True Crime Books

This is the story of Tommy Lynn Sells who killed in multiple states and the testimony of a 10 year old girl that survived one of Sells' murderous attacks. It was her determined testimony that ended the slaughter.

Diane Fanning chronicles Sells' childhood,numerous jail stays,and nationwide travels. He even worked on the road for a few carnivals.

Some of his murders overlapped the area and time of the "Railroad Killer",Angel Rosendiz. That caused some confusion for law enforcement early on.

Sells has no sadness or remorse. Even killing a freshly new-born baby in the bizarre murder of an entire family! He seemed to victimize mostly younger girls,although victims could be from any age group or gender.

Another sad aspect of the Tommy Lynn Sells case is the probability that there are more unsolved murders across the country that he committed that won't be solved. He identifies some photos of victims and the place where the bodies are discovered but can't or won't elaborate details. This is in part due to his heavy alcohol and drug abuse during his murderous travels.

Diane Fanning has done her research well and some of the information comes from Sells himself. A real page-turner until the trial part of the book.

Diane has managed to do it again. A well written book that takes you into the demented mind of Tommy Lynn Sells. I can only imagine the research that went into this book. Cross-Country killers are especially hard to write about because their crimes are so widespread.

Fanning wanted to tell a story and wanted to tell it fast. To do that she had to cooperate with the killer to get his version. Tommy Lynn Sells is a con man and he conned this writer. The book is entirely too sympathetic to Sells and has next to nothing about most of his victims and little about the police and prosecutors who worked to put him away.

How distorted is the book? Well, Fanning worries that poor Mr. Sells and his "wife" (he married her while still married to another woman) were cruelly forced apart by the legal system. That is, a judge threatened to to give custody of her children to their father if she maintained contact with Sells. To Fanning this is persecution. To most people it is in the best interest of the children. What kind of parent pines after a serial killer who murdered children?

Fanning even includes a letter from Sells as an afterward to this book.

For those who read this book, google "Tommy Lynn Sells" and see how much Fanning distorted her portrait.

Diane Fanning's THROUGH THE WINDOW is the story of Tommy Lynn Sells, an itinerant thief, con man, and murderer and possibly the most appalling and cowardly serial killer you will ever hear about. The first quarter of the book, which presents the crime for which Sells was finally apprehended, the murder of Katy Harris, is thorough and well researched. Likewise, Fanning provides well reseached and necessary information on Sells' childhood. The last portion of the book consists of a letter, which I found interesting, from Sells to Fanning in which Sells paces the blame on everyone and everything he can think of rather than take any personal responsibility for his brutal murders. Finally it is apparent that Fanning has devoted an honest effort to make THROUGH THE WINDOW a comprehensive study. This is not one of the cynical rush jobs too often found in true crime writing.

Unfortunately, for me at least, the negatives outweigh the positives.
While the description of Sells' murderous odyessy is well done, the subject soon becomes repetitive. Sells wanders endlessly by car or train around the country killing and raping, and as the accounts of the crimes are necessarily short because there are so many of them, it becomes difficult to keep them straight. While I understand Fanning's desire to acknowledge as many of Sells' victims as she can, this does not always translate well to a coherent narrative.
It is however considerably more compelling than Fanning's presentation of Sells' trial. In my opinion a good true crime writer will, unless a trial is the high point of the story, seriously condense the trial segment of the narrative to contain only that portion which provides information which is truly necessary for the reader's understanding of the story. Otherwise the narrative will generally grind to a crawl, which is what happens in THROUGH THE WINDOW. Fanning includes verbatim way too much of the trial transcript: is it really necessary, for example, to provide the reader with as much of the almost always boring forensics as she does? In my experience this is a technique used by lesser writers and/or those who need padding to complete a minimum number of pages.

But the worst part of THROUGH THE WINDOW is the writing. The best true crime is professionally and reportorially written. The genre is at its best as TRUE crime. Fanning's writing, however, is often enough dramatic, sometimes to the point of becoming ridiculous, that her book enters the realm of dramatized, rather than true, crime.
On page 29, describing the scene of a kidnapping and murder, Fanning writes "The trilling songs of birds and the rustle of leaves caressed by a breeze provided a harmonic backdrop to the screams of a tormented young woman." Really?? On page 72, we get, "The warmth of the mellow sun competed with the warmth in Nora's heart." Though it may be considered a spoiler, I will tell those who are interested that Fanning does not reveal which source in this warmth competition was victorious. Perhaps it was a tie.

Then there are the silly similies. On page 33, describing a future victim's acquiescience to Sells' manipulation, she writes, "Like a leaf in a whirlpool, she was drawn into his world of uncontrollable violence." And on page 57, "Kent had bled to death - homeless and alone like a dog scavaging the city dump."

On pages 82 and 86 are two irritating examples of semi-pro writing. "Carnival season started early every year in South Texas - 1998 was not an exception." And, "The flood was a traumatic experience for the whole community. This family was no exception." If neither of these occurences was an exception, why mention it? This seems sort of high-schoolish. What would be wrong with a simple period after "South Texas"?
And finally, in a flourish combining the ludicrous soap-opera with plain bad writing Fanning gives us, "And in his hand was a knife from her kitchen. Her gullibility gleamed on its blade." That's just embarrassing, and as I was reading it, I felt my gullibility for having started this book reflecting dully off its pages.

Ultimately, in my opinion, Fanning's style of writing leads to melodrama rather than drama and results in, rather than a true crime book, a work of what is often dramatic fiction based on a framework of fact - fictionalized, as opposed to true, crime. This style of writing would seem to be more appropriate for romance novels or soap operas, but it has come to be representative of much of the catalog of the publisher, St. Martin's Press.
There are thousands of better true crime books available for devotees of the genre.

The information published in Through the Window by Diane Fanning regarding the abduction of Angie Houseman is incorrect. Angie Houseman was abducted from St. Ann, Missouri, not O,Fallon. There is a 20 mile difference in the locations of these two towns. This information should be verified for accuracy before being printed.

I have not read the book. I came across the information about Angie Houseman while looking to see if there was any new information regarding her case on the internet. Sadly her murder remains unsolved 14 years later.

I had the pleasure of meeting and spending a week with Dr. Timothy Tyson as part of a Civil Rights Tour in Alabama with my public school district. Although I was "required" to read this BEFORE the tour, I did't pick it up until after I had returned home. Reading Tyson's words in print doesn't compare to listening to him in person, but the book is extremely powerful and eye opening to say the least. My parents were of the segregationist baby boom in Alabama and little mention of the civil rights movement was ever made to me during my childhood in the deep south. It is my opinion that most Americans are of the impression that it began with Brown v. Board and ended with the assassination of MLK. The book is only the beginning of an unearthing of long-buried truths about the struggle for racial equality and the unsung heroes who continue the fight.

I read this book for a college course and found it shocking and heartbreaking. I grew up very close to where the event of the story take place. After I had finished the book I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Tyson. This is when I began to become suspicious. I also met the offspring of people involved in the story. They, along with many other residents of Oxford confirmed what I already suspected. Much of this story is COMPLETELY MADE UP! Some of the events did actually happen, but are blown WAAAAAY out of proportion, and the means by which Mr. Tyson acquired some of his information are very shady. So my verdict: as a piece of fiction I think it's a beautifully tragic piece of fictions. As a "true story" this novel loses all credibility and so does Mr. Tyson for any of his other work and he should be prosecuted for his slanderous words.

Blood Done Sign My Name is a non-fiction work that combines the personal memoirs and research of Timothy Tyson, Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin. The most striking aspect of the novel is the description of Dickie Marrow's murder from the points of view of different citizens of Oxford. This unique feature makes the book appealing to many age groups. Teenage readers can relate to Tyson's personal anecdotes about growing up in rural Oxford, North Carolina. Even if younger audiences do not understand the symbolism behind the text, they can still enjoy the well-developed characters and eventful plot. Adult readers can gain insight into many themes concerning race and white supremacy. Tyson elegantly expresses the naiveté of children on the issue of morality and treatment of other races. This is best conveyed in the passage where young Tyson taunted a black child solely because his friend had started an insulting chime. The author describes that it was fear--not hatred--that bred the twisted idea of white supremacy. Parents can also connect with the decisions and actions of Vernon and Martha Tyson. The Tysons believed that their children should be exposed to many different opinions yet respect all races. The difference in perspectives in the work allows readers of all ages to enjoy and understand the truth behind the Civil Rights Movement.
The book contains a few minor flaws that diminish the lucidity of the text. The plot is rather erratic; from time to time, the events are not connected perfectly. This technique may be Tyson's personal style of writing, but it proves to be rather confusing at major points in the plot. For example, Tyson usually explains a personal memory of the murder and follows it with completely unrelated information about another character. These discontinuities in the plot make the book difficult to comprehend at first. Gradually, however, the reader gets acclimatized to this original form of writing. The gaps between personal stories build suspense and enable the reader to process a feasible prediction for the sequence of events. The novel also includes many extraneous details about minor characters that play an insignificant part in the plot. Tyson extensively describes his mother's childhood, even though his mother does not affect the sequence of events in any fashion. This extra information, however, does not detract from the book's overall theme. Though the story contains a few negligible weaknesses, Tyson maintains his overall claim and presents it in an interesting and distinctive manner.
Blood Done Sign My Name is an enthralling story that expresses the moral wrongs of racism. To call it a mere story does not do Tyson proper justice; it is more fitting to call the book a documentary. By citing several engrossing stories throughout the novel, Tyson maintains the reader's attention and successfully proves his thesis. Other than its occasional lack of continuity, Timothy Tyson has written a classic non-fiction work for readers of all ages.

I recommend this book not only to those of us who lived through the time but also to younger adults who care about racial issues in America. The author's personal account allows readers to experience recent history through his eyes. The book is informative and a very good read!

I finally got around to reading this memoir this summer and was in awe of the author's narrative gifts. This story reads like a novel and is full of plain human wisdom, an emotional openness combining humility and pride, wry humor, sharp political analysis, and a can't-put-it-down story line that comes to terms with America's number one cultural problem: racism. This is a book of local history that gets at the human condition, and a work of history that reads like great literature. I'm telling everyone I can to read it, and that includes whoever reads this. Don't pay attention to any of the so-called "corrections" made by some other reviewers here. This is a must-read historical work that shows an astute and perceptive ability to understand its widely varying participants' points of view and experiences, while not shrinking from the moral and historical obligation to draw judgments. There is only one word to use: *brilliant.* (I'm not one to use that lightly when talking about either autobiography or
history.)

Disclaimer: The writer of this review is a professional historian with a Ph.D., but one who has never met Timothy Tyson.

Ballad of the Whiskey Bandit is a rollicking beautifully researched tale of an appealing and clever bank robber. Set in Hungary during its various upheavals in government, Attila Ambrus set about surviving in style with a crime wave that was slick and ingenious. Mr. Rubenstein has given us a heartwarming, humorous book that is always entertaining and a joy to read.

I'm afraid I didn't get to the end of this tedious tale. It was so badly written that I lost interest very quickly. Repetitious, lacking credibility and sloppily structured, it also lacked credibility.

It has got rave reviews and sounded promising. But having lived in post-communist Hungary, there is nothing romantic about bank robbers or any criminals.

I was living half-way up a mountainside in rural Spain but even that didn't spur me on to finish.

Good robbers don't necessarily make good writers and with his ill-gotten gains he would have been better to invest in a ghost writer.

Sorry, it gets a thumbs down from me.

I have no idea how accurate the facts are, but this is brilliant storytelling. Think Douglas Adams in the post-Communist Eastern Bloc.

This is a well-written, well-researched book that captures a unique moment in history and a bizarre character who's also a product of his place and time. Rubinstein goes the extra mile to follow the thread of this true-crime story, and his engaging prose takes you with him.

Excellent book! Great true crime story that is action packed, and very funny...plus a little bit of history!
Highly recommend this book!

This book was very entertaining. The chapters were well written and to the point. You could tell the author was very educated on the subject he was writing about, but didn't run on and on about it. It just never ceases to amaze me, the depravity and madness that sometimes occurs in the minds of humans. Some of these murderers just seemed to become INHUMAN after you read of their crimes!
Very good, short and to the point book for true crime buffs!

Vronsky book is one of the best books written on the subject. Vronsky deal with the phenomena in a uniq way by telling the history of serial killers since ancient Europe untill today.
Vronsky is summing up the theoretical knoeledge about the causes and classifues of serial murders, and makes it more easy to deal with the different sights that different writters has on the subject.

This book brings up some unique perspectives that are worth attending to.

Goodman's overall premise -- the politicization of intelligence has crippled the CIA -- is dead-on. Much of this book centers on the two most glaring examples of that thesis, the fall of the USSR and the rush to war in Iraq. Yet Goodman overlooks some of the lower-level organizational problems in the Agency to spotlight the top-tier policy dynamics. The corporateness, risk-aversion and lagging creativity that are evident at all levels affect retention, promotion, operations, analysis and interagency relations. The good officers walk out in frustration for many of the reasons Goodman alludes to, while the remaining automatons and careerists flourish and rise. His account remains politically balanced, as he takes equal shots at both Democrat and Republican administrations. But his personal dislikes of specific individuals from his time in CIA shine through. Goodman's praise of Paul Bremer and Stansfield Turner as "luminaries" leads the reader to question his criteria of solid leadership and sound statecraft. There is also a overarching tone of idealism, if not naivety, in his views of intelligence collection, particularly in HUMINT operations. The editing is a bit rough and cut-and-paste text redundancy detracts from the book. Much of the Iraq material has been thoroughly covered by other authors.

Melvin Goodman spent many years in the CIA and taught at the War College. His insight and critique of foreign policies, on both sides of the aisle, are astute and well presented. A must read for the news junkie, or serious student of world politics and foreign affairs.

After forty years as a CIA insider, Melvin Goodman has produced a sweeping account of the agency's history and political entanglements that combines the solidity of good research with the readability of lively writing. Goodman's rich historical context and depth of detail, and the new insights he brings to familiar figures (and not-so-familiar characters) add dimension to his narrative. But while it's a fascinating read, it's also a dispiriting one. Goodman contends that, not long after the CIA's beginnings, in the Truman administration, the agency was used, not for objective strategic information, but had already devolved into a policy arm of whatever government was in power. (Need political justification for the invasion of X? Call the CIA.) Goodman goes into detail regarding covert operations during the Cold War, the CIA and the threat of terrorism, and he and also goes into great detail about the Iraq War and the political climate surrounding that. It would be wonderful if the information in the Iraq chapters were available to every American (including--and especially--our political leaders!). Interested in politics, history. and foreign affairs since World War II? Read this book! Failure of Intelligence: The Decline and Fall of the CIA

As a 30 year veteran of CIA's clandestine service. I agree with much of what Mel Goodman has to say about the Agency: the intrusion of political bias into the analytical process, the substitution of tactical for the more insightful strategic intelligence, and the loss of objectivity, when the military - a major consumer of the product - also becomes. its principal collector. President Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex, and his warning bears repeating: Crises make for good business and create high-paying jobs. When CIA's agents discovered that the missile gap was a myth, and later, that the Soviet Union was a knight dying in its armor, a great many defense contractors and their congressman became very nervous. Production lines were threatened; layoffs would surely follow, and pressure was applied to suppress or to ridicule such reporting. When the Director of Central Intelligence. "...serves at the pleasure of the president," his agency becomes particularly vulnerable to such pressures.

Like so many other critiques of CIA, however, Mel Goodman's book fails to identify a major contributor to CIA's erratic performance -- our Casanova-like approach to intelligence collection.. We turn it on when a crisis arises, but shut it down as soon as the crisis is over. With so many unmet societal requirements, why waste money on something no longer needed, particularly when it employs tactics that so blatantly offend core values of a Democratic society?

The antipathy is understandable, but its effects are devastating. Every time we close down coverage of a target, the best & brightest hands melt away. In the five to ten years it takes them to become professionals, they learn the language, get to know the territory, get to know the shakers & movers and learn how to get things done. Just the sort of people, the multinationals and the think tanks are dying for, and they are lured away by big salaries and sign-on bonuses. As James Risen observed in the New York Times, "In the mid-1990s, CIA became like an airline that had lost its senior pilots." But then, when the territory again becomes of interest, we have to start with a new batch of recruits and live with their mistakes as they learn their craft. Rank amateurism and inexperience were major contributors to the Abu Ghraib fiasco.

When Mr. Goodman dismisses CIA's operatives as risk averse, because they are protected by diplomatic immunity, it reveals that most of his experience was on the analytical and not be operational side. He ignores the large body of case officers that are under nonofficial cover, the operatives that were dropped into Afghanistan after 9/11 and well ahead of the military, as well as the technicians, often documented as tourists, that surreptitiously enter denied areas to install video and audio sensors. Three of those were caught in flagrante in Cuba and spent several years in Mr. Castro's prisons.

In summary, Mel Goodman's book very accurately captures the political winds that buffet America's intelligence efforts, and he is spot-on accurate in decrying the layers of unnecessary bureaucracy added by the creation of the Director of National Intelligence. But CIA is a vast and complex tapestry, and Mr. Goodman covers only a part of the territory.

Goodman's book offers a valuable angle on how and why the CIA failed to know about Soviet nuclear testing, failed to foresee the collapse of the USSR, and how it regularly buried intel at odds with White House policy (glasnost, Vietnam, China, Iran, Iraq, the list goes on an on). In all this Goodman conveys much needed background on the miserable CIA failure concerning events leading up to--and including--9/11.

But, apparently, due to its hurried publication, it is annoyingly repetitive, filled with typos, and, overall, very poorly edited. Chapter and section headings have no particular or useful meaning.

That said, Goodman presents the last 40 years of CIA bumbling in the context of the political ideologues, bureaucratic incompetence, and abuse of executive power under Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and the Bushes. He gleefully and repeatedly skewers current Sec. of Defence Robert Gates and his rise as William Casey's Cold War Flunkie, Team-Player, and Yes-Man.

Perhaps because Goodman resigned in the early 1990s, or perhaps because of legalistic or ideological limitations on his part, this book places little emphasis on the increased reliance of U.S. intelligence services upon foreign governments, the outsourcing of intel to Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, to name a few, and even to private firms, each with its own agenda. Providing the basic outlines of this particular trend would be the icing on the cake, but in the intelligence world which Goodman-As-Author inhabits, he is content with something less ambitious. (For more on CIA failures and fiddling, without the office infighting and I-told-you-so's, see Joseph Trento's The Secret History of the CIA and Prelude to Terror: the Rogue CIA, The Legacy of America's Private Intelligence Network the Compromising of American Intelligence.)

I could not put this book down. It was very well written and the pages seemed to turn themselves. I couldn't wait to get to the end! The only dissapointment was when I was all done and didn't have anymore Ann Rule to read.

Former policewoman Ann Rule once again displays her remarkable narrative talent as she covers half a dozen sordid crimes. The book is primarily about Randy Roth, a modern bluebeard who pushed his wives off cliffs when he tired of them and desired their insurance and social security benefits. Through the author's readable prose we get to know the killer, his victims, and the officers that eventually solved the case. Among the additional sordid cases in these pages are a rapist who returned to kill his victim/accuser after he was released from prison, a jilted husband that hired a "hit lady" to do in his wife, and a couple women who were tragically done in by fiends. Rule has a nicely readable style and great sympathy for the victims, which makes reading her narratives somewhat more palatable from a moral standpoint. Still, these are books about tragedy, despite Rule's sympathetic prose and the commendable efforts of law enforcement to solve these crimes.

Indeed, the Randy Roth story is the highlight of the book. I won't rehash the details, but readign it does tend to leave one rather sad, that this animal got away with hurting so many innocent people, whos only mistake was perhaps beign a bit too needy. One can only hope he's earning a proper punishment behind bars, and not running his own little prison gang or something.

I did however regret that there was no way to really examine the mans upbringing, and what made him the way he was. Perhaps he was neglected by a mother who doted over her daughters. His mother certainly sounded like a piece of work. Would also have been nice if Miss Rule had done a 'where are they now' segment at the end of this tale as she's done with other books in the is series.

So basically after all is said and done, I'd recomend this book. A good start to an exceptional true crime series.

I absolutely love Ann Rule. She is an amazing true crime writer and no one out there writes like she does. I have read about 7 or 8 of her books and have not found one yet that I didn't like. They have all been great and very hard to put down I find myself sitting down for hours just reading and reading. This book was no exception! I love when she does the crime files where she puts more then one story in the book. Those really hold my attention because I feel like I get more out of it. I would recommend any Ann Rule book to anyone who truly enjoys true crime. If you start out with Ann you'd better end with Ann too because I've read other true crime books by other authors and NO ONE has even begun to compare and they definately did not keep my attention at all. Ann RULES!!!

I read this a year ago and I'm reading it again now. Out of all the criminals Ann Rule writes about, Randy Roth boggles my mind the most.

This man had a plan for EVERYTHING. He was able to pick vulnerable women, almost a sixth sense for him to find the right woman to manipulate so his next plan could be put into action. Of the women Ann writes about, most of them (except perhaps Donna Sanchez (first wife) and Lily Vandiveer (babysitter, side dish) all experienced the same thing - a short, romantic courtship with great sex, then after the marriage (except for Mary Jo who was uninsurable due to a history of cancer)insurance policys and an icy, miserable coldness.
Long story short, 4 wifes, 2 of which he murdered, and the aftermath of the two dead wives is devestating. Randy Roth would only date/marry women with children, so after each relationship ended (whether it ended in death or by other means) crushed children's lives as well as the unfortunate woman.
I guess I'm so blown away by this story because you would almost think someone of this caliber (and you have to read to understand what I'm talking about) would be hooked on drugs or maybe institutionalized at some point in their life. Randy was physically fit, anti drug/tobacco/alcohol, but none the less a lying, stealing, cheating, child-abusing murderer.

Once you read about Cynthia, you'll see what this man is capable of. She went from one person to almost another in their year of marriage. At least she is reunited with her beloved Tom.

Campbell's Revenge is one of the shorter stories in the book, but absolutely HORRIFIC. The other short stories in this book are good as well. I see they were already listed by another reviewer.

"Pefectly Executed" is one of the most fascinating true-life crime drama reads. 48 Hours Mystery correspondent Peter Van Sant and producer Jenna Jackson did an amazing job weaving details from the show into a mystery that's almost hard to believe is true. The behind-the-scenes look at the alibis and excuses of the two teens who thought they were smarter than everyone else provides an awful insight into human nature. I don't know what is worse--the arrogance of Sebastian Burns or the passive, matter-of-fact manner of Atif Rafay (who's mother, father and sister were murdered). The sting operation was brilliant (and could be a movie itself) and captures the two on tape laughing about the murders, which is horrifying. I think the jury had no choice.

As a forensic specialist, I find reading true crime is the best busman's holiday. However, when I find mistakes very easily caught and corrected in a book, I have to wonder how many other mistakes may be contained in it. Are there some I cannot spot because I do not know about this case other that what I am reading? For instance: One photo shows one of the primary subjects being given an award stated to having been given by the Duke of Edinbutgh. Anyone can see that the giver is Prince Edward! Introduction ".... they had driven across Lake Washington into downtown Seattle, where they got some ice cream and french fries at an all-night diner." Page 47: "I had a little dessert sundae and a Coke, and I think Sebastian had hash browns and something else." If those kinds of mistakes don't bother you, then I think this is a pretty good read.

If you enjoy the 48 Hours Mystery television show, you will not be disappointed by Perfectly Executed. I had never seen the episode that dealt with this case, so for me it had an extra level of interest. It is a very "fast read", and the way that it was written certainly encourages that. In particular, the short chapters allow you to read in short spurts that keep you wanting to know more of the story. It's a fascinating case with many plot twists and interesting characters. It does drag just a bit in the middle of the book dealing with the undercover operations. Sometimes, I find that non-fiction books try to pack in too much information, and inevitably not everything is as compelling as fiction can be. That being the only flaw in this book, I highly recommend this story to fans of true crime.

The book is not a smooth read and seems it was choppily thrown together. The book does not do justice for the real story. What stands out is the facination or rather affection the reporter - Peter Van Sant develops for the convicted murder. They have similar looks - facial structure, fair skin, mouths and builds. The author's theory of the "muslim groups" killing the lovely muslim family and harmless autistic girl is another demeaning blow to their memory and furthers prejudicial stereotypes - it is a sad day for CBS journalists that fantasy and fabrication get top billing.

This book was so boring. There is no suspense at all. I bought this book because the other book from 48 hours (nightmare in napa) was fabulous. This book was really a dissapointment. I wouldn't waste my money. Probably a story that was much better to be seen on TV.

Book arrived in very timely manner. Looks interesting and will add to my daughter's forensic library.

I found the Birthday Party to be a very entertaining book, although the other reviewers are correct in their assertions that the author is full of himself. He is, but the experience that he describes is riveting. One thing that really stuck with me from this book is how the author talks about his belief that the death penalty is wrong. However, in the story it turns out that the biggest reason why he wasn't killed was the criminals' belief that if they killed government attorney they would be more likely to get the death penalty. Can we all get business cards with our profession listed as Federal Prosecutor so our chances of being murdered by the criminal element will drop to Stanley's?

After hearing a great interview with the author on NPR, I ordered the book anticipating a great read. I'm sorry to say that I was sorely disappointed. The narrative drags, the protagonist's whining description of his predicament did not bring the natural empathy that the story surely deserves. His portrayal of his abductors never goes beyond the level of stick figure drawings and are filled with superficial stereotypes. I would recommend passing this one up.

I was eager to read this book after hearing an interview with Stanley on the radio. After getting through the initial kidnapping and the first couple of hours he spent with the thugs, the book drags a bit. I commend Stanley for what he went through and how he survived this terrible ordeal and I mean no dissrespect at all to him, but the book was just a little dull for me. Granted, Stanley is a lawyer, but much of the legalistic writing in the later chapters tend to run together. Great, intriguing story, but I found myself bored by the end of the book. I will say...it's amazing the amount of detail Stanley recalls from this ordeal.

From the minute you pick up this book, you cannot put it down! The Birthday Party is about a most extraordinary tale of the kidnapping of a US Attorney the day before his birthday, and the events so bizarre, that it couldn't be anything but true. Stan is an instantly likeable character who is enjoying an ordinary evening in Manhattan, when in an instant his world is turned upside down as he faces the barrel of a gun and the reader is immersed at once in the story of his captivity at the hands of his kidnappers.

It is a truly compelling account of what Stan's hours were like blindfolded and held at the mercy of men with guns. Stan's ability to remain calm and find the humor in some of his circumstances really made the book an enjoyable read. There were moments of genuine humor as well as details of the pain and fear that followed his ordeal. The poignancy with which he writes about what he learned and the life he leads is very inspiring. The details he remembers and explains to the reader assist in making you feel like you're living the roller coaster ride with him. And his recount of how the police found the guys who grabbed him and how they proceeded through the legal system was an interesting glimpse into the criminal justice system most of us know nothing about.

There are many moments in the book where I felt like I was holding my breath waiting to see what would happen next. It was truly a great read. Stan's ability to relay the story really makes you feel like you're there with him and waiting for his safe return to his home, to his family, to his friends and to his very accomplished life. It's a great book and a very enjoyable read.

others have used the words "annoyingly arrogant and apparently editor-less man" and i totally agree. how insecure must he be to continually bring up his wannabe dating habits? and if i was that lisa woman, i'd be pissed that he continually kept writing her full name, including middle initial. jerk. borrow this book from the library.