ELEVEN DAYS OF HELL: MY TRUE STORY OF KIDNAPPING, TERROR, TORTURE AND HISTORIC FBI & KGB RESCUE

Book Description

On January 6, 1992 Yvonne Weinstock and her then-husband Danny landed in Moscow on a business trip. They had just left the airport when they were ambushed, kidnapped and held for ransom for 11 horrifying days in a dilapidated country house by a gang of Russian "gypsies" who were in reality far more sinister -- cold-blooded conspirators in a sinister plot that joined the Russian Mob, ex-KGB agents and early al-Qaeda operatives looking to fund terrorism, no matter the cost of human life. As told by Yvonne Weinstock (now Bornstein), who survived, but will never be free of its painful echoes, this is the incredible story of those 11 days of hell, and of one of history's unlikeliest rescue operations -- which against all odds allied the FBI and Russian intelligence agencies for the first and only time in history. Reliving the agony, horror and torture she endured, she also unravels the twists and turns of the rescue mission from her own research into the confidential case, skillfully weaving a heart-thumping narrative of drama and intrigue worthy of a top-notch spy novel. Yvonne writes from the heart about the devastating impact of the kidnapping on her marriage and her life, and the change of attitude it had on her that resulted in a belated appreciation for the simple, meaningful things she had come to overlook in her drive to the top of the corporate business world.. In the end, though, she lives uneasily with the memory of her 11 days of hell, she took from it lessons in life that apply to all of us.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating Story Deserves a Larger Audience.......2007-08-23

After reading this book I just think it deserves a broader audience. Perhaps releasing the book or republishing with a larger marketing effort. But personally I think it would make a great film, especially since it is a true story. I highly recommend the book to all.

Spellbinding and Riveting!!!!.......2007-05-11

I have great admiration for Yvonne Bornstein for having lived and breathed this horrific criminal act. The people who committed this crime should be shot, drawn and quartered! No-body should have to live through this kind of horrendous ordeal.
This book has been marvellously written and should be listed on the New York bestseller list.
I read via Google that Ms Bornstein is currently negotiating her life rights with a major Hollywood studio.
Out of something bad comes something good.
I truly hope that Yvonne succeeds in her venture, she really deserves it.

Riveting story of survival.......2006-05-21

Yvonne Borstein and her husband Danny were kidnapped by a band of Russian gangsters and ex-KGB villians in early 1991. They were tortured physically and emotionally for a 1.6 billion dollar random (which was orders of magnitude above the liquid assets of the heavily-mortgaged Australian business-couple).

Was Yvonne an innocent tourist kidnapped in Russia? No. A do-gooder helping revive post-Iron Curtain Russia? Well, no. How about a profiteer involved with shady business deals on Russia's black market? Yep, that's it. In hindsight, Yvonne admits that she and Danny were dazzled by wealth, heavily over-mortgaged on their house, gambling by paying out millions in anticipation of high (but dubiously legal) returns, and they were unwilling to wake up to the many signs of trouble in their Russo-Australian import/export business. As a reader, I appreciated her candor and lack of excuses or assignment of blame.

Even shady entrepreneurs in economically ravaged countries don't deserve to be tortured for an insanely high ransom. Yvonne's book is the story of her entire life, from her childhood to her early troubled relationships before meeting husband Danny. Yvonne lays out the events which unraveled and lead south to the kidnapping. In captivity, Yvonne and Danny leveraged one another's strengths, plotting to get messages out to the world and to present the right "face" to their kidnappers. The couple only survived because of their union. When Yvonne was sexually assaulted, she knew she had to hide it during the captivity, to prevent her husband from violently assaulting their tormentors.

Bornstein bills her memoir as evidence of al-Qaeda alive and well in early 1990's Russia. This is certainly a good advertisement in the post-9/11 world, but it is a shaky claim at best. Sure, there is evidence of al-Qaeda, but don't pick this up expecting some all-conclusive smoking gun expose on Afghan terrorism.

Yvonne is a survivor and as inspiration to women everywhere. She dug up a lot of information to provide context to her own personal (and painful) narrative. Thanks for sharing your story, Ms. Bornstein!

A GREAT BOOK.......2006-04-29

A Fantastic book. I highly recommend that you read it. It was interesting and I learnt a lot.

Monica.

Holds the reader captive.......2006-02-18

In a popular Hollywood movie, one of the characters, playing a tough businessman who fancied himself a master of negotiating, expressed the opinion that in a business deal, there is no difference between a gun and a fountain pen. To believe that this is true is to believe that the use of force or violence to obtain monetary reward is equivalent to using artful negotiation, rational persuasion, or skillful selling. Coercion then becomes just another technique for the acquisition of wealth, and individuals in the business community who refrain from using it are to be viewed as "unrealistic" or even weak-minded. Strength of character therefore has its origins in a willingness to intimidate physically other people in order to bring about a desired end. Real business involves "doing whatever it takes" to increase wealth, even if this means causing extreme pain or even death.

There are many who believe in this equivalence, but thankfully there are many who do not. As the events of her life and skill in entrepreneurship indicate, the author of this book is a member of the latter category, and in this book has written an engaging (and terrifying) story of how she and her business partner/husband were forced to deal with some individuals of the former category. Kidnapped for eleven days, where they were beaten and intimidated by a collection of moronic and confused thugs, who could not distinguish the acquisition of wealth from its plundering, and who sadistically enjoyed the pain they gave their captives, the couple nevertheless got away with their lives, with the assistance of a unexpected collaboration between East and West.

For those, such as this reviewer, who are extremely skeptical of the competence of governmental security personnel, and of their abilities to cooperate constructively with foreign governments, this story will alleviate some of this skepticism (although the author describes the FBI as being reluctant to get involved). There are not too many things that are more frightening than the prospect of being caught in a foreign country where the laws and sense of justice are different, and where envy towards Westerners is predominant. And if one does find oneself in such a situation and does survive it, the natural thing to do it seems would be to obliterate it from memory. Reminders of it would be draining, both emotionally and intellectually, and would serve no useful purpose in everyday living.

The author though has chosen to tell her story, and has written one that is fast moving but still gives insight into her moods as well as her captors. It focuses of course on the concrete details of her captivity, but also motivates the reader to consider why her captors behaved as they did, and whether the wealth that they expected to obtain was really worth the energy they expended to get it. It is always perplexing to see a group of individuals conniving, planning, and engaging in violent acts, and expending vast amounts of energy just to obtain by relative standards a paltry sum of money. Considerably less energy is needed to obtain the same sum by legal and creative means, but for some reason these types of individuals cannot see this. The answer must be that they love the intimidation and sense of power that violence gives them. The neurons in their brains are over trained by sadism, polluted with cynicism, and allow no expression of compassion or empathy. The money they obtain is spent in no time flat, on fruitless physical indulgences or one meaningless card game after another. They idolize and prop each other up, with their handshakes and backslaps, and any real sense of achievement is completely alien to them. Taking is always better then earning. They unite under the creed that "only suckers work."

Interestingly, when the author discusses her emotional state with respect to her captors, she mentions the "Stockholm syndrome." This is supposed to be a kind of brainwashing that causes the captive to express sympathy for or even admiration for the captor. On the surface this does not seem too surprising, since when in a situation of dependence one's emotional processes are completely out of equilibrium, with a consequent loss of self-esteem. It is difficult to find definitive research on the reality of the Stockholm syndrome, due no doubt to low occurrence of situations like that of the author, and lack of explicit documentation of the emotional states of the captives, before and after their confinement. Such a syndrome could explain the reason why so many abused wives tend to remain emotionally attached to their abusive husbands.

At the end of the book, the author describes her homecoming and the skepticism that she and her husband encountered by some members of the press, who did not believe her story. Their business in shambles, they did pick up and move on, although the author describes her life as being very stressful for sometime after the kidnapping. And what happened to their captors? "Whereabouts unknown" says the author. Unfortunately these creeps are still wandering around, and their behaviors have been emulated on a grander scale in the form of the Russian mob, part of which is active in the United States.

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Eleven Days Before Spring: Poems
Joellen Kwiatek
Manufacturer: Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Eleven Days of Christmas: America's Last Vietnam Battle

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Real SAC operations
An excellent book
From the Vietnamese point of view
Great book
How Air Force Generals covered their butts.

The Eleven Days of Christmas: America's Last Vietnam Battle
Marshall L., III Michel
Manufacturer: Encounter Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1893554279

Book Description

Moving from the White House to the B-52 cockpits to the missile sites and POW camps of Hanoi, The Eleven Days of Christmas is a gripping tale of heroism and incompetence in a battle whose political and military legacy is still a matter of controversy.

Customer Reviews:

Real SAC operations.......2007-10-01

This is a totally accurate view of the B-52 bomber operations leading up to and during the bombing of Hanoi. It shows what the bomber pilots were feeling and how SAC screwed up life for them. Totally real; I was there too.

An excellent book.......2006-03-19

I am very impressed with this book. It is a combination of history, great story telling, and analysis of the huge air battle fought over N. Vietnam during Nixon's "Christmas bombing." And if you like the mighty B-52, its even better.

It gives a brief background of SAC, and how LeMay's thinking carried over into the Vietnam War. He was, like anyone, flawed at times, and he left SAC in something of a tight spot. It only did things one way. Flexibility was lacking when it would have been very helpful. The bombers over North Vietnam did things in a set pattern, and that went back to SAC, and the days of LeMay. Someone should have been able to look ahead, and change the path of the bombers as they left their bomb runs.

It also gives the reader a good look at the bureaucratic bungling, micro-management, and political thinking which increased the losses of the B-52 crews. That is hardly new in war. It still hurts and frustrates to have to see the results. Lives could have been saved with a realistic response from those who should have known better. Careers can end up being more important than lives. Too bad it has to happen in the military, where some wonderful people risk so much for their country.

This was a huge, and terribly dangerous undertaking. The B-52 crews flew into some very tough air defenses, and risked a great deal to help bring the U.S. involvement in Vietnam to an end. One cannot help but wish it had been done years before. Think of the lives and heartache decisive action could have saved.

It also made me miss the good qualities of Nixon--and yes, he had them. The man was willing to show great courage when he finally unleashed the B-52s, and let them do their work. If only it had been done much, much sooner.

A great read--techinical details which interest and add, political backgrouind which is useful, and a damned good story as well. First rate.

From the Vietnamese point of view.......2006-02-09

Throughout the years I've read so many books written in English about the Vietnam War and I notice that they all so biased in favor of the U.S in virtually every aspect. From the Vietnamese point of view, this operation is called "Dien Bien Phu Tren Khong", which means "Dien Bien Phu in the air". This is a great victory for the Vietnamese side because they were able to force the U.S to agree to the demand that the Vietnamese had been demanded throughout the entire war, the demand was to withdraw all troops from Vietnam before any peace deal could be sign, other than that, the fighting would be carried on indefinitely. In 1972, the U.S agreed to the demand of the North Vietnamese that's why the North agreed to sign the peace deal. According to Vietnamese sources and eyewitnesses on the ground during this campaign, there were a total of 31 B-52 bombers that were shot down, not the 15 like the U.S or English sources have been claiming throughout the years and a combined total of 81 aircrafts were shot down. North Vietnam shot a total of around 540 missiles, not 1200 and at the end of the 11th day, missiles reinforcement was coming in masses from the city of Haiphong and it is not the myth that the North was running out of missiles. Furthermore, the total combined numbers of Migs fighters of the North throughout the war never exceeded 200 so it was impossible for the North to lose "hundreds" of aircrafts in air-to-air combat against the U.S that so many English-written sources have been claiming. In fact, the total number of Migs lost during the entire war including operational losses is believed to be no more than 50 because at the beginning of this Christmas bombing, the North still had around 150-160 Migs fighters left. I think history has to be examined from both sides, not just from the English-written sources only.

Great book.......2005-11-24

I thought the book was great. Just because we lost a few B-52's during the first couple of days of bombing Hanoi, it made me want to jump out of my seat and continue it. Clearly the research and planning for this mission should have been better. I was also amazed out how the Secretary of Defense at the time dragged his feet when the President ordered the bombing! If Nixon were un-obstructed, I think he could have ended the war sooner and with greater returns than what happend after the Xmas bombings over Hanoi. A must read book.

How Air Force Generals covered their butts........2005-10-24

This is a great read. I read this book in less than 24 hours because it was so interesting. Michel did a great job of detailing the Christmas bombing campaign of 1972. The B-52s (or BUFFs)were sent to take the war to the North Vietnamese. The target was Hanoi and Haiphong. The campaign covered only 11 days. THe North Vietnamese and their SA-2s and Fan Song radar shot down 15 BUFFs.

What is so interesting is how the SAC generals made lots of mistakes and then covered them up. The centralized approach to the war by SAC sounded like they were imitating Soviet generals. This centralized approach had a lot to do with how SAC was structured. Also interesting was the sharp turn following the bombing run. The bomber crews did this because we always did it this way. However this turn made the radar jamming inoperable during this activity. The first four nights of the bombing run were predictable and it was like a line of ants going to a picnic. The North Vietnamese practiced their skill at lining the missles up and shooting at the opportune time. The lack of missles was the only thing preventing more losses to the USAF BUFFs. General Sullivan commanding the Thailand base was the only one who voiced his opinion of these bad tactics. Once the losses were high, his voice was heard. He was subsequently put on the slow track and later retired.

This is a good book. Lots of great information on this last battle of the Vietnam War. The one thing distracting about this book is the poor grammar used throughout it. This book needed a good proof reader and unfornately this was not done well. However, the information and story within this book more than made up for this deficit.

Sticker Storybook Eleven: Market Day (Farmyard Tales Readers Series)

Average customer rating:

A unique way to step into reading....
A fun get -ready -to- read book

Sticker Storybook Eleven: Market Day (Farmyard Tales Readers Series)

Manufacturer: Educational Development Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0746035160

Customer Reviews:

A unique way to step into reading...........2000-04-30

My four year old son and I really enjoyed this book. There is a simpler text on the top of the page and a wordier one at the bottom. At first the parent read it all and grdually the child will read the simpler text at top. A unique way to step into reading! My little guy especially enjoyed finding the little duck hidden on each page. I also got a sticker book version.

A fun get -ready -to- read book.......2000-04-29

My four year old son and I so enjoyed this bright, happy book. I like the format with the simple sentences on top that the child eventually can read and the wordier text at the bottom for the parent which makes the story interesting. My little guy like the duck hiding on each page. Some took some looking to find much to his delight.

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The Last 11 days of Earl Durand
Outstanding!
My Family Was There!
Would you poach to feed your starving neighbors?

The Last Eleven Days Of Earl Durand
Jerred Metz
Manufacturer: High Plains Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 093127172X

Customer Reviews:

The Last 11 days of Earl Durand.......2007-01-30

A great factual read about some of the history of Northwest Wyoming and the struggle in the transition from the old west to the modern USA.

Outstanding!.......2006-02-27

A superbly written history of a little-known, bloody story about Earl Durand, who basically terrorized northwestern Wyoming early in the 20th century.
A "must" for aficionados of Western history.

My Family Was There!.......2005-09-14

In 1939 my grandfather ran the grocery store only a few doors down from the bank where the final shootout occurred(see photo). I'm sure he was in the store when bullets started whizzing up and down the street outside. But, amazingly, although I spent a lot of time with my grandfather, I don't remember ever hearing even one word about the Earl Durand calamity as I grew up. It wasn't until 3 years ago when it came up in a discussion between my mother & her twin sister that I learned that such a Bonnie and Clyde type escapade had taken place in their tiny home town. My mother had been at the University of Wyoming at the time but her sister was in Powell. Now, 64 years later, they were 85 years old and not very clear on the details. I read all the old newspaper accounts I could find to try and flesh out the story but still didn't feel I had any clear understanding of the events. This summer on a visit to Powell I opened the Powell Tribune and read about this new book on Earl Durand. I immediately bought it and found it spellbinding. Its style of using eyewitness accounts makes you feel like you were actually there. I didn't mind the repetition at all. On the contrary I found that hearing about the same events from different perspectives was very illuminating. Jerred Metz is to be congratulated for doing it this way. This was a story that needed to be told to fill out the history of the Bighorn basin. Anyone interested in the west of pre-WWII days should read it.

Would you poach to feed your starving neighbors?.......2005-07-22

This historical account of the hunt for Earl Durand that captured the hearts and the minds of Americans when it happened is "told by" people involved in the posse, as well as the young poacher who took part in the crime that started Earl Durand's fall from grace. The writer's literary mastery is obvious from the first paragraph of the first chapter. Then the work takes on a reporting tone: simple, honest, and factual, "spoken" in the language of the era and the region, with controversial views on Earl Durand by his contemporaries. It's rather obvious that the writer went thought great pains to research the era, the participants, and the event. The book contains photographs of the posse members; it contains a map of the area, as well as pictures of Earl Durand. Was Earl Durand a clod-blooded killer? Did he go insane? Or, was he a misunderstood free spirit living in a wrong century? Was he only to blame for his demise? Or did his environment have something to do with it? The book, simple on the surface in its reporting style, raises many questions regarding human condition and morality in the industrial/post-industrial society of a "remote" location in Wyoming during the Great Depression. If you were a capable hunter living near the bountiful government-protected land, and your neighbors were starving for the lack of work in a miserable economy, would you go poaching to feed your neighbors? I rate the book at 4 only because there is some painful (for my personal taste), yet hardly avoidable repetition as the storytellers take turns re-telling their versions of the same event.

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First Novel
What a Killer!-Eleven Days is a drop-dead bestseller!
A Fine Series Set in the Heartland
A superb achievement.....
Reads like Nonfiction

Eleven Days
Donald Harstad
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553581481
Release Date: 1999-05-04

Amazon.com

Reflecting 26 years as a deputy sheriff in northeastern Iowa, Donald Harstad's first book, a topnotch thriller about an Iowa deputy sheriff named Carl Houseman, is full of convincing details of everyday police work and is told in such a droll, natural voice that you'll swear you've met both author and hero. "When I got home, Sue was a little angry," Houseman says about his wife. "I'd neglected to leave her a note about the meeting. Consequently, supper had turned out to be a problem. She'd taken care of it by making a taco-type soup, so it was still warm when I got there. She'd eaten." In other hands, the story (a series of ritual murders, a Satanic cult, the possible involvement of a local clergyman) might seem over the top. But Harstad's dead-on, no-nonsense manner makes it all very convincing--and extremely readable. --Dick Adler

Book Description

In a mesmerizing debut, cop-turned-author Donald Harstad uses real-life events to paint a jarring picture of crime in America's heartland--where two-stoplight towns no longer offer refuge from modern-day brutality.

Life in Maitland, Iowa, is usually predictable, even for a cop. But all that changes the day Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman's dispatcher receives the terrifying 911 call. The day cops find the mutilated bodies at a remote farmhouse. The first of eleven days Carl will never forget.

As hotshot investigators fly in from New York, Carl and his fellow cops use old-fashioned detective work to piece together clues. But to turn suspicions into suspects, Carl must search among his closest friends to find a killer who has shocked and bewildered cops who'd thought they'd seen it all. And before it's over, Carl will be forced into an unrelenting spiral of chaos, coming face-to-face with evil he never dreamed could exist in Maitland...or anywhere else.

Customer Reviews:

First Novel.......2007-08-20

This book is not bad for a first novel. He only uses "myself" in the subjective case once, and his editor should have caught that (pet peeve of mine.) While I'm not a big fan of cult mysteries, this one is reasonably well done, although his habit of using "cop speak" for the time of day as well as some of the various departments and titles can get a tad annoying. I will pick up his second book.

What a Killer!-Eleven Days is a drop-dead bestseller!.......2007-03-26

A Review by Matthew Lopez, high school student

Eleven Days by Donald Harstad is a book about this cop named Carl Houseman who goes face to face with a gruesome murder, involving four victims in an Iowa farm. Carl and his fellow cops go deep into the case, revealing that the murders were linked to a satanic occult. With a lot of detective work and putting suspects behind bars, they still couldn't find the killer. But one thing they don't know is that the killer could be right under their own nose.

I have to say this book was one of the most fascinating books I ever read, and trust me I read a lot of mystery, thrillers. Which most of them was intriguing but not as compelling as Donald Harstad's Eleven Days. Donald put a lot of captivating description that really makes you feel like you are there. One the best description in the book was when he was talking about the dead bodies that they discover in the farm. "The body by the door was supine, his legs bent in at not quite right angles. The object in his chest was a knife, and his right hand was gone." It was so well described; it made you sick to your stomach. And the way he tells the story through Carl point of view is also exciting. The story was more exciting in Carl point of view because you could feel what he is feeling. It's a book that you can't put down until you finish it.

One part of the book I also think is well described is when Carl and his female partner Hester were looking for the killer in the church because he killed a lot of officers in the police station. Anyway they follow the killer into the church where Carl and his partner were face to face with the killer. "I hit him hard; he sort of came apart, a sizable chunk of his skull flying off the rear. He disappeared, down into the pulpit." That part of the book had a lot of mind blowing action that it was like you where watching some sort of an action pack movie.

The book is really awesome, I enjoy reading it, but one thing I didn't like about the book was that all the detective work sort of put the book off topic. I think the detective work was engaging in some part of the book, and it does put the pieces of the murder mystery together. But I mostly prefer a book with a lot of action, and less detective work. I think the best audience for this book is for people who enjoy detective work and thrillers.

A Fine Series Set in the Heartland.......2005-09-24

Donald Harstad, a 26 year veteren of the sheriff's department in a rural Iowa community, began his fine police series with this tense and exciting novel that will leave you hungering for more. The first entry shows a world gone askew, as the rural Iowa farm country so familiar to the author is intruded upon by a type of crime easygoing deputy sheriff, Carl Houseman, has only read about.

Houseman is one of the most likable characters to come along in mystery fiction in quite some time. His down to earth demeanor and sense of humor makes for a fun read, even in this grisly police procedural set in America's heartland. Houseman and his gang will discover that evil exists for its own sake, as their peaceful farm country is invaded by mass, ritualistic murders which may ivolve the occult.

Harstad creates a believable crime story and gives us a genuine feel for his setting. It is a place where a fax is hi-tech equipment for the cops, and the homes are miles apart. You can almost smell fresh bales of hay and hear dogs barking as the Iowa countryside is captured in a very real way by the author. We see everything through the eyes of Carl Houseman, from his relationships with his fellow cops to a realistic marriage where he and his wife barely get to see each other. It is filled with humor and humanity in the face of the unthinkable.

Harstad has created in "Eleven Days" an adrenline rush of a read that moves like a tornado through the sparse Iowa landscape. Houseman's self-deprecating humor and excellent supporting characters like Sally, the police dispatcher, make us want to come back for more of Houseman and his gang. A hot cup of coffee and some doughnuts are never far away when reading this series. You don't want to miss this one.

A superb achievement............2003-11-21

Donald Harstad's first novel (inspired by true events) was absorbing. I first read this novel during the winter of my final year of medical school (when I was researching the dark aspect of the human experience). I curled up with this engaging tome for an entire weekend. It was time well-spent.
The novel begins with a bizarre & twisted murder scene in a rural Iowa farmhouse. The juxtaposition of this scene in the setting of an innocent, serene town sets the stage for the novel. The ensuing investigation w/ its twists & turns is certainly suspenseful. I enjoyed the section where an expert in satanically-inspired crime is imported into the investigation from the East Coast. His analysis of the nature of the crime is intriguing. Moreover, the novel also alludes to the different strata which exist amongst practitioners of Satanism; for instance, there are the mere dabblers in this dark art who view it as a diversion while there are the ascetic devotees who literally adhere to its principles and thus are more warped & dangerous. If I had written this novel, I would have explored the psychological factors driving the different characters in this novel, especially the elusive serial killer. Perhaps Mr. Harstad is saving this material for a sequel, a psychological study of the serial killer. This would make a fascinating novel as well. It's been 3 years since I first read this novel. I plan to revisit it soon. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy reading suspenseful novels dealing w/ occult themes. Address an email letter to Dr. Nicholas Lianna (nehalpatel1975@yahoo.com) for further discussion of this work. In his spare time, Dr. Lianna, M.D. (in the realm of internal medicine) has been investigating aberrant psychology, psychopathology in the domain of psychiatry, different modalities of bio- & psychotherapy, and other instances of the dark aspect of the human experience during the last several years. He is in the midst of constructing a compilation of his findings, analyses, & final conclusions.

Reads like Nonfiction.......2003-10-30

ISBN: 0-553-58148-1
Title: Eleven Days
Author: Donald Harstad
Publisher: Bantam Books
"Eleven Days," debut novel of ex-cop and Iowa author Donald Harstad is a blockbuster of a read. Harstad's experiences as a police officer shine through in his style, a style that reads like an official record of a crime. "Eleven Days" introduces us to Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman resident of Maitland, Iowa. The day officers discover mutilated bodies in an out-of-the-way farmhouse and the next eleven days of investigation consume the time and efforts of the town's police force.
Although top cops from around the state and even an expert from New York get involved in the inquiry, it is step-by-step, follow-every-lead good old fashioned detective work that opens the case and leads to its solution.
Harstad's narrative reads like a non-fiction case report, it is gutsy, true-to-life, in-your-face, criminal investigation. "Eleven Days" is action packed suspense with richly detailed characters, believable dialogue and a plot that keeps you turning pages all the way to the surprise ending and the unveiling of the perpetrator. I can't wait to pick up his next novel. Congratulations Donald Harstad on a magnificent debut novel.
Beverly J Scott author of "Righteous Revenge" and "Ruth Fever." Reviewer for Intriguing Authors and Their Books at http://www.funeralassociates.com/authors.htm

Agatha Christie And the Eleven Missing Days

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Revealing the mystery writer's mystery.
Agatha Christie comes alive
A Must Read For Agatha Christie Fans!
Revealed at Last
Useful reference for Agatha Fans

Agatha Christie And the Eleven Missing Days
Jared Cade
Manufacturer: Peter Owen Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0720612802

Customer Reviews:

Revealing the mystery writer's mystery........2003-11-28

Fame and wide acclaim came to Agatha Christie in 1926 when "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was published. In the same year, however, her disappearance and the eleven-day search for her attracted even more attention. Subsequently in interviews and in her own autobiography, Agatha Christie refused to explain or refer to the incident. It was inferred that the breakdown of her first marriage had been one aspect of the mystery, and her reluctance to refer to anything so painful was respected.

Since her death, she has been the subject of several biographies. None that I have read, even that of her second husband, Sir Max Mellowan, provides a satisfactory motivation or time table for the eleven missing days in 1926.

It seems remarkable that a young writer from the smallest state in Australia should be the one to adequately research the subject and to have access to the best informants. Jared Cade knows Agatha Christie's novels, plays, poetry and short sories well, and demonstrates how insights into this major crisis in Agatha Christie's life reside in them. His theories are sound, his rebuttal of false and misleading explanations is strong, and his judgments - even of Dame Agatha herself - are balanced.

Interest in what happened to the world' best-selling author back in 1926 may no longer be strong, but it is good to read something that at last sets the record straight. It is, moreover, a fascinating and focussed biography of someone who tried to keep herself away from public scrutiny. I like the compliment paid to the author by his principal informants, descendants of Agatha Christie's best friend: "This is the only biography that tells Agatha's life as it really was. Your insight into her life and personality is unsurpassed."

Agatha Christie comes alive.......2003-01-04

On December 3, 1926 Archie Christie told his wife, Agattha, that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. He then left for a weekend party.

Later that evening, Agatha got in her car for a drive. Her car was found off the road with her coat inside but she was no where to be found.

It was 11 days before she was found. The official story was that she was suffering from amnesia.

But now, family members from someone who knows what really happened have cooperated with telling the true story.

It's fascinating, believable and a thoroughly absorbing look into the life of one of our most famous authors.

A Must Read For Agatha Christie Fans!.......2002-12-30

I bought this book for my fifteen year old son. He enjoyed it so much that I read it too. I've read many books about the life of Agatha Christie but I've never read one more honest and well researched. Although the book does concentrate on the Agatha Christie disappearance in the 1920's it also covers all of her life. You'll learn about her upbringing, her daughter, her friends and her two frustrating and disappointing marriages. This is a not to be missed book!

Revealed at Last.......2001-12-29

I loved this book and have given several copies to people with great results.

It's not only an investigation into the "eleven missing days," it takes great pains to tell the entire story of Agatha Christie's whole life. The way Cade was able to match Christie's work with her various traumas is wonderful, and it's hard to believe that seventy years later anyone can come up with something new about such a famous unsolved mystery, and yet Cade has done exactly that, with the help of Nan Watts' daughter. I wonder what Rosalind Hicks, Agatha Christie's daughter, thinks of this book? It's marvelous. We'll never be able to read, for example, "Verdict" in the same way, knowing it reflects on Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband, and his liaison with his executive assistant Barbara Parker, who became the second Lady Mallowan after Christie's death. How she was able to keep a sense of humor I'll never know.

Surprisingly the book makes one feel more, not less, admiration for Christie. Good on you, Jared Cade! Can't wait to see where you turn your hand to next.

Useful reference for Agatha Fans.......2000-05-28

The book really helps to reveal a closer and deeper examination of Agatha's life, books, as well as her deepiest feelings in her heart... Cade has tried very hard to up root the feelings of Agatha I think... The introduction of Agatha's books especially the ones written under Mary Westmacott is helpful and in great details... Moreover, there are also integrations betwwen the content and Agatha's corresponding feelings and experiences... I do think that the book deserve a look!

Eleven Days in Hell: The 1974 Carrasco Prison Siege in Huntsville, Texas (Crime and Criminal Justice)

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Eleven Days in Hell: The 1974 Carrasco Prison Siege in Huntsville, Texas (Crime and Criminal Justice)
William T. Harper
Manufacturer: University of North Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1574411802

Book Description

From one o'clock on the afternoon of July 24, 1974, until shortly before ten o'clock the night of August 3, eleven days later, one of the longest hostage-taking sieges in the history of the United States took place in Texas' Huntsville State Prison. The ringleader, Federico (Fred) Gomez Carrasco, the former boss of the largest drug-running operation in South Texas, was serving life for assault with intent to commit murder on a police officer. Using his connections to smuggle guns and ammunition into the prison, and employing the aid of two other inmates, he took eleven prison workers and four inmates hostage in the prison library. Demanding bulletproof helmets and vests, he planned to use the hostages as shields for his escape.

Negotiations began immediately with prison warden H. H. Husbands and W. J. Estelle, Jr., director of the Texas Department of Corrections. The Texas Rangers, the Department of Public Safety, and the FBI arrived to assist as the media descended on Huntsville. When one of the hostages suggested a moving structure of chalkboards padded with law books to absorb bullets, Carrasco agreed to the plan. The captors entered their escape pod with four hostages and secured nine others to the moving barricade. While the target was en route to an armored car, Estelle had his team blast it with fire hoses. In a violent end to the standoff, Carrasco committed suicide, one of his two accomplices was killed (the other later executed), and two hostages were killed by their captors.

Average customer rating:

Superb Example of Italian-American Folklife

A robust tour that reveals beyond any shadow of doubt that blood - or sausage meat - is thicker than water.

Wondeful!

Eleven Days in August

GREAT SUMMER READ !
Eleven Days in August: A Chronicle of Summers
Amatore Mille
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind

ASIN: 1412086485

Book Description

A funny, poignant memoir of the author's annual eleven day transition from Wall Street to his family's Italian sausage business at the Wisconsin State Fair. A return to family, hometown...and self. Great Americana!

Welcome to the August lives of Amatore Mille and his family. The year is 2001...and 1957...and 1973 - actually, every year, since 1932 - when the Milles began an August summer tradition of selling Italian sausage sandwiches at The Wisconsin State Fair. You are about to enter a world where Italian immigrant grandparents leave their indelible mark on three subsequent generations, where a father, in his inimitable way, focuses on the family business...and his family...for eleven days of each summer, and where children grow up with sawdust underfoot and State Fair attractions all around.

In episodes that move between present and past, the author takes you on a tour of family escapades that, in turn, are laugh-out-loud funny...and touching...where grandma, with no experience, is forced to drive expensive cars, grandpa provides light-hearted amusement (but little work), and the author, through misadventures and near-tragedy, finally learns what the family business is really all about.

Customer Reviews:

Superb Example of Italian-American Folklife.......2007-07-04

Amatore Mille gives us witty, informative, and heart-warming insight into the folklife associated with a owning and running an Italian-American business. Mille's use of real-life anecdotes that bring the reader through a journey connecting the past and present is an entertaining way of enabling the reader to relate to the world that surrounds Mille's Italian Sausage and the Wisconsin State Fair. Though set against the backdrop of a Mid-Western state fair, Eleven Days in August is a book that celebrates all of Americana to its fullest.

A robust tour that reveals beyond any shadow of doubt that blood - or sausage meat - is thicker than water........2006-12-05

The debut novel of Milwaukee native Amatore "Matt" Mille, Eleven Days in August: A Chronicle of Summers is the author's memoir and collection of anecdotes relating to his family's tradition of selling Italian sausage sandwiches at The Wisconsin State Fair. For eleven days each summer, the broad extended family would gather, share news and opportunities, and experience joy, adventures, and misadventures. From Italian immigrant grandparents whose mark blazes fiercely on subsequent generations, to the core bonds that tie family members to each other and their business, to the long-spanning history of the annual Wisconsin gathering dating back to its inception in 1932, Eleven Days in August is a robust tour that reveals beyond any shadow of doubt that blood - or sausage meat - is thicker than water.

Wondeful!.......2006-11-01

Eleven Days in August, by Amatore Mille, is a wonderful, easy read that pulls the reader into the world of the author's unusual and interesting family. He has a writing style that, at times, makes you pause and reflect over certain passages - often touching on experiences that I (and probably most readers) was able to personalize. For example, he writes of his Italian grandparents in a way that most anyone with grandparents -Italian or otherwise - will relate to and likely become warmed by. Similarly, when he writes about, as a 13 year old boy, having a secret crush on 17 year old "Francie" and states: "She was the kind of girl that would have a boy, or a young man even, taking the stairs two at a time, just from thinking about her" - well, what guy can't relate to that?
In addition to the poignant, heart-warming elements of this book there is a great balance with humor, as when, for example, he writes about a rather stout, food-loving employee who makes the mistake of stating that his apron strings were getting tight. This launches a prank that is absolutely priceless and which I won't spoil by giving it away.
The book is structured in a very interesting and effective style that, essentially, moves the reader back and forth in time while tying it all together. The chapters fly by and the book left me wanting to read more. I loved this book!

Eleven Days in August.......2006-09-27

I had heard wonderful things about this book but to be honest found it quite boring. Not enough glimpses into Italian-American life for me. My favorite part was the all too brief reference to Italian phrases used by his grandparents. It is more a story about his relationships with his family who happen to be Italian-American.

GREAT SUMMER READ !.......2006-07-14

MY FAVORITE SUMMER BOOK THIS YEAR! FULL OF WONDERFUL STORIES. A SWEET REMINDER OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. THIS BOOK WOULD MAKE A GREAT GIFT.

Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin

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Page-Turner
A Morally Ambiguous Account
Revolt on the Black Sea
REd MUtiny
An excellent book on an event not often covered in English language literature.

Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin
Neal Bascomb
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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Russia | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1428137289

Customer Reviews:

Page-Turner.......2007-09-29

I like historical accounts that read like novels, and I found myself entirely pulled into Red Mutiny. It wasn't wildly fictionalized, with whole scenes that were clearly created out of the author's imagination, instead it felt very thoroughly researched. But it still had the page-turny feeling of genuine emotion that powers a novel. Since I didn't know much about the actual historical event, I had the advantage of suspense... I didn't know who would live or die. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was sorry when the book was over.

A Morally Ambiguous Account.......2007-09-12

In Red Mutiny, Neal Bascomb provides a dramatic account of the rebellion of the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin in the Black Sea in June 1905. Although the author has done considerable historical research for this volume, it is essentially a journalistic account and it lacks the objectivity and detail that one might find written by a professional historian. Reading this book, it is clear that the author has two objectives: to present the human drama of the mutiny and to depict the mutiny as a vital precursor to the revolutions of 1917. Essentially, the author casts the leader of the mutiny - sailor Afanasy Matyushenko - as the underdog fighting for "freedom" and Tsar Nicholas II and his naval officers as the oppressive "bad guys." Indeed, this book is virtually set up as a `morality play' - just minus the actual moral lessons. The author writes very well and he does succeed in constructing a page-turner narrative that flows well, but along the way he seems to have lost his moral compass and I just couldn't stomach having people who murder helpless human beings presented as "heroes." This book is based on the best Marxist tradition of `the ends justifies the means.'

Before getting into the mutiny itself, the author spends a brief time laying out background events such as the Russian naval defeat at Tsushima and the early life of mutineer Matyushenko. Early on it is apparent that this is a Tsarist-bashing account that lacks any pretense of objectivity, when the author refers to Russia starting the war with Japan (the war began with a Japanese sneak attack) and that "the tsar allowed the butchery of his own people." The author makes generalizations such as, "many [Russian] officers were boorish tyrants with a cruel streak," that sounds like it was written by Bolshevik propagandists in 1919 rather than a modern historian. The author paints an exceedingly grim picture of life in the Imperial Russian Navy and the hardship endured by Matyushenko and his peers, but this doesn't square well with his off-hand comment that some sailors re-enlisted and were made petty officers. If service was so horrible, why would anyone re-enlist? Throughout the volume, Bascomb deplores the poor living conditions of the average Russian, but makes no effort to compare their lot with their peers in other countries. In fact, conditions in many other countries for industrial workers was almost as bad, evidenced by the large number of strikes in the United States, Italy and France - and the Tsar was not the only one to authorize his troops to fire on striking workers. For example, President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops in to end the Pullman Strike in 1894, killing 13 strikers.

On the Potemkin, the author spends very little effort telling us about the officers, other than that they were either incompetent bullies like Captain Golikov or "good guys" like Lieutenant Kovalenko, who sympathized with the mutineers. While the author makes clear that the mutiny was part of a wider conspiracy brewing among the crews in the Black Sea Fleet, the specific spark came as a result of the crew supposedly being forced to eat rotten meat. The reader is only given one version of the outbreak of the mutiny - essentially that of the mutineers - and since it is clear that the mutiny was pre-meditated, it is not so clear that the officers actually provoked the mutiny as provided an excuse for it to begin. I must admit that I found the author's description of Matyushenko's motivations and behavior increasingly repugnant, beginning with his murder of his unarmed captain and tossing the body overboard. Throughout, I found the description of Matyushenko's behavior to be violently anti-social and akin to the murderous rage of a Charlie Manson. Despite the author's flattering depiction of him as a freedom fighter, it is clear that Matyushenko was more of an anarchist who always had a chip on his shoulder and who wanted to kill anyone who tried to force him to adhere to rules. He fought to exact `revenge' on those he felt had wronged him, not for any love of freedom or concern for others. Furthermore, the ease at which Lieutenant Kovalenko - who as an officer had higher responsibilities - slides in with the rebels and abandons his country and family is nauseating. The Potemkin mutiny was a typical Russian peasant mush of mindless mob violence and ignorance, for no higher purpose. Once they killed their officers, the crew had no idea what to do and simply thrashed about the Black Sea, looking for somewhere to go and something to do.

The author's description of events at riot-torn Odessa when the Potemkin arrived flying the red flag of mutiny are also rather credulous. Despite the fact that it was rioting workers who started the fires along the docks, he blames the local garrison commander for the death of over 1,000 citizens in the resulting conflagration. In this book, everybody in the regime is just guilty, guilty, guilty, while everyone who fights the regime is a hero. At one point in Odessa, Matyushenko asks why he is being treated like a criminal - which is rather funny given that he had already committed multiple murders, kidnapping and grand theft (he took 24,000 rubles from the ship's safe). The denouement of this tale is rather abbreviated, in that we do learn about Matyushenko's execution in 1907 but otherwise only the briefest information on the fates of the mutineers is provided. Overall, this is an excellent read but readers should be cognizant that the author has sympathized too closely with the mutineers, at the expense of truth.

Revolt on the Black Sea.......2007-08-27

This is a classic tale, made into a classic movie. Eisenstein's silent "Potemkin", even though it was Soviet propaganda, did a fairly decent job of telling the story of the mutiny. Of course, his film was famous for the Odessa steps scene (copied by the Kevin Costner movie "The Untouchables"), and for the roiling clouds and smoke at the beginning (copied by Woody Allen for "Love and Death"). Having gotten all of that trivia out of the way, I can say that this is an extremely well-written book, and the author makes excellent use of the recently opened Russian archives to tell a balanced story of the mutiny and its aftermath. The reader really has to feel sympathy for the sailors, who endured conditions and discipline far beyond what they should have, until the rope finally snapped and leaders emerged to lead a mutiny. Of course, the hope of those sailors was that this mutiny would spread to the rest of the Black Sea Fleet, which didn't happen, although it was a "near run thing", as the Duke of Wellington once said. I really enjoy books about the late 19th and early 20th century Russian history and this book will have a conspicuous place on my bookshelf.

REd MUtiny.......2007-08-04

Great book, captivates intrest in way you don't want to put it down in some sections. A turn of the 20th century account of the beginnings of Revolutionary Russia. Worth every penny.

An excellent book on an event not often covered in English language literature........2007-06-18

It must be understood that while no doubt hundreds of books in whole and part about the Potemkin mutiny exist, only a few were written in or translated into English.
While many people are familiar with the 1922 Eisenstein film "Battleship Potemkin," which has enjoyed a world audience and international laurels, few understand the greater significance of the events that took place that fateful summer in 1905.
In "Red Mutiny," Neal Bascomb has presented his well researched vision of the mutiny, its roots and its subsequent conclusion.
It is interesting how the events that caused sailors to revolt against the Imperial Russian Navy can easily be coupled loosely with current events. The great shame of the Potemkin mutiny is the condemnation by the international community and reluctance to support revolution despite the obvious injustice Russians faced under the Tsar. It is very telling how nearly all national governments, even the U.S., feared the Potemkin mutiny as a threat to their own political stability and condemned the mutineers.
Bascomb navigates the oft propagandized nature of the mutiny by Communist elements to discern clearly that the mutiny was not based on Bolshevik goals. The mutineers of the Potemkin were not pushing a political agenda as much as they simply sought to be treated with some modest decency.
While sailors throughout time have suffered similar injustices, Potemkin's mutineers had simply had enough, all the while Russian Naval leadership allowed seditious sentiment to incubate within the lower ranks.
An excellent book, and based on the source material it is a book that was very carefully researched.
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, READERS, AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS.

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