No comments about John Dillinger: The FBI Files.

No comments about Ultimate Hard Bastards: The Truth About the Toughest Men in the World.

No comments about Black Barty: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean.

2 comments about Cass.

1. 
   As a previous reviewer pointed out; this is not a typical hooligan book its a biography of Cass one of the main members of the IFC one of the most famous hooligan gangs of the 70s and 80s.
   
   The book covers his childhood, being a black child adopted by a white couple and raised in an all white area, the racism he encountered as a kid and how his foster parents taught him pride in who he was and to stand up to anyone. The book then goes into how he got hooked up with the IFC and hooked on the violence that went with it.
   
   The many trials he went through, how he went into bouncing post jail time, how he met his future wife and finaly got his life together metting up with his natural parents back in Jamacia.
   
   Realy interesting read especially his connections with Frank Bruno and Lenny Henry.
   
   Honest book, highly recomended.



2. When i started reading this book i thought it would be about a MORONIC FOOTBALL THUG that all the media wants us to believe they are, but this is how CASS found true friends at West Ham, who didn't care about his colour but just the love of his team and how he grew up amongs racists,football rivals and police prejedice and came out a proud person and a loving parent. Excellent reading

No comments about Tilted: The Trial of Conrad Black.

No comments about Dr. Crippen: Crime Archive.

5 comments about Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist (New York Review Books Classics).

1. Everyone should read this book. It was written at the begining of the 19th century, but everything is still important today. I ordered this book for a friend in prison and he loved it, and passed it around to other prisoners. If you know anyone in jail or prison, please send them this book. It was my husband's favorite book before he was killed on a freight train. It's very well written and comes highly recommended.



2. This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. Berkman, as you probably know, tried to kill Henry Frick in an ill fated (and stupid) solidarity action with a group of strikers. He went to jail for it, and his immature poltics underwent an amazing transistion.
   
   But instead of coming out of jail reformed, he came out with a more complex sense of who he was and what he had to do and returned immediately to his poltical work. Berkman's writing style changes as he changes as a person, starting out ultra doctrinare and ending up a more well rounded and likeable human being. Highly recommened, even if you aren't interested in the politics.



3. The book is the account of the anarchist Alexander's Berkman's experiences in prison after his botched attempt to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the monster who "legally" slaughtered workers during the Homestead strike of 1892. Although Berkman never abandons his anarchist principles, he does soften his moral repugnance for criminals whose crimes were not motivated by political or humanitarian aims. If anything his friendships with prisoners deepen his anarchist insights about how exploitation and poverty are the principal causes of criminal behavior. Like his lover Emma Goldman, he spends his prison years advocating for the needs of his fellow inmates, often being punished for his advocacy. Berkman details the brutality, graft and corruption of the prison establishment.

   Anticipating Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Berkman shows that those who view their punishment as a part of a larger purpose are best equipped to survive the inhuman treatment and conditions of prison life. The book is not all seriousness, however. It often has lighter moments, as when Berkman describes the quixotic attempt by his friends to tunnel into the prison to free him. Berkman's sub rosa argument, made to Goldman, that Leon Czologosz's assassination of President McKinley lacked redeeming social value, unlike his (Berkman's) attempt to assassinate Frick, while though interesting fails to be convincing. Those interested in the relationship of these remarkable people (Goldman and Berkman) will especially want to read that section.

   The book is worth reading not merely for its historical value but for its literary qualities as well. It is intelligently written and difficult to put down. Although it is 518 pages, I read it all in three days. It is just that riveting.




4. In 1892, Alexander Berkman burst into the office of Henry Frick, an overseer at Carnegie's steelworks, and attempted to gun him down to foment a revolutionary uprising. Frick survived. Berkman went to jail. Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is Berkman's account, not only of the revolutionary ardor which drove him to assault Frick, but also of the horrors of incarceration and the transformation of his own thinking while behind bars.

   We get plenty of revolutionary and anarchist theory from Berkman. He opens a door into the thoughts and feelings of people struggling for economic and social justice 100 years ago. More than that, he opens a door into the mindset of a fanatic, one which may help us understand the motivations of those who flew their planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001:

   "Could anything be nobler than to die for a grand, a sublime Cause? Why, the very life of a true revolutionist has no other purpose, no significance whatever, save to sacrifice it on the altar of the beloved People." (p. 12)

   "My own individuality is entirely in the background; aye, I am not conscious of any personality in matters pertaining to the Cause. I am simply a revolutionist; a terrorist by conviction, an instrument for furthering the cause of humanity." (p. 13)

   "True, the Cause often calls upon the revolutionist to commit an unpleasant act; but it is the test of a true revolutionist-nay, more, his pride-to sacrifice all merely human feeling at the call of the People's Cause." (p. 12)

   Berkman, the purist, disdains his fellow prisoners. He sees himself as better than they are, a Servant of Humanity, not a petty criminal, a predator on the poor. But, life in prison, although it does not shake his revolutionary and anarchist convictions, does bring him down from his ivory tower. Berkman begins to see that:

   "The individual, in certain cases, is of more direct and immediate consequence than humanity. What is the latter but the aggregate of individual existences-and shall these, the best of them, forever be sacrificed for the metaphysical collectivity?" (p. 403)

   His revolutionary understanding also shifts. He begins to differentiate between the autocratic despotism of Europe and the despotism of republican institutions:

   "The despotism of republican institutions is far deeper, more insidious, because it rests on the popular delusion of self-government and independence. That is the subtle source of democratic tyranny, and, as such, it cannot be reached with a bullet. In modern capitalism, exploitation rather than oppression is the real enemy of the people ... the battle is to be waged in the economic rather than the political field." (p. 424)

   This is not, however, a political manifesto (for that, one can read Berkman's ABCs of Anarchism). Berkman reveals his inner processes during fourteen years of incarceration. We discover, not only the horrors and corruption of the prison system, but also wander intimately through Berkman's mind. We visit his childhood, soften at unexpected gentlenesses behind bars, and begin to appreciate something as simple as the sunrise.

   Although Berkman did not write the memoir until after he left prison, it has a sense of surreal immediacy. He wrote in the present tense, but that alone does not account for the way his text grips, and drags the reader into the maelstrom of his experience. We run with him through childhood memories, daily brutality, fantasies of escape and suicide, and the ideals that keep him sane. His longing for Emma Goldman shines through the text. He enthrones her almost as the guardian of his sanity through the years. Little can compare with the poignancy of his fantasy of mailing himself to his beloved Emma, escaping prison and finding himself with her again. (p. 135-137)

   Five stars. Absolutely brilliant work, as relevant today as it was nearly 100 years ago. In her autobiography, Living my Life, Emma Goldman recounted how Berkman saved his sanity and his life by writing this memoir. The deep introspection, the flights of fancy, the accounting of prison life-all deeply illumine the best and the worst of human nature. This book is required reading for anybody who wishes to understand the fanatical, terrorist mindset, for Berkman describes that aptly. Far more importantly, he shares the experience of survival and transformation. He, who entered prison a fanatic, left those iron gates more committed than ever to his cause, but no longer a fanatic. His story tells of graduating from terrorist to humanist, from monomaniacal fanatic to a deeply committed human being. If you read nothing else this year, read this book.

   (If you'd like to dialogue with me about this book or review, please click the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)




5. "Is there anything higher in life than to be a true revolutionist...?" - From Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

   This is an incredibly moving and detailed account of an activist's experiences in early industrial America. As an Anarchist, Alexander Berkman recounts his observations of the era's struggle for decent living standards and fair treatment from fat cat industrialists. In prison for attempted assasination of a steel magnate who was responsible for firing and killing striking steel workers, Berkman eloquently describes his reasons for acting on behalf of the working poor and exploited. His experiences in prison are gut wrenching and very human. Not much fluffy language - very straighforward observations, which are emotionally piercing in their social significance and human truth. An exceptional read for anyone interested in the American history that is usually left out of school text books. Berkman's experiences are painful but very motivating and inspiring as they illustrate human love, the will to survive and continue to work for an ideal under the most horrendous conditions. This book is an extraordinary powerful testament to human goodness and strength.

No comments about Ti Follies: Prison Memoirs And Other Writings (Signature Books (White Plains, N.Y.).) (Signature Books (White Plains, N.Y.).).

5 comments about The Spy Who Stayed out in the Cold: The Secret Life of FBI Double Agent Robert Hanssen.

1. Kind of slow. I didn't realize that they were going to talk about his whole life. I thought it was going to start off with the start of his career with the FBI and when he began to spy until his arrest.



2. Feels to me like this was a rush job to be the first to get something on the market.Thank goodness I took this out from the library and didn't buy it. Even so, it was a waste of time to read. Havill is, above all, lazy - both intellectually and in the amount of research he did, and didn't do. On the two most potentially interesting facets of the story - Hanssen's personality and motivation, and the suspense of being a double agent and the catch - Havill all but takes a powder.
   
   Havill digests a lot of communications between Hanssen and the KGB, which is at first, interesting - if for nothing more than the intersection between the spy craft and the mundane. However, these communications become the beef of the book, with no spine. Additionally, since these messages turn out to be so similar and poorly woven into events, their recitation become tedious.
   
   Havill's attempts at piercing personality and motivation fall pathetically short. One is left with the picture of what appears to be a fairly average guy doing extraordinary things. But virtually no effort is made to explain, let alone even proffer a working motivational theory. We are left with just a load of poorly framed speculations. This is also a spy story with virtually no tension. Hard to believe there was virtually none when a senior FBI official spies over so many years. Havill's account is little more than, 'This FBI guy did some spying for the KGB and then he got caught.' Most writers could convey more tension than Havill describing a morning commute.
   
   Cinching the case for this book being a dud is the extremely poor writing. It's littered with ungrammatical, ungainly and unreadable prose. It's like the guy wrote it driving to work, and his editor took a powder.
   
   If you're interested in reading about this case, I strongly suggest you look for another book, if there is one. (If I recall correctly, there was a great NY Times Magazine piece on Hanssen that came out shortly after he got arrested.)



3. Don't bother reading this book. It is the same thing over and over and over, so that it makes one want to scream. The movie "Breach" is not the true story either. It's Hollywood. Read David Wise's book, the best of the bunch written about spy Robert Hanssen. Hanssen was a brilliant if not troubled non agent who wanted to be the real deal. So instead of getting to be an FBI operative, he went to the dark side and made himself a name giving up our country's secrets that may never be recovered. It is enough to scare you to death and make you ill.



4. Riveting, like a good novel and very hard to put down! Cold Eyes



5. Havill, once again, has written an engrossing book. I will proclaim my own bias by pointing out something, though. On page 173, Havill mentions the Clinton years "begin with the shoot-outs at Ruby Ridge and Waco." Well, actually, no, George the first was president at the time of Ruby Ridge. And Havill's comment about "King William" make me wonder about his agenda when most of the spying going on is during the Reagan-Bush years. In books about policies or personalities you expect that: you know where the author is coming from and you digest the material accordingly. In a book that is SUPPOSED to be about Robert Hanson I find it telling that the only president he mentions in a derogatory manner is Clinton. Makes me wonder if there is other information he left out. . .Still, you can't fault the guy's talent for spinning a phrase. A worthy book.

5 comments about Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $1 Million.

1. Finders Keepers by Mark Bowden is the true story of a guy in South Philly who stumbles upon $1.2 million which accidentally fell out of an armored truck. Obviously the reward money for return is not as great as the actual $1.2 million, and Joey Coyle decides to keep it. What follows is a series of mishaps which are only believable because the story is true. The story is well written and flows like a fast paced documentary. I really enjoyed it.
   
   The author adds two post scripts which are also enjoyable. The first is Joey's trial (yes, he does get caught, but this was never in much doubt). The second is what happens to Joey's life after the trial, including a Disney movie starring John Cusack as Joey Coyle ("Money for Nothing" - 1993 - not to be confused with a book of the same title that I recently read). Both post scripts are memorable and interesting. It is a short book and worth reading for entertainment.



2. Mark Bowden originally covered the true story of Joey Coyle and his demented $1.2 million find as a journalist. He then wrote this amazing account of the hapless Philly Longshoreman's botched and deranged attempt to keep the money.
   
   It's written in a pacey, manic style that conveys the drug-and-bizarre-circumstance fuelled whirlwind Joey found himself dropped into whilst driving back from a disappointing visit to his local dealer and discovering two unusual sacks at the side of the road contained over a million dollars in untraceable one hundred dollar bills.
   
   Applying a natural serendipity to the scenario, Joey decided to keep the money, seeing it as the will of his late Father. What follows is a story so unbelievable and, ultimately and ineluctably tragic, that it's impossible to put down.
   
   While the first half concerns the absolute insanity, excitement, and visceral thrill of the find, complete with Joey vowing to tell no one - then immediately doing the exact opposite and telling every single person he meets - paving the way for the inevitable second half: Joey's capture by the authorities. What follows is a truly fascinating analysis of public opinion, consensus morality, and the true definition of right and wrong, as the court drama unfolds and journalists from all over America pose the irresistible question: What Would You Do?
   
   Unusually concise for Mark Bowden, it's still a wonderfully written account of an amazing story, tinged with comedy, stupidity, and tragedy.



3. very entertaining but a little short for my taste. being a fan of Mark Bowden brought me to this book and I'm glad I read it, but honestly I should have bought it at half-price books.



4. Some of you may have seen the movie "Money for Nothing" with John Cusack. Some of you may even like it. The movie is partially based on the true account of Joey, a Pennsylvania drug addict, who back in the early 1980's caught a break in life. He found $1.2 million that fell off a truck and over the course of a week managed to lose most of it, before getting caught by FBI. Apart from the incredible luck this man had, nothing else is much interesting about what happened with him. Readers of the book will find out the numerous stupid choices he makes in an effort to keep the money.
   
   Bottom line - the book is interestingly written, but the story is ridiculous and doesn't deserve the time it takes to read it.
   
   - by Simon Cleveland



5. I actually read the entire book in a few hours while sitting at the beach in Gulf Shores. While it does not have the depth of Bowden's other work, it was a fun read. The main character, Joey Coyle, is an idiotic junkie who manages to piss away huge amounts of money over a short period of time. I laughed a few times and couldn't generate any sympathy for Coyle as his life spun out of control. The best part of the book will be your own daydreams as you wonder what you would do with $1.2 million.