5 comments about Sharks in the Desert.

1. This is a book that appeals to no one. If you're not already familiar with Vegas history, it is not a good place to start. And if you already know something about Vegas, it will not teach you anything new.
   
   In theory, the structure of this book seems like a good idea -- devote a chapter each on the movers and shakers who built Las Vegas. The problem is that they all influenced each other, so separating them results in an arbitrary, fragmented, sometimes difficult-to-follow, narrative. Even the chapters themselves tend to jump back and forth in time and place. Structurally, the book just doesn't work.
   
   Then there's the problem of sketchy information. Smith doesn't go into great detail explaining the why's and how's of events, leaving the reader with a great longing to know more about the individual characters of these men and what makes them tick. If you're looking for some good dish on Vegas -- which is what the snappy title promises -- there are better choices.
   
   Compounding the reader's frustration are the numerous typos, spelling, and grammatical errors. Smith either had no editor or edited this himself. It feels like a first draft in serious need of a major rewrite and fact checking. It's difficult to believe Smith makes a living as a journalist. He must have a good editor at the Review/Journal.



2. This book gives you the real story behind the Vegas gaming legends. Nobody does justice to this topic like John L. Smith. His research is impeccable.



3. This book is a fun read if you are someone who is familiar with Las Vegas. The book indeed delivers on what the subtitle, "..The Founding Fathers and Current Kings of Las Vegas" states. Each chapter is more or less devoted to discussing a specific person and the impact they had on setting the stage for the evolution of Las Vegas. I imagine those of you who have never been infatuated with Las Vegas will want to pass on this one.
   
   Based on some of the anecdotes, it seems amazing that some of the Vegas hotels are still open today. The mobsters and the so called "straight laced" owners who ran (or still run) the hotels come off as either extremely brilliant or totally incompetent. It is no wonder that most of the Strip hotels have all been swallowed up by one or two companies. The author also seems to question if some hotels are completely honest when it comes to gaming.
   
   The problem I had with the book was perhaps I was expecting something more chronological and dramatic. Instead, the book is like a compilation of old newpaper columns that are all put together in one place(of course, maybe that is not a surprise since the author is a newspaper reporter). Much like other books of that nature, the reading becomes almost repetitive and seems easier to take over a long haul rather than a week or two of reading cover to cover. Also note that there are a few typos and errors that make it seem like someone did a spellcheck with a computer rather than really proofreading it.
   
   If you can stick with this type of book, you will probably enjoy it. Now this is the first book about Las Vegas I have read so I can not compare it to anything but I've got to believe there is probably something a bit more compelling.



4. The complete saga of Las Vegas from its early roots with the mob to modern corporate times is presented in a lively history of the city's real rulers in SHARKS IN THE DESERT: THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND CURRENT KINGS OF LAS VEGAS. Many made their fortunes developing the casino business the city is most famous for today - but many myths have surrounded their activities - myths which columnist Smith dispels in an investigative history which tracked mobsters and their connections to the city's rich and monied.



5. I received this book almost right away. It's a very good summary of the people of Las Vegas written by someone who knows, John Smith.

5 comments about Drug Lord: The Life & Death of a Mexican Kingpin - A True Story.

1. It is interesting to me very informative. In candle wax traffic to other illicit products. I like the cover as well as the whole story. This book has the lord of the skies, Mr.Fuentes in his coffin as well. For me it is a very special book.



2. quisiera referirme al epilogo la pagina 357 para ser exactos en esta pagina el escritor le llama a mexico un pais que tiene envidia a EEUU por sus logros.... y que por eso los mexicanos traficamos droga.
   para el escritor:
   By now everyone has accepted that the fact that as long as there's demand,there will always be supply, and that whenever one supplier goes down, another inevitably rises up to fill the void.
   SUPPLY AND DEMAND-the bedrock principle of economics- thus ensures that the endless war on drugs will continue until EEUU stop using drugs...
   si sabes tanto escritor porque ocultas la verdad?????. benjamin(sinaloense)



3. After serving in the Border Patrol in the west Texas area for the last ten years, Poppa's book is the most realistic I have read to date. I get frustrated reading many books, especially when they start blaming the US for Mexico's problems. This books explains clearly corruption in the Mexican system, how it came about, and why it will probably never go away. It also demonstrates how ridiculious our politicians can be in attempting to deal with a government built on and run by corruption.
   
   The story of Pablo is great, but you could just change the name and it would fit many of the other King Pins out there and their lives too. Mexico relishes and charishes Drug Lords as heroes, and that is a fact.
   
   Question? When you have that many millions of people crossing into the United States illegally that have accepted corruption as the way things are done, what will that eventually do to our society?



4. In Drug Lord, Terrence Poppa manages to capture all the elements that a book about America's War on Drugs should have: engrossing, multidimensional heroes and villains, clearly-defined connections between the men and women who move oceans of narcotics across the Rio Grande and the larger governmental interests on both sides of the border that profit, one way or the other, from the trade, and guns, guns, guns. Drug Lord was an engrossing read, which I happened to read while touring the Big Bend area of West Texas. The book had such an impact on me that I made a 100-mile detour to visit Ojinaga, the stage where Pablo Acosta made his rise from dirt-poor campesino to mafia kingpin. Although Ojinaga today does its best to disassociate itself, at least to outsiders, from Acosta's legacy (even this pinche gringo knew better than to walk into a cantina and start asking questions), many of the tangible remnants of the bad old days Poppa describes, such as the smuggler's trucks with questionable propane tanks in the bed and houses surrounded by 12 foot-high cinderblock walls, are still readily visible. Although the book succeeds as narrative and will satisfy anyone interested in the drug war, the conclusion that Poppa comes to can be summed up in one sentence: it is all Mexico's fault. True, the Mexican government is rotten to the core, and six years under Vicente Fox doesn't seem to have changed much. But any honest examination of the War on Drugs must acknowledge the fact that Acosta and those who have come before and after him are only supplying a demand created by Americans; if the Mexicans don't sate that demand, then the Colombians will, and if the Colombians don't sate it, then the Cosa Nostra, or the Russians, and so on and so forth. I found Poppa's willingness to foster the blame for an unwinnable war on the shoulders of a country that has lost so much fighting a conflict whose victory will primarily benefit Americans to be a sad and myopic conclusion to an otherwise great book. Readers wanting an equally-engrossing but more balanced read should try Charles Bowden's Down By The River, about the Amado-Fuentes organization.



5. I've read the book and it is everything my friends told me it was. In the book Comandante Oscar Prieto is one of my friend's dad. The author gives good detail of the story of Pablo because i've heard a lot of true stories which are in the book, and of course a lot that aren't. I have family in Ojinaga and you still have the same business going on, but a lot of people from the town don't worry about it. I've seen pictures where Pablo just looks like a normal rancher from town. He always helped the people in need for food or money. He always remembered where he came from. That's why people don't remember him as a drug lord but as a person who helped the community and the poor. You will be surprised by how Pablo did his deals to cross the drugs over the border. When you read the book you will picture in your mind everything that is going on just like I did. Believe me, you will visualize.

5 comments about The Bloody Countess: Atrocities of Erzsebet Bathory.

1. I read this book years ago when it had a different cover. The cover featured what looked like a string of pearls covered in blood. After I read the book I was struck at how appropriate the cover was for the story within. Penrose's focus is not solely Bathory herself. Rather, she is fascinated with the Hungarian society of the time and how that society was in many clear ways complicit in Bathory's crimes. It is easy to accuse the nobility of exploiting the peasants. One is inclined to advocate for the "little guy" in such a story. However, it was these very peasants who would drop off unwanted daughters at Erszebet Bathory's castles, knowing full well what would happen to them there because the countess's crimes were an open secret (servants talk). However, in a country that was constantly at war with the Turks and other enemies, there were many more women than men alive at the time and so there were many unmarried girls who were not likely to ever marry. I suppose the countess believed herself to be providing a sort of civic service by ridding Hungary of its surplus of spinsters. For this reason, I think that Penrose does a great job of presenting us Erszebet Bathory within the context of her society and times because her crimes by themselves are not the whole story. The society that allowed her to kill unfettered for 35 years is itself a truly important part of the story, adding a layer of meaning to Bathory's insane and meaningless crimes.
   
   The way in which she was finally stopped is very telling. Bathory noticed that in spite of years of blood baths, she was still aging. Her resident witch, Jo Ilona, advised her to change the color of the blood from red to blue. Bathory then began to kill the daughters of the local nobility--and that was her mistake. So long as she was killing peasant girls no one cared, not even the "poor" peasants. As soon as she began killing aristocratic girls, she had to be stopped, and she was.
   
   The examination of Bathory in her context allows us to draw parallels with our own times. Don't we have Kennedys who get away with rape nowadays? Don't we have football celebrities who get away with murdering their wives? People with status and prestige still get away with a lot--even in America, don't they? The only reason why Bathory was able to get away with her crimes for so long is her social status. She was a member of one of Hungary's founding families. It also helped that her first cousin was the King of Hungary, her uncle was the king of Russia, and her brother was the king of Poland. With such relatives she was herself untouchable. Reading this book you begin to see that although Bathory is dead and her crimes happened long ago, the circumstances that allowed her to commit her transgressions are still with us. For me, that was the scary part.



2. Penrose did a great deal of research--unfortunately the research involved the geography and history of the region, and not so much on Bathory. The interesting details of Bathory are buried at the end of each long winded section that is more concerned with her family geneology or relatives misbehavior than Bathory's.
   
   The sources for the book are excellent, but I hate to read an entire chapter to have one paragraph dedicated to Bathory's atrocities (which were scant in the text...at the end of each chapter we are tittilated with a small detail then pounded again with astological non-sense or geographical trivia).
   
   The section on her trial was relatively short...even with letters writen by those that discovered her henious acts. But its all so short---Penrose spends more time and details discussing another mass murderer of the same time who favored young boys (who killed roughly 60 like Bathory herself claims to have done) to show the depths of depravity--and you are left to wonder why the book wasn't on this killer that is spoken of in each chapter instead of Bathory who has very few details included on her crimes.
   
   Select a different title if you are interested in Bathory.



3. I find this book one of the most impressive case studies about serial killers. Although women comprise only 3% of serial killers ever identified (and they usually opt for less violent methods of killing such as poisoning),it is the sadist and nihilistic behavior of this female "Beast" that really surpassess all her male colleagues, even those of our modern times. This is a tragic example of social and political power unchecked by the restraints of the law and moral conciousness, combined to whatever pathological trait can be indetified in her flawed character. She rightly deserves her place along the famous genocides of all times such as Hitler, Stalin and Milosevic. It is a pity that more psychological analysis is missing. Otherwise, it is a great maiden study that can stimulate further research on the dark side of the murderer's mind.



4. This book is very well researched and written. Keep in mind though that it's not for the faint hearted. It goes into a lot of detail on the history of Hungary and the Bathory family that some may find tedious. I loved the book and would reccomend it to anyone with a desire to take a peek into the darker side of human nature.



5. I found this to be a very interesting read.
   looking for books on Bathory, i found this one and a different one, but it wasn't a fact based book i saw, it was like a fictional story i think someone said in a review. This book as far as I've read tells details of her life. There's an appendix showing portions of the trials Elizabeth was put through and how they got the information about her.
   unfortunately, this is the only book on her that i have found, and the size of it is a little disappointing. this is a must buy if one is to learn more about this 16th century Hungarian Blood Countess.
   "The blood is the life"

5 comments about Psychic Warrior: The True Story of America's Foremost Psychic Spy and the Cover-Up of the CIA's Top-Secret Stargate Program.

1. Very disappointing. The story of the actual work he did as a remote viewer was fascinating. The rest is dreck and casts doubt on the credibility of everything he writes.
   
   He plays the victim card with the Army, acting surprised that his superiors didn't want him to publicize details about his highly classified duties.
   
   The reader is left to wonder how much of his experience he distorts or omits. For example, he conveniently forgets to mention his apparently romantic relationship with a subordinate until it comes up in the investigation the Army conducts against him, then tries to justify it.
   
   He also is inconsistent. He writes about how unhappy he was in his assignment after Stargate, then about how he curses at the person who calls him out of the blue to offer him a job back at Stargate.
   
   He comes across as an undisciplined narcissist who sacrifices his career and family life for his own selfish gain. It is evident why he is an outcast in the military's remote viewing community.



2. This book is a waste of time, because all non-practical stories, and lack of facts. Very tiring reading.



3. I bought this for my husband for Christmas. He started the book and within a couple of days he was finished and concluded by saying YOU'VE GOTTA READ THIS ! Which he rarely recommends anything.



4. This book was impossible to put down. Morehouse tells his incredible story in such a down-to-earth manner that you feel like he is right there talking to you. And because of what he is telling you about remote viewing and his experiences "in the ether" you, you can't help but get chills up your spine! As a fellow military officer, I was equally as interested in reading about the military's reaction to Morehouse's story, and was shocked to read the depths to which the intelligence community went to keep Morehouse from going public with his information. An absolutely incredible personal account that you will NOT be able to forget. Very highly recommended!



5. but I'm not sure if this book is the best place to learn about it. Too many things on the military side don't seem to add up and it left me wondering how much of the information in this book is accurate, how much is conjecture and how much is just sensationalism.
   
   I don't doubt that the U.S. conducted research into remote viewing... evidence is very strong that the Soviets did as well during the Cold War. But remote viewing would have been of very little value and the program itself a dead-end militarily. It's a pity that there don't seem to be any books which seriously looks at this subject, the origins behind it, any possible successes, etc. Instead all we seem to have is this.
   
   A fascinating read, but take it with a grain of salt.

5 comments about Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts.

1. 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.



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



3. 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.



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



5. Julian Rubinstein tells the true story of Attila Ambrus, the Transylvanian-born backup hockey goalie in Budapest who also lived the life of a pelt smuggler and daring bank robber between practices and games. It was a story the author first heard about in a short news piece in Sports Illustrated in 1999 and on writing the book he's able to set the story in hilarious style against the backdrop of the changing Hungary and Romania of the early 1990s. At one point Ambrus is described as "a sizable conundrum within a notable contradiction, the best unpaid hockey goalie in a filthy-rich slum town". The photo section in the middle, the appendices and interview with the author at the end, and the references throughout to world events the west would be familiar with serve to remind us that this is largely a work of non-fiction despite all the absurdity. A great read especially for those who have visited or have lived in this part of the world in these changing times from Socialism.

5 comments about Final Truth : The Autobiography of a Serial Killer.

1. I see some complaints about whether everything Donald Gaskins said was true. That's not the point. The book really let's you get a feel for this person. Much more so in certain repects, than any other criminal I have read about. Colin Wilson suffered a psychotic breakdown as a result of listening to Gaskins and was temporarily hospitalized.



2. As someone who lives in Sumter, SC I've heard a good bit about Pee Wee Gaskins. He actually used to live in a house right down the street from where I sit now. In any case, I have talked with people who are friends and who actually knew Pee Wee back when he hung around places like The Neck, (which by the way was 100% described accurately in the book..... it was a ROUGH place where the cops would NOT venture into) and they described him as a 'nice guy' but one that you would definitely not want to cross. He was known for a hot temper and my friend said that there were bodies that people would never find left from Pee Wee (I trust my friend on this one.... he was involved in a lot of things back then before he got his act together.)
   
   If you are reading this for a glimpse into a serial killer's mind then this is an excellent book. There were parts that made me cringe, especially since my best friends can remember some of the incidents (missing persons) when they took place (I was too young then). It adds a frightening touch to think that I drive by places everyday where it is rumored that he had buried bodies.
   
   For those who have 'researched' and hold the belief that Pee Wee lied about all of this and was only seeking to be more 'famous', I'd like to remind everyone that the deal was made with the author that this book would NOT come out until after his execution and that he received NO funds whatsoever (nor did his family) for releasing this book. I feel that if he only did it for 'attention' that he would have wanted it released before he died. And after talking to people whom I trust who could tell me about his personality and demeanor, I firmly believe that 90% of the book at least is true (everyone embellishes after all... so I'll leave 10% for that).
   
   All in all, a GREAT but sad look into the life and mind of this murderer.



3. I first heard the name "Pee Wee Gaskins" in 1994. My new boss and I were traveling through the upstate part of SC to pick up a company car. We were discussings things unrelated to work and getting to know each other. When he asked if I enjoyed reading, I told him I enjoyed reading books about true crime, serial killers in particular. At that time, he told me I should get the book "Final Truth". I did.
   
   After reading the book (which I found somewhat disturbing because of the details yet refreshing for the truths told about the corruption in the "justice system") I began traveling extensively through rural SC for work. After visiting that particular part of the state, I found it quite believable that Gaskins could have commited all the murders stated in Final Truth. There are rural parts of the state where there isn't so much as a house or gas staion for literally miles.
   
   Not having actually known anyone who knew Gaskins, I took this book at face value. While it may be true that Gaskins wanted "notoriety" like Bundy or Dahmer, I actually got from the book he was telling the truth.
   
   There are a few questions I have always wanted to ask ANYONE who knew Gaskins. I have actually talked with people from Sumter, Florence and that area in general but only people who "knew of" Gaskins and his crimes.
   
   Did the police ever search the areas where he claimed to have buried his "coastal killing" victims?
   
   Has anyone ever seen any of the "artwork" that he supposedly taced, signed and sold from death row?
   
   Gaskins spoke of a "writer" that wrote a book (I'm assuming) about him which was filled with lies about his wives and children. Does anyone know what he is talikng about? The only other book I can think of that Gaskins was referring to was titled "Slaughter in Carolina". I have not read this book but am looking for it. He calims in Final Truth this libelous book or story was written by a woman and a woman wrote "Slaughter In Carolina" (I finally found this book and have written a review of it as well as scanned an image)
   
   I never got from the book that Gaskins was an abused by his mother. In fact, he claims the only abuse at home was from his step father and that was just an occasional slapping (no type of sexual rape is discussed in the book at the hands of his step father). I believe the gang rapes discussed by Gaskins at reform school and prison are probably accurate.
   
   If anyone would like to discuss this, please email me at pumpkins2002@comcast.net



4. This book is a good read ( i finished it in a day ) but i just have some trouble beliving some of Pee Wee's stories - he even states himself that he has told several versions of the stories -so why should i believe without doubt that this book is "the truth"? ... from reading profiling books on serial killers - you find that these killers may change up the way they kill / despose of their bodies - to make an improvement - but gaskins has 2 ways of killing people and he bounces back and forth between them -- doesn't make much sense ...
   at the end of his book he lets the readers know that he wanted to become famous - but, he and his crimes really aren't known outside of the southeast ... i'm not saying he didn't kill a lot of people, i'm not saying he didn't torture them ... i'm just having a little trouble beliving mr gaskins versions, i just get the feeling that he is admiting to more, for one last attempt to in his words "be famous" ... he even mentions that back when hurricane hugo hit the grand strand, that there were reports of bodies (remains) being found, but it was reported that those were from graveyards .... i believe that to be true because, gaskins said that he "sank" his victims, with big chains, etc., and sank their belongings, he also says that when he felt he was about to be caught he took all of the tools he used for his killings and all the chains he had left and sank that to the bottom of the marshlands in horry and georgetown counties ... when hugo came through -- this is a definate time that things would have been brought up from their watery grave ... but no reoprts of the 30 plus chains, and other tools have been documented



5. This autobiography by serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins is brought to you by the apparently easily-duped co-author, journalist Wilton Earle. Gaskins' justifications and distortions are passed along with little examination or challenge, and probably bear small resemblance to the facts.

5 comments about Shot in the Heart.

1. It's a big call, but Mikal Gilmore's heart wrenching memoir of his family has to be one of the most moving reading experiences I have ever encountered. To tell you the truth, I found this book in a second hand store here in Melbourne, Australia without a cover! I could not put this down as Mikal's words just ripped me to pieces. It drowns in sadness and despair at times, but there is a flicker of hope and redemption in it's conclusion.
   Amazing stuff.



2. This is an extraordinary book. Gives tremendous insite in to why some crimals lead the path they do. Phenominal read.



3. Unbelievably well written. This is the best book I have ever read. The story is gripping Mikal Gilmore seems to capture the reader from the first sentence and never lets go. I found myself trying to read less pages as I finished the book in fear of ACTUALLY finishing the book:) Immediately after I read the last page, I went back to the first page and started reading it again. I would suggest reading it twice, it is better the second time around.



4. This book stays with you. In telling the story of his own troubled family Mikal Gilmore manages to tell a story about families themselves- all the love, guilt, loyalty and anger that define them. This is a book about searching for meaning, about the toll poverty takes on the human spirit, about broken dreams, the violence of faith, and our terrible hunger for something to believe in. It's uniquely American in the same way books like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" or Jean Stein's "Edie: an American Biography"
   are- as much about the society around its subjects as the subjects themselves. I wholeheartedly consider this book a masterpiece.



5. I first heard about Shot in the heart several years ago, on a tv show. The last thing I wanted to read was an apologist for Gary Gilmore making excuses. That's about the last thing Shot in the Heart is. Instead, Mikal Gilmore explores how family myths and mysteries shape our sense of self and of our family, and how this affects our vision of our place in this world. He also explores how you can love someone, even if they are incredibly dysfunctional. Gilmore writes with tenderness and courage about his family, the kind of family that made mine seem relatively normal. They were wretched, miserable people, in many ways, but they were his family.
   I have always been puzzled by the editing problems I noticed in the book, however. It's not just the mixup on when Bessie Gilmore died. There are two other date discrepancies, one of which has to do with Gary's execution. I'm from Utah, and I picked up on that error right away.
   My sister lives in Portland, and Mikal Gilmore's description of a Northwest Portland neighborhood is dead on. Gilmore knows what he's talking about-- he just needed a better editor, I think

5 comments about A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno.

1. Who you lookin' at? That's as Italian De Niro can get. Expect the same kind of flavour when reading this book and then add some extra hot sauce.
   
   You have to be aware this book was written by a mobster who considered himself a man of honor. What you think of the world is the way you are raised and how you live your life.
   
   This book shows a great deal of information about the way of Sicilian life in the early 1900's and the booze-jammed 20's and 30's in the U.S. To read about that is fun alone, but reading about mobsters and their organization is even more exciting. This is a personal story, told by the man who reigned over Italian America for a great deal of time.
   
   Ofcourse, Bonanno has nothing to do with leading all organized crime he tells us. But you know how Italians like food, so add a pinch of salt to this book.



2. This title was fun to read. Mr. Bonanno was definitely an interesting individual. Really! But, there is something missing. Though I doubt that the government's prosecutorial attempts were all clean, I do think Mr. Bonanno sugarcoated his autobiography and left out his true criminal side. I know I couldn't write a biography about being a man of honor and Mr. Bonanno's attempt to convince Americans that he's an ordinary man just interested in doing business is full of holes. No one wants to read about an ordinary man doing business legally....generally.



3. This was a very good read as I enjoyed the information that this book made available.
   
   Sincerely,
   Kathy Klein



4. The book was a decent read but I found Bonanno to be quit repeatative at times. He goes on and on about the Sicilian way of life, and how American's more or less don't understand it. Furthermore he tiptoes around all violence that comes with being in the "Family" as he so eloquently puts it. I found it to be a little dry, not so "tell all", and in the end I find Mr. Bonanno using his Sicilian background and way of life as justification for being in organized crime. Although he himself would never admit that the "Family" he was apart of was organized crime, the crux of the book. He calls himself a "Man of Honor" yet he admitly cheats on his wife and lived a life ingrossed in organized crime, hypocritical to say the least.



5. Great historical piece although quite biased. Gives the reader good insight into the Sicilian philosophy of life and business. Excellent read if you have an historical interest in the mafia and organized crime.

5 comments about War of the Bloods in My Veins: A Street Soldier's March Toward Redemption.

1. well i will tell you this from an ex-blood gangbanger's point of view ... and yes" for the record im a female because this gang also have females doing things you couldnt imagine... you have no idea what its like to be us , so for those whose judging him i feel very offended , first of all he's taking a risk everyday from rival gangbanger's,the fed's possibly, and also some bloods who feel that he's telling way too much information , and i take my hat off to him because in my book i couldnt even reveal my true identity because of the fear of feds, rivals, and quiet as kept my own supposedly homies. so for him to tell all , even if he knew it was risky ??? that was enough for me to believe that he was born to do this !!! ... anyone willing to make a sacrifice such as he did needs an standing ovation! to the critics we need you so much you'll make the book more popular... {" hi haters"} jiwe i love you keep doing what your doing... this gang world will take over the urban communities if more soldiers like you dont stand up and make a change god bless you, keep spreading the word. and dont lose focus! ... and besides this book is only for those who can recognize there is a problem, and by any means necessary we have to fix it! for as much is forgiven, the more is required !!! so thats why god didnt lock you in a cell and throw away the key , like some of the critics feel he should have done but , he released you to work for him! continue to keep the passion you have to save others, and god will continue to open doors no man can shut! and close doors in faces to the haters that no man can open. ya sis for life. love you...



2. I couldn't put this book down, it took two days to read,only because i had to be torn away from it to go to work. The first chapter was a little confusing but once you realize its a dream, the rest of the book is an easy read. It was eyeopening and inspirational. It gives hope that you can make a way out for yourself. That your past doesnt have to be your future. I will defintley pass this book along. AGAIN A MUST READ!



3. I've been so inspired by this book. I have daughters and sons and for someone to reveal his lifestory with the hope of inspiring and motivating others is very admirable. I commend Jiwe in all that he has done by putting this book or shall I say "DIARY" out there for others to gain from. The book was very well written. It was soooooo hard to put down. I was almost mad that I had to work and that my lunch wasn't long enough.



4. I was had to be the first person at my job to get this book. I have close relatives that are so called gang members. I wanted to find out for someone's point of view WHY. This book is a definite wake up call to all in gangs that you can get out if you choose to. Not that its easy. But maybe adults or teens should buy this book for a son, nephew ,neice or daughter so they can see what really GOES DOWN. The videos and movies are not real. This book is real.mTake heed. Buy the book.



5. Just finished reading "War of the Bloods in My Veins." I almost tossed it aside before finishing the first chapter, which read as a disjointed and hallucinatory babbling mess that was obviously fictional . . . but then Deshawn woke up and we find that it was a dream sequence, so I continued reading.
   
   The rest of the book wasn't bad. Refreshingly honest, and a revealing look at contemporary streetgang culture that you're not gonna find in Sociology texts like "Do or Die" by Leon Bing (which is considered the best book on the Crips & Bloods). Unlike some journalist who mingles with gangbangers for a month and takes down their stories, Deshawn has lived it from the time he participated in his first driveby at age 10.
   
   One thing that annoyed me about this book was the blurb on the dustjacket, in which Deshawn seeks to portray himself as a victim unfairly expelled from college and barred from consideration for a career with the NFL. Buddy, not only did you do this to yourself, but you got off with a slap on the wrist. After threatening some frat guys with an illegal gun, Deshawn is given a second chance by the University's administration and permitted to remain in college . . . but then he commits an unprovoked attack on an unarmed individual with a machete, and gets expelled from school and sent to jail for less than a year. Now he is a published author who is offering speaking engagements about the folly of gang membership . . . yet, in his book, he seems to glory in his gangland achievements (including multiple homicides), and at the conclusion shouts out to a long list of his homies with what appears to be a pledge of continued loyalty.
   
   Way to go Deshawn. Way to thumb yer nose at the Establishment and piss off the Feds. I'd strongly advise against carrying your illegal gun or partying with your "former" homies for the next few years, as I can pretty much guarantee they're keeping a real close eye on you. Fo' reals, yo.
   
   As for the book, I recommend it to any sociologists or criminologists seeking a deeper understanding of the culture of Black street gangs. But honestly, I still don't understand them. Unlike intergenerational Asian and Hispanic gangs who are highly organized and networked within a community which openly supports them, Black gangs like the Crips & Bloods prey on their communities, each other, and even themselves (i.e., "set vs set" violence), while doing their best to perpetuate negative stereotypes and act like they're starring in a gangsta rap video. It seems pointless, and rather than learning from their mistakes, the crime and violence continues to spiral out of control.
   
   This book provides a rare, raw, and highly credible glimpse of the gangsta lifestyle and mindset . . . and it ain't glamourous at all.

No comments about How to Make a Serial Killer: The Twisted Development of Innocent Children into the World's Most Sadistic Murderers.