2 comments about Confederate Spies at Large: The Lives of Lincoln Assassination Conspirator Tom Harbin And Charlie Russell.

1. My wife is an amateur genealogist and has discovered she is related to the Queens and the Harbins of southern Maryland, who were instrumental in planning Lincoln's asassination and helping John Wilkes Booth with his unsuccessful escape. Not close enough though that she needs to exonerate her name as Tom Gates does in the movie "National Treasure II". Fascinating reading! Also see American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies



2. Tom Harbin and Charlie Russell were two southern spies during the American civil war and through their involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, became the most wanted Confederate agents of that conflict. In "Confederate Spies At Large: The Lives Of Lincoln Assassination Conspirator Tom Harbin and Charlie Russell" by John Stewart provides a fascinating account of these two men, their activities in behalf of the Confederacy, their genealogy, and their contribution to the killing of an American president. "Confederate Spies At Large" is a unique and strongly recommended addition to personal, academic, or community library Civil War reference collections and reading lists.

5 comments about Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone.

1. The definitive biography of "Scarface Al" Capone, who ruled the Chicago underworld with an iron fist during Prohibition. John Kobler is a fine writer whose flair with words will keep his readers glued to the pages, regardless of the subject matter. In "Capone," he masterfully recounts the rise and fall of the Windy City's overlord of vice and crime as only he can, presented in an honest, objective, and straightforward (but never dull) manner. This is a highly entertaining effort which any crime historian is sure to enjoy. My only regret is that Mr. Kobler didn't tackle the biographies of other gangland luminaries as well (although he did an excellent job narrating the history of Prohibition in "Ardent Spirits"). If you must read just one book about Big Al, then this is the one. As far as I'm concerned, you can skip all the others.



2. Capone: The Life And World Of Al Capone, written by John Kobler. This was a great book. It had numerous amounts of details and you can learn a lot from this biography. But to the casual reader at least in my opinoin this is not the book for you. This book has tons and tons of information and is great if you are looking for a source for a history project or something. Also if you have a high interest in the subject of Al Capone then this could be a great book for you to read.



3. THIS BOOK WAS GREAT!!!!!
   John Kobler did an excelent job with this one. The title, The Life and World Of Al Capone, really sums it up. Not only was this an extremely accurate factual book, but also was greatly engaging. I am a big fan of Capone books and have read quite a few, but this was easily the best one that I've read. This book includes minute details on Capones life and "business" as well as the long list of dives, hot spots, and other gangsters all inhabiting Chicago.

   I found no flaw in the writing of this book and thought it was marvelously written. I can't begin to tell you how great of a book this was. At different points it transformed me into a Chicago citizen reading the newspaper, to a young hoodlum in the gang, to an inmate at Alcatraz. The only thing I was disappointed with was that it went by to fast! You must read this book!




4. If you're looking for a complete picture of America's most notorious mobster, this is it. This is the definitive biography, a well-rounded study that brings Big Al into three-dimensional focus, something Schonberg only elaborated on and Bergreen failed completely at. The best book ever on the life, times and career of the father of syndicated crime.



5. This book is excellent! There aren't enough words in English to discribe this man! This book gives great insight into what really went on in Al Capone's life and his gang--RUTHLESS with TASTE! Just wish it were a lot longer.

No comments about Benny Binion: The Legend of Benny Binion, Dallas Gambler and Mob Boss.

No comments about Wanted: The Eyes Have It - Law Enforcement Mug Shots 1880-1922.

4 comments about A Dynasty of Western Outlaws.

1. The University of Nebraska Press is one of my favorite collegiate publishers. Through its Bison Books imprint, it has published important works on the history of the American West for decades. It has reprinted some of the most essential books on the old west that are in the public domain for new generations of readers. A Dynasty of Outlaws is a fascinating study of the spread of evil and outlawyerly in the historic west. While generations of newspapermen, screenwriters and novelists have glorified and romanticized the outlaw; in reality they were men - and occasionally women - who, like all criminals, preyed on their neighbors. The banks that they robbed were not the multi-nationals of today, but small local businesses that held the savings of the merchants, farmers and ranchers. While large corporations owned the trains that they held up, the money that was carried in them was not, nor were the intimate belongings of the citizens that the highwayman held up and traumatized. Paul Wellman (1898-1966) wrote is book which was first published in 1966 and his fascinating thesis is that crime has a "contagious nature" and he traces the criminal gangs of the old west back to the James-Younger gang and the training that they received from the infamous Civil War criminal William C. Quantrill. He then connects the bloody family tree of criminal gangs to the Dalton, Doolin and Belle Starr gangs that evolved from them. Wellman follows this association of criminality into this century when bank robbery re-emerged again. "A Dynasty of Western Outlaws" is not only a rich mine of western lore but an important view into the nature of criminality. Jeffrey Morseburg



2. Paul Wellman's A Dynasty of Western Outlaws is a 20th Century standard of outlaw history. It is an extremely well written work and belongs in any library of crime history or the "Old West." Wellman, who was a police reporter in Wichita in the 1920's, was one of the first authors to comprehend and explore the connections between Midwestern outlaws of the post-Civil War era and the Depression gangs of the 1930's. That makes this book a useful starting point for anyone interested in the outlaw period. Unfortunately, there are errors throughout the work: Jesse and Frank James were not cousins of the Youngers, only partners in crime; recent research by other authors make it doubtful that Cole Younger fathered Belle Starr's daughter Pearl; Henry Starr was never a member of the Cook gang; Al Spencer was not one of the Stroud bank robbers; etc., etc., etc. And the chapters on '20's outlaws Eddie Adams and Al Spencer, on which Wellman seems to have relied too heavily on his own memory, and on "Pretty Boy" Floyd, are sketchy and highly inaccurate. Wellman's insights are good and his basic premise of an "outlaw dynasty" from Quantrill to Floyd is sound but his facts need to be checked against other sources.



3. While the book contains very interesting material regarding the roots of western outlaws in the years after the Civil War, some individual facts leave a bit to be desired. All in all a good read, but I would encourage further reading on some subjects, or at least double-checking some of the facts used in the book.



4. Sometime-journalist, sometime-novelist Wellman's history of bad guys who terrorized the American Wild West from the period following the Civil War to the early half of the 20th Century is excellently written and presented. He very interestingly traces the links -- sometimes by blood, sometimes by mere acquaintance or "apprenticeship" -- between the most infamous Western bad guys from William Clark Quantrill during the Bloody Kansas period preceding the Civil War to the death of Pretty Boy Floyd. Highly recommended to fans of Western fiction and general readers who want to know more about Western history.

5 comments about Deadly Confidante.

1. I could not put this book down. Nancy Poore is a superb writer who kept me glued. I had the pleasure to meet with Nancy at a book signing and learned about the huge amount of research and interviews she conducted in order to put this work together. And then she added her unique writing gifts to construct a book that I have recommended to others and have gifted several times.
   
   Whether you're a true-crime or crime-fiction fan you'll enjoy this from beginning to end.



2. This book grabbed me from the moment I picked it up. Nancy Whitmore Poore definitely did her homework in depicting the chilling facts surrounding this tragic story, helping the reader get inside the mind of a sociopath and showing us the wreckage left behind for the trusting individuals that opened their hearts and homes to Robin Lee Row. An excellent read.



3. DEADLY CONFIDANTE was a mesmerizing read, as the characters involved in this tragic tale were depicted so well. We could appreciate the emotional aspects of the individuals through in-depth research by the author into each of the individual's pasts, day-to-day lives, and relationships with one another. This factual crime was riveting due to the research and writing of the author.



4. Badly written, loose on facts to the point of approaching fiction and completely unsupported by evidence to a degree that would be hilarious if it were not so tragic--what more can one say? Some may be looking for Robin Row's story, which has received little public space. But they won't find it here. The author was so careless in her research that some biographical details discussed in this book are not even attached to the right person!
   
   This book appears to be the product of some sort of subsidy or vanity press. Certainly it does not merit the attention of anything better. Or the time of a reader seeking anything than to be confused.



5. I found this book to be a compelling read, most difficult to put down. I had thought it would be bogged down in mundane details, but rather found it to be fascinating, albeit horrifying, as it built a most convincing case of brutal, cold-blooded, multiple murders.
   
   The author ends with a chilling revelation indicating who might well have been destined to be the next victims if there had been no conviction.

3 comments about Memoir of Bookie's Son.

1. Very entertaining book that details the family life of a bookie and his two sons (one of whom narrates the book). Interesting dichotomy between the son (now a professor at NYU) and his father who left school after 4th grade but had a Ph.D from the school of hard knocks. Dialogue between the family members is especially memorable.



2. I ENJOYED THIS SHORT STORY. AS I WAS ABLE TO RELATE TO MY CHILDHOOD AS MY FATHER WAS A JEWISH CHARACTER SIMALAR IN A WAY TO THE CENTRAL CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK. WOULD LIKE TO DROP A NOTE TO THE AUTHO. HOW DO I DO THIS?



3. Sidney Offit is a writer's writer. In this elegant memoir of his father the bookie, Offit has evoked the sense and sensibility of his Baltimore childhood and his father's shady dealings with a fresh and often surprising grace. It's a great read for the details and texture of time and place, but it's also a truly fine piece of writing. A very under-appreciated book by a writer who really should have written something great by now, and perhaps he still will.

No comments about El Cartel de Juarez/ Juarez's Cartel.

No comments about Mala Femina: A Woman's Life s the Daughter of a Don.

No comments about Death of a Gunfighter: The Quest for Jack Slade, The West's Most Elusive Legend.