Average customer rating:
- Unbelievable In This Day and Age
- Real Life Horror
- No good ending here
- Lack of remorse in Oklahoma
- Had it been a work of fiction I would have given it 1 star...
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The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
John Grisham
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Legal System | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Penology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Murder & Mayhem | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0385517238
Release Date: 2006-10-10 |
Amazon.com
John Grisham tackles nonfiction for the first time with The Innocent Man, a true tale about murder and injustice in a small town (that reads like one of his own bestselling novels). The Innocent Man chronicles the story of Ron Williamson, how he was arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit, how his case was (mis)handled and how an innocent man was sent to death row. Grisham's first work of nonfiction is shocking, disturbing, and enthralling--a must read for fiction and nonfiction fans. We had the opportunity to talk with John Grisham about the case and the book, read his responses below. --Daphne Durham
20 Second Interview: A Few Words with John Grisham
Q: After almost two decades of writing fiction, what compelled you to write non-fiction, particularly investigative journalism?
A: I was never tempted to write non-fiction, primarily because it's too much work. However, obviously, I love a good legal thriller, and the story of Ron Williamson has all the elements of a great suspenseful story.
Q: Why this case?
A: Ron Williamson and I are about the same age and we both grew up in small towns in the south. We both dreamed of being major league baseball players. Ron had the talent, I did not. When he left a small town in 1971 to pursue his dreams of major league glory, many thought he would be the next Mickey Mantle, the next great one from the state of Oklahoma. The story of Ron ending up on Death Row and almost being executed for a murder he did not commit was simply too good to pass up.
Q: How did you go about your research?
A: I started with his family. Ron is survived by two sisters who took care of him for most of his life. They gave me complete access to the family records, photographs, Ron's mental health records, and so on. There was also a truckload of trial transcripts, depositions, appeals, etc., that took about 18 months to organize and review. Many of the characters in the story are still alive and I traveled to Oklahoma countless times to interview them.
Q: Did your training as a lawyer help you?
A: Very much so. It enabled me to understand the legal issues involved in Ron's trial and his appeals. It also allowed me, as it always does, to be able to speak the language with lawyers and judges.
Q: Throughout your book you mention, The Dreams of Ada: A True Story of Murder, Obsession, and a Small Town. How did you come across that book, and how did it impact your writing The Innocent Man?
A: Several of the people in Oklahoma I met mentioned The Dreams of Ada to me, and I read it early on in the process. It is an astounding book, a great example of true crime writing, and I relied upon it heavily during my research. Robert Mayer, the author, was completely cooperative, and kept meticulous notes from his research 20 years earlier. Many of the same characters are involved in his story and mine.
Q: You take on some pretty controversial and heated topics in your book--the death penalty, prisoner's rights, DNA analysis, police conduct, and more--were any of your own beliefs challenged by this story and its outcome?
A: None were challenged, but my eyes were open to the world of wrongful convictions. Even as a former criminal defense attorney, I had never spent much time worrying about wrongful convictions. But, unfortunately, they happen all the time in this country, and with increasing frequency.
Q: So many of the key players in this case are either still in office or practicing attorneys. Many family members and friends still live in the same small town. How do you think The Innocent Man will impact this community and other small rural towns as they struggle with the realities of the justice system?
A: Exonerations seem to be happening weekly. And with each one of them, the question is asked--how can an innocent man be convicted and kept in prison for 20 years? My book is the story of only one man, but it is a good example of how things can go terribly wrong with our judicial system. I have no idea how the book will be received in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma, or any other town.
Q: What do you hope your readers will take away from The Innocent Man?
A: A better understanding of how innocent people can be convicted, and a greater concern for the need to reimburse and rehabilitate innocent men after they have been released.
Book Description
John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, is his most extraordinary legal thriller yet.
In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory.
Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits—drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.
In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.
With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.
If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.
Customer Reviews:
Unbelievable In This Day and Age.......2007-09-30
I read this book thinking it had to be another Grisham work of fiction because if the story were true, America is in trouble.
This story is riveting, fast-paced and shows how truly horrible our justice system can be for those who can't afford a "Johnny Cochran".
I couldn't put this book down. The more you read the more you can't believe it really happened. Thank goodness for the pictures of the people in this story, it really brought home the fact that it's a true story.
Excellent job by Mr. Grisham.
Real Life Horror.......2007-09-29
"The Innocent Man" is a chronicle of Ron Williamson (former minor league baseball star), his life and ordeal as he was wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to death row as a result. He was forced to suffer this horror for 11 years until finally the system began to work for him, but only through the diligence and persistence of attorneys assigned to him years later, Mark Barrett and Barry Scheck, his loving mother and persistent sisters, in particular, his sister Annette. The cruelties and disrespect by the officers and District Attorney Bill Peterson that were inflected on him were horrifying. The shabby police work and "junk science," as well as the district attorney's expert witnesses (a majority of them picked from men and women serving time for horrendous crimes themselves) and brought to the stand to testify against Ron, was not only incomprehensible in itself but the fact that the Judge allowed their testimony to stand and control a man's life sentence is abominable. Ron's hometown of Ada, Oklahoma completely turned on him and he was proven guilty without a shred of hard evidence as was his friend, a respected 7th grade Science teacher, Dennis Fritz, merely by association. The book goes on to tell Ron's sad story as only it can be told by such an esteemed author/attorney as John Grisham. I would highly recommend everyone read this true story; it is a real eye opener as to how our justice system can go astray with the wrong people serving in our trusted government positions.
No good ending here.......2007-09-27
I seldom read Grisham but found his first non-fiction work hard to put down. The story of Ron Williamson has no happy ending. Not for Ron nor the young woman who was so brutually murdered.
Grisham does an excellent job of drawing us into the story. If you have never experienced justice (or lack of) in a small town you need to read this book. Had Ron lived in New York City or even Dallas he may have gone unnoticed wandering the streets and babbling like a mad man. But not in Ada, OK.
Lack of remorse in Oklahoma.......2007-09-26
This story had a tremendous impact on me. I support the death penalty but was abhorred to see how flippantly it was applied in Ada Oklahoma. Read this book first and then log onto District Attorney Peterson's web site to read his defense of his actions that were the subject of the book. The first thing he displays on his website is the American flag. Then he has a lengthy and tedious defense of all the minor points in Grisham's novel. He provides statistics on the probability of innocent people being convicted of felonies as if this excuses him for almost sending an innocent person to his death. Peterson tries to blow off Grisham as an anti-death penalty advocate. I truly fear for the soul of Mr. Peterson and the good people of Ada Oklahoma - a bit of remorse and repentance for what they almost did to an innocent man would help them when they meet their Maker. Hiding behind the American flag might help now but certainly not later!
Had it been a work of fiction I would have given it 1 star..........2007-09-18
... but it's not. It only looks like fiction in bad taste. Instead, this truly happened as described.
I'm not summarizing the story as the editorial reviews and most reviewers before me are quite descriptive.
May I just say that I think that every judicial system has its share of faults and flaws, but what's revealed in this book is simply astonishing and unbelievable from beginning to end. I can only hope that it rattles a few consciences whilst increasing awareness to prevent disastrous consequences for those involved.
As it always happens when I read J. Grisham's books, I've appreciated and enjoyed the clear and well structured narrative, even more so on this occasion. Being a real-life story, I'm sure it must have been quite a task to extrapolate all the relevant facts from all the interviews and paperwork generated by this case during the years, in order to present them clearly to the readers.
Unless you already know the epilogue, try not to peek at the photographs published right in the middle of the book. Some are quite revealing for the yet-to-be-read rest of the story. They don't actually "spoil everything" -in fact, whatever unfolded after turning those pages kept me on the alert and as incredulous as ever- but I still think it would have been preferable to print them at the very end of the book.
A part from that, "The Innocent Man" is highly recommendable.
Book Description
Despite the fact that Juarez is a Mexican border city just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, most Americans are unaware that for more than twelve years this city has been the center of an epidemic of horrific crimes against women and girls, consisting of kidnappings, rape, mutilation, and murder, with most of the victims conforming to a specific profile: young, slender, and poor, fueling the premise that the murders are not random.
Indeed, there has been much speculation that the killer or killers are American citizens. While some leading members of the American media have reported on the situation, prompting the U.S. government to send in top criminal profilers from the FBI, little real information about this international atrocity has emerged. According to Amnesty International, as of 2006 more than 400 bodies have been recovered, with hundreds still missing.
As for who is behind the murders themselves, the answer remains unknown, although many have argued that the killings have become a sort of blood sport, due to the lawlessness of the city itself. Among the theories being considered are illegal trafficking in human organs, ritualistic satanic sacrifices, copycat killers, and a conspiracy between members of the powerful Juárez drug cartel and some corrupt Mexican officials who have turned a blind eye to the felonies, all the while lining their pockets with money drenched in blood.
Despite numerous arrests over the last ten years, the murders continue to occur, with the killers growing bolder, dumping bodies in the city itself rather than on the outskirts of town, as was initially the case, indicating a possible growing and most alarming alliance of silence and cover-up by Mexican politicians.
The Daughters of Juárez promises to be the first eye-opening, authoritative nonfiction work of its kind to examine the brutal killings and draw attention to these atrocities on the border. The end result will shock readers and become required reading on the subject for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Daughters of Juarez.......2007-10-03
Daughters of Juarez is a disturbing story, but it is a true account of the unsolved mysteries of these young women's lost lives. It is an insight into the poverty and injustice that occurs daily in this border town and surrounding areas.
Compelling story, purple prose delivery.......2007-09-09
I would have to agree with the previous reviewer who said that the story was compelling and important, but the overlong purple prose descriptions of what the families went through and the overly dramatic descriptions of the situations, with speculations on what everyone was thinking mar an important and compelling book.
Some straight crime reporting, an analysis of the facts and maybe some more social analysis (for instance, how do the drug culture, the male dominated hispanic culture, the pervasive corruption of the border towns, etc. contribute to this holocaust against women) would have helped a lot.
Still, there is not much written about this problem, which if it were happening here or in any first world country, would be page one news everyday, so the book is valuable.
So, good subject and investigative reporting marred by overly dramatic writing.
I would recommend it, you can skip over the long emotional descriptions of background, thoughts and other contrived elements.
Daughters of Juarez.......2007-08-26
I live in El Paso and have followed much of this in the newspaper including the two Bus drivers, The FBI coming to help, etc. Now I know it was all lies.
Mexico has been called the most corrupt nation on earth and I've heard the stories and now I see it in action. I have too many chilling stories direct from American victims of the Juarez Police to share here.
This corruption has spread to El Paso with corruption in the Border Patrol, the government, the police and I'm not just saying this, I've talked to people and have examples both from the Newspaper and people in the know. The FBI has been conducting an investigation into the El Paso government for several months and people are going to jail. Halleluiah!
Personally I've been afraid to go across the Border for years based on these stories and now I'll be spreading the word. Do not go into Mexico!
This book hits hard with details that would make a strong man cry. The horrible end to young lives, the Police laughing at parents asking for help and the intimidating of helpless mothers who might "know too much", the framing of innocents, The corruption of "investigations" run by incompetents.
This book is an indictment, a denunciation of a government and society gone terribly wrong. Bribes are necessary just to get your TV cable hooked up and this pattern of behavior climbs to the very top.
I hope this book helps but in a society that accepts incompetence and corruption as a given I have my doubts. If Mexico is to change it must come from the bottom and it is so instilled in the poverty stricken common people to not make waves how can we expect them to effectively rise up. But enough publicity might send the rats scurrying, we need more books and TV exposes like this.
Compelling read, but with reservations.......2007-08-09
The Daughters of Juarez, by Teresa Rodriguez (with Diana Montané and Lisa Pulitzer), chronicles a series of horrific murders of young women (and teens) in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, over the last fourteen years, the law enforcement/governmental response to them, and the myriad theories as to the perpetrator(s). Over this period, a good part of 400 poor women were raped, tortured and killed, then dumped in desert areas and vacant lots around the city. The book details a rich tapestry of police and governmental brutality, corruption, blatant sexual discrimination, disregard for public safety, and just plain incompetence.
Although many suspects have been charged and held, it is doubtful that any of the murders can ever be considered legitimately solved because of this pervasive and persistent institutional dysfunction. In fact, one can say that this is a glaring example of how not to run a criminal justice system. It's heartbreaking to consider that the families of these slain women will never see justice done. Additionally, it must have been so frustrating for those in law enforcement and government who made efforts to run effective investigations, only to be stymied at every turn by the very system they should have been able to trust, forced out of their jobs because they wouldn't falsify results or analyses, or even physically threatened.
Daughters is definitely a compelling, true tale and Rodriguez does a service to those affected by these horrors by airing them for everyone to examine. The book, however, suffers from a lack of organization: Rodriguez bounces around dates, people and events so much so that it's hard to keep them all straight. Also, she makes a point of maudlin over-description of the women and their families so as to make them more sympathetic. This in my mind is unnecessary; most people will find the thought of someone (not to mention hundreds) being subjected to the extreme violence that these women experienced and the grief (on multiple levels) that their loved ones were forced to endure to be inconceivably horrible - no matter who the reader is. I also think Rodriguez could have used some citations to support what must have been years of research and investigation. In the end, I would recommend this book as a real eye-opener, but with these reservations.
Thrilling Read.......2007-08-05
I stumbled onto The Daughter's of Juarez after having a discussion on the term femicide (the act of killing a woman is a more generic term but this term is often applied to specific mass killings of women). In Juarez, Mexico women from all social classes and with distinctly different family ties have been going missing. Now and then bodies (and the occasional mass grave) of women that have been sexually abused and mutilated show up. The Daughter's of Juarez explores the lives of these missing women, the media blips that have occurred as a result, the political turmoil caused over these cases, as well as the possible answers to what has happened to so many women. After reading about this I was horrified by what had happened and because I had never heard of anything about this prior to the reading. A thrilling and exploratory read of the lives of women in Juarez, Mexico as well as a look at the relations between the U.S. and its border neighbor.
Book Description
Jenn Corbin, a lovely, slim, brown-eyed blonde, appeared to have it all: two dear little boys, a posh home in one of the upscale suburbs of Atlanta, expensive cars, a plush houseboat, and a husband -- Dr. Bart Corbin, a successful dentist -- who was tall, handsome, and brilliant.
But gradually their seemingly idyllic life together began to crumble. There was talk of seeing a marriage counselor. Bart was distraught; Jenn seemed disenchanted. She needed to reach out to someone she could confide in -- beyond her mother and her sisters. Then, just a few weeks before Christmas 2004, Jenn was found dead with a bullet in her head, a revolver beside her. From the position of the body her death appeared to be a suicide. But Gwinnett County detective Marcus Head was not totally convinced, nor was Jenn's family, who could not believe she would take her own life.
And how was this death related to another apparent suicide fourteen years earlier -- that of Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn, a spectacularly beautiful dental student? A star athlete and homecoming queen in high school, Dolly later dated Bart Corbin in dental school. Was there a connection, or was the answer to be found in a secret -- even dangerous -- relationship Jenn Corbin was having outside her marriage? For Too Late to Say Goodbye, Ann Rule has interviewed virtually everyone in any way related to the story -- the victims' families, police investigators, prosecutors, and sources from Georgia to Australia -- to uncover the truth behind the headlines of these two sensational deaths. What emerges is an incredible tale of jealous rage; of stunning circumstantial and physical evidence that runs from the steamy to the macabre to almost-unheard-of forensic techniques; and of a tragic irony -- a fateful discovery that motivated the killing. The definitive unraveling of one of the strangest murder investigations of our time, Too Late to Say Goodbye is perhaps the finest achievement of a truly great writer's career.
Customer Reviews:
Too Late to Say Goodbye.......2007-10-01
Ann Rule has authored over 28 books and has been called the Queen of True Crime stories. I've read several of her books, and, while this is not her best, it is very well-written and tells an interesting story. Bart Corbin, a dentist, was charged with murdering two women fourteen years apart. One was his girlfriend and the other his wife, and both women were attempting to extricate themselves from their relationships with him. He was extremely possessive and had a bad temper, though he claimed that both women had committed suicide and had staged the death scenes to appear that way. He probably would have gotten away with the first murder if he hadn't committed the second. Anyone who likes true crime stories will like this book.
Best Author-Best Books.......2007-09-17
I have read every Ann Rule Book there is. She never dissapoints you. She writes a true and real sense of what happen without being gory or disrespectful to the victims. This book was I think one of her best books and I feel deeply for the familys of the victim. You will come away feeling as if you know the family.
Riveting and compelling.......2007-09-17
Ann Rule is simply the best true-crime writer around, not only because of her writing style but also because of her meticulous research into the lives of the psychopaths and narcissists who commit the crimes and their victims. She makes us understand not only how and why the crimes occurred but also why the victims became involved with the murderers and why they stayed for them until it was too late (very few of her books deal with stranger-to-stranger murders; most involve intimate partners).
Here, the young wife of an Atlanta-area dentist is found shot dead in her bed, an apparent suicide...until it's discovered that one of the dentist's girlfriends had also died in almost exactly the same way. That death had been ruled a suicide - but the unbelievable coincidence ( a man loses two of the women in his life to self-inflicted gunshot wounds?) led to the first case being reopened.
A compelling page-turner.
Not as good as some of her books.......2007-09-17
I have read almost all of Ann Rule's books and I am a huge fan. I have to say I was disappointed in this one tho. I was very surprised to see many grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors and discrepancies in dates and places. I wonder if she didn't have a proof reader??? Still, I did enjoy it, but wish I had waited for the paperback.
WOW!!.......2007-09-13
WOW!! this author really does her homework! the details she is able to dig up are amazing! i loved how she organized the story itself. i also loved how she drew me in and kept me interested until the very end. i couldn't wait to get home every night to read more!! i have only read a couple of her books, but now i plan to read every one i can get my hands on!! CAUTION: don't look at the photos in the middle of the book until you finish the story. don't get me wrong...i am GLAD she puts them in, but i have found that gives some of the story away for me that i don't want to know until the end!! this time i waited and from now on i will wait until i'm done reading it to look at the photos. its just my personal preference. i truly respect how she does her writings. even though she has been a cop herself, she always waits until the information is no longer top secret police information before she writes or talks about anything. she doesn't use her past to try and outdo any author or the media by using priviledged information. she never divulges police confidentiality to any civilian populations before it is public knowledge. She doesn't need to...her writing is THE best in true crime authoring...HANDS DOWN!! That tells alot about her personality!
Amazon.com
Readers may well find themselves looking nervously over their shoulders after finishing this memoir by Candice DeLong, who met a lot of Hannibal Lecter's soul mates during her 20 years as an FBI agent. An early practitioner of profiling, the analysis of crime data for what it reveals about the perpetrator, DeLong handled such ugly cases that she and her partner at one point were known as "the Gruesome Twosome." Her arrests included child molesters, rapists, and serial killers; among the book's useful features are her tips on what to do if you or your child is attacked. (Yell "Fire!" rather than "Help!" she advises; it attracts more attention.) Not that human nature's darker side was a surprise to DeLong, who came to the FBI from a job as head nurse in a maximum security psychiatric ward, where a violent paranoid schizophrenic crooned at her, "You better pray I never get out of these [restraints]. I could cut your head off. Or do you want me to tear your heart out?" The frank, conversational text ably captures the forceful personality of a female pioneer. The bureau had only been accepting women for eight years when DeLong joined in 1980, and her training at Quantico included brutal harassment by instructors determined to "wash out" any female applicant. Yet she had the toughness to survive and the good sense to know when to ignore her male colleagues' barbed jokes and when to kid them right back. Ultimately, she made friends and got ahead. As well as chronicling a stream of fascinating (and often deeply disturbing) high-profile cases such as the Unabomber, DeLong's narrative portrays a changing FBI, now valuing the special perspective contributed by female and African American agents it once scorned. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
Candice DeLong has been called a real-life Clarice Starling and a female Donnie Brasco. She has been on the front lines of some of the FBIs most gripping and memorable cases, including being chosen as one of the three agents to carry out the manhunt for the Unabomber in Lincoln, Montana. She has tailed terrorists, gone undercover as a gangsters moll, and posed as the madam for a call-girl ring. Now for the first time she reveals the dangers and rewards of being a woman on the front lines of the worlds most powerful law enforcement agency. She traces the unusual career path that led her to crime fighting, and recounts the incredible obstacles she faced as a woman and as a fledgling agent. She takes readers step by step through the profiling process and shows how she helped solve a number of incredible cases. The story of her role as a lead investigator on the notorious Tylenol Murderer case is particularly compelling. Finally, she gives the true, insiders story behind the investigation that led to the arrest of the Unabomberincluding information that the media cant or wont reveal. A remarkable portrait of courage and grace under fire, Special Agent offers a missing chapter to the annals of law enforcement and a dramatic and often funny portrait of an extraordinary woman who has dedicated her heart and soul to the crusade against crime.Candice DeLongs Top Cases: 1. TYMURS-(Bureau acronym for Tylenol Murders)8 victims, 1982. 2. F.A.L.N. Terrorist Organization, 198184. 3. Melissa Ackerman kidnap/rape/murder, 1986Serial child killer Brian Dugan (Illinois). Brian Dugan was the most prolific serial killer Illinois had ever encountered. 4. The Burlington Rapist (Illinois serial rapist), 1984. 5. The Lecherous Landlord was the first and most significant Discrimination in Housing case in the history of the Chicago FBI. 6. Undercover work on UNABOM, including an afternoon with Ted Kaczynski on his arrest day, April 3, 1996.
Customer Reviews:
Solid story-telling with humor.......2007-05-12
This isn't the best book I've ever read but it's a fun and interesting read about her career in the FBI. She wisely chose stories from her career (which must have been difficult with so many years of experience) and always included down-to-earth humor and humility when appropriate. When she entered, the FBI was still adjusting to having women agents but she remained strong, taking the high road on many occasions when she was not treated fairly. As a result, her career flourished and her life is a story worth hearing. She is truly a trailblazer. Just nobody call her Candy.
Waste of money unless you want pure fiction.......2005-10-15
This book should be listed under "fiction," because that's what it is. Ms. DeLong is a legend in her mind and her mind only. Anyone who reads this and believes Ms. DeLong actually did the things she claimed to do is living in a dream, just like Ms. DeLong. Don't waste your money. Ms. DeLong is as much a real life Clarice Starling as Barney Fife is Elliot Ness. I would recommend the book if you are looking for a good laugh. I rated this garbage one star because I wasn't given the choice of zero or negative stars.
It Takes a Woman to do a Man's Job!.......2005-05-15
This was an interesting book about Candice Delong written by Elisa Petrini. Before becoming connected with the FBI, she'd been a nurse in a psychiatric ward. She was a divorced mother then, still something of a stigma in the early 1980s. In the late '80s she was assigned to the cocaine trafficing in Chicago.
There was a drug pipeline which stretched from the South American country of Columbia, then the cocaine capital of the hemisphere, up through Mexico into Texas; from there to Chicago. I've been told that it went through Lawrenceburg, TN on the way North.
There is a manadatory minimum 20-yr. sentence for anyone caught with ten or more kilograms of cocaine (about 22 lbs.). Each kilo is the size of a brick and worth $15,000 - 30,000 depending on the quality of the drug. Heroin is a lot more. She had some interesting times working with DEA in narcotics, even being tricked into babysitting for the informant on her first case.
She was involved in the Unabomber case and the way they discovered it was a former University of California at Berkley (where Savage (Weiner) may have found his cocaine) professor. She was in on the specifics in Montana,trapping Ted Kaezynski in 1996. Then back to San Francisco, where Savage settled.
She gives good pointers on how to handle home invastion or sexual assault. Always yell "Fire." There are almost twice as many sex crimes against women over sixty as certain killers go after the older women to act out their anger toward the strong female figures in their lives and the fact that elderly women are easier to control. Compliance is by no means the same as consent.
Rape is all about power, not sex. A woman's goal is to survive the attack. About 41% of rapes and sex assaults are committed by acquaintances of the victim. Sex offenders don't think like normal men and are always on the alert for what they think of as "provacative" behavior or dress.
After twenty years, she became a private citizen again and went on the lecture circuit. She is proud of her achievements and the privilege to work as a 'public servant' in the FBI.
Candice gives as good as she gets!.......2003-12-23
What an excellent read! The characters and relationships are very intriguing-the author's world is filled with both obvious and subtle villains, as well as obvious and subtle heroes. Candice herself is fun, likeable and strong enough to give as good as she gets. Though she is being constantly second-guessed, undermined and underestimated, she ends up turning her "weakness" into advantage time and again. The author sets up the rivalry between the FBI and the DEA and her unique role walking between the two. Highly recommended.
An incredible profile of dedication and compassion.......2003-10-09
Candice Delong tells it like it is. This book held me riveted and page turning. I could not put it down. Ms. Delong exemplifies a woman who is dedicated to justice and the right thing to do. At great personal expense Delong did her job. However, as a mother, she had her priorities clearly defined. Delong's son was her greatest priority. The part about the Unibomber wearing her son's coat touched me deeply. This lady is indeed a national hero. In all the turmoil that America is involved in, it is wonderful to read about a woman who has made a difference in so many lives. Courage, integrity, and ethics all apply to this amazing woman.
Book Description
An engrossing examination of one of America's most notorious and bewildering crimes–the gruesome murder of Felix Polk by his wife, Susan, in October 2002.
With the same exclusive access and penetrating investigation that made A Deadly Game a #1 bestseller, Catherine Crier arrives at the scene of another stunning American crime. For decades, Susan Polk, mother of three, played devoted wife to Felix, her former therapist and a man 25 years her senior. The torment and alleged abuse that happened behind closed doors made headlines in October 2002 when Susan was arrested for fatally stabbing Felix in their Oakland, CA, compound.
Early accusations and allegations in the case of CA vs. Susan Polk:
•Susan Polk was mentally, verbally and physically abused by Felix.
•Susan Polk spoke of killing Felix on numerous occasions, detailing possible methods.
•Felix Polk carefully guarded his own history with mental illness–his year–long stay in a mental hospital and his diagnosis with schizophrenia in the 1950s.
•Felix Polk may have used hypnosis, and perhaps even LSD, on his patients–and even on his own sons.
•Susan Polk stabbed her husband 27 times, put the knife back in the kitchen drawer and went to bed, leaving her son to find his father's dead body in their home.
With three sons pitted against each other–one for, two against their mother; with the bizarre October 2005 murder of the wife of Susan's attorney; and with the bulk of the evidence still to come, the Polk case will take its place as one of most confounding true crime cases of recent years.
Customer Reviews:
Author adds her own psychiatric 2 cents.......2007-08-17
Similar to Keith Ablow (who wrote the forward), Crier adds her own opinion about the psychology of both the victim and the perpetrator. Her facts should stand by themselves without her weaving in tidbits similar to "this relationship was a perfect storm of neuroses and it was inevitable that Susan would kill her husband, thinking she was actually getting back at her father, who abused her...."
I wonder who proofread this book. Sloppy editing abounds - from small things such as spelling Goodwill (the store) as Good Will and Sony PlayStation as Play Station. There's also a 16-year-old who commits murder and two weeks later, "celebrates his 18th birthday." What happened to his 17th year? Did he lose one for committing murder?
Better Alternative Exists.......2007-07-14
I tried reading this one, but after reading Carol Pogash's book about the same trial, I just couldnt finish this dull imitation.
Ho Hum.......2007-07-02
Ho Hum! Even a mediocre cook should be able to create a masterpiece with the right ingredients and a few good spices. This case had nothing but the best - but Crier served up a formulaic stew -- overcooked and without the spice. Forget this one -- unless you want a cure for insomnia.
Read Carol Pogash's book on the same case -- "Seduced by Madness" She captures the characters and the family dynamics that underlie the Polk tragedy. Believe me, the victim was once a close friend and I know the back-story and most of the cast of characters. Pogash got it right - she writes like a gourmet -- the book will make your mouth water.
Little wonder the marriage ended like it did.......2007-06-22
I listened to the book on CDs. The story of the relationship between Susan and Felix is fascinating, as is the effect that their dysfunction had on their three sons. With two mentally ill people whose relationship began with one molesting the other while she was patient and he was therapist, it's little wonder that the ending was tragic. Susan as defendent and lawyer for herself gives one a good understanding of her mental illness. My only criticism would be that I think Catherine Crier would have been better off to allow someone else to read the book for the audio version. Some of her reading of what the people say doesn't ring true. I wish for the best for Susan's sons.
A TRUE CRIME, RECOMMENDED.......2007-05-20
"I would like to know what is going to happen to us financially."
"Financially?" the officer repeated. What do you mean? It seemed an odd question coming from a boy who had just discovered his father murdered- particularly when the boy's mother was the prime suspect."
The Susan Polk Murder Case is a true crime. Susan Polk was officially arrested for the murder of her husband. It is unfortunate that both parents appeared unstable at the time, so much thought should be given to that. Thought should be given also to the fact that her husband Felix was always threatening to kill his wife, and she, him. Felix was accustomed to insulting her in front of their three sons and she did the same, attacking his manhood. Susan Polk for reasons understandably moved out of the Polks' home and tried to find somewhere to live away from him. Not wanting she and her husband to be an example to what marital relationships should be like, she tried to bring the boys up in the normal way and tried to show them how a woman should be treated. She took them away on trips, she wanted the best for them. her sons Gabe, Eli and Adam could not understand her, and they took the side of Felix their father, all with the exception of the middle child Eli who wrote her such emotional letters while she was incarcerated. A well wriitten true crime, but Susan Polk still waits in jail to hear her sentencing, and assertain if it is necessary to appeal.
Recommended for True Crime readers.
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar ( SUGAR-CANE 19-05-07)
Book Description
On January 21, 1998, the night before his thirty-eighth birthday, federal prosecutor Stanley Alpert was kidnapped off the streets of Manhattan. This is the story of what happened next. . . .
Alpert was taken by a carful of gun-toting thugs looking to use his ATM card, but when they learned his bank balance the plan changed. They took him, blindfolded with his own scarf, to a Brooklyn apartment, with the idea of going to a bank the next day and withdrawing most of his money. But the later it got, the more the plan changed again . . . and again . . . as his captors alternately held guns to his head, threatened his family, engaged him in discussions of "gangsta" philosophy, sought his legal advice, and, once they learned it was his birthday, offered him sexual favors from their prostitute girlfriends as a "birthday present." All the while, Alpert, still blindfolded, talked with them, played on their attitudes and fears, tried to figure out where their mood swings would take them next, and memorized every detail he could in the event that he ever managed to get out of there alive.
In the meantime, his friends and law enforcement colleagues, worried that they hadn't heard from him, launched a major police and FBI investigation. It, too, would take many twists and turns before it was done-and some of them would be very strange indeed.
Filled with immediacy, drama, and extraordinary characters, told not only from Alpert's memory and notes but from police reports, interviews with NYPD detectives, FBI agents, and witnesses, videotaped confessions, and court records, The Birthday Party reads like a thriller-but every word is true.
Customer Reviews:
an inspiring story of survival.......2007-10-11
Truly an inspirational read! This book was picked as a Book Club selection for our club and we all found it to be a testament to man's will to survive.What could have been a tragic story, turned into a story of hope.
Cliches Galore!.......2007-10-08
This was a fun sort of read, much like eating popcorn. You know there is no nutrition it but something about the crunch satisfies.
Sadly our writer needed a better editor. The writer's urge to rely on chestnuts was rarely denied. It became something of a sport, however, to see how many pages Mr. Alpert could type before he gave into another worn cliche. That combined with his strange "hero-worship" of himself made what might of been a good story probably more self-revealing than this author intended.
A compelling and inspiring true story about human pain, trauma, recovery and ultimate triumph!.......2007-09-20
My congratulations to Mr. Alpert on this masterful piece of writing about a most unfortunate experience. This was the most compelling book I have read in many years, I literally couldn't put it down. I applaud the author for his incredible courage, wit and intelligence in dealing with his captors, which no doubt contributed in a major way to his survival. His remarkable ability to be a rather brilliant detective instead of a hapless victim while in captivity not only led to his captors demise, but I believe also saved him from more serious psychological trauma. Mr. Alpert also somehow manages to take us through this amazing traumatic journey and still keep his sense of humor.
Mr. Alpert's honesty and willingness to share his innermost and intimate thoughts and feelings throughout the ordeal are admirable and make this book so appealing. My thanks to him for allowing us to share in his impressive ability to navigate such a horrible experience while he keeps sharp, negotiates skillfully with his captors and ultimately triumphs. A most inspiring account of the human spirit.
-Al Frankel, Psychotherapist
A true story about colliding New Yorks.......2007-09-05
There isn't one New York, there are thousands -- maybe millions. In 1998 Asst. US Attorney Stanley Alpert's New York collided with some young Brooklyn thugs', and the result was terrifying, bizarre, and even funny. Years after the event Alpert does a good job evoking the atmosphere, sounds, and emotions of his abduction. It's a fast read and a good read. I felt that the narrator came across as sympathetic and honorable.
A good page turner killed by author's writing.......2007-08-16
The story was a very good one and i sympathize for Mr. Alpert, but I believe his ability to tell a story like this was killed by his personal pride and boastfulness. He has every right to be proud of himself for remembering details and catching the guys, and also of his law career, but it does not need to leak into the story. The writing style is very irritating because of it. It really sounds like a ten year old bragging to his parents about how he fended off the bullies on the playground.
It IS a page-turner and very entertaining, but somehow I caught myself skimming the last few chapters of part two: Cat. I think it drags on through the lawyer stuff understandably.
I would recommend this read to anyone. It is an extraordinary story that everyone, but a little under par in the writing section. But hey I guess he didn't get an English degree in college.
Amazon.com
From the moment he entered medical school in the late 1970s, people around Michael Swango thought he was a little odd. But even though he expounded upon his obsessions with violent death and serial killings to anybody within earshot, almost nobody connected him to the string of deaths among patients under his care. When an investigation finally took place at the Ohio State medical center, hospital administrators sympathized with Swango--against the direct testimony of patients and nurses--and seemed more concerned with how revelations of a murderous doctor might affect their public image than with the safety of their clients. And, remarkably, even after being released from prison in Illinois, where he had been convicted of (nonfatally) poisoning several of his coworkers, Swango was able to obtain positions at hospitals in South Dakota and New York. When American authorities finally started to pursue his case, he fled the country and began plying his trade in Zimbabwe. In June 1998, after being captured during an attempt to reenter the United States, he was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison--on fraud charges related to his employment in New York.
The truly frightening aspect of Blind Eye is not the relentless chain of murders, but the ease with which Swango was able to repeatedly slip through the cracks in the medical system, simply by lying about the nature of his felony conviction. James B. Stewart methodically traces every step of Swango's career, laying out a straightforward narrative with all the suspense of a well-crafted thriller. Although attempts to "explain" Swango's behavior through psychopathology and a historical rise in the incidences of serial killing derail the ending somewhat, Blind Eye is still a must-read for true crime buffs--or anyone who enjoys good journalism. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
Young, blond, handsome Dr. Swango seemed a godsend wherever he was hired to practice medicine. But acclaim would turn to disbelief, dismay, then horror, as the evidence mounted that he could actually be murdering his patients. Then, Dr. Michael Swango would leave that hospital -- only to be rehired at another. Today the FBI believes that Swango may be the most prolific serial killer in American history.
In his brilliant, bestselling Den of Thieves, James Stewart exposed crime on Wall Street in the Roaring Eighties. Now, in Blind Eye, he takes readers into the closed world of America's medical establishment, where doctors repeatedly accept the word of fellow physicians over that of nurses, hospital workers and patients -- even after the horrible truth emerges.
With prodigious investigative reporting, Stewart's mesmerizing account moves from the hospital rooms of the prestigious Ohio State University Hospitals to Illinois, South Dakota, New York and finally to a remote missionary hospital in Zimbabwe. There Stewart tracked down survivors, relatives of victims, shaken hospital workers -- and the evidence that may finally lead Swango to be charged with murder. Stewart brings to riveting life the story of a psychopathic physician and those who protected, trusted, pursued and, in some cases, loved him. There were powerful doctors who allowed Swango to practice even following an incident in which a patient was paralyzed after a nurse saw him inject the patient's I.V. There were hospital officials who failed to collect crucial evidence, making it impossible for a prosecuting attorney to pursue Swango for murder. Another doctor admitted Swango to a medical residency when he knew that Swango had been convicted of poisoning coworkers. Stewart recounts the story of a New York woman who saw Swango inject her husband, after which he lapsed into a coma and died. An attractive, vivacious nurse fell in love with Dr. Swango, became his fiancée, and may have learned too much about him.
Blind Eye shows us the danger we face in a hospital system that too often puts appearances, reputation and potential liability ahead of patients' welfare -- and tells us what needs to be done to stop it. It exposes the alarming failure of a national policy that is supposed to monitor incompetence and misconduct in the medical profession, as well as the weakness of the federal legislation that is intended to protect the public.
Dr. Michael Swango slipped easily through the cracks. Hospital doctors, often strangers when we meet them, are the people who will care for us and our loved ones. If Michael Swango could repeatedly slip through, who else has? James Stewart adds to his reputation as one of the country's most intrepid investigative reporters with this exposure of a dangerous doctor and a failed system.
Customer Reviews:
Black Eye for the Medical Profession.......2007-01-29
This is a fascinating story about how the medical establishment did not detect a psycopath in their midst. Even after detection, they allowed him to continue as a doctor.
Even more upsetting was the failure of the faculty of the college of medicine at Southern Illinois University to detect and fail incompetent students. These students, including Michael Swango, were allowed to continue; even after episodes of total incompetence. If these policies are common at other medical schools, it offers an explanation for the large number of substandard physicians.
Great Book.......2007-01-09
Not only was this book a great read, it also displays the significant truth about the world of medicine. This type of behavior (ignoring what's in front of you) happens everyday in medicine. All credentialing personnel should be required to read this book.
Required reading for anyone who receives medical care.......2006-11-29
I was given "Blind Eye" when I first began working at a physician monitoring program as a clinician. At the time, I was under the impression that because physicians have so much responsibility to "do no harm," they would automatically report themselves or fellow physicians if they believed they were impaired mentally, physically or emotionally. How wrong I was!
"Blind Eye" represents the epitome of how our medical system supports physicians, even when they are dangerous to themselves and others. Through a painstaking and exhaustive review of the life and career of Dr. Michael Swango, James B. Stewart illustrates how easy it was for a medical doctor to manipulate nurses, colleagues, administrators, patients, and even his own family into believing that he was a competent physician. Stewart further demonstrates how the "good old boy" system is alive and well in America, in which doctors look the other way when something seems wrong, even when evidence to the contrary is right in front of them.
If I had not read this book, knowing it is a true story, I probably would not have believed that a physician could truly get away with murder; now I am truly convinced that this is, unfortunatly, the case. "Blind Eye" should be required reading for every person who works with or sees a personal physician.
terrific read....uh, except for............2006-08-29
Stewart's coverage of the l'affaire Swango is exemplary--one of the best true crime reads in the last ten years, this one....except...except for what I've found to be a common occurrence in books of this genre, namely, in this instance, that Michael Swango, not once, not twice, but probably 20 times, is described as "handsome": what's up with that? Swango looks like a cartoon horse, and in no sense of the word "handsome" is he, well, even slightly better than subpar in the looks department. Several b/w pix here document this guy's oversized choppers, narrow head, and so on. So why is this the case? Possibly to lure name actors into vying for the lead in a filming of this, and thus make the project more attractive in order to secure a better deal? That's the only thing I can think of and, as I say, this is a common problem in the true crime genre. SO: it's a five-star read, but docked a notch because, if the author continually overstates a major fact regarding the book's main character's appearance, the reader HAS to wonder, Hey, what other liberties are taken with the truth here? Be that as it may--a tip o' the hat to Stewart for his page-turning prose. Possibly the best book I've ever read about a poisoner, including the great works covering the infamous 19th and early 20th century cases, when poison was much in vogue.
SERIAL KILLER DOCTOR...!!!!.......2006-08-21
THIS BOOK IS A GREAT POWER PACKED STORY OF HOW A SERIAL KILLER DOCTOR COULD GET AWAY WITH HIS MURDERS FOR SO LONG, AND BE COVERED UP BY THE "DOCTORS PROFESSIONAL PROTECT EACH OTHER RULES" AGAIN AND AGAIN. IT IS VERY SCARY HOW U CAN NOT EVEN TRUST A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WHEN IN THE HOSPITAL. IT CERTAINLY WILL MAKE ME QUESTION ANYTHING I AM GIVEN OR INJECTED WITH NEXT TIME I AM IN THE HOSPITAL. A MUST READ IF U HAVE WONDERED HOW MEDICAL "ACCIDENTS" HAPPEN!!
Customer Reviews:
Horrific story.......2006-04-26
This was such a horrible story of Palestinian parents who murdered there daughter. They called it all in the name of Honor for she was becoming to American. What it's called is murder. The story was not written very well though. The author was all over the place and did not keep the story in one place.
The show forensic files has an episode on this. It gets to the point with out traveling all over the place as the book did.If your curious about the story wait for it to come on forensic files or look it up on line. There is tons of information on line about this tragic story of the lovely , kind innocent girl who did not deserve to die.
In light of 9/11.......2003-01-24
In the wake of the tradegy of 9/11 this book is eye-opening. It goes into detail about how this family/group operated here right under our noses.
Horrifying!.......2002-07-31
This true-crime story is written in the sensationalistic fashion typical of the genre. It grabs your attention right from the beginning and doesn't let go.
The author describes the irony of Tina Isa's life: to any otherAmerican family she would have been cherished as a charming, friendly, hard-working teen...
The author also describes the network of Palestinian terrorist groups living in the U.S. and the role they might have played... This story is gripping and very informative because the author did a lot of research and provides so much background information about the Palestinian culture, the lives of generations of the Isa family, the Abu Nidal terrorist organization and more.
...
Terrorism's broad inroads.......2001-09-23
This book starkly frames the force of hatred which overtook New York City and the world with the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. It relates specifically to Zein Isa's November 1989 murder of his daughter, Palestina. The West Bank immigrant and his Brazilian wife co-conspired in the brutal St. Louis murder of their teenage daughter, whose friendships they believed had endangered their terrorist plans.
In their search for terrorists, the Federal Bureau of Investigation inadvertently taped the actual killing. Zein Isa and his wife were sentenced to death.
The book reveals much about the village life in the West Bank, where most families, according to Maria Zein, belong to radical military groups whose ultimate goal is to destroy Israel. Many West Bank residents are actually "refugees from other countries." According Maria Zein's account, her husband knew "men from Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi." Maria Zein told the author that her husband had traveled from the West Bank village of Beitin, to Jordan, Syria, Libya and Bolivia. He lived undetected for years in the US, and also claimed to have lived in Europe.
The book reveals twisted morals, which condone murder for the sake of family honor. It unmasks intense hatred that evolved into conspiracies to slaughter Jews, blow up the Israeli embassy in Washington and to murder Tina because she posed a threat to these plans.
It also exposes the frighteningly broad inroads that the Abu Nidal terrorists have made into American cities and life. Alyssa A. Lappen
Gurarding the Secrets.......2001-07-25
In November 1989 in St. Louis, the FBI inadvertently tape recorded the entire episode of a teenage girl's being killed by her Palestinian father and Brazilian mother (the Feds were looking for evidence of terrorism, which they also found). In a ghastly eight-minute sequence, Zein Isa stabbed his daughter Palestina thirteen times with a butcher's knife as his wife held the girl down and responded to Palestina's pleas for help with a brutal "Shut up!" The killing ends with Zein screaming "Die! Die quickly! Die quickly! . . . Quiet, little one! Die, my daughter, die!" By this time, she is dead.
Harris, a St. Louis television reporter, has done admirable spade work going through the court transcripts and interviewing everyone connected to the case in an attempt to piece together the interlocking stories of family murder and active support of Abu Nidal's terrorist organization. In addition, she successfully conjures up the small and exceedingly unpleasant world of Zein Isa and his family of rabid anti-Americans living right in the American heartland. The murder culminates their lives of frustration, greed, and vulgarity. Unfortunately, Harris spent more effort digging up information than she did writing the book; so the more-than-casual reader must read and reread its pages to piece together the sequence of events and the scope of the Isa family's involvement with Abu Nidal. Doing so repays the effort, however, for Harris has compiled a treasure trove of materials on two usually elusive subjects.
Middle East Quarterly, September 1995
Book Description
At forty–one, Lance Herndon is at the top of his game. A self–made millionaire, he is the owner of ACCESS, Inc., a thriving information systems consulting company. As a prominent member of Atlanta's young, wealthy, and powerful set, he is surrounded by black Atlanta's "beautiful people" whom he wines and dines with finesse. But when he fails to show up for work one day, friends and family start worrying. Their worry soon turns to horror when he is found murdered in his own home, his head smashed in –– in what appears to be either an act of jealous–fueled rage or a seedier sex crime. Now, with a laundry list of ex–wives and lovers, competitors, critics and admirers in hand, detectives must break through the city's upper crust to discover his killer.
Part investigative thriller, part social commentary in the tradition of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Redbone offers a truly intriguing story that channels insight into one of America's great metropolises.
Customer Reviews:
suspensfully challenged.......2007-05-14
Good true crime story. However, while reading did not know if I was reading a fiction, editorial, social commentary or biography. Suspensful but not well written. Entertaining but jumped around too much ... got more from the Court TV synopsis on the internet.
Redbone: Money, Malice and Murder in Atlanta.......2007-04-01
Wait until this book comes out in paperback. I purchased this book and it was not filled with a lot of details. I watched this case on Court TV and this book came no where close to the actual trial.
interesting true crime book .......2007-03-21
While the 1996 Olympics placed Atlanta on a world stage, someone murdered forty-one years old ACCESS, Inc. computer consulting firm CEO Lance Herndon. Besides his once successful firm that was suffering from financial troubles, the victim was considered a star player amongst the affluent African-American jet set. Herndon was known to have quite the sexual appetite especially for "redbones" petite, light-skinned black women.
One of his redbones, Dionne Baugh, was convicted of killing him as the prosecution pointed out that she became outraged after they had sex because she learned he was not going to help her in court with a charge of trespassing at his home; so while he was sleeping, she killed him.
This is an interesting true crime book because of its close look at the power of affluent blacks in the New South. Thus the background and the victim come across three dimensional especially his sultan like behavior towards his harem. Though Herndon's convicted killer seems to nebulous except for her temper and court date motive, Ron Stodghill provides a solid entry that true crime readers will appreciate.
Harriet Klausner
True Crime Lover.......2007-03-20
Although the book is fairly well written, it left too many unanswered questions. I got more information by reading the Court TV files. I agree with the previous reviewer, its not worth the price. Wait for the hardback.
book lover.......2007-03-16
I was a little disappointed with the writing style of this book. It reads like a newspaper article or court transcript. The character development was weak. There was so much more to the personalities involved, but he barely scratched the surface. We know very little about the upbringing of the murderer and very little about the victim, although the author seems to have had plenty of access to close family and friends. With the back-drop of Atlanta, Black class and priviledge, southern culture, etc., this could have been an amazing book! Too bad.
Book Description
A national bestseller—7 million copies sold. Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the twentieth century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Here is the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime. 50 pages of b/w photographs.
Both Helter Skelter and Vincent Bugliosi's subsequent Till Death Us Do Part won Edgar Allan Poe Awards for best true-crime book of the year. Bugliosi is also the author of Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O. J. Simpson Got Away with Murder (Norton, 1996) and other books. Curt Gentry, an Edgar winner, is the author of J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets (available in Norton paperback) and Frame-Up: The Incredible Case of Tom Mooney and Warren Billings.
Customer Reviews:
MOTIVE.......2007-09-25
Bugliosi was without doubt a great prosecutor but the whole Helter Skelter theory as the motive over the years has become discredited in fact im not convinced Bugliosi if he tried the case today would use that idea again.
good book.......2007-09-19
this book is very good if you are interested in the Manson murders. You can also get lots of real footage from utube.
I could not put this book down..........2007-09-03
I found this book very interesting and disturbing. It's all the details you would want to know about the Charles Manson case.
To think that one man could convince people to carry out such horrendous crimes. That he had such skill in story telling and making people follow him blindly. I enjoyed reading all the details of the case and how evidence would come up and start up new leads. Bugliosi did an excellent Job of walking us through the crime, and all the way through to the Trial.
I could not put the book down. It's a definite page turner, and has many photo's of the victims, the killers and the evidence. Not for the squeamish, very detailed.
Murder Mystery Solved.......2007-06-01
One night in 1969 in Los Angeles, California, there were several murders at the home of movie producer Roman Polanski who was away on a trip. One of the victims was Sharon Tate, a beautiful but talentless actress who was eight months pregnant. A short drive away there were two more murders of Tony and Lena LaBianco. On their refrigerator, inscribed in their blood were the misspelled words, Healter Skelter.
Fear gripped the city while the LAPD began the manhunt for the killers. With the arrest of Charles Manson, it is up to a prosecutor named Vincent Bugliosi to prosecute one of the most difficult charges of all--conspiracy to commit murder.
That is what this story is about--murder, the bungling, the luck, the disappearances and murder of lawyers, the trial and the prosecution that had to bend and adjust to ensure killers did not walk free.
While this book is several years old, it is still thrilling in how it can inspire fear because it was real, and because truth is stranger than fiction.
The final irony is that a number of these murderers who freely admitted to, and evenly gleefully revealed their lack of mercy during their unspeakable crimes, now blame Charles Manson for what they had done.
If you can find someone else to take the responsibility, then you can avoid seeing yourself for what you are-- murderers.
Gripping, taut, all too real.
Crime Book of The Century.......2007-05-28
I can remember when the Paperback edition was released..it was on the front display of all the Bookstores in the mall.. I was in high school and had remembered when Sharon was killed..the terrible wrong information about the murders in respected magazines like Time and Newsweek,etc.Almost all the true facts were coming out..I was going to high school and working parttime..so I had little time to read or anything else just school and work..I was an honor student and I was always sneaking this book into class trying to read it during class..My fellow classmates bugged me that I was going for the first time in my school career to end up in the Deans Office...they liked kidding me about that..But, to the book, I wonder why nothing was mentioned about the large pools of blood of Jays and Sharons found on the porch? Since according to the accounts in the book they were never there? The towel over Jays head that Susan Adkins said she just threw inside after writing
PIG in Sharons blood on the door. The photo shows clearly the towel was fixed underneath the rope surrounding his neck? This would have been and impossible deed. The way the rope was tied around Sharons and Jay when found could not have allowed them to move around as the killers claim they did. Sharons body had carpet burns on her body as if she had been moved around...the police seemed to be convinced someone had been involved
in changing the crime scene. No finger prints but one were found at the crime scene..Manson has claimed he returned to the scene to see what his family had done and was displeased that the bodies were not hung from their front porches..the belief is Manson tried to rearange the crime scene and could not accomplish this..also what does William Garretson really know..he has finally after all these years admitted he heard Abigail Folger being murdered..it is suppose to be on record that a neighbor called in a complaint around 3 AM that there were people arguing in the vicinity of 10050 Cielo Dr. on Aug 9 1969..So many unanswered questions even this book doesnt explain..Ive always wondered why the Housekeeper never wrote a book or did interviews..that wouldnt happen today ...the Housekeeper would have been trying to sell as much of the story as possible and actually William Garretson for that matter..
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