhat frightening; it is difficult to believe that prison guards were willing to leave the author alone with Gacy for periods of time long enough to constitue danger for the author. However, this is what happened. The last scheduled visit with Gacy truly scared the author and he never returned.
   
   I knew the author of this book, having met him when he applied to be a Big Brother in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a True Crime fan, I did not find his interest in serial killers disturbing or exceptional. However, it is a bit odd that he found it necessary to correspond with so many of the high profile serial killers. During a routine "home visit" to his apartment as part of the Big Brother screening and application process, Mr. Moss showed me his album of response letters from many other serial killers, includig Charles Manson and Richard Ramirez. (I enjoy True Crime, but this was a bit too close for comfort for me.) If my recollections are correct, he did serve as a good Big Brother to a little boy who needed a male mentor. He did not present as narcissistic... although the tone of his book is self aggrandizing. However, perhaps Mr. Moss was less stable than he appeared at times. Another reviewer states the author took his own life. Somehow, this does not completely surprise me.



4. Jason Moss did indeed turn into Gacy's "last victim". He eventually shot himself. Sad ending.
   ~RIP Jason Moss~6/06/06~
   
   but why did he choose that date? 6 6 6.
   Strange man, yet still tragic.



5. This is a quick read. Typical true-crime pulp style. Nothing spectacular about the writing, but the story is indeed unique.
   
   There are a lot of problems with the morals the book is trying to sell though.
   
   Not a bad beach book, but don't expect to learn a whole lot from it.

5 comments about Into the Water.

1. Diane Fanning chose an excellent crime story to write about in Marc Evonitz; however, I found that the downfall was too much information was included that was not necessary. In this book, Fanning includes details on numerous other crimes that I had trouble seeing the relation to of the crimes committed by Evonitz. For example, readers are given in depth account of Evonitz's stepfather's (Perry Deveaux) crimes of rape and murder. If Deveaux had been an influence in Evonitz's life, such account would be worth detail; but since Deveaux was incarcerated for the duration of the marriage to Evonitz's other Tess, such vivid detail was not really necessary. The book is full of summary detail on a variety of crimes such as this.
   
   What I did appreciate, however, was that the author not only captured my sympathy for the victims' families, but for the perpatrator's as well. Fanning did an excellent job of making you realize that serial killers do have those who love them and they are as victimized as the families of those murdered.
   
   And lastly, a previous reviewer made comment as to how you know the end by the last of the first chapter. Personally, before I even begin reading a book, I have a general idea of the outcome. I have found that 99 percent of the time, there would have been no book if their had been no conviction; which tells me that, most likely, the one I am reading about is in prison for life, sentenced to death, or dead by his own hand or otherwise. If you're like me, laying the end out in the beginning is no problem and actually sets it apart from other trime crime books.



2. Any kind of review one may write on a book, movie or anything else is all relative anyway. What you don't like, I may love ... and visa versa. But I have read true-crime books almost exclusively for years, and found this book to be one of the best. I do not find it filled w/ "tedious, unnecessary details", but instead an illustration of the progressive chaotic life of a serial killer. The book does not read like a newspaper article, as many do. This book makes you feel as if you are actually there, a bystander, living the horrific nightmares. Some true-crime books can become almost unbearable as you wait for the author to 'get to the point', and usually ... by the time it comes to the trial ... I put the book aside. Don't we already know how it ends by reading the back cover? And while we do know how this book ends, it still has a way of weaving the facts to draw us into the lives of the victims, their families, the investigation and the true story of a monster-in-the-making named Richard Marc Evonitz. I highly recommend this book.



3. Very interesting read; however, Diane Fanning's other book "Through the Window" is much more of a page turner. I would recommend it, though, to people who are hooked on true crime stories.



4. Into the water was another well written disturbing book by Diane Fanning. In my opinion , interviews are one of the most important ingredients in a true crime book and Diane Fanning definitely goes to the limit conducting interviews. I would recommend the book to anyone that is a true crime fan.



5. INTO THE WATER is a mediocre attempt at a True Crime drama. The killer, Richard Marc Evonitz, is eventually linked, through DNA and other forensic evidence, to the sexual assaults and murders of 3 young girls, all of whom he kidnapped from the front yards of their family homes in broad daylight. This serial killer may have continued to haunt the state of Virginia had his fourth victim not made a miraculous escape while Evonitz slept next to her on the bed in which he raped her. In a less than brilliant attempt to avoid capture, Evonitz led police on a high speed chase. Unfortunately, Evonitz got the last word when he shot himself in the mouth rather than surrender. Following his death, DNA also linked Evonitz to the rape of another teenaged girl in her own home.
   
   There is some information about the history of the offender, but it is the predictable history that each of us leaves behind when we retire from this world. Of course, none of his immediate family members, his friends, or anyone else who knew anything at all about him could have dreamed Evonitz was responsible for these shameful crimes. (Think standard television interviews following the arrest of most sociopathic serial killers: "He was a quiet neighbor who always seemed willing to lend a hand. I never noticed anything suspicious about him at all!")
   
   It is more than a bit difficult to understand why the author would choose to include the lengthy and wordy commendations of the investigative task force by 3 separate agencies. These commendations were so similar as to be wholly redundant and unequivocably unnecessary as important inclusions into the primary text of the story. (Okay, we get it. The task force did a great job.)
   
   Perhaps the most frightening part of this tragic story is how many other missing and murdered victims were evaluated as having a possible connection to Evonitz... and how many other predatory sex offenders with similar and perverse desires roam the peaceful streets of every neighborhood in America.
   
   If you want to read a book by Diane Fanning, I would direct readers to the much more interesting GONE FOREVER. Fanning is capable of better work, but INTO THE WATER sinks like a stone.