True Crime Books

This product came in record time and was exactly what I ordered. I always have good luck with Amazon.com. This book was a gift for a friend and she was very pleased. Thanks Amazon.com

Best book I've read yet dealing with this subject matter. There have long been rumors that author Stephen Williams had access to the actual video recordings of the crimes and therefore they are described in chilling detail leaving nothing to the imagination. If you can handle it, this book won't let you down. You will not be able to put it down.

I am still waiting to receive this product, since 3/9/07!!! Very hard to rate something you are still waiting on.

This item was exactly what i ordered in the exact condition that i ordered it in. Would definitly do business with seller again! Thank you

I found this book to be very detailed and thorough. It is one of those books you don't want to put down, however the crimes described are gut-wrenching and very twisted. If you want to know the details of the crimes, this book will definitely provide you with the details, and basically I think that's what most people want to know. The book provides some details about the killers' background, but mostly as it relates to the crimes committed. The author believes that Karla is far more responsible for the murders than she claims, which some may consider controversial. Overall I highly recommend it, and incidentally agree with the author.

What would make two wealthy, seemingly well-raised teenagers gleefully kidnap and murder another neighborhood boy? Each generation has asked this question during the eighty-three years since this event became the "crime of the century," and John Theodore has, to the extent possible, provided an answer in Evil Summer. Theodore begins with his own childhood recollection of becoming aware of the murder, then recreates the 1920s and the atmosphere of wealthy Hyde Park, Chicago, always depicting the humanness of the parents of both victim and perpetrators. The story is interesting throughout; I especially enjoyed the informative and eerie epilogue.

I have been aware of this heinous crime for several decades, but have never read a book about its specifics. Therefore, I am assuming this book is correct in its facts. It is certainly an interesting read. Two teen-agers, Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, decide they are intellectually superior to anyone else, and decide to test their theory by murdering a child at random. By the grace of God they lost track of the first boy they spotted coming home from school, and finally settled on 14 year old Bobby Franks. One of the two murderers was playing tennis with him the day before, not knowing that Bobby would be the victim. Clarence Darrow defended Leopold and Loeb by introducing "three wise men from the east" to cast doubt on the sanity of the defendants. Besides the victim you really have to feel for the parents of Bobby Franks. His mother remained in denial repeating that "Bobby will be home soon." Several photographs are included to supplement the text. This despicable crime took place in Chicago in 1924 during the Capone and O'Banion beer wars, and it reminds me of a similar twosome, Robert Tulloch and James Parker, of Chelsea, Vermont, who murdered two Dartmouth professors in 2001 in a thrill killing. Both partners in crime most likely wouldn't have committed the crime without the support of the other, and both believed their intellectual superiority would prevent them from being arrested. Both are very tragic stories. Considering I don't have any other book on Leopold and Loeb to compare it to I would highly recommend this book.

As a young girl growing up in Chicago I remember watching Nathan Leopold on television when he was released from Statesville prison. I asked my Mother who he was and she told me he and another young man had killed a boy name Booby Frank. I became interested in the Crime of the Century and read the books Compulsion as well as Life plus 99 years and the Crime of the Century and now add this book to my collection. You can feel Chicago in 1924 and the hysteria that was to be the trial of two young men who held such promise that summer. The question why still haunts after all these years as does the human toll on the boys families..the Franks, The Leopolds and the Loebs. Babe on his way to Europe and the pride of his family with his intellect and potential for greatness. Dickie..handsome, charming, loved by all who meet him collide with Babe to do the unthinkable for what seemed to be just a thrill. Together they could do what as individuals they could not kidnap and kill a superior crime or so they thought. Darlings of the media who sought their every words and then gleefully waited for the hangman to put his noose around their necks. Enter Clarence Darrow the Old lion who surprises by pleading his clients guilty avoiding a jury trial and pleads for his young clients lives instead. The book covers the crime, the trial and the aftermath.. Babe and Dickie slowly adjusted to prison life and found redemption in the library and taught at the prison. Dickie killed in prison by James Day who was upset that his prison bank account could no longer be funded by the Loebs. Babe would continue the work they started until his parole many years later. Nathan Leopold is often used right or wrongly as an example that a prisoner no matter how heinous the crime can be rehabilitated. The sadness of all this is the greatness both Babe and Dickie might have given the world if not for a seemingly innocent ride in a roadster.

The information in this book blew me away! As an Amnesty International activist I have known about the hundreds of unsolved murders in Jaurez for a few years now and I have been under the impression that no one knew what was behind the femicides. This book makes it perfectly clear that powerful people on both sides of the border know what's going on and that many of those power brokers south of the border are directly responsible!

This book is especially commendable because of the attention and honor it pays to the families of the victims and the toll all of the trauma has taken on citizens of the border region.

A simplified version of this book's explanation of the Juaurez femicides is that the Columbian drug cartel forged an agreement with some of the most powerful people in Mexico that in exchange for money the Mexicans would grant the cartel and its allies total impunity in the state of Chihuahua. This grim agreement gave the power to kill kidnap, and torture to a mix of sadists, misogynists, serial killers and multi-millionaires.

The cartel recruited many of its operatives from the Mexican army when the Cold War ended which brings up another important point in this book... these operatives were trained to kidnap, torture, and kill leftists and other political dissidents and had no use for these awful skills when the Cold War ended (and with it Mexico's "Dirty War" against political dissidents). This made them ripe for recruitment by the cartels for whom they applied all of the same twisted techniques of their trade (like throwing people out of airplanes!)

The book also notes that the government was easily corrupted by the cartel largely because Mexico's political and justice institutions were so badly weakened by three decades of the Dirty War. This Dirty War was covertly encouraged and supported by the USA as part of it's Cold War strategy. It's a horrifying example of what the intelligence community refers to as 'blowback'.

The amount and specificity of information make this the best single source of information on this issue that I've encountered. Valdez names names and cites her sources to the extent that is possible. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to begin to understand this issue and especially to journalists, human rights activists and researchers who are working on this issue.

This book isn't for everyone. I contains graphic descriptions of victims horrific acts of violence. This is not done gratuitously as the victims' bodies have given forensics experts important clues that Valdez uses to unravel some of the mysteries. And some people might not take to the journalistic writing style of Valdez, a journalist for the El Paso Times, because it doesn't always flow the way a good novelist might tell a story. Some times information is thrown in for factual completeness that kind of breaks the rhythm of the narrative. for that reason I recommend this more for a person who wants to learn about the Jaurez femicides than for someone looking for an entertaining story.

This book is a classic true crime title. The case is extraordinary: an apparently ordinary and pleasant married couple, Fred and Rose West, molest, torture and murder a series of young women and girls -- including their own daughter -- bury the dismembered remains under their house, in the middle of the city of Gloucester, and continue living happily in said house for many years. The author, Sounes, broke the story as a reporter, and this is the big book on the case, which is very well known in England. Absolutely riveting and a big seller ever since published about ten years ago in the UK, though not so well known in the US. It will make your hair curl (if it doesn't already). A classic of the genre alongside Profession of Violence, Helter Skelter, and Killing for Company.

what a sick family, I have read many true crime books but this is one that will stay with me forever. Not for the faint of heart.
Good writing on a very sick subject.

I don't really see how you could call a book like this good anyway. But, I have read alot of true crime stories and I definitely thought this one is the worst. I don't feel it is very thorough. You read 4 chapters at the beginning ALL about the family history and then it just kind of jumps to everything happening. In my opinion it could have been written alot better.

I like this book because it has a family tree, a diagram of the house and useful information regarding location of the bodies. I just started this book and I find the writing to be pretty good. The author stays clear of his personal views until the end of the book. The story is horrifying to believe but reading the backgrounds of this unusual couple helps understand the crimes behind their union. They were unspeakable to say the least to include the murder of their own teenage daughter who wanted to escape. I remember watching a documentary aired on A&E with other surviving children. They knew that this didn't go on in other families and they envied families who had discipline and kept the x-rated stuff to the couples themselves rather than including their own children, strangers, and regularl visitors. The Wests' open sexuality actually probably caused more disturbances to the children who were affected most of all. They weren't loved as they should have been. They were beaten and abused physically, sexually, and emotionally. I wish the West children found solace and comfort now more than ever. They really lived in a a house of horrors beyound our imagination.

Howard Sounes' book about the West Country's most infamous couple is an enlongated bubble gum, tabloid gossip article. Whilst I'm sure Sounes spent a lot of time researching the case and fingering through the many aspects of intricacies, the book does not delve anywhere as deep as the graves of the victims the couple butchered. The glossy account of the details is, however, intensified by the awful and very humbling circumstances in which the murderous pair grew up and met, but this has nothing to do with the author. There is minimal discussion or investigation as to the reasons why the pair undertook their Road to Hell by way of torture, ... voyeuristic prostitution, despite them being up there with the best of the serial killers. The plus point of the book is that it is written in a childish journalistic format and is thus very easy to read, almostunputdownable. The pair's heinous crimes are some of the worst I have read about and it is almost unbelievable that anyone could inflict these attrocities. For pure sensationalism and an easy introduction into the wonderful world of serial killers, this book hits the mark. But for those who want to question a little further and obtain explanations or theories as to why the necrophilliac, nymphomaniac, sadistic and self-centred pair committed such crimes, best give me a ring and we can discuss over a beer. Perhaps at a pub in Gloucester!!

Truman Capote's 'In Cold Blood' is enjoying a resurgence of popularity thanks to the Oscar-winning film depicting the author's life and work during the writing of this phenomenal piece. At one point in the film, the character Capote makes the statement that when he thinks about how good this book will be, he can hardly breathe. Perhaps it is because it is part of our history now, I don't consider the book to be that good, but it was a work fairly close to groundbreaking in its impact - it was a new genre, the narrative telling of a non-fiction event as if it were a fictional novel.

The narrative centres upon the murder of a Kansas family by two men, Perry Smith and Dick Hicock, who are in many ways far from typical killers, much less cold blooded killers. The family, the Clutters of Holcombe, Kansas, are far from typical victims, nor is this the kind of place such a murder would be expected. Capote does a remarkable job at an even-handed analysis and narrative treatment of all the characters, from the family itself to the townspeople and investigators, as well as the murderers themselves. Perhaps it is because he found an area of identification?

This is a psychological thriller of a sort - at least it would be, were it not a true life tale. Getting into the minds of the criminals and the investigators was no easy task for Capote, but what comes forth on the page is very crisp and insightful reporting, without the kinds of embellishments one might expect from a figure such as Capote when dealing with middle-America folk.

The question of why for the killing is still never fully resolved, despite Capote's attempt to set out all the story and psychological detail. Perhaps this is as strange as the interest Capote took in the subject in the first place, as well as the effect it had on him, and those around him, ultimately - while Capote himself never again finished a major project after this, that is also true of his assistant, Nell Harper Lee, whose book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (done about the same time as 'In Cold Blood') was also her last major writing.

A worthwhile book in many ways.

It's obvious that this book is cobbled together from drafts of several authors with different writing styles which isn't all that annoying in itself. However, the chronic repetition of the same information is. That said it's still worth finishing the read. It's certainly a sad indictment on the media industry and justice system in the USA.

Even though I had followed the case at the time, I still read this in two nights flat - it's that good. This is an important book, heck it's an important story, particularly for "white people". I write that with hesitation, but heck that's the truth. How come "white" has almost become a term of abuse? "White boy" certainly has. And that's just it. They only reason this tall tale, this ridiculous hoax, went this far, affected so many lives, pushed so many people to the edge of their existence (could you post a $400, 000 bond for your son, whilst your wife is having a nervous breakdown) is that these were "white boys". Thus it was open season. Read with horror as these boys, because of making one mistake, one error of judgement, inviting a stripper to perform a private function in their home, lost their coach, their season, their house (many slept in their cars), were hounded off campus or formally expelled, threatened both verbally and by mail - all this after fully cooperating with the police, turning over all the physical evidence in their house without question, voluntarily took DNA tests - and it still took months and months, hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions (the lawyer fees of the indicted three estimated at $100,000 a month), an extraordinary display of loyalty and togetherness between their teamates, their relatives and neighbors and some great lawyers (their lawyers are to me, all heroes - one, Kirk Osborn, sadly died of a heart attack during the ordeal) to finally shake off the blatantly false allegation of a mentally unstable criminal supported by a madman whose daytime job was District Attorney. So we both cheer when they are finally vindicated by then wonder - is America crazy right now or what? What is this war on "white men" by the feminists, the race hustlers, the homosexuals, the Latinos and everybody else. I remember reading a post on a blog after this arose from a white male: "All the more reason just to keep your head down, get your sh** done in the daytime, and retire for the evening behind a locked door" - this is the reality for countless "privileged white males" in many parts of America today.

I couldn't recommend this book highly enough. If you have teenage sons or daughters preparing to go to college, they need to read this book.

This is a real page turner of a book. I was familiar with the work of Don Yaeger since he used to write for Sports Illustrated. He does not disappoint! I thought I knew the story but I wasn't even close to knowing the full story. He really brings it home and you feel like you know the person he writes about.

Mike Pressler, the coach who lost his job, gives a first person account of the events that took place and is fascinating. You will enjoy this book, trust me!! GO DUKE!

Gerard Zemek (husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry")

Exceedingly well written book. I have not stopped talking about it. This is not just a simple story of a high profile case. It focuses on how innocent people were directly affected in their every day lives by scandalous lies. The media never revealed this side of the story. It's unimaginable how this horrific mess could've happened. You can't stop but think what you would do had this happened to you. I was paralyzed reading what these people went through. You will truly be shocked, in disbelief to no end. I commend all the people who courageously stuck by and weathered the storm with all those who were unfortuneatly (directly and indirectly) involved. How utterly defiant, inexplicably brave. It just goes to show you the truth will always prevail. "It's Not About the Truth: The Untold Story of the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Lives It Shattered", is inspirationally AMAZING!!!

Coach Mike Pressler knows better than most of us how it feels to be in the center of a raging inferno of politically correct rage--where truth and justice have no place.

In 2006, he was abruptly fired from his job as coach of Duke University's lacrosse team after three of his players were accused by a demented black female stripper of gang rape. These charges fed perfectly into a fanatically obsessed scenario found at most universities of white male treachery, black victomhood and feminist paranoia.

Duke President Richard Brodhead, his motor-mouth assistant, John Burness and board chairman, Bob Steele, quickly jumped on the politically correct bandwagon and let the public know that they were throwing the players into the raging inferno.

The administration refused to look at any of the exonerating proof of innocence of the accused that was continually offered to them by the defense attorneys.

The administration instead threw its support behind the psychopathic District Attorney Mike Nifong who knew early on that the rape charges were a hoax. The stripper, Crystal Mangum, had made the identical charges three years before against another group of men, but these, too, proved to be false.

The raging storm against the trio of young men grew stronger when the usual anti-white racists came out of the woodwork. Like the NC Chapter of the NAACP, the New Black Panthers Party, the local Pot Bangers group, made up of left-wing faculty and students. Racial arsonists like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson flew down to Durham, NC, to scream about white racist rapists and poor defenseless black women.

This reminded many of us ironically that Al Sharpton engineered an identical hoax in l986 when he spent a year pushing the notorious Tawana Brawley rape hoax in New York state. She accused a gang of white men of raping her. A grand jury said the charges were totally fabricated but in the meantime, Sharpton and Jackson had destroyed lives right and left. Brawley was never charged for her crimes. Sharpton received a slap on the wrist and has never apologized.

The authors reveal how corrupt members of the Durham police department, the district attorneys office, judges and many members of the black community of the city pushed their goal of railroading the trio of boys into prison for life. To hell with the truth.

The media coverage was so vicious, especially the New York Times, that it often felt as if all the news reports were being written by Mike Nifong and Al Sharpton.

At Duke, a gang of 88 faculty members (or a gang of 88 bigots) took out a full-page ad praising the protestors and urging them to "turn up the volume." Many of the teachers had lacrosse players in their classes and openly taunted them into admitting their guilt. None of the teachers ever apologized for their actions. Many were actually promoted, along with black activist students who had sent threatening e-mail to Coach Pressler.
President Brodhead was just recently lavishly praised by his board of directors for his handling of the rape hoax--and for for his unwavering support of the demented Mike Nifong.

When Pressler begged the administration to wait for the truth to come out before firing him and cancelling any appearances of the lacrosse team for a whole year, Duke's Athletic director, Joe Alleva told Pressler: "It's not about the truth." In those four words, you have revealed the heart of the people heading Duke University. And of all the other criminals who passionately pursued imprisonment for life for three young men who just happened to be white.

After seeing the movie that was based on this book, I had to read the book. I really enjoyed reading the story from the detective's point of view. We always expect the police and investigators to find the "killer" as quickly as they do in movies and books. This book shows the bureaucracy behind the investigation and why cold cases can drag on for years. Very eye opening book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys true crime books.

This book was awful! The only reason why I read it all the way through is because I paid money for it. It has very little to do with the Green River Killer and everything to do with the investigator. I bought this book wanting to know about the investigation not about what Reichert had for breakfast! AWFUL.

as far as biases go, this book takes the cake. mr. reichert explains how he was the absolute pivot point around which the entire investigation rotated. i wasn't there, nor do i know what actually happened - but to think that one person solved the entire case is mind-boggling. i know forensic science is all encompassing and a community of scientists, police, etc. working together to come to the conclusion. mr. reichert makes it seem as though he did not utilize anyone else's help. interesting perspective.

Gary Ridgway is a pretty unremarkable man, but he inspired a remarkable story. This is one of the few serial killer cases where the investigative team is more interesting than the actual killer. At no point has Gary Ridgway crossed over from being a heartless murderer to pop culture antihero like, say, Charles Manson has. Being prostitutes, Ridgway's victims were almost too vulnerable, practically laid out on a buffet for him to prey upon. David Reichert struggles with this fact and many others throughout this story. You'll get a good sense of the intense pressure he and his team felt during their experience. The community was outraged at the task force's seeming lack of progress; the media fueled the fire by pointing out mistakes and missed opportunities. Later, budget cuts and over-involvement by the FBI were enough to drive many task force members to seek other assignments. Reichert's views on all of these are made clear, and the politics of a major city's police force are on display for all to see. Incredibly, at one point, the case had become so fruitless that only one man (not Reichert) was assigned to it for the duration. The task force's tireless work and evidence-collecting paid off in the end, and the prolific killing spree was finally ended. Others reviewing this book have called Reichert an egomaniac but I don't think he comes off like that at all. He gives a lot of credit where it's due, admits his errors, and is respectful to the victims at all times. His obsession is the reason the case got as far as it ever did. If David Reichert wanted to look like a big shot, I'd say he sacrificed a lot to get there.

Sheriff David G. Reichert might have written his autobiography here. After all, he was one in charge in regards to the Green River case. Reichert got involved from the first victim until the killer, Gary Leon Ridgway, finally confessed to killing over 50 victims and finding locations for the remains of some of them. For his confession, he was given life in prison without the possibility of parole. I'm sure some people felt that he deserved the death penalty and probably so. He murdered almost all women mostly prostitutes and drug addicts and runaways. Hardly the population that needed publicity. In Ted Bundy's day, he went after well-respected daughters, college students. Bundy referred to the Green River Killer's victims as bottom feeders because most families and friends wouldn't report them missing so soon. Reichert writes about the frustration and aggravation in almost every turn in trying to chase the devil who was the Green River Killer. I think we forget that law enforcement can be human and make mistakes. There were those that covered. The girls on the strip were in danger and they even knew it too. The Green River Killer took 20 years to find and he was a regular employee at Kenworth company as a truck driver. He was interviewed at times but nothing added up until the technology and DNA evidence. He finally confessed to his hideous crimes which included necrophilia something that Ted Bundy also did but was ashamed of. Ridgway comes clean and confesses to over 50 murders. It probably relieved the families that there would never be a trial which can be more painful in bringing up the past. Some victims were never found but I admired Reichert's way of memorializing them on the end pages of this book as well as writing about the many people, men and women who brought justice to the Green River victims.

This book could save many lives if its truth were widely embraced by the corporate and academic worlds. Bullying must be confronted and addressed as the most dangerous component of potentially lethal school and workplace relationships. Ames has performed a great service with his in-depth research and analysis. His history of slavery including its modern mutated form is powerful and embarassing in its hard truth. I recommend all supervisors take a special day off just to read this book. It might save your life and those around you.

It may not be politically correct or very American, but this book really drives home some of the major problems in American society, well presented and not willing to pull punches, it may be to close to the truth for most americans

When you crack open a book entitled "Going Postal," you don't expect to start reading about the antebellum South. But Ames starts by transporting us back in time in service of his provocative theme - that today's rage murders in workplaces and schools are contemporary forms of slave rebellion, indeed the only possible form of rebellion in a society as decollectivized and militarized as the modern corporate United States.

In this highly original and intriguing analysis, Ames ridicules "copycat" pundits who myopically search everywhere but right in front of their faces to explain the wave of workplace and schoolyard shootings that has swept through the United States over the last couple of decades. Hollywood movies, video games, the National Rifle Association, mental illness, bad parenting - the list of potential culprits is endless. But never the "toxic culture" of the institutions that breed these doomed revolts.

Whereas initial news accounts often vilify shooters as almost cartoon cutouts - mentally imbalanced, trench-coated racists or kooks - Ames offers in-depth portrayals, so we come to know them as ordinary human beings oppressed and stressed to the breaking point by a ruthless corporate or school environment. Attempts to profile individual offenders fall flat, Ames argues, because the offenders are potentially anyone. As evidence, he catalogs the widespread sympathy for many of the shooters among their former coworkers and classmates. One would never see such sympathy among victims of serial sex murderers, he points out.

Instead of profiling the individual rebels, Ames profiles the institutions. Shootings, he argues, happen in corporate environments rife with alienation, surveillance, mandatory unpaid overtime, and humiliating and degrading layoff rituals, where managers consciously harness fear to increase worker stress and insecurity. Sites of school shootings, meanwhile, are brutal environments where students undergo horrific torment only exacerbated by Zero Tolerance crackdowns.

This book is meticulously researched and brilliantly argued. It's too bad that Ames couldn't find a better publisher, because the technical quality is extremely poor and the copy editor must have been on an extended coffee break. I understand that his first publisher bailed after 9/11. But the typos, overly small text, and poor binding are all minor, superficial flaws that should not stop you from buying and reading this fascinating book.

PS: Coincidentally, and unbeknownst to me at the time, the latest rampage was underway, at Northern Illinois University. Although some other shooters have left written explanations or made posthoc statements (all included in Ames' book), this case is unusual in that killer Steven Kazmierczak co-authored a scholarly journal whose prophetic thesis almost exactly parallels Ames'. For more on this, you can see my blog entry of Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day), at forensicpsychologist.blogspot.com.

I found myself purchasing this book with high hopes of reading a thorough interpretation of the basis for the workplace and school shootings that have plagued the US since the 1980s. I had read a few editions of "the eXile" and expected "Going Postal" to offer an constructive insight, further fuelled by the positive reviews I'd read on the book on this site and others. However I must say I was greatly disappointed.

Quite simply there's too much that sounded like an extreme leftist spiel that I struggled to justify finishing the book. Aside from the factual descriptions of the numerous shootings and the accompanying interviews, so much of the book features laughable speculation and absurd arguments that it by the middle of the second chapter, reading the book had become quite tedious.

I'm in no way a fan of Ronald Reagan's, but the way that Ames seems to relate every single massacre post 1980 to Reagan, apportioning the blame at his feet is not only a ludicrous exaggeration and offensive, it completely undermines his work.

I thought the way he detailed the shootings of the 1980s and 1990s with interviews and first-hand accounts was insightful and interesting, but I found it somewhat grating how he would often denounce other writers' theories on the reasoning behind such shootings without any persuasive analysis or arguments, only to then introduce his own unsubstantiated and often far-fetched reasons.

He clearly had an overall arc geared for his work, that whilst interesting to read on a blurb, was in reality too thread-bare to go beyond an essay. His attempts to relate everything back to Reagan, and also to the concept of "modern-day slave rebellions" were frequently so far beyond logic, that this reader found himself putting the book in the dust-bin.

Mark Ames must have had some hardened life. He gets it right on the money when he describes the institutional torment that leads to destructive behavior. In the end, when the institution takes everything including truth, compassion and dignity, the rational response is rage, murder and rebellion.

This is a well-researched book, put out by someone who spent a lot of time researching and documenting the pattern. Ames' unlikely connection between slavery and the working man is made convincingly, with slavery occasionally being the more humane of the two.

I left government service recently, after watching three supervisors fall prey to love-hate dependency-based work relationships. All of them eventually succumbed to rage. I spent time speaking with other office employees, both former and current, who lost their emotional balance and faded into oblivion, whether fired or effectively incapacitated. I had to read this book to understand the dynamics behind this less-than-rare phenomenon. Ames' validation is a double-edged sword. What is frightening is the notion that this oppression occurs frequently, but is never documented until someone commits mass murder. Ames notes in his book that rebellion occurs with great infrequency, as the unknown is always more frightening than the known, however unpleasant.

"Going Postal" is a must-read book, although it is less gory than it is reflective. Ames is an excellent historian and consolidator of relationship dynamics. His ability to interview his subjects and pick up on the details -- sometimes even humorous in a macabre way -- makes this a facinating documentary.

Kristina Sauerwein has taken an incredibly difficult, sensitive topic and presented it in a fact-based, riveting account. While difficult to read at time because of the sheer horror of the situation, there is no sensationalized reporting or exploitation. It is honest, heartwrenching and wonderfully written. I highly recommend it.

Kristina did a good job of giving the reader information into what went into Devlin's mind, without getting too graphic on the details. She really makes the case for "hope" and for "Stockholm Syndrome." I have recommended this book to dozens of folks and they all have liked it as well. I missed her signings locally, but hear she has one in the summer. I plan to be there.

Kristina has done a great job of delving into tough subject matter. She takes delicate care in holding the two victims in high esteem, while demonizing the suspect and rightfully so. I am better off to have read this book than not. I commend Kristina for excellent writing and strong use of experts to carry out the title of the book.

An amazing story very well told. This book deals sensitively with a complex and delicate subject. The way the author lays out the events chronologically was logical and thorough.

This book does a good job of covering both the broad "strategic" aspects as well as the "tactical" details of the story. The quotes from psychiatrists and researchers were informative and helpful in understanding what went on and why. It was interesting to read about how the events affected the people in the Kirkwood community as well as about how the parents never gave up on finding Shawn.

I mainly read military history, so this book was a departure. It turned out to be well worth the time - it was very enjoyable and interesting to read.

Some people wonder how to prevent child abduction/abuse, so they'd like to know exactly what happened, how it happened, and what kind of man Devlin was. More importantly, this book fully answers and explains all the psychological reasons why Shawn didn't escape (hence the title). The author seems to have drawn together many published sources and tied it together in a way the general public can understand and learn from.

Some of us became extremely interested in this case; we debated it, discussed it, and kept track of every new development via the Court TV forums and newsfeeds. We rallied behind the family & their cause, and rejoice in their recoveries. For people like us, this book has nothing new except for psychological information and interviews with experts. Very few, if any, new interviews have been done (none with the families), and all quotes are familiar from items we've already read and discussed.

Still, if this book helps the general public understand better how a victim of any age can be made psychologically unable to escape even when physically able to do so, it will serve a purpose. It also updates the public on Shawn's journey from victim to survivor.

I read this book in just a few days. It kept me interested from beginning to end. But just a warning, it scared me to death. To think there are maniacs out there like David Ray walking the streets makes me not want to go out alone. Another book that scared me equally was "The Night Stalker" about Richard Ramirez. I never leave my doors unlocked.

Fast to the point, a lot of details about the crimes. Not about history of towns and families like some books go into.

I don't remember what I did with this book. I gave most of my true crime literature to a colleague who would pass it on to her daughter. I remember this case well. Maybe because I just read a book about it. Glatt gives you the basics of the crime as horrendous, terrorizing, and horrible as it was for those women. David Parker Ray was one sick creature who with his partner, Cindy Hendy, committed some of the most unthinkable, unimaginable acts towards women only. He did things that I can't write here. Let's just say that one FBI agent committed suicide while investigating this case. Need I write more, Glatt writes more about the victims and possible murder victims of Ray. He claims to be a sadistic serial killer but there are no bodies that were unearthed. He was one of the most sadistic criminals that I ever read about and a judge who cared more about due process than about putting him behind bars. Ironically, the judge died and he was replaced with a judge who didn't show the same preference to the defense as his predecessor. Ray died in 2002 only in prison for 3 years which I think is a pretty sad testament that he didn't suffer as much as his victims. Ray's tape recordings are chilling but I don't think Glatt included them in the book. They're x-rated and not for the squeamish or underage. my thoughts go the to the victims who are still living who suffered so cruelly and needlessly.

This chronicle of "Sex" Torturer David Ray and the crimes of his daughter, his girlfriend and and another "friend" was a fast, page turning read. The narrative flows easily with many descriptions of how the "gang" of evil nobodies were successfull for years in their twisted fetish and how authorities finally put the criminals in prison. Even with the disturbing content of the crimes described in the book it keeps the readers interest and provides a few surprise elements as well. Highly Recommended. UPDATE: as of the writing of my review the girlfriend and other friend of Ray still sit in the New Mexico prison system. His daughter is on probation. Ray himself died 8 months after sentencing - having served a total of only 3 years of his 238 year sentence at the age of 62.

In looking over many of the other reviews, I can not help but notice that many of the reviewers did not actually read this book. Certain negative reviews have nothing to do with the book at all. For those interested in the book, I would suggest reading the reviews of people that obviously read the book not the star rating of this book.

When the story of David Parker Ray first made news headlines in 1999, there seemed to be a degree of shock in how something so extreme as this could happen. Quite literally, David Parker Ray abducted women and made them sex slaves in the trailer known as his "toy box". He was able to carry this on for so long because his victims walked the fringes of society. John Glatt makes clear that we may never know the extent of David Parker Ray's crimes. He once claimed to have killed as many as 14 people, but he is not serving over 200 years in prison for any time of murder.

One of the portions of this book that I appreciated most was Glatt's history of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. While it is a great source of trivia questions, the history has faded with the passage of time.

The extreme nature of David Parker Ray's crimes may make this book difficult to read for some. The author does not shy away from details. Admittedly, I would have liked to have seen Glatt go into more details in some areas of the book. Still, this is not a deep enough flaw to warrant strong crticism. As a whole, I found the book to be informative and interesting.