Book Description
The most influential, enduring, and iconic metal band of the 1980's reveals everything a tell–all of epic proportions.
This unbelievable autobiography explores the rebellious lives of four of the most influential icons in American rock history.
Motley Crue was the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward–masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first ⯯wer ballad.⟔heir sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D
ᄲ
rico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies have included collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Provocatively written and brilliantly designed, this book includes over 100 photos, many never before published, for the most exciting and insightful look ever into the Crue.
Customer Reviews:
Best book I've ever read!!!.......2007-09-30
Art is a piece of work that moves you & this book did. I laughed, I was disgusted, I even cried. This is twenty years of a band strugling though fights, overdoses, suicide attempts, mariages, deaths, prison (it's all here!). I love how the story is told by different people so you can hearing everybody's version of what happened (crazy how everybody remebers things differently). You get to hear what happened behind closed doors & what wasn't in the tabloids. It truly was an awesome read - very hard to put down!
Great book.......2007-09-18
From page one your are on a journey, as told by each memeber of the band, from the worst part of L.A. and Motley Crue's beginnings, to their rise to super stardom in the world of rock and roll. I was never much of a Crue fan when they were in their prime, but as I got older, I started to like their music and enjoyed reading about their beginning and the typical crazy road that most rock stars take.
Anazing !!.......2007-09-18
I loved the book the most amazing thing i have ever read inmy life !!!
Suprisingly great book.......2007-09-17
You will wet your pants laughing within the first 5 pages. I am half way through the book and learning alot about the band and Nikki Sixx himself. There is alot people do not know. Can't wait to finish the rest.
Great book, but just a little over-embelished........2007-09-13
This book is a FUN read and I have no doubt that for the most part things went down exactly as described. However I've also read Neil Strauss' other books and while a brilliant writer, he tend to make things larger than life and more polished than they really were (read the Game especially for examples of this.) Some things in the book seem a little too "neatly" described and he glosses over some of the more negative aspects of Motley Crue (And I grew up with them and obsessively followed their press since I was in middle school.)
But definitely a thumbs up. Look forward to reading Nikki's new book for comparison.
Average customer rating:
- Madonna should have been on the cover
- Amazing!!!
- The most complete collection of Herb Ritts' work.
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Notorious
Herb Ritts
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
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 Ritts, Herb
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ASIN: 0821219111 |
Customer Reviews:
Madonna should have been on the cover.......2007-09-17
I bought this book because I was/(sometimes) am a huge Madonna fan. I got it about 10 years ago it when it was sold through her now defunct fan club for a lot more than this. Madonna is on the back cover (MTV 1990 Awards) and many more pictures are included inside; including an unpublished photo of Madonna with her daughter. The book includes lots of other great photos by the late Herb Ritts (he died 5 years ago of AIDS.)Eventhough Herb Ritts was always very cranky/temperamental/very effeminate he usually still took pretty good pictures. (I'd love to see an interview/photo of him where he is actually smiling, he always looked so ticked off and acted like everyone should be lucky to be in his presence; kinda like how Madonna behaves but on a much, much smaller scale.) I wasn't crazy about the cover of the book though. As you can see from the picture it's an ultra-close up of someone's mouth. Not just someone, D-list "celebrity," Sandy Bernhard. Who wants to look at this woman's huge lips? They should have put Madonna on the cover. Madonna is light-years more photogenic than Sandy ever was or ever will be for that matter!
Amazing!!!.......2007-03-10
I have purchased all of Herb Ritts books. He was an amazing visionary. I am a photographer as well, and see him as one of my all time idols. His passing was sad for me. At least we have something to remember him by.
The most complete collection of Herb Ritts' work........1998-12-02
This was the first book by Ritts I ever purchased.I found it to be an amazing collection of portraits of everyone from Madonna and Sean Penn to Pee-Wee Herman. A definite must have for a fan of Herb Ritts' work. He has become my favorite contemporary photographer at the moment.I strongly recommend it.
Book Description
Drawing on extensive interviews with the accused herself, here is the sordid, twisted, and surprising story of Brookey Lee West--a successful technical writer from Silicon Valley who went on a twenty year crime and killing spree.
Customer Reviews:
interesting.......2007-09-22
Though it was not one of the best true-crime books I've read, it certainly is worth reading.
NO ONE TO CARE ABOUT.......2007-08-18
Due to the description of the perpetrator and the victim(s)which one assumes is all true, one simply does not care about these people. Scumbag killed scumbag(s). How are we supposed to feel sympathy for that? Puit is a little too redundant in his writing. One gets the point, however, Puit pounds away various points at least three times each; perhaps to fill the book. When one does not care about the victim, one does not care about the killer therefore one cannot care about this book. It leaves one feeling polluted after reading about people who never deserved any mention in any book.
Brookey convicted on little evidence.......2007-08-07
I am an attorney in Las Vegas who read Mr. Puit's book to get to know some of the main law enforcement operators in Las Vegas.
Mr. Puit sets forth a wealth of information in West's case. Based on the information provided, it seems that West was convicted of murder on very shaky circumstantial evidence.
The cause of death of her mother was undetermined. No murder weapon was adequately identified. The motive was not clear cut. There was no eye-witness of the murder, just a bunch of witnesses that made a case that West was weird.
It appears to me that West was convicted simply because she was different. "Guilty by reason of weirdness."
All of her alleged victims were weirder still.
However, she was a criminal who committed a series of property related crimes including shoplifting and identity theft. Such crimes could be attributed to her poor upbringing and her mental problems.
Murder? I think there was reasonable doubt based on what this book presents.
Recommended Reading / Great Story.......2007-03-19
I bought this book during a trip to the local bookstore where I had purchased many other True Crime books. I put this one off until I had none left to read because I thought it might be a mediocre story, but I was in for an unexpected Roller Coaster ride! So often in True Crime books, there is a paucity of background information or family history available to the reader. I read True Crime books because I want to understand WHY individual criminals act as they do and HOW they became the people they are. This book delivers!
Strangely enough, despite the obviously evil woman Brookey Lee West is, I am not without sympathy for her. Her own mother was a freak of monumental proportions and her father a Satanist. I am certainly relieved West was convicted and will spend the remainder of her life in prison, but it is not difficult to understand how she became the bizarre individual she is. It is tragic that such an obviously bright and resiliant child was warped beyond recognition by her own family. (It should be noted that it requires a talented author to convey empathy for such a dangerous and predatory individual.)
Oddly, I lived and worked in Las Vegas for almost 9 years during the time in which this murder was discovered, but I have NO MEMORY of this crime. True, I do not watch the news often, but usually when a crime is this astounding, you find out about it anyway. I do not think the crime was quite as publicized as the author suggests. However, I was also raising three children under the age of 5 years and working full time as an individual and group therapist for sex offenders, so I may not have had much time left to consider any crimes beyond those of my clients!
It is interesting that Brookey Lee West is at the center of several strange deaths and disappearances. I am certain this is no coincidence. I cannot believe she continues to protest her innocence to this day. How stupid does she believe others are? Perhaps that is the problem. She does not think about anyone except herself.
interesting read.......2007-02-22
I did not think I would like this book as much as I did! This is about a woman from an incrediblely dysfunctional family who also dabbles in witchcraft. People around her die mysteriously, including her mother, who is found in a trash can inside a rented storage shed. It is scary to think people like her and her family could be living and working next to you! The book is fast paced, beginning with the find of the body in the trashcan and following with the usual background family history of the killer. The narrative does not get bogged down in lengthy details and cuts to the chase. It is not your average murder mystery, well worth the read.
Book Description
"Deftly written . . . Patterson's book must now be considered the definitive Tsavo lion study... one of the world's leading experts on lions as well as an important conservationist."--Publishers Weekly
Through field research and forensic evidence, a scientist reveals his theory on why two Kenyan lions killed humans and then ate their prey
In March 1898, the British began building a bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. In nine months, two male lions killed and ate nearly 135 workers, halting construction.
After a long hunt Colonel J. H. Patterson killed the lions, which are now on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
As codirector of the Tsavo Research Project, Bruce Patterson has conducted extensive fieldwork throughout the region on these lions. In The Lions of Tsavo, Patterson retells the harrowing story of those bloody nights in Kenya. He presents new forensic evidence on these maneless lions and argues that the man-eating behavior exhibited in 1898 came from the encroachment of human populations on wild habitats.
Patterson continues this theory by exploring man's interaction with the changing Kenyan environment, creating a complete, up-to-date, and scientific look behind this intriguing murder mystery.
Customer Reviews:
Well Done.......2006-08-19
The author does an excellent job of making the subject matter readable for the layman. This is based on a series of scientific studies which are often laborius reading for most but it is presented in an easily understood form.
No definite conclusions are drawn but anyone with an interest in the big cats will find this a valuable source of information.
Very Interesting.......2005-09-21
It is not the complete history of the how Col. Patterson killed the Tsavo Lions, but a very good and more recent report of a sciencific investigation trying to explain those animal's behavior and the causes that lead them to kill so many people.
I found it very interesting.
Informative and a shade biased.......2004-12-24
The book is filled with informative scientific hypothesis' about the man eaters. I found it to be very good reading until the the chapter when the author started bashing the hunters he had quoted through out the book. Throughout the world hunters are usually amoung the first to call for conservation of a species, not the enemy of conservation. Over all I would say the book is educational and worth reading just skip chapter 9 if you are a hunter.
A passion for the big African cats..........2004-04-14
For all of us with a passion for the big African cats, this book is a must read. The author, B.D.Patterson, combines his years of field research with an obvious love of the African continent to produce a scientific yet readable and ultimately fascinating review of lion behavior, biology, and evolution.
Starting with an historical review of `man-eater lion' stories Dr. Patterson clarifies facts and debunks myths. He provides a comprehensive review of related factors - from dentition to drought - from game scarcity to human burial practices. No stone is left unturned as he investigates aggressive behavior where the territories of human and lion overlap (and there is aggressive behavior on both sides of this equation!!). He continues his analysis with a succinct review of the latest biological and evolutionary information of the Panthera genus, covering the latest findings in DNA studies, historical range analysis, behavioral studies, and much more. Finally, he concludes the book with a review of conservation efforts in the Tsavo region and plea for continued assistance for this increasingly endangered species.
Readers who are tired of the dumbed-down approach many authors follow in order to cater to the broadest audience possible will be presently surprised by this book. It is thoughtful and intelligent throughout - readable and enjoyable - give it a try.
A Fascinating Study.......2004-02-11
Bruce Patterson's brilliant new book shines a much-needed scientific light on the lions of Tsavo. First made infamous by Colonel John Patterson (no relation to the author of this book), after he wrote "The Man-eaters of Tsavo" almost a century ago, and then re-introduced to modern audiences when the movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" came out in 1996, the lions of the barren East African region have been much speculated on. Their unusual physical characteristics and habits, including a reputed inclination to prey on men with greater frequency than other lions, have added to the interest about them.
Unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, little is known about the Tsavo lions. Are they a separate species from the lions found elsewhere in Africa or a subspecies? How does their social behavior differ from that of other lions? Why are the male lions of Tsavo typically maneless? Was the trait selected by evolution for some reason or determined by the tough physical environment of Tsavo?
Bruce Patterson, a naturalist with extensive experience studying these beasts, informs the debate on them to such a degree that even where he does not provide definitive answers to these questions about the lions - and he sometimes does -- he provides the definitive framework for understanding them. He approaches the creature from every angle. He has studied them in the field. He has worked on them in the laboratory. And he has extensively read both the scientific and popular literature on the lions.
Despite his impressive scholarship, Patterson is not afraid to tell the reader when he doesn't know something. He often writes that some area on the lions needs further study. I also appreciated how he took seriously what any source (white hunters, local tribesmen, etc.) had to say about the lions. Patterson does not snobbishly discount what a source says just because it was not written by a fellow scientist. He makes note of it in his ledger and considers it in the context of other information on the subject.
This is a delightful book. If you have any interest in lions in particular or big cats in general, you will find it fascinating and informative.
Average customer rating:
- 16 year olds review
- The author knows prep school like she does rocket science
- wow
- Notorious
- Notorious: An It Girl Novel
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Notorious: An It Girl Novel
Cecily von Ziegesar
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ASIN: 031601186X |
Book Description
Popular Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey is making a splash at Waverly Academy, an elite boarding school in New York horse country where glamorous rich kids don't let the rules get in the way of an excellent time.It's less than a week into school, but Jenny's already been caught with her roommate's boyfriend (in bed!), flashed the whole school at a field hockey game, and gone up against the Disciplinary Committee. She's become notorious, just like Tinsley Carmichael, Waverly's former It Girl, who was expelled last year and is rumored to be jet-setting around the world.So what happens when Tinsley arrives back on campus and moves in with Jenny? After all, there can only be one It Girl.
Customer Reviews:
16 year olds review.......2007-09-08
I disagree with anyone who does not like the book. It does what a book is supposed to do. It keeps you intrigued. So what if you think it is unrealisitc, so was the notebook and No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark. Books are supposed to stretch the imagination. personally I think all of the It Girl books are great. I just started reading Unforgettable, and I can't wait for Lucky to come out.
The author knows prep school like she does rocket science.......2007-07-22
Totally unrealistic. The author might know about the lives of the rich and famous, but she clearly knows nothing about attending an actual, realistic boarding school. Jenny Humphrey and her friends would all been have expelled by now.
A boarding school let an expelled girl, especially one who had been caught using drugs, back in? Wow. Ok. Stick to the gossip girl series, please.
wow.......2007-04-18
I started this book and was amazed at how the author could just put the f word anywhere like it was nothing! It had very strange and akward senerios like a girl making out with a teacher. I didn't finish the book but from what i read it was bad.
Notorious.......2006-12-20
I got immediately got addicted to the It Girl series when I was at a book store and randomly decided It Girl looked like a good book to read so I picked that one out and ended up falling in love with the series.
The book Notorious is one of the best books I have ever read, it's such a page turner you never want to stop reading it, I swear it's impossible. The main plot of the book is when a girl Tinsley Carmichael returns to Waverly Academy and elite boarding school after being expelled the semester before. Tinsley just happened to be best friends with her former roommates Brett and Callie. Jenny Humphrey then took Tinsley's spot and Waverly and ended up rooming in Dumbarton 303 with Brett and Callie. All this drama between the four girls and their secrets, lies, and just being teenage girls causes hatred.
I would recommend this book to anyone that loves drama and gossip but doesn't want to get involved in it in reality. When you read this book you can visualize everything and put yourself in their shoes and not worry about your real life. Teenage girls with LOVE this book!
Notorious: An It Girl Novel.......2006-12-14
The book that i read was "Notorious: An It Girl Novel". It is about when Tinsley Carmichael comes back to Waverly Academy after she got expelled the previous spring. But once she finds out that big-chested Jenny is getting all the attention now, its war. Jenny also shares a room with Brett and Callie who were Tinsley's roomates before she got expelled so now shes friends with them. But at the end of the book Tinsley and Callie get caught in Boston with (a boy named Heath Ferro) in Boston by the Dean of Waverly so they get split up. So when Brett's and Jenny's relationship is just getting better they get split up too because of Tinsley and Callie. So Brett and Tinsley have to share a room with eachother now and they are fighting, and Jenny and Callie have to share a room now and they are fighting because Callie says that Jenny stole Easy Walsh from her when they were broken up in the first place.
I enjoyed this genre because I enjoy reading realistic fiction and that's what this book was. It was a page-turner because it was really exciting so you didn't want to stop reading. I would like to read another book by this author because she is a really great author and I like her style of writing. I think that most girls like realistic fiction would like this book. This was one of the best books I ever read.
Average customer rating:
- Thank you Tony for sharing your story with us.
- Heartbreaking, but a great book
- I was amazed
- Great Read!
- Why are they still around?
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The Hopeville Fire Department: A Boy's Tale of Betrayal by One of New England's Most Notorious Priests
Tony Lembo
Manufacturer: Prose & Pictures, Inc
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ASIN: 0979349109 |
Product Description
The Hopeville Fire Department is the true, first person account of a victim of sexual abuse by one of New England's most notorious priests. In the heartland of devoutly Catholic, working-class, 1970s New England, few took notice of Connecticut State Police and fire chaplain Father Stephen C. Foley racing around in a car full of teenaged boys and young men, visiting firehouses, chasing fire engines, showing up at fire scenes and pretending to be firemen. But hidden in plain sight, Father Foley was a central figure in a network of firehouse groupies across New England that, for more than two decades, used the candy of firehouse and police culture to lure boys into violent sexual initiations that left their lives shattered while the Catholic Church looked the other way. This is the story of one of those boys, and a look inside one of the most bizarre and callous cases of pedophilia ever uncovered among the Catholic clergy. It is a tale of evil and hypocrisy still unfolding in today's headlines as the Diocese of Hartford continues to pay out millions to keep the truth from being told, while providing Foley with shelter and defense against a growing chorus of victims.
Customer Reviews:
Thank you Tony for sharing your story with us........2007-08-07
We all need to be aware of clergy sexual misconduct and what happened to Tony Lembo is why. So many victims of sexual abuse silently suffer alone. We all need to be aware of this problem as this is the only way we can begin to hold accountable these pedophiles.
To think Father Foley has never been charged and is free to molest more boys is insane. Let us all wake up to this now.
Heartbreaking, but a great book .......2007-06-06
This book is well written and straight from the heart. The abuse is sickening and the method of grooming these boys is just pure evil genius--what kid can resist cruising around watching firemen work? What courage to have brought this out into the fresh air and sunlight, to refuse to keep silent and be a victim one more minute.
I was amazed.......2007-06-04
This book is easy to read, straight from the heart and interesting. I can't beleive those [...] are still free to violate other young children. I didn't realize people could act that terrible. I would reccomend this book to anyone with a few hours to sit down and read. You will have a hard time laying the book down once you start reading it.
Great Read!.......2007-05-16
This book was hard to put this book down. Unlike typical expose books on the Catholic Church, Tony tells us that he can't understand the motives behind Father Stephen Foley who assaulted him, or the Catholic Church who covered up years of Foley's assaults on uncountable victims, because that is not the point of "The Hopeville Fire Department." The point of this book was for Tony to tell his story and explain the life of a victim of betrayal and sexual abuse. Tony brings us into his life at an early age and we travel from his Catholic upbringings through his assault, to an adult coping with this horrific memory. He goes further than any media outlet ever can by explaining, in his own words, what's it like to live your whole life with a secret so humiliating, it takes 30 years to confess. I would recommend "The Hopeville Fire Department" to anyone because of its honesty and quick-read quality. This is a topic that everyone should be aware of.
Why are they still around?.......2007-04-15
This book touched me deeply. I finished the book in two parts. I'm so glad Tony wrote this book no one really knows what these priest did, only thing we hear is that the church is paying hugh amounts of money. His story blow me away. After reading this book I logged onto Tonylembo.com to find all kinds of media attention on this book. When I realized that this priest is still living the life, driving the same car I was stunned and sick to my stomach. If your children aren't safe with the priests of the Catholic Church who can we trust?
Customer Reviews:
Yummy Gossip!!!.......2006-01-07
I love Laurie Jacobson's books and this one is the best yet!!! I love her "juicy little tidbits" about the stars of yesteryear. The stories are very entertaining and I love the fact that she also included recipes to match the stories. A very clever thing to do!!! It's almost like 2 books in one, a gossipy book and a cookbook! I hope she continues to research Hollywood and to write wonderful books about the stars!!!! My only complaint---it's not long enough!!! I am ready for a "Dishing Hollywood II".
A Must-Have Book For Classic Movie Fans!.......2005-02-22
I had so much fun reading this book! The stories are great and Miss Jacobson clears up a lot of false Hollywood rumors. The best part about this book is that it includes chapters about some forgotten stars like Carole Landis, Dorothy Kilgallen, and Lupe Velez. Anyone who is a fan of classic Hollywood and loves juicy gossip will want this book.
Dishing Hollywood: Recipe for Success.......2004-03-01
I highly recommend Dishing Hollywood The Real Scoop on Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals. Laurie Jacobson really knows her stuff and serves up heaping portions of scandal and intrigue of Hollywood's most notorious stars. I have read all of the author's books and Dishing Hollywood is Jacobson at her best. Jacobson brilliantly spins tale after sordid tale, "sprinkles" famous film quotes throughout each chapter and "tops" off with a recipe of the star's favorite dish (or, in some cases, their last meal!). Dishing Hollywood is a tasty treat, and I can't wait for Jacobson's next book!
Whatta Dish! A Collection of Hollywood Scandals Du Jour.......2004-01-20
I fortuitously fell into this little gem the day after xmas.....a belated "BEST" present to myself.
While I already own Jacobson's two other books and hold her in high regard, this book proves that she is only getting better as a film historian and writer.
She assumes a slick, quasi-cinema noir persona in her narrative and mixes in a Sandra Lee-like easy 'recipe' that takes a not too subtle slam at each of the scandals/stories she relates. The vanity of the 'dish' (aka scandal/tragedy/hard luck story) only enhances the general readability of this book. This is a novel approach that makes an already interesting product even more appealing. I kept thinking that the author did a terrific job with the material she was presenting.
Aside from the kidding around, this book is really rather fair and factual. The author knows her stuff and relies on knowledgeable sources to substantiate or refute claims made in the book.
My only criticism of this book is that I wish it had been longer and had covered some other stories that I find interesting and want to know more about. Hopefully there will be a follow-up to this book which will do that.
Anyway, this is a very good read and worth the $ and time spent reading it.
A shocking and lurid collection.......2004-01-12
Organized around the theme of food to the extent of featuring choice recipes with each biographical entry, Dishing Hollywood: The Real Scoop On Tinseltown's Most Notorious Scandals by television writer and producer Laurie Jacobson is a compelling look into more than forty tabloid-worthy exploits of Hollywood's stars ranging from the early twentieth century down to the present day. A shocking and lurid collection guaranteed to add spicy conversational anecdotes to one's Hollywood themed cooking, the recipes are as fun as the scandals are fascinating.
Book Description
Flaunt magazine declares LAbyrinth "absolutely impossible to put down" -- a book whose stunning discoveries are nonetheless "incredibly thorough and surprisingly credible." Acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan follows Russell Poole, a highly decorated LAPD detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial cop-on-cop shooting, and eventually discovered that the officer killed was tied to Marion "Suge" Knight's notorious gangsta-rap label, Death Row Records. During his investigation, Poole would come to realize that a growing cadre of black officers were allied not only with Death Row but with the murderous Bloods street gang. And incredibly, he began to uncover evidence that at least some of these "gangsta cops" may have been involved in the murders of rap superstars Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Still more shocking is what happened when Russell Poole became lead investigator in the murder of Notorious B.I.G.: as his shrewd detective work pointed to crooked cops such as David Mack, who orchestrated one of the biggest bank heists in Los Angeles history, Poole found his investigation stifled by a police chief wary of doing further damage to a department already sullied by the O. J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King beating, and the Rampart corruption scandal. Could it be that the Rampart scandal -- in which dozens of officers were implicated in a conspiracy of robbery, brutality, drug dealing, and false imprisonment -- was only a smokescreen for a far more damaging debacle? Igniting a firestorm of controversy in the music industry and the Los Angeles media, the hardcover publication of LAbyrinth helped to prompt two lawsuits against the LAPD (one brought by the widow and mother of Notorious B.I.G., the other by Poole himself) that may finally bring this story completely out of the shadows. Entertainment Weekly insists that "no single source presents so complete or damning a record" of this "compelling" epic tale of L.A. noir. "[An] engrossing, damning tale of widespread unchecked corruption in one of the nation's largest police departments, one that deserves attention." -- Renee Graham, The Boston Globe " "A deftly told, immensely relevant, true-life potboiler from the streets of urban America." -- Kirkus Reviews " "LAbyrinth is a jeremiad, leveling everything in its path." -- R. J. Smith, Los Angeles Magazine "You don't have to know anything about any of this to love this book." -- Carolyn See, The Washington Post "You haven't got the goods on any of these notorious cases until you read this intricate show-biz true-crime thriller." -- Mike Tribby, Booklist "Sullivan's reportorial writing style accurately reflects the investigative work ... while building the drama within the truly labyrinthine political cover-ups." -- Publishers Weekly
Customer Reviews:
Mindblowing Information.......2006-10-12
This book is one of the main reasons I could not bring myself to vote for former LAPD police chief Bernard Parks, in our most recent mayoral race. Seems we were so worried about more negative press in this city, we too often just looked the other way. One of the better documented works on the subject; the background info on L.A. street gangs, Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. are worth the cost alone. Will keep you glued to the pages.
Great book, very well-written.......2006-09-02
I recommend this book for several reasons. First off, it is extremely well-written. There's no rambling, it's very well researched, and the way the stories and facts are expressed are not dry at all. The writer, Randall Sullivan, writes for Rolling Stone magazine, so it's presented in that style. Even if you aren't interested in the Tupac/Biggie story, this book still goes deep into the origins of the Bloods and Crips, East coast and West coast rap feuds, and especially, just how corrupt the LAPD was(and probably still is). I've read other books on these subjects, including the recently released book by "hip-hop cop" Derrick Parker, but this book is by far the best. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Mindblowing!.......2004-07-21
If ur a fan of either tupac or biggie GET THIS BOOK .....russell poole blows the lid on how death row was really run. He explaines the level of corruption within the LAPD, and how and why the investigations into their murders remain unsloved. After reading this book, and watching the Nick Sullivan Biggie and Tupac dvd, its plain and obvious to all who was behind their murders!
Biased author, unsympathetic characters.......2003-08-28
As a fan of both Tupac and Biggie, I was very interested in learning more about what really went down. Former Officer Poole seems to think he has the answers so I was eager to learn what he knows draw my own conclusions. I was very disappointed.
First of all, to my absolute surprise, nobody else seems to have picked up on the author's extreme bias. For example, on page 14 of the hardcover version, Sullivan notes that "[In the early 1960s], as now, black males committed a hugely disproportionate amount of crime in Los Angeles and across the country." WHAT? I can't even believe that went to print. Question: do black males commit a disproportionate amount of crime in this country or are they accused and convicted disproportionately? At the very least, if you're gonna make such outrageous comments, back it up. With no statistical data, I consider Sullivan's comment to be hearsay. Then, just a few pages later, on page 18, Sullivan gets a little diatribe going about how the LAPD hiring process has become less stringent over time, noting that "liberals had successfully argued that [baring applicants with juvenile records] limited the number of blacks and Hispanics who could join the LAPD." I'm not even 20 pages into the book, and my reading of the author is that he really doesn't like minorities or "liberals," whatever the latter term means to him because he sure doesn't define anything. Yet I decided to take these and similar comments with a grain of salt and press forward with the book.
If one-tenth of what's written in these pages is true, Biggie and Tupac were just as despicible as Suge Knight, the LAPD, the affiliated gangs, the attorneys and just about everyone else who graced the pages of the book. And that made me really sad because it's hard for me to listen to the music the same way. Tupac and Biggie were not innocent; they were just greedy [...] who courted violence successfully. Truthfully, none of the stuff about the LAPD or any of the other authority figures surprised me. Money and testosterone--bad combination. Lest you think I'm a man-hater, the women in this book are appalling, too. I hate to say it but Tupac and Biggie got what they deserved.
I do think that Sullivan's style is extremely readable and engaging. I also like the way he attempted to provide background on the LAPD history, the history of the Crips and the Bloods, etc. If you're not likely to be critical going into this book, it's not bad for escapism. Unless you were living in a plastic bubble or don't keep up w/ current events, I doubt that you'll be blown away by the overall picture Sullivan paints.
Outstanding.......2003-07-26
An outstanding book. Very well researched and a methodical investigtion of the underworld that the rap music business has become. To the few people who thought that this book was a waste of time I can't imagine that you read the same book. There is so much evidence that the top brass of the LAPD covered up certain investigations that it is overwhelming.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-08-12
I don't know how I missed this guy. He is great. I would say that he is in the I.F. Stone category. He has been around forever and has written volumes, but I only found out about him via a volume that I picked up at a yard sale. The book was called "The Great Thoughts". And it is exactly what the title implies. I have had it on my bed stand for years. Finally I decided to look up the name on the cover - Compiled By Geroge Seldes. So I then sent for this book. It is great and when I finish it I will probably order another by Mr. Seldes. He was obviously a "cool" old man.
Apt Title.......2002-07-06
The author George Seldes is a name unknown to the vast majority of Americans, including those who read newspapers. Yet his pioneering newsletter In Fact, along with a supreme dedication to jounalistic integrity and Jeffersonian ideals, qualify him as one of the key journalists of the 20th century. He set the standards that many liberal muckrakers of today work to emulate, including, for example, the late and more widely known I.F. Stone.
The book's title Witness to a Century is an apt one. As a foreign correspondent, he had an uncanny knack for being at the right places at the right time while history was being made. His recollections of such key figures as Mussolini, Lenin, Tito, Mc Carthy, Roosevelt, and others are priceless. It's doubtful that any one person non-head of state met with as many shapers of history as Seldes, even as the book profiles his many encounters with cultural figures of the day: Picasso, Sinclair Lewis, Ford Maddox Ford, and the Paris literary scene of the 1920's. With this stellar background, readers could expect an exceptional reminiscence on the century past. However, I was somewhat disappointed in the result. Fellow reviewer Goldberg points out how the last two chapters tend to fade, and he is correct. In fact, the book as a whole seems rather loose and disjointed, with little segue from one chapter to the next other than a rough timeline. And while many of the personal portraits remain vivid and edifying--von Hindenburg weeping over Germany's defeat by fresh American troops--the work as a whole is the result of a distinguished journalist past his prime. Still and all, his observations on the press reporting of his day may surprise some readers. Managed news accounts, the result of kowtowing to wealth and power, was even more flagrant in his day than now, suggesting, I suppose, some refinement of method. There is material here for several volumes, and I suspect that were he 20 years younger, such would have been the result. As it stands, the work is more a compilation of loose snapshots, than in-depth portraits.
Nonetheless, no historian of the 20th century, amateur or professional, can afford to pass up such primary material. Seldes was not only an outstanding jounalist, but as the record shows, an outstanding American as well. Regretably, his like seems to have faded from the scene, leaving mainstream journalism to generation after generation of pack-following pygmies.
Interesting, Readable, Informative.......2001-09-27
Seldes primarily describes his years as a foreign correspondent in this solid memoir. Seldes began as a cub reporter for the Pittsburgh Leader in 1909, but was soon overseas covering World War One, and then Weimar Germany, Bolshevik Russia, Fascist Italy, and the Spanish Civil War. I liked the author's analysis, not to mention his portraits of such figures as Generals Pershing and Hindenburg, Mussolini, Lenin, Trotsky, etc. Seldes scorns the era's conservative publishers for failing to cover many important issues, a problem he combated with his newsletter IN FACT from 1940-50. Sadly, today's corporate media barons also avoid certain issues. I gave the book four stars because the last chapters tend to fade - Seldes wrote them while in his mid-90's. Still, WITNESS TO A CENTURY provides an excellent look at many events that helped shape today's world.
George Seldes (1890-1995) was an outstanding journalist, one who respected truth until the day he passed at age 104. As his obituary noted, nearly until the end he was still discussing world events with admirers who phoned or visited his home in rural Vermont.
Liberal Press? Thank God........1999-12-24
For all those screaming about the liberal press, I say Thank God. If you don't agree, you don't know the facts, or don't want to acknowledge the facts. Read this book and you will never again complain about liberal reporters all of whom work for conservative publishers. Thank God for GeorgeSeldes and his courage to tell the truth about a Century of fighting against the takeover of our democracy by fascism.
Fascinating perspective on events that formed our century........1999-07-28
Seldes, as usual,gives a clear,no holds barred account of the events that formed our world as it is presently constituted. He discusses forces that,usually unmentioned, have molded our world outlook. His historical anecdotes are gems, and to anyone reading this book many landmark events in history will never look the same.
Book Description
CIRCLE OF SIX
The True Story of New York's Most Notorious Cop-Killer and the Cop Who Risked Everything to Catch Him
In 1972, New York City was plagued with protests, riots, and general unrest. It was during this defining year that one of the Police Department's most scandalous cases occurred: the murder of Police Officer Phillip Cardillo. On Friday, April 14, 1972, the police were summoned to Mosque Number 7 in Harlem, led at the time by the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, for a ten-thirteen: officer in need of help. The turn of events after this officer distress call has become perhaps the most legendary story in NYPD history. Police entered the Mosque and a conflict occurred, leaving Office Cardillo dead, and the city on the brink of a full-scale riot. Sensing a potential crisis and conflict with the Nation of Islam and the Black Liberation Army, New York City Mayor John Lindsey, Commissioner Benjamin Ward, and Congressman Charles Rangel acquiesced to the city's black leaders and ordered the police out of the Mosque.
Subsequently, the details of Officer Cardillo's murder and the events of what happened at the Mosque were covered up and an investigation was never truly launched until NYPD detective Randy Jurgensen began his own investigation. For four years, he would not rest, taking on the Mayor, his superiors in the NYPD, the Nation of Islam, and seemingly at times, the entire city of New York, before he could affect an arrest. His investigation revealed the tragic and shameful story of the political scandal and cover-up that rocked the NYPD and the Nation of Islam.
Circle of Six is the harrowing true crime expose that lifts the curtain to reveal the raw story behind one of the most debated cases in the history of the New York City Police Department. Officer Cardillo's murder is still an officially unsolved crime to this day. Written by Randy Jurgensen with Robert Cea, also a former NYPD detective, it details Jurgensen's determined effort to bring Officer Cardillo's murderer to justice. Despite the mayhem on the streets and the Machiavellian corridors of Mayor Lindsay's City Hall, Detective Jurgensen captured Cardillo's killer, Lewis 17X Dupree. He broke the case with an unlikely accomplice, Foster 2X Thomas, a minister for the Nation of Islam who became Randy's witness and would eventually help put Dupree behind bars.
Customer Reviews:
Gripping Drama.......2007-09-16
This was a shocking and gripping report on actual events and the extremely disturbing aftermath. A detailed no-nonsense story about a detective's determination to overcome all the obstacles thrown up by New York city police brass and elected officials...all named...to stop an investigation into the murder of a police officer in a Nation of Islam mosque, Harlem, New York City in 1972. An amazing account.
Shameful Time in NYPD History.......2007-07-13
As a former Lieutenant in the NYPD and in TPF at the time of the Mosque incident, I read this book, both frustrated and proud. Randy Jurgensen is the quintessential NYPD detective; dogged, honorable, dedicated, loyal, and honest. This episode is Department history makes me ashamed of the bosses and politicians who so shamelessly put their careers ahead of justice in the murder of a NYC police officer; alternately, it makes me proud that cops like Randy Jurgensen are around to right those wrongs.
Remember Cardillo!
The Way It Was.......2007-05-15
As a former NYC Police officer, assigned to the 28 Pct.a year after this terrible tragic event I knew many of the people mentioned in the book..My wife also read the book and could not believe the cover up of the killing of Phil Cardillo..We met his wife on many occassions....I also worked with his cousin Mike Cardillo at One Police Plaza...
Don't Vote Until You Read This Book!.......2007-03-31
Charlie Rangel, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam, Jesse Jackson -- just a few of the individuals currently the darling endorsers of more than one potential 2008 presidential candidate -- are well known for their political posturing, but less well known for their notorious, criminal, acessory-to-murder activities so convincingly exposed & proved in Randy Jurgensen's well-documented Circle of Six. Any normal person who reads this book should be outraged that justice was subverted in this case. And you should be afraid. Really, truly, afraid that the thin blue line keeping evil from overwhelming us ordinary folks is so easily sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. The power people who were never called to account for their horrible coverups, collusion with criminals, & abandment of their public trust are still with us today. Tragically, Officer Roy Cardillo's murder & the cover-up afterward is not isolated in law enforcement. Saldy, the Circle of Six has many more members in many more departments in many more cities. It is wherever the politically powerful advance themselves at the expense -- and the lives -- of those they are supposed to lead. Thankfully, there is one Court, one Judge, and one Book they will ultimately be unable to avoid. Thank you, Det. Jurgensen, for helping to expose the darkness to the light.
The best true crime I've ever read!.......2007-02-26
This is one of the best of it's genre I've ever read. It hits home on the other side of the coin the media never reports. It's about a cop who has his hands tied by political correctness and his ingenious way he goes around the system to find justice to a slain brother officer. The book points to the fact that in Cop culture they have only one color BLUE!
Books:
- The Distant Land of My Father
- The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day
- The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists
- The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief
- The Lighting Cookbook for Fashion and Beauty Photography: Foolproof Recipes for Taking Perfect Portraits
- The Little Prince
- The Old Man and The Sea
- The Photographer's Eye
- The Ruins
- The Seventeen Traditions
Books Index
Books Home
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Tommyland
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