5 comments about Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call.

1. The new evidence that former FBI agent-turned-author uncovers is captivating. Don't miss this book! You can't go wrong--whether you like a great read or are fascinated by true crime. I'm not a crime buff by any means, but once I started Tailspin I could not put it down. Major Call is one of the most amazing characters that I have ever encountered. The author weaves meticulous research with a narrative that keeps the book moving at breakneck speed. He also cracks the 50-year-old case that inspired "The Fugitive." Spectacular!



2. To fully appreciate "Tailspin", one should probably be familiar with the Sam/Marilyn Sheppard murder case. That would be the same one that spawned "The Fugitive" TV series. The main character here is an AWOL Air Force Major, Jim Call. Confused? Keep reading! Major Call has a fine military record and a bright military future, with decorations from aerial combat in Korea. When his wife dies, he simply "loses it", throws away his career and virtually overnight, pursues a life of crime. The author offers a gambling problem as an unsatisfactory explanation for this bizarre decision. Call's life continues it's downward spiral via a series of petty robberies and burglaries in Ohio (!), Massachusetts and in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. It was in Lake Placid, NY that Call shoots 3 local cops, killing one. He uses his military escape and evasion skills to elude a NY State Police dragnet. He slides all the way to Reno, NV where he finally is busted by an alert local cop for possessing stolen property. All of this action transpires in just 7 months of the year 1954! This brief time span is the heart of "Tailspin". This reviewer is ignoring Call's combat experience since this is not in the least a military tale. What happens next? One will just have to read "Tailspin" to find out! A good review doesn't divulge the ending. What makes "Tailspin" so unique is that there is MORE to the plot! Very briefly Author Conners, a former FBI Agent, proposes that the perpetrator of the Sheppard murder was none other than the AWOL Major Call! The murder supposedly took place during the Ohio portion of the crime spree mentioned above! An exhausting amount of circumstantial evidence is offered in a lengthy addendum to buttress this view. The problem here is that these considerations are in weighty addition to the obviously recreated dialog, restaged scenes and liberally reinterpreted events of the first part of "Tailspin". Exactly what-and whom- is the reader to believe? Is this True Crime or fiction? As stated above, there is a definite credibility gap here. Were it not for the author's former status as A G-Man, the gap would be wider still. "Tailspin" is still recommended as long as the reader is not overly concerned with facts. Those who view "Tailspin" as a fascinating alchemy of fact and fiction should not be disappointed. A final note: The "Ann Rule" rule is in effect: Some of the photos give away clues. They -and the entire addendum- should be ignored until the reader is done with the main text.



3. This book is aweful. Horrible writing and an unbelievable stretch of barely circumstantial evidence. Any serious student of this case should look elsewhere.



4. Tailspin is a compelling story of an aviator gone wrong but more important it provides compelling evidence which goes a long way toward solving the mystery of the infamous Marilyn Shephard murder of July 1954. As a "LEO" I was very much interested in the manhunt for the person who shot 3 police officers, but the evidence implicating Call in the Shephard case looks to be fairly overwhelming. Anyone with an interest in legal/whodunit thrillers or just an interest in the Shephard case should "DEFINITELY" get this book it is a page turner. Patrick Hogan Wynantskill, NY



5. Major Call was my grandfather. I never knew him and know very little about him due to the fact that no one in my family has ever been willing to speak of him. I tried to read this book objectively. I was aware of the fact that my grandfather was a murderer growing up so it wouldn't have been difficult for me to accept the premise of this book.However, I don't think there is any solid evidence to implicate my grandfather in this case. I also think the book is poorly written (the made-up conversations are overly dramatic, the scant evidence poorly presented) and I think the author is basically trying to use lightning to illuminate a match, as it were.

5 comments about Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation.

1. Title: Sniper
   Author: Sari Hortwitz
   Publisher: Random house incorporated
   Place of Publication: New York
   Copyright Date: September 2003
   Retail Price: $24.95.

   Authors Summary: For more than three weeks, the nation watched in disbelief as Washington, D.C., and its suburbs were held hostage by gunmen shooting innocent civilians at random. Sniper is the account of those gunmen, John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, and the massive manhunt that ended with their capture by a heavily armed SWAT team in an early-morning raid at an interstate highway rest stop.

   Main Characters:
   Charles Moose,
   Lee Boyd Malvo, and
   John Allen Muhammad

   My Opinion: I really liked the book it explained in detail about each step everyone took to solve this horrifying event and how every one truly faced it and went through it. Id really recommend for every body to read this tragic book.




2. Ten times better than "Chief" Moose's self-serving 'book'.



3. It's really not the authors' fault, but there are so many people that worked on this case, it is confusing trying to keep everyone straight. Same with the victims. To me, this book never fully developed the characters. It's more like a rundown of what happened, but nothing of substance. This book is mainly about Malvo and Muhammed, but who are they really? At the end there is a brief conversation from Malvo that was very interesting because it gave some feedback on what he'd done, but that's it. I just felt a void, like what was really the point? By the end I was ready to be done with the book and move onto something better. I bought this from a book club and wish I hadn't.



4. What is the face of evil? In this sniper case, the faces are two - a 15-year-old boy and a man old enough to be his father. They are ordinary faces; yet they methodically killed and wounded as many as 5 people a day without mercy. Their movements were random, frustrating police and FBI agents. Acting on mistaken information of a white van, the officials floundered - clueless, while the pair remained invisible and deadly - shooting from a small hole in the truck of a dark blue Caprice. All around them a tempest roared.
   Authors Horwitz and Ruane tell us chapter by chapter what happened, who the killers were, who the victims were, and how they ultimately were captured.



5. The book by MCP Chief Charles Moose,"Three Weeks in October," tells about what happened during the sniper terror that gripped the Washington Metro area. But "Sniper," tells a whole lot more about what actually happened. The exact locations of the murders and woundings, the way the victims died, the way they were shot. It takes you step by step with the crime solvers and with the snipers. Daily, you find out what really happened, where it happened and why over 250 law enforcement officials were so baffled and had a difficult time capturing the snipers. I live within minutes of many of the crime scenes and I will tell you that my entire family was terrified. It changed our lives, made us jumpy when we went outside. Pumping gas was a real horrific event too. But the book also tells of the heroes such as Chief Moose, who was just about at the end of his rope and showed his humanity with tears at the shooting of a student. Of course Captain Barney Forsythe, who spent long hours, above and beyond his duty day, trying and stave off the killers is too a hero. If you want to have a good idea of what it was like during those harrowing days in October, read this book. The fine authors, from the Washington Post, tell it just the way it happened. I hope that we never ever have to deal with the fear that was thrust upon us in Montgomery County and the areas surrounding us again. But in these times, one never knows what the day will bring. Also, remember that the police are not here to protect us. They are here to uphold the laws.
   
   
   Kudos to "nine-Henry-ten."

5 comments about Forty Whacks: New Evidence in the Life and Legend of Lizzie Borden.

1. Borden fans should check out this wonderful book which presents "just the facts" of the murder case. As many people know, "Fall River Tragedy" by Porter is considered THE BIBLE as far as Lizzie lore goes...but Kent points out that Porter was a yellow journalist whose book was a re-hashing of his numerous, sensationalized newspaper articles of the day. Furthermore, Porter was one-sided against Lizzie. Let's stop looking to Porter as the definitive text on the case, and give Kent a try...he doesn't offer any solution, but at least he doesn't offer any biases and nonsense either.



2. The MOST important new evidence is the fact that a fairly new hatchet was used (the shred of gilt paint in Abby's skull) - not reported in the past; the old hatchet found in the basement could NOT have been the murder weapon! The "Harvard Perjury" was the testimony preceded by "I believe that ..." the old hatchet was the murder weapon. The common sense jury knew that the hatchet head was SAWN off, not broken off.

   The chapter on rumors carries the full text of the anonymous letter from Albany (most likely Joseph Carpenter?) sent to both the Prosecutor and the Marshall. The misspelled "Bordon" name is just a sample of "plausible denial", in case somebody (with a hatchet) came to talk to him. The letter that was later found on a Rome NY street pointing to J. Carpenter was a way to get even; somebody connected with the case wasn't fooled.

   This book is a very good complementary to Arnold R. Brown's "final chapter" on the case - as good a solution as you can find after a century.

   Edward Radin's 1961 book re-investigated the case, and talked to some contemporaries who knew Lizzie. He was the first to show Pearson's biased reporting, and had his own solution (based on his own experiences as a crime reporter).

   The 1973 book by Robert Sullivan, lawyer and judge, provides another point of view. His opinion that "there was enough evidence to convict" shows prejudgment of the case. His book quotes Judge Justin Dewey's charge to the jury, as true and important today as a century ago. He interviewed Abby Borden Whitehead Potter, Abby's niece (and Godchild?).

   The most important thing about this case was the condition of the blood of the victims. Red and liquid for freshly-killed Andrew, black and clotted for Abby (predeceased for over an hour). Think about that in a more recent case!




3. Kent is very biased in favor of Lizzies innocence...was he serious when he wrote early in the book that Lizzies accusers cast her as intelligent and cunning...if so extremely lucky, or manical and crazy walking through a minefield and again being lucky...WE CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS! OK, so an intruder is supposed to be even luckier with TWO possible witnesses!!! Let us be for real! Victoria Lincolns book is far superior...and I don't even buy her claim of epilipsy. (Victoria Lincoln can be forgiven for trying to give Lizzie an excuss...) Kent stated early on that he would let the facts lay where they may and let the reader decide...as long as they don't decide that Lizzie was the one...we are constantly reminded...Read Lincoln's account, it's facinating!



4. This very readable book provided new evidence on the life and legend of Lizzie Borden, who was found 'not guilty' of a double murder. The book lists the people involved, and a Bibliography of books, short stories, plays, an opera, a ballet, and articles and essays. It lacks an index. David Kent provides "the essence of historical truth" in this one best book on this topic. DK simply laid out the facts to let the reader come to his own conclusion, unlike other writers. Many are fascinated by that brutal slaying that remains an unsolved crime. The Preface provides a summary of previous books with his evaluations; he omits the books of Robert Sullivan and Arnold R. Brown. E.H. Porter was biased against Lizzie.

   Andrew Jackson Borden was the president of a Fall River bank and on the board of directors of three others. He owned substantial properties and was a director of three major textile mills. Fall River was famous for its cotton industry since the Civil War. DK quotes the 'Daily Herald' for the first news of the murders. There was a farm hand who wanted money from Mr. Borden (see Bertha Manchester?). There were imprints of two men in the hay (when?). The Medical Examiner said Mrs. Borden was killed by a tall man who struck from behind. A suspicious man was seen in the morning. The police searched high and low for any suspicious strangers. Lizzie said she had dressed to go shopping; after the murders she changed out of her morning dress. The 'Daily Herald' of August 5 sums up the problems for a concealed murderer (pp.25-30). Only two people were left alive that morning. Bridget was not a suspect after the first day. The jury said Lizzie wasn't guilty. Who was left?

   Chapter 4 tells of the problem in timing from 10:45 to 11:15. DK suggests falsified testimony from Bridget and Lizzie (p.36). That Friday evening Morse sneaked out of the house, unseen by the crowd in front or the police guarding the property. Could another have done this Thursday morning? What was the motive? Was the survivor the real killer (p.56)? Knowlton admitted he expected a not guilty verdict (p.78)! Chapter 8 tells of the crank letters and confessions, mostly anonymous (note the one from Albany NY). Reporter Henry Trickey was set up with a hoax story. Chapter 9 tells of the media circus and the beginning of the trial. Lizzie could not have done it unless she were insane, but there was not evidence of insanity or that she committed the murders. The house was searched room-by-room, each garment was examined on the outside, then turned inside out. ME Dolan said the killer was left-handed; Lizzie was right-handed.

   Chapter 12 mentions the cover-up by the Harvard Doctors who were prosecution witnesses; they withheld exculpatory evidence. There was no weapon, no bloodstained clothing, no hard motive, no eyewitnesses. Chapter 15 had the defense summation, still valid and valuable. In Chapter 16 Knowlton says there was a skeleton in the Borden household! At the end of the trial Justice Dewey addressed the jury that quickly acquitted Lizzie (Chapter 17). After the verdict a crowd of 2,000 gathered at the murder scene, but Lizzie and Emma stayed away (Chapter 18). The Epilogue tells us that a 'not guilty' verdict was not accepted by the masses; the stigma of the indictment and trial remained. "Verdict first, then the trial" is not just from 'Alice in Wonderland'. Can this happen again?

   Lizzie Borden took a hike,
   After Mother got nineteen strikes,
   While she was out of doors,
   Her Father took eleven more.




5. I've read most, though not all, of the books on Lizzie Borden and I think that this is easily the best. This is the most complete and unbiased presentation of the facts. Kent looks very carefully at a variety of evidence, including the contradictory. I think that Kent would like to believe her innocent, but this remains very even-handed and presents evidence for guilt as well as innocence. In the end, he concludes, correctly I believe, that this is no way to resolve the matter one way or the other, and he doesn't indulge in wild speculation.
   
   I don't have strong opinions on whether Lizzie Borden was guilty or not, but I agree with Kent that the evidence for a verdict "beyond reasonable doubt" simply wasn't there. This is not to be confused with concluding that she was innocent.
   
   After this book, I would recommend Edward Radin's Lizzie Borden: The untold story (A Dell book), which shares with this book the virtue of an author who actually weighed the evidence before coming to a conclusion. Whether or not one agrees with Radin that she was innocent, he did a lot of valuable research. I would also recommend Robert Sullivan's Goodbye Lizzie Borden, with some reservations. Sullivan apparently never considered the possiblity that she didn't do it. He presents a convincing case that she might have gotten away with it even if she was guilty, but this isn't the same thing as proving guilt.

5 comments about The Thirty-Ninth Victim.

1. Ms. Williams has written a powerful memoir. Her courage and writing skill gain momentum like a freight train.



2. We all have family myths. Although our families were very different, the humaness of Arleen's family transcends to all families, to all kids. Feeling different, feeling unloved, feeling like an outsider. The Green River murders and Gary Ridgeway dominated the papers for months and years. Arleen's story of her sister, her family gives this newspaper headline a human story with real people. It touched me and will to all who read it. Please don't miss it!!!!!!!!



3. I have just put down Thirty-Ninth Victim, having read the last 100 pages in a single sitting. Arleen Williams impresses me. She honors her sister Maureen with this memoir. She presents an emotional time-line. She paints complex portraits of her family members with details that make me feel as if I am alongside her. She accomplishes an amazing thing. She brings her baby sister to life again.



4. I was suprised that this book was so GREAT! If you want blood and guts and history on a pshyco man, this book isn't for you. If you are interested in the story of a girl that grew up in a large family and how that family reacted (to any family's worst nightmare) was so incredibly amazing, this is the book for you. I was so impressed with the authors ability to tell her story with great details and in the process make one think about thier own lives. The book made me laugh, cry, think, and wonder. After reading the book I wanted to know more about the people in my life and couldn't stop wondering what an impact I was having in my life of being a daughter, sister, wife and mother. This book inspired hours of great conversation between friends. A must read book. (A bonus if you've ever lived in Seattle or Mexico City because the locations are so easy to imagine).



5. The Thirty-Ninth Victim
   
   This is a haunting book. Once I started reading the book I couldn't put it down. Once I finished the book I couldn't stop thinking about it. I found the book to be well written and I certainly appreciated the courage it must have taken to write such a personal account of a family tragedy.
   This is a book about families and the mistakes parents make and the dire consequences those mistakes can have. This is a very powerful book. It is also a book that every parent should read. I found myself lost in the world of Mexico and I loved the section of the book about growing up in the countryside of Issaquah, Washington.
   I had always wondered what life in a big family would be like and the author's writing of that time was beautifully written. This family had such potential yet due to one family's member's very controlling personality it all came apart. I would highly recommend this book.

2 comments about The False Prophet: Conspiracy, Extortion and Murder in the Name of God (Berkley True Crime).

1. Taylor Helzer was a devout Mormon who lost his moral compass after diving into the teachings of a "self-help" program and heavy drug use. Charismatic since a child, he managed to manipulate his brother and a lonely woman into sharing his belief that he was a prophet who would save the world from the Apocalypse. His plan was to kidnap the top leaders of the church and force them to write letters to Mormons declaring him the new leader.
   
   Author and journalist Claire Booth gives an excellent narrative of the shocking events of the summer of 2000, when the Helzer gang brutally murdered five innocent Bay Area residents -- including the daughter of blues musician Elvin Bishop -- in an effort to extort money he hoped would finance his plan.
   
   Booth gives us insight into the real nature and history of all the people involved -- the victims, their families, law enforcement, the killers -- and shows us how Helzer transformed into the false prophet.



2. This extensively-researched true crime story reads like a novel. The players come alive to a disturbing extent. I hope Ms. Booth continues with her crime writing efforts.

1 comments about In Search of Sarah Ware: Reinvestigating Murder and Conspiracy in a Maine Village.

1. This book took me by complete surprise. Murder in a small coastal Maine town. No one is ever convicted of her murder. Could it have been one of the local merchants? We'll never know--but it's a fast paced read from beginning to end. You don't want to put it down!

3 comments about Birthright: Murder, Greed, and Power in the U-Haul Family Dynasty.

1. Just read the book. Wonderful!. The U-haul brothers now running the company are pitiless creatures who will step over ANY family in order to save their own shameful faces. Thank you, Mr. Watkins for this insight into the closets of a family blessed with the inheritance of an American icon.
   Mr. Watkins, I hope a follow-up on this family will inspire you to continue with another book!



2. _Birthright_ tells the story of U-Haul founder L.S. Shoen, who built one of America's great success stories, only to have it all taken away from him by one of his sons, in a bitter dispute that ended with the murder of Mr. Shoen's innocent daughter-in-law.

   While _Birthright_ is non-fiction, it reads like a page-turning novel. Though Watkins' style occasionally leaves something to be desired, the story that comes through is a tragic family saga worthy of comparison to _The Godfather_.

   Of course, truth is often stranger than fiction, and in this case, it is less pleasant. Few Hollywood villains are as flagrantly despicable as Edward J. "Joe" Shoen, the son who turned against his father and runs U-Haul to this day. You may have trouble believing that a human being could behave this way. But it's all here, and, unfortunately for the late L.S. Shoen and the late, murdered Eva Berg Shoen, it's all true.




3. This book was so well done that I trouble putting it down. It's a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, with the quotation from King Lear at the beginning being perfectly appropriate. The evil Joe's struggles against his father also reminded me of Richard and Henry II, and Mordred and Arthur, although less of the latter, because L.S. Shoen was not the hero that Arthur was. Shoen made some incredible mistakes: dividing up his company so that his children had control, and he had only 2% of the stock; incredible sensitivity and selfishness toward his children after his first wife died; spoiling Joe and Mark and refusing to let them suffer any consequences for bad or even horrible behavior (a classic formula for creating sociopaths); continual attempts to force his children to participate in the U-Haul company despite lack of interest or incompetence; and refusing to see that Joe and Mark had serious emotional and mental problems.
   
   However, as the story goes on you begin to feel really sorry for the guy. He starts to see the tragedy he has helped created, and takes possibly even too much responsibility for it. On the other hand, you don't feel sorry for Joe and Mark for long after their mother dies - these appear to be some seriously despicable and sociopathic men who bully and threaten and lie their way to ultimate power. They both seem so insane that you can't figure out why it took so long for their father and other siblings to see it. The dialog from one shareholder meeting led by Joe seems to be have been produced verbatim and is almost comical at times; it reads like a mixture of the Mad Hatter's tea party and the conch meetings in the Lord of the Flies.
   
   The book was so fascinating that I wish Watkins would write a follow-up; some of the Shoen's really do appear to be decent people, and not spoiled rich kids. I searched for information on what has happened since - L.S. Shoen's single-car crash that might or might not have been a suicide; Marquis' confession to Eva's murder; and the $461 million awarded to the outside group to be paid by U-Haul, but still one can't find the insight into the Shoen members' lives that Watkins provided. Watkins must be a brave man to have written this book! If Joe and Mark are as bad as portrayed, he was taking a substantial risk. I know I won't rent from U-Haul again.

5 comments about The Mother, The Son, And The Socialite: The True Story Of A Mother-Son Crime Spree (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. This is the story of Sante Kimes, her son, Kenneth, and the murder of Irene Silverman. Well, it is supposed to be that story.

   The story opens with a scene of Kenneth Kimes lugging a suitcase dripping blood down the sidewalk and putting it into the truck of their Lincoln towncar, then speeding away. Then it jumps to the early days of the victim, Irene Silverman, and her career as a ballet dancer.

   The author leaps into the past and tells the story of the Kimes gang from the early 1900's. Although this has no bearing on the story being told, he meanders through it anyway. Then, he tells the life story of the parents of both Sante Kimes, her husband, and his first wife. He goes to great length to tell about the nasty divorce proceedings from that first marriage. Then, he finally gets around to the life story of Sante Kimes and her son.

   Although the book contains some interesting reading, it meanders too far off course in an attempt to "flesh out" the manuscript. I found the ancestral rambling to be boring and actually skipped most of two chapters. While the movie might be okay, the book was a real bummer!




2. First of all, I don't agree with people who complain about too much background being given or, as one person called it, "historical meanderings." No wonder people think all Americans have the attention spans of fleas. I happen to LIKE "having the table set" first.

   As for Sante and Kenny...scary! I used to feel sorry for Kenneth, Sr. but after I read about the shabby treatment he accorded his first wife, I thought that, in Sante, he got what he deserved.

   Great read, hard to put down. Never fails to amaze me that there are people like that walking amongst the rest of us!




3. The story of this books is lost among all of the historical clutter. The author writes about too much past and not enough about the story line. I find my self skipping pages and twice whole chapters. Very disapointing.



4. This was an excellent book on the would-be drifters who became killers. Easy to read with good historical background to the Kimes family, which had its own group of bandits from the 1920s and beyond.
   
   Mike Koch, author of "The Kimes Gang."



5. it was real good. ans sante kimes is hilarious the way she trys to look like liz taylor. she's the ultimate "embarrassing mom". and son kenny is also funny as the geeky mommas' boy gone wrong. the mother & son crime team should really consider becoming a comedy team with their quirks and antics. the part where sante crashes a government soiree in d.c with her husband is a laugh riot, also.

5 comments about Scream at the Sky: Five Texas Murders and One Man's Crusade for Justice (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. This is the first book I have read by Carlton Stowers and now I intend to read each and every one of his books. He is an excellent writer.
   
   This book is the true account of five brutal murders in Texas. We experience in great detail the savagery of these totally senseless crimes as well as their aftermath. We get to know each and every victim and their family members and what they went through trying to cope with these tragic murders. You can really feel the pain of what these poor people went through.
   
   For me, the book moved a bit slower towards the end, but it was still a great book and worth reading.



2. Author Carlton Stowers relates the story of Faryion Wardrip, who murdered a total of five women in a seventeen month time span. Unfortunately, at the time, only the murder of Tina Kimbrew was linked to Wardrip as he confessed to police in Galeveston, Texas; where supposedly he had gone to kill himself for what he had done to Kimbrew.
   
   Fast forward fourteen years, when D.A. Investigator John Little enters the scene. And to make a long story short, he uses his savvy investigator skills to obtain a coffee cup recently used by Wardrip and take it to the forensics lab for DNA testing. The outcome, of course, confirms what Little already suspects: Wardrip is responsible for the murders of Terry Sims and Toni Gibbs.
   
   The remainder of the story, especially how Wardrip is convicted of the murder of Ellen Blau (where no DNA evidence was left at the scene), is one you have to read for yourself. There is no real intensity, no major drama; yet the story is still one that keeps your attention and is interesting to read.
   
   My only disappointment with this book was that there was no background information provided on Wardrip than refute by Wardrip's brother, Bryce, as to Wardrip's claims of poverty, ridicule, and an alcoholic, abusive father. Other than that, readers are told nothing of Wardrip's past.
   
   Overall, an intersting book that I would recommend to lovers of the true crime genre.



3. In 1980s rural Texas, over a span of seventeen months, five young women would have their lives cruelly snuffed out at the hands of a serial killer. Unfortunately, many years would pass before justice was served. This was due in part to tunnel vision on the part of the investigators and District Attorney involved. That tunnel vision caused them to focus on individuals that were actually innocent of the crimes.
   
   It was not until fourteen years later that a new investigator, John Little, took a new look at some of the cases and with no preconceived notions, was able to review the evidence and discover just who the serial killer was. Of course, his investigation was greatly aided by the use of DNA. Still, he was able to discern quite quickly what former investigators had failed to see.
   
   This is a very well-written true crime book. Various perspectives are explored, including the effect of the crimes on the victim's families and friends, as well as on those who were falsely accused or suspected of these crimes. The book is written in a clear, concise fashion and will keep the reader turning its pages. Aficionados of the true crime genre will greatly enjoy this book.



4. "Scream at the Sky" is a well-written true crime tale about Faryion Wardrip and the murders of five young women in the Wichita Falls area of north Texas.
   The story of how Carlton Stowers came to write this book is interesting in it's own right.
   
   This is another baffling case of Texas justice where a man kills a victim and gets released after serving a small fraction of his sentence! I'm sure that Wardrip felt secure in his belief that he got away with the other murders that he committed. And he did for more than a decade.
   Until determined D.A. Barry Macha joined up with a new Investigator named John Little, the cases were unsolved and the connection to Wardrip was unknown.
   
   Carlton Stowers does an excellent job of detailing the brilliant investigative work involved and the sorrows and pain endured by the survivors. DNA technology and Roy Hazelwood's profile were also aids in the investigation.
   
   Wardrip reverted back to his old deceitful, manipulative ways after getting the death sentence. He killed out of anger and he comes across as the unbalanced kid that hurts others when he doesn't get what he wants. His brother sets the record straight at the end of the book.
   
   "Scream at the Sky" is a top-shelf true crime book that leads the reader through the twists and turns of the cases from start to finish.



5. A set of cold cases is reexamined nearly a decade and a half after the murders took place, leading to the arrest and conviction of a serial murderer. This story shows just what a little bit of determination can do, especially when investigations stall.
   
   I feel for the family members of the victims.
   
   Mr. Stowers has done his job well.

5 comments about On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy.

1. Garrison believed the CIA, with the help of the mafia, Cuban exiles formerly involved with Operation Mongoose & the Bay of Pigs, and extreme right wingers in DoD killed Kennedy. He also believed Clay Shaw had a hand in it. Generally I think he was on the right track, but it is unlikely that CIA and DoD would have cooperated to such an extent. We know from ARRB releases that, unlike the later Iran-Contra and Tipped Kettle Ops, CIA and DoD were severely at odds with each other. CIA's emergence as an outlet for covert ops was seen as encroaching on DoD holy ground. Defense has perfected the art of the black op and black program with so many Sensitive Compartments, Special Access Programs, and Unacknowledged Units, that one has to admit they had a valid argument. The great black op success stories during the Cold War (success in terms of tactical goals, not whether I agree with their motives or means) were primarily carried out by either DoD (sometimes through the NSA, which is heavily connected to the military) or British MI6, acting on behalf of CIA. The agency rarely succeeded by itself on these matters.

   We also know that DCI Richard Helms held high-level staff meetings on the topic of Garrison's investigation. CIA certainly did sabotage it, but according to Victor Marchetti (whose opinion I've learned to trust) it was clear Shaw had not been involved with the assassination. However, it also appeared from the discussions (and hush-hush nature of certain topics when brought up even in these meetings) that Shaw was more than just a domestic intell contact and that he & CIA were probably covering for someone after the fact. This was the same motive behind the agency suppressing their surveillance of an Oswald-imposter who had been trailing the real Oswald in Mexico City. Someone else had an operator there, not CIA.

   The clincher was when Helms was called before Congress & the Justice Department and threatened during Watergate & the Family Jewels (intell ethics and black ops scandals like MK/ULTRA and BLUEBIRD). He walked out to reporters and said if Justice wanted to keeping playing hardball he'd be happy to open the biggest can of worms of them all. He implied this would not implicate himself or his agency, but other portions of the government. At that point Justice freaked and halted their strong-arming. Considering the pervasive spread of right-wing extremism in DoD at the time of the assassination (stretching all the way to the Joint Chiefs) the meaning of all this is fairly clear.

   Some individuals with former CIA ties were likely involved, but the agency was simply forced to suppress this (and by default aid the conspiracy) in order to avoid their own false implication in the assassination itself. Certainly if Garrison couldn't keep this separate then the public couldn't be expected to not blame CIA when they found out a few of its former employees or contacts were involved. So Garrison was close, but he was a little too obsessed with Shaw and CIA to see the real picture.




2. The definitive JFK conspiracy book. Sober, well documented, rarely sensational. The focus is on fact, not speculation. Why has so much evergy been used to discrediting his investigation? Even if some of the conjecture is hard to swallow, it seems like you gotta work pretty hard to explain away most of this stuff. I'm convinced.



3. Jim Garrison's powerful book, "On the Trail of the Assassins," is important reading. In it, Garrison recounts his investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and a possible cover-up of the real facts of the case. It questions the validity of the Warren Commission Report, and provides startling evidence that the Central Intelligence Agency may have been involved, and that Kennedy's assassination was a coup d'etat. The evidence Garrison presents leaves little room for doubt.
   If there wasn't a conspiracy involved to assassinate Kennedy, then why does the U.S. government, OUR government, withold information in connection to the assassination? I think that we have a right to know who killed Kennedy, why he was killed, and who benefitted.
   "On the Trail of the Assassins" is a superb book. A great resource for those new to the conspiracy theories, and a great companion piece to Oliver Stone's "JFK." Grade: A+



4. New evidence has now surfaced that Oswald was hired by Cuba to kill JFK in Dallas all those years ago. Now, character assassination is continuing from that area. John Seigenthaler was a close friend and supporter of the Kennedys: "I was a close friend of Robert Kennedy, and I worked closely iwith the president...helped to edit [Robert's] first book. We were close friends until his death and the most painful thing was to have them {Brian Chase] to suggest I was suspected of their assassination."
   
   Chase, after being traced by Daniel Brandt of San Antonio, confessed that he created a fake online biography of Seigenthaler in May, 2005, as a gag "to shock a co-worker who was familiar with the Seigenthaler family." This was allowed to go global on Wikipedia. This is going on now on other web sites including these reviews, from Dallas. John Seigenthaler, father of the NBC journalist, was falsely accused of being involved in both assassinations of JFK and his brother, Robert. Character assassination is prevalent these days and must be stopped. Anybody can write anything about an unsuspecting person and put on their web page as indignities, as racial and ethnic slurs and worse.
   
   The online cncyclopedia to which anyone can contribute used a false article which implicated him in the Kennedy assassination. The jokester, Brian Chase, claims he didn't know the free internet encyclopedia was used as a serious reference tool. Others, such as Daniel Brandt of San Antonio, has been "hurt" by an unflattering biography of himself. How many other Brians are out there doing their moral and unethical damage to the lives and psyches of others -- and allowed to continue.



5. I've read several books relating to the conspiracy surrounding the murder of JFK. This is one of the best. It's detailed and to the point, there is no sidetracking, like in many of the other highly recommended books (Jim Marrs: Crossfire & Ultimate Sacrifice).
   
   The book is hard to get your hands on, since its no longer in print, but well worth the money. Everything in the book is fact driven, and when it's speculation, it clearly states so.
   
   Alot in the book, that was interesting, and did not make Oliver Stones movie, as well, as lots of subjects in this book not covered in other books.
   
   This is the best overall book Ive read relating to the JFK murder, however, its mainly focused around Garrisons investigation, so it's only 1 point of view, and it does not have ALL the facts.