True Crime Books

I have been fascinated with the Jonestown story ever since the first reports of the massacre emerged in '78. The combination of elements; the jungle, a charismatic leader, poisoned flavor aid and an assasinated congressman all made for an irresistable tale. The action plays out more like a novel than a real life event. The cult story has been told several times, but always by outsiders. Now we have an eyewitness account from Debbie Layton, a top officer in the People's Temple.

Seductive Poison is not written in the professional style of other books, and it is all the more authentic because of it. Enough reviews have been written already, so I will not get into details, but will comment on a few aspects. First of all, this book will hold your attention and is never dull at any point. The ending will bring a stoic to tears. And if the description of Layton's escape from Guyana does not send shivers down your spine, you need to see a doctor.

In the end one cannot help but reflect on all the victims and what could have been. Children could have grown, lives of a sort lived out in the Jungle or elsewhere. Instead over 900 were snuffed out in hours of madness, part of one the strangest events on record.

I had seen a documentary a while back on PBS, and Deborah Layton was one of the many former members and survivors who gave commentary on People's Temple and specifically the Rev. Jim Jones. In introducing Layton, there was a marker under her name that indicated she had written a book titled, Seductive Poison, on the infamous death cult. I ordered it. All I can say is that Layton's memoir is an altogether fascinating read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, because her very detailed account is absolutely all consuming, riveting in the best sense of the word when it pertains to memoirs; no stone is left unturned, and all the recollections are thoroughly laced together to form a disturbing portrait of how and why seemingly normal and intelligent people get emeshed in cults. And when they realize that they are in one it is often too late. Deborah Layton, among others, were the lucky ones.

Jim Jones was the charismatic pastor of the Disciples of Christ, a liberal Protestant denominationin that was a member of the National Council of Churches; it too was the division that housed People's Temple. Combining Scripture and Christian dogma with Marxist and Leninist philosophies, he espoused the concept of Liberation Theology, in essence, creating a social Gospel where people of all classes, colors, economic levels, ages and education would be a part of. In addition to the questionable socialist teachings, Jim Jones love-bombed his congregation, telling them how special and unique and important they were in the eyes of Jesus Christ, how what he required was the will of God, for he was supposedly the microphone of the Holy Trinity. And who can fight that concept? Bit by bit, people gradually gave their will over to him, assuming that his Divine influence was beyond question. And gradually, they became automatons, shadows of their former selves doing the will of their Father.

Aside from the fact that Seductive Poison is beyond exceptionally well written, it is the inside details that Layton offers that makes her memoir especially pulsating, particularly her details on the "white night", where members were so deeply indoctrinated that they on many an evening had practice drills to drink the cyanide laced punch. She also gives vivid details on the types of punishment used in Jonestone. The evil perpetrated upon children was especially disturbing: "...There was also the Well, a punishment used especially for children. They would be taken to the well in the dark of night, hung upside down by a rope around their ankles, and dunked into the water again and again while someone hidden inside the Well grabbed at them to scare them."--Page 176.

The spying, turning against loved ones, cruel assorted punishments, disturbing and nonsensical harangues all kept people in line until they flew off Guyana, to the Promise Land. Yet it was anything but that, and many had to suppress their inner feelings of disappointment for fear of severe retribution.

There is a lot to say about this work; it raises serious questions and offers important answers, paramount being that individualism is indeed a very good thing and following your own will is not something to be taken for granted. It also sheds light on why people join cults, to be a part of something bigger than themselves, to live in a community where those who have nothing have something of far greater worth: love.

Seductive Poison works as sociology, history, a family record, psychology, autobiography; it works on so many fronts and conveys so much. Religion is a good thing, but sometimes it is best to appreciate it from afar.

I read this book in 3 days. I couldn't put it down. It keeps you wanting to know more! It made me sick how many people were involved with such a mind-freak! They didn't even recognize what was going on. This is a must read!

Book came within a short time and was in the shape that seller told it was in and even better.

Originally bought as a source for a research paper, i had come into this searching for a simple first hand account of the Jonestown incident. However, once i began reading, Seductive Poison evolved into much more than just a primary source. What sets this book apart from any other literature on the accounts of Jonestown is Layton's honesty. She provides the reader with a background of information leading up to joining Jim Jones and finally wraps up with the eventual mass-suicide. Instead of focusing primarily on the final events of Jonestown and the actions of Jim jones himself, Layton tells her story, from beginning to end which will help others understand why anyone would have gotten up and followed a man such as Jim Jones.
Before beginning this book, i was skeptical. I had many questions about the followers of Jones, their motives, their mental state, what they believed in and I was worried that Layton might try to sway the reader in one direction or another. However, that is not the case. Seductive Poison provides the reader with facts, journal entries, letters, and most importantly, Photos of the loved ones she describes throughout the entire book.
Often the writing of memoirs such as this involving such an emotional attachment don't live up to the story itself. However, Deborah Layton is a talented writer which allows the reader immerse themselves in the content rather than focus on the pros and cons of the writing. From her steady attention to detail to the heartfelt commentary, Layton has truly pulled off a winner. Because of her first hand situation in the Peoples Temple, Seductive Poison is informative. Anyone interested in seeking the ways and workings of a cult, how cults come-to-be cults, why anyone would join one or just looking to read of a women's personal journey of coming into her own, should give this book a chance. I did, and I'm thrilled with my choice.

Savage Grace is a riveting, oral history of the Baekland dynasty that started with so much promise, and ended with a tragedy. It begins in the 1970s with the murder of Barbara Baekeland by her son, Anthony Baekeland. It then delves into the history of Bakelite (a plastic)which was invented by the GreatGRandfather of the family Leo Hendrik Baekeland in the early 20th century. This invention made the family very wealthy (and was also used in the atomic bomb, I had no idea of this until I read the book). The book discusses Brook Baekeland, Leo Baekeland's Grandson in detail and his excessive spending and aimlessness. He marries Barbara Daly, and the marriage is a disaster. Barbara Daly-Baekeland has a personality disorder and is a spendthrift social climber. She smothers her son, Anthony, a gentle soul who is eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and does not accept his homosexuality (to the extent that it is commented on by several people interviewed that Anthony reported sleeping with her). The FAther Brooks BAekeland does not accept his son's personality so he neglects his son. It discusses the decadence and decline of this family, which culminates in the murder of Barbara Baekeland by Anthony.
I originally read this book when I was in high school and did not finish it due to not understanding the oral narrative style the authors chose to use. I recently picked this book up and finished it due to the movie on HBO that was released last year. It was beyond my comprehension in high school, but now that I am older I appreciate it.
This book has everything someone interested in true crime would like. Incest, murder, untreated mental illness, scandal, social climbing, celebrities, and american and european nobilty appear in abundance in this sad tale. This book is up there with the other true crime greats Helter Skelter, and Fatal Vision. It is a classic that is well worth your time.

I thought this would be a fascinating read. Not so. It is simply one statement after another by different people regarding the Baekland family. These statements do not tie together smoothly, nothing to keep a good rhythm or flow. Turns a fascinating subject into a boring read. The book is as interesting as a police report.

This excellent oral history Natalie Robins and Steven M. Aronson of the doomed Bake-lite plastic heir Tony Baekeland (and of his beautiful mother Barbara, whom he slept with and later stabbed to death) has been enjoying renewed interest since the release of Tom Kalin's beautiful but somewhat limp film adaptation of it starring Julianne Moore. I came to the book through the movie, but the book is so much more interesting than the film version that in many ways it puts it to shame. Robins and Aronson wrest a compelling and very trickily wrought narrative arc out of their archive of letters, hospital reports, police accounts, and interviews: we start with Barbara Baekeland's stabbing in 1972, and the narrative follows both Tony's progress through the courts, the Broadmoor mental hospital in England, and then through his almost inexplicable release from incarceration back to the United States where tragedy inevitably strikes a second time and then a third; all the while, the authors follow a wider narrative path by describing how the great chemist Leo Baekeland invented Bake-lite, the first practical plastic, decades earlier, and how his own problems with his socialite wife repeated with his son George and then with his grandson Brooks, who married the beautiful Bostonian model Barbara Daly. As Brooks and Barbara race from Cadaques to Mallorca to London to Paris, hanging out with the moneyed European expatriate crowd (they numbered among their friends the writers James Jones and William Styron, the heiress Ethel Woodward de Croisset, and all kinds of minor princelings and society doyennes), their marriage begins to crumble... with their only child Tony being alternately smothered with attention and then neglected.

The suspense about what's going to happen as Tony's schizophrenic behavior keeps exploding rachets this oral biography even above more famous works such as Jean Stein and George Plimpton's EDIE and Plimpton's TRUMAN CAPOTE. Moreover, the kind of demimonde the Baekelands move through is absolutely fascinating, although the constant snobbishness, pretentiousness, and absolute refusal to take responsibility for anything among their circle begins to drive you to distraction after a good while. Most maddening of all is Brooks Baekeland himself, whose voice dominates more than any other this oral history (since of course of all the surviving characters he was closest to the epicenter), constantly excoriating his son for all the traits he himself exemplified: arrogance, dilettantism, and concupiscence. This book brings you into a heightened and fragile jetsetters' world you may have longed to see, but in then quickly makes you glad you were never a part of it.

A biography is written by an author, a biographer. This is a compilation of transcribed interviews and letters. This book was not written, it was compiled. An amazing family tragedy, however the format of the book made it confusing, boring and frustrating to read. Oh if only Dominick Dunne had chosen to write about this family, a page turner it would have been. Don't waste your money.

I bought this book for beach reading, and was buried in it until the last page. I could not put it down. Contrary to what some have said, I found the format very easy to follow, and in fact very creatively composed. Just when you're scratching your head about something, it's answered in the next entry. Coincidentally, after reading through the first few pages, I came to find out that one of the main contributors used to be my landlady- not long after the book was originally published. I thought she was wacky back then, and now I realize that she was from a world far weirder than I could have ever imagined! This book is definitely a testament to the saying, truth is stranger than fiction.... MUCH stranger!

Yes OJ's an interesting character, and you learn plenty about the Las Vegas robbery here. But the back story is just as interesting, especially for card collectors or memorabilia people. The busting out of jail parts are crazy (you gotta read it to believe it) and so is Tom's lotto/gambling tales. Luck is a funny thing and Tom Ricico has had plenty of it on his side. A controversial guy who's lived a wild life--it's all in the book.

Thats how I would sum up this book. The OJ robbery is really inconsequential to the true story of this book. It's only a backdrop to a life that was lived to the fullest (sometimes foolishly) straight from the man who lived it. Truly an amazing tale of love, luck, money, and greed. Its a terrific book from someone that lived a life that Hollywood probably wouldn't be able to create in any movie. Good Luck with the rest of it Tom!

If a bland life story "Catch Me If You Can" can be made into a movie, this book should be too. Riccio's life story would be unbelieveable if it wasn't true: escaping from jail, winning the lottery, beating Vegas, successful entrepenuer and a life filled with being in the middle of breaking news events from OJ Simpson to Anna Nicole Smith. Truly a one-of-a-kind story. This book is a page turner and an easy read and better entertainment then the 10 bucks you would pay to see any of the lousy movies that are out now.

Like many Dutch, Ian Buruma probably found himself at a loss to describe the roots that led to the death of provocateur filmmaker Theo van Gogh. He returned home for a time and reimmersed himself in modern Holland. `Murder In Amsterdam,` the result, is an easy-to-read introduction to the rifts within modern Islam, the plight of immigrant states in Europe, and the cultural skirmishes and uneasy peace that defines the relationship between the two.

The author sets the stage with a bit of Dutch postwar history and a series of relevant interviews, and Buruma makes it clear that he is out to sanctify no-one. Van Gogh uses colorful unprintables to describe Christians, Jews, and Muslims. His murderer, Mohammed Bouyeri, sees Holland as the cradle of a new Islamic Revolution (because of its civil liberties, which he despises). The Dutch establishment is overwhelmed and directionless, as well as racist; the Moroccans and Turks who comprise nearly 40% of the population of the Netherlands are almost too free: cut loose from their traditional culture, they drift in a world full of overwhelming choice and no direction. Some Muslims are for assimilation; others are see the former as apostates. Yet they all are still mostly rejected from society at large by those invisible chains of education, class, and race. Over 250 pages, the only answer Buruma gives is that there is no easy answer.

Buruma attempts to balance himself on the knife-edge that is the middle ground, and mostly succeeds. Yet despite his best attempts at a reporter`s objectivity, between the lines one can still see the author`s muted sorrow at the plight of men like Ahmed Aboutaleb, the city councillor who works hard to be a bridge in a society separated by an ever-widening gulf.

For an overarching look at the issues of assimilation and cultural respect facing many countries in Europe today, Ian Buruma is a good place to start.

In November 2004 Theo van Gogh was brutally murdered in the streets of Amsterdam. With the murder in 2002 of the prime-minister to be, Pim Fortuyn, the Netherlands was stunned by two horrendous crimes. Nothing comparable had happened in 300 years. Holland was such a peaceful little country, famous for its tolerance and liberalism. Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll - everything seemed permissible.
Ian Buruma was raised in the nicer parts of the Hague. He has been active in Oxford, Tokyo and Washington. Since 2005 he lives in New York. Following the two murders he went back to the Netherlands to try to come to grips with this new situation in his native country. His inquiry resulted in this book. He knew some of the people he interviews from back then. With one of them he had been playing in the sandbox; the future professor of Philosophy, Herman Philipse, the guy who seduced Ayaan Hirsi Ali both to a personal relationship - and to Atheism. Buruma thought of him even then as a somewhat pompous child. I suppose you have to be Dutch to be able to picture him heaving a rubber spade in his Oxford tweed jacket...(note that I'm actually a fan of his).
Ian Buruma tries to expose the background for the two murders. Historically he illustrates this with the famous `Regenten'- paintings by Frans Hals in Haarlem. `Regenten' were representatives from the republican merchant elite who opposed both the royal House of Orange and the Calvinist church. In these gloomy but superb paintings, we, as present-day tourists, are haughtily and coldly observed by these members of the board - men as well as women. Sends shivers down your spine.
Pim Fortuyn was certainly no Calvinist and only a lukewarm royalist, but Buruma contrasts his populism with the might of the Left Church; social democrats, liberals and the Green Party. Fortuyn was friendly with Theo van Gogh who also wrote some of his speeches and used to call him `the divine baldy'. Van Gogh was an astounding enfant terrible. Unlike Fortuyn he grew up in an upper-class family. In high school he started a magazine which he christened the Dirty Paper. The topics were typically puberal in the toilet-humor vein. His partner in crime was a certain Johan Quarles van Ufford. The magazine only ever appeared twice, but it gives a nice idea of Van Goghs shock-tactics. He loved to provoke all and sundry. Some of his utterances are probably not fit for printing, although he would punch my nose for saying so, but they are of the caliber of describing Jesus as a `rotten fish' and famously - and fatefully - calling Muslims, well, something I apparently can't reveal here although it's all in the book. Many felt he actually deserved to die. But what about freedom of speech? Is it absolute and without any restrictions whatsoever? Isn't there something in the constitution about discrimination and harassment ? The law forbidding heresy had not been used since the sixties, when a well-known author portrayed God as a donkey. He was acquitted. Now this law has been revived and passions run high. The subtitle of the book is `Liberal Europe, Islam, and the Limits of Tolerance' but Buruma only lightly touches on this. You would probably need yet another book to seriously address such an ambitious agenda.
A scary thing I wasn't aware of, is how the soccer-fans of Rotterdam greet AJAX Amsterdam when they come to town. Apart from the customary `filthy Jews' or `cancer Jews', they collectively let out a hissing sound which slowly grows stronger. Buruma didn't know what to make of it until a friend explained: they are mimicking the sound of escaping gas.
Who said that the Netherlands was so very tolerant?

This book, by a Dutch ex-patriot, does a good job of pretending to be fair-minded and even-handed in trashing all the parties involved. But it won't stand up to careful examination.

Most importantly, none of the assertions and allegations made in this book are even documented, let alone corroborated from other sources. We are simply supposed to take the author's word for it.

To show that in effect the Dutch are getting what they deserve (although the author would, of course, never put it in those terms), the author describes in lurid detail the red-light district of Amsterdam. (red herring fallacy). He also describes every incident in which a mosque was defaced, and counterposes that against the burning of Christian churches. (two wrongs make a right)

To trash van Gogh, the author presents him as a loud critic of many practices and positions, as if van Gogh's personal appearance and off-beat personality justifies his assassination. (ad hominem)

The author also has a go at Pym Fortuna, doing the same number on him. He was loud and brash and maybe a right-winger as well, so it's sort of okay that he was murdered. Besides, he wasn't murdered by an Islamist, so that proves that the problem is not Islam, doesn't it?

The message seems to be that the Dutch are not tolerant enough! Another theme is that whole thing has been blown way out of proportion by the press and the politicians--especially the right-wing politicians.

See While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within. Also, read America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It.

[...]

The day after Benazir Bhutto's assasination -- this book is perhaps even more relevant than ever. Theo Van Gogh was a provocateur -- and he paid for that stance with his life. This is a very well written book that makes us think and consider the continuing instability in today's world. There are no answers, only more questions. I highly recommend it.

I had traveled to Amsterdam twice before picking up Buruma's book with only a faint understanding of who Theo Van Gogh was or why he was murdered, but this book weaves European history, demographics and an understanding of radical Islam into a cogent explanation of why the Dutch filmmaker was murdered. I was impressed by Buruma's explanation of the motives of T. Van Gogh's assassin, the Moroccan émigré Mohammed Bouyeri, primarily because pernicious rationalizations of poverty, isolation and disillusionment were avoided in favor of focusing on Bouyeri's Muslim faith. Radical Islam, and to a large extent the entire body of `moderate' Islam, is incapable of taking rational criticism even when protestations of, say, the treatment of women are made in good faith. This is no where more clearly exemplified than the hysteria that followed the Danish Mohammed cartoons, which stills lingers as of March 2008, and the anticipatory ire which the Dutch MP Geert Wilders has aroused in the Middle East, namely Iran, upon announcing the release of a film that will be critical of Islam. Take note that Wilder's film has yet to be released, as of early March 2008, although he has already received death threats, and is under 24/7 guard, as the murder of Theo Van Gogh proved was utterly necessary.

T. Van Gogh was an implacable iconoclast whose work with the Somali émigré Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the short film `Submission' highlighted the abominable treatment and objectification of women in Islam. In `Submission', a nude female actor is covered in misogynist verses from the Koran. In the liberal democracies of the west, this is freedom of speech, but to Islam, an egregious sin.

Europe is undergoing radical demographic changes today with ever increasing immigration from Muslim nations. I'd recommend Mark Steyn's `America Alone' to place Buruma's book with a larger context.

I've been to Guatemala many times before and since Bishop Juan Gerardi's murder, and Francisco Goldman electrifies readers of "The Art of Political Murder" about one famous Guatemalan murder among thousands of others. His title using "the art" is so well chosen, since that word expresses so well the clever yet insidious minds who designed his murder. Despite those clever designers and their plots to hide their crime, and at the same time because of the courage of many Guatemalans in pursuing those murderers, some element of justice has been meted out to them.
I found Goldman's chronicle of the assassination of Bishop Gerardi to be so engaging that it encourages a reading almost without stopping.

The reviews here seem to fall into 3 camps: the "it's a perfect masterpiece"" camp, the "he was duped by ODHA - 'who killed biship' got it right" camp, and the "he is a lefist fool" camp. I belong to none of these, so let me throw my two cents in here....

I spent a brief time in Guatemala doing human rights work in the mid 80's (a shout out to any PBI alums in the house :)), and so was interested in the subject matter, and had at least a glancing acquaintance with the horrid murderous travesty that was the Guatemalan government, as well as the impenetrable fog of denials, mis-statements, forgeries, violence, hidden agendas, disappearances and murk that hid virtually any attempt to get at any truth.

I found the first half of the book (which focuses on the "who-done-it") outstanding. Here Goldman relates the story of the investigation - the false leads, the disappearing witnesses, the hopelessly (and deliberately) contanimated crime scene, the (deliberately) conflicting evidence, the overlapping areas (and agendas) of the investigators, etc. That the investigators were able to finally pierce it (not completely, but most crimes never are) is just amazing, especially given the very real threat to themselves and their families.

I think the other reviewers who criticize this book for not analyzing the case for/against Monsenor Mario, or for not analyzing the case made by 'who killed the bishop' are being unfair - goldman spends a _lot_ of time on each of these, especially the latter, to the point that you could almost criticize the book for over-focusing on it. Similarly, I think criticizing the book for not telling more of the story of the defendants is ludicrous - when your primary interactions with a defendant consist of their giving you death threats, it's hard to go much further!

The problem with the book lies in the second half, what is called the "second crime" - the multi-year "war of attrition" against the verdict, year after year of judicial games, wars in the press, maneuver after maneuver. Here, while I appreciate the author's work in showing us just how deeply broken the justice system and press were (and are), I just felt the book became a less interesting read - we know who done it, we know why, now we read chapter after chapter of frustration (although it sure made me glad I've never been a guest of the Guatemalan Penal system!). One last cavil - another reviewer says that Goldman never walks us through the final 'best guess' of the final crime, minute by minute - oh yes he does, it's near the end.

So in summary - a good book, an important book, a book alternately deeply depressing and deeply inspring, but not a great _read_, the only reason I am marking it down a little.

Frankly, I wasn't at all sure about this book when I picked it up but I'm so glad I did. It's filled with much detailed and historically fascinating information, including personalities, and written exceptionally well. I simply could not put it down. If you're remotely interested in the topic, READ THIS BOOK.

I got the book expecting to find insightful and unbiased investigation through the point of view of ODHA. Nevertheless, the author views are totally biased in favor of the ODHA lawyers and the Public Ministry. This feature of the book helped me to confirm that the arguments used by them to sentence the two military officers, and the catholic father to 20 years in jail are based on untrustful witnesses and false declarations, which are still supported by the author. The only good thing about this book is that it motivated me to read once again the book "Quien mató al obispo?" written by Maite Rico and Bertrand de Lagrange, which I think that contains much more trustful data, and that I wish it gets translated into English to broader its difussion. I hope that the inocent military people who are now in jail, as a result of an undeserved and unfair sentence could, sometime soon, be free.

I'm surprised by David Stoll's review of Goldman's book. I had a very different reaction when I read it. Like both Stoll and Goldman, I have lived in Guatemala and written about the history and impact of political violence in the country. In addition, as a human rights lawyer, I have worked with prosecutors, rights advocates, and victims in countries throughout the region as they've struggled to ensure that cases like the Gerardi assassination do not end in impunity.

Knowing first-hand the complexities of such cases, I found that Goldman did a masterful job of sifting through the evidence in the Gerardi case and reaching conclusions that were entirely judicious, sober, and convincing. Part of what makes the book so fascinating, in fact, is Goldman's very careful exploration of the limits and strengths of the case put together by the prosecutors and the Archbishop's Office--the contradictory testimonies, the dubious witnesses, etc. And what makes the book such a gripping read is how Goldman, a phenomenal storyteller, narrates the inevitably imperfect but remarkably audacious effort by a group of young lawyers to do something that most of their countrymen thought entirely impossible at the time--bring high level military officers to justice.

This is easily one of the best books written about political violence in Latin America in the past several decades.

To many Americans, the CIA and KGB are things of a James Bond movie. Lots of sex and violence with the KGB being at best stupidly evil. In addition,many Americans today think of the CIA as almost more of an enemy to the Republic than Moslem terrorists, the Chinese, or the resurgent Russians. Far too many people today blame the CIA for not having clearer information about Iraq or worse actively plotting with the 'Government' to get us into a war.

This book of Bearden and Risen though, is one that both popular historians and casual reader alike can get into. They show that often intelligence services make educated guesses on fragments of information that may or may not be compromised by the enemy. Concerned with a period of global turmoil that was surprisingly governed by understood rules of intelligence gathering and other activities, this book brings the reader into the world of the CIA. Far from the James Bond style killing and counter killing by the Allies and Soviet Empire, it was one of limited violence between the two principal powers. A busted or captured agent was interrogated briefly and put on a plane for home, no killing and seldom more than a mild roughing up.

The dying days of the Soviet Empire were ironically the period that that the KGB (with help from American traitors like Aldrich Ames and Robert Hannsen)had wiped out most of the CIA operatives in Russia. The Americans had been sent home and the Russian agents of the Americans killed. The US had virtually no human intel assets behind the Iron Curtain. This is some of the most interesting parts of the book, seeing how much damage a couple of American traitors did as we blindly tried to understand what was going on. The bewildered KGB agents simply cannot believe their Empire is collapsing while they have gotten the upper hand over their Western enemies.

Bearden's insider accounts need to be taken with a grain of salt but his recounting of that period and the US efforts in Afghanistan are informing. Many of us who have studied the period or were in the Armed Forces knew in a general manner what was going on, but seeing the CIA somehow keep Congress on their side while turning on the heat on the Russians in Afghanistan is a both a pleasure and source of wonder. One does not have to think hard to wonder what our present Congress would have done in similar circumstances.

This book illustrates a critical period in our history. Depicting intelligence services being blindsided by events is something critics should remember happens far too often. No intel service of any country has a 100% batting average, not even the legendary Mossad of Israel and that is something Congress and the American public too often forget.

I read this regular book, here in Brazil.This book was writen by two CIA's men.This book is about the last years of Cold War.The years between 1985 and 1991 are the focus of this regular book.
The failures of this are:
1-Has too much space dedicated to Afghanisthan.
2-This book is very biased.
3-Even having some little paragraphs about years, before 1985, this book almost talks about 1985 and 1991.
War in Afghanisthan wasn't so important, in Soviet Union's defeat.The real thing was that socialism was defeated in Afghanisthan, years before Soviet Union invasion of Afghanisthan.As a source of lives, Afghanisthan killed (in almost ten years) just about 15,000 soviets, against more than 23,000,000 just between 1941 and 1945.The authors were in afghanisthan and they use this experience as a big part of this book.
As a external way to broke Soviet Union the fall of oil's price, between 1985 and 1986 was a sucess.Soviet Union paid its food, from oil's money and money from weapons selled to oil's exporters.When the oil's prices fell between 1985 and 1986, Soviet Union became a crippled country.And this fact has too little space in this book.
This book is too much biased.Aldrich Ames made so much calamities, not just because of himself, but because of CIA's failures.Before of CIA's men, the CIA's agents are americans, having the american failures.To search for confort and happiness are americans, but they can be a calamity, because spies are to be looking for duty, not confort.

Good book. Gives unique insights. Shows to what degree the heroes in the CIA go to protect this great country.

This reads like a Tom Clancy novel only cheep. We have seen this story before in many spy movies. There is little substance and a lot of editorializing (which I thought was a bit heavy on the US side). At one point the author tells us the CIA boss was so wonderful even the KGB studied him for his professionalism. PLEASE!!!

There's lot of spy vs. spy folklore here but it's presented in a format that really jumps around, making it unnecessarily confusing. The story of the CIA's operations in Afghanistan could have made a separate book and doesn't fit with the rest of the more familiar spy games. In fact, that book has already been written- Ghost Wars, the Pulitzer-Prize winner by Steve Coll. It seems like Bearden wasn't sure whether he wanted to write an autobiography or a history of CIA operations.

Roy Hazelwood is the premier profiler. If ever you considered a career in this field, this book is a MUST read. Afterwards you'll be able to decide if this is the life for you. Very informative and a tad frightening. I personally have read this book three times and also everything else this man has written. Not for the faint of heart.

Dark Dreams is a book that is absolutely for mature readers its content is not child friendly. Roy Hazelwood spent sixteen years as a member of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. During this time he worked on many shocking cases but that's not all, he also did research on deviant behaviors this book shows some of what he discovered. Throughout the book Hazelwood gives many examples of horrifying real life crimes that he examined. The twenty-one year old woman with no history of arrest or psychiatric problems who while working at a funeral home developed a romantic interest with a corpse. Crime knows no age, thee boys of the ages seven, nine, and ten took a female playmate and forced her to perform oral on them and they took found objects and penetrated her vaginally and anally. The book went into some detail about the crimes and the explanation of some of the reasons for the crimes and what types of behaviors that lead a person to commit them. When I finish the book I still had some unanswered questions. Don't get me wrong the book was great and I would recommend it to anyone who is mature enough to handle its contents but I wish Hazelwood had gone into greater detail.

For some reason I thought this was a book about the science behind criminal profiling. I was mostly wrong. It's a book about some mildly interesting crimes, much like you would see on A&E's crime shows.

There is a page or two about the science of criminal profiling, but that's all.

I'm not into true-crime stories, so it wasn't that interesting to me.

Again, if you're looking for the methods of profiling, this is not the book.

This book is not for those with a weak constitution. The cases reviewed and discussed are disturbing, but the insight is great. This book allowed me to understand a bit more about the process used to understand the mind of the criminal.

I highly recommend this work to anyone in law enforcement, private investigations, or for those who want to understand the art of investigations... Just make sure you have not eaten lunch just before you start reading.

This book was very informative. I was fascinated by all the things that Hazelwood has encountered in his career. This book is very graphic.

Having read Patricia Cornwell's and then all the Jefferson Bass (Jon Jefferson and Bill Bass) novels, it was a foregone conclusion that I would have to read Death's Acre and I'm glad I did. Bass and Jefferson are excellent a writers as well as researchers and this book kept me page-turning far into the night (and yes I slept well afterword). It reads just like a novel and keeps you interested with facsinating information but never grossed out. I'm now over halfway through their next one printed in 2007 "Beyond the Body Farm". What's next?

I do not question this Author's intelligence or scientific knowledge. I do however, find this author's racial biases at times to be a little more than I can handle. Had he just stayed with pure scientific explanations regarding skeletal differences among the three main classifications: caucasiod, negroid and mongloid this book would have been rated by me as 6******'s However, when one is subjected to hear that the reason there are no black olympic swimmers is because their skulls are a tad thicker than a white person's I get more than annoyed and irritated.
I would think the Editor should have been a little more diligent and deleted the more obvious comments.

Death's Acre
Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson

I am fascinated by forensics and the details that can be discovered through forensic work. So, when I got a chance to interview Dr Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson on a book panel, I was thrilled. I have to admit that neither of the men were what I expected, but that's all right. But, I was very impressed with both of them and I've enjoyed the books they have written together.

For people who aren't familiar with Dr Bill Bass, he is a world renowned forensic anthropologist and he has worked on a huge number of cases. At one point in those cases, he realized that it would be beneficial if there was a scientific way to determine how long a body had been dead. This would make it much easier for police, attorneys etc to make a case against a suspect. If the time of death is narrowed down to several days - it can be hard to debate an alibi, but if the time of death can be narrowed down to a more limited time frame, that makes an alibi more necessary and more useful.

This is one of the things that prompted the development of the "Body Farm" at the University of Tennessee. The Body Farm was started by Dr Bass and it was originally an acre - therefore "Death's Acre". Dr Bass and the UT students study the various stages of death and decomposition in a wide variety of conditions. It is fantastic research which is very helpful in crime solving.

I could rattle off all kinds of great stories and examples that were in the book, but that would take the fun out of it for you. I will tell you that there is death, gore and sorted details. It could be more gory, but there is plenty of detail. I think it was handled very well and should appeal to many people who are interested in forensics and forensic anthropology. I highly recommend the book and it gives you an interesting overview of many aspects for Dr Bass' life.

I admit that I had a tough time getting into the beginning, but give it a chance. The case studies are great. When I talked with Dr Bass, he looked at my copy of the book and noticed all the paper clips on the pages (there are a lot). He asked me what they meant. When I told him those were all the examples that I want to include in my future mysteries. He gave me a huge smile and said he was very glad he could get me thinking. Its a fantastic resource for mystery writers and entertaining for people who are interested in forensics.

Nikki Leigh

This book keeps your interest the entire way. The information was fascinating, informative from a science perspective, and gross all at the same time. Definitely a great book! I also enjoy reading about Dr. Bass' career.

Despite its title and subtitle, this book is really a chronicle of some of Dr. Bill Bass's professional experiences in the world of forensic science. In recounting these fascinating stories, Dr. Bass, an anthropologist, briefly explains how the idea of the Body Farm was conceived and how that facility evolved into reality. Some of the scientific research that takes place within the Body Farm is described but not belabored; it is made clear that the Body Farm is an important scientific tool (one of many) that is used in solving crimes. Consequently, most of the book is comprised of gripping descriptions of some of the cases in which Dr. Bass has been involved and in which he used everything he could in his forensic science armory to solve them, including the Body Farm. Also included in this book are a few tragic episodes that have occurred in Dr. Bass's personal life. The writing style is friendly, lively, authoritative, accessible and quite engaging. This is a book that can be enjoyed by anyone, although those fascinated by true crime and forensic science would likely relish it the most.

Written by a former FBI agent, he provides a great deal on the history and structure of the Kansas City Mafia from its inception to the beginning of the Civella era. He includes information from the Kefauver Hearings and background files, from the recently published MAFIA book (from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and with an intro by Sam Giancana, the former crime boss's nephew), Nicola Gentile and the Kansas City Star. Unfortunately he gives no sourcing except for a small list of books that covers two pages. I wish he had footnotes or endnotes. The writing style is also rather dry and matter-of-fact, but it is accurate. As someone who has researched organized crime for over twenty years, I can definitely recommend this book.

I am anxious to read this book! I grew up in the north-end "Little Italy" section of Kansas City (3rd and Gillis). I later became a Police
Offier,where I worked with the Metro Squad, including Mob incidents, as I was familiar with the "family" and knew many of them personally. I remember working with Bill Ouseley and George Lukenhoff at the Kansas City FBI office back in the 60's. John W. Yates, Jr.

The story of Kelly Brookshire, the only woman on Georgia's death row, is a sad case of neglect but no excuse for her involvement in the planning and execution of her husband Doug Jr. by persuading her longtime boyfriend Greg Owen to take the blame. In this case, I believe Kelly was abusive enough as a spouse towards Doug. She had sons, Brandon, and Jonathon also known as Cody, with two other men but her daughter Kayla was her husband's child. Regardless, Doug Jr. treated his stepsons as if they were his own children regardless of biologically. They didn't have a father to call their own anyway. Kelly has a split personality. I don't question that she is a sociopath. She never really loved her husband or boyfriend or wouldn't put them through so much hell on earth. Kelly wanted to rid herself of Doug but why doesn't she just abandon him and the kids and run off. She believed that Doug would never leave her alone but I think it's the other way. Doug's family suffered harshly as Kelly knew and was aware of his fate. Doug's remains were so decimated by animals that it was a closed coffin funeral. Kelly's behavior which included several sexual relationships with men and now in her profile for the Canadian group against the death penalty that she describes herself as a gay female. Funny since in the book there is no indication of her sexual involvement with other women. Kelly also had parties while her husband was serving his country in the military forces in Germany. Kelly spent money on her friends to party and have good life while her kids suffered themselves. It was not an ideal situation. After all, Kelly's childhood chronicled her mother's three divorces, abusive relationship with Wade who was far more abusive than Kelly's father. Kelly went after anybody who got in her way. Greg got a life sentence to serve 25 years with a possibility of parole while Kelly is serving her sentence on death row in an isolated cell without contact from other inmates. Since Georgia death row inmates are not allowed contact with the prison's general population. She spends most of her days in her cell watching television and alone. She gets an hour outside and still no contact with other inmates. I don't know if her appeals would work so she can get life without the possibility of imprisonment but the prosecutors believe that she deserves the death penalty for threatening to kill witnesses. I don't know if she would have gone through with it. Still the book is a good read for the hardcore true crime fans.

I was a litle disappointed in the overall text of the book. The author jumped from one subject to another and sometimes forgot to explain just who was who and what was what. Poor editing and confusing dialogue at times. Many sentences came out of nowhere and left the reader wondering what they misssed previous. I found myself going back to previous pages many times because something was not clear. There were noticeable errors in the book and one that stands out said that Kelly found out when she was a teenager that Wade was not her real father and at the bottom of the same page the author states that Kelly was 10 when she found this out. There were a number of errors like this but I wanted to point one out that I stayed in my mind. One question I have and if anyone reads these comments and can answer I would appreciate it. In the epilogue the author gives an update on the key players in the story. One comment made was that Belinda was raising her sister's children and I was wondering why and what happened to Katina? Unless I missed something Katina Owen disappeared out of the story not long after she was introduced. I'm a dedicated true crime reader and read nothing else so I have read many. While this story was interesting I would like to see another author give their version of the events. In true crime as I guess in most books, the author's portrayal of the story and it's characters is key.