No comments about Diario de mi cautiverio/ Diary of my Captivity.

No comments about Mackman! Forced Into The Game.

No comments about Dark Spaces: Montana's Historic Penitentiary at Deer Lodge.

No comments about Outlaws on horseback : the history of the organized bands of bank and train robbers who terrorized the prairie towns of Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Oklahoma for half a century.

1 comments about Justice Restored: The Gary Geiger and Wayne Blanchard Story.

1. Justice Restored depicts the life of two men who meet one morning in 1981, one young man is a nationally ranked amateur athlete working the graveyard shift, the other young man is a high school dropout on parole, he and his 5 friends wanted to commit a simple robbery which escalated into something much bigger. Years later the two men would meet again and that meeting would garner worldwide attention. It is a story of victimization and what victims of crime and life go through, something we don't much hear about, the nightmares, the PTSD, the anger, the unresolved questions as to why me. It is also a story of why the recidivism rate among offenders is so high, the book takes twists and turns, too unbeliveable at times to be true, it's shocking and dramatic and gives society another way to look at our retributive criminal justice system, I recommend this book to anyone who has been or knows a victim or anyone interested in crime.

1 comments about Etta Place: Her Life and Times With Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Women of the West).

1. "Etta Place: Her Life and Times With Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" by Gail Drago is a great overview of information concerning not only Etta, but also Butch and Sundance. The author has done her research well, citing the most current information known to date of these colorful outlaws. While she cannot really tell us who Etta Place is, she give us some food for thought on her character.
   I would suggest this book to any fan of Etta, Butch, and Sundance. It is a great review of information that is solid.

5 comments about Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bentley, the Spy Who Ushered in the McCarthy Era.

1. This foolish book attempts to make the case that Bentley initiated the age of McCarthy. According to that thinking, anyone who unmasked a traitor was a McCarthyite- that is beyond stupid. What Igor Gouzenko and Bentley and Whittaker Chambers did was to expose the extent of Soviet espionage in the US. With the publication of Venona and the previously secret KGB files we know now that there were more Americans who betrayed their country than we ever suspected. They were traitors to the US and seriously damged this country. They were the real villains of the age.



2. This is the story of Elizabeth Turrill Bentley. No one suspected a "well-bred, Vassar educated descendent of Puritan Clergy" would join a communist party and run "two of the most productive spy rings in America." That is exactly what Bentley, code name Clever Girl, did. Equally unexpected was her transformation from spy to FBI informant.
   
   It all started in March of 1935 when Bentley was lured to an American League Against War and Fascism meeting by a neighbour. It turned out to be a front for the Communist Party. Kessler's descriptions draw the reader into the setting and give an idea of the atmosphere, as well as Bentley's mentality. Clever Girl attempts to shed light on the motivations of the most important woman to affect the McCarthy Era.
   
   Bentley's early dealings with the party made her feel important and independent. She lived in a one room apartment and was unemployed. She was lonely. Going to meetings may have started off as a social event but it turned into something more. A calling. She was impressionable. In the opening chapter I felt she had been brainwashed and lured into the fold because of her loneliness, desire to have a family and ties with others.
   
   Shortly after joining, Bentley met and fell in love with soviet handler Jacob Golos whom she affectionately called Yasha. Golos was the glue that attached Bentley to the party for years despite him not being as loyal to her. She let him interpret the world for her through his communist eyes. Regardless of what she gave up for him, it is because of her association with Golos she was able to move up through the ranks. After only 6 years (1935-1941), Bentley was running things.
   
   When it was discovered he was no longer in control she had to fight to maintain her status. She quickly became deemed a problem and after Golos death her status was taken away. Although Kessler doesn't come out and say it, I think this had more to do with her being a woman than the fact she was an American in a high ranking, Soviet spy position.
   
   When things started to look worse, she decided it as time to go to the FBI for help. In exchange Bentley named hundreds of Americans involved with the party. It is incomprehensible, the number of people who willingly supplied sensitive information from the Treasury Department to the party. It isn't so hard to believe or see the Soviet Union (the US wartime ally) as an "evil-doer" but what is difficult to believe is that Americans could be spies against their own country.
   
   What I found most interesting was not Bentley's plunge into the depths of communism but her relationship with the FBI and media after she became an informant; as well as her flip flop between a secure, independent woman of means and a neurotic paranoid, probably brought on by the alcohol abuse.
   
   Bentley played a game with both sides, never winning in either. She survived under a short-lived spotlight in each. Being an FBI informant wasn't as glamorous as being a Soviet spy. As a spy she basically worked alone and had control over what happened to her. As an FBI informant she was constantly scrutinized by the FBI, congress and most indignantly by the media. Her life was never normal. While most days I think she reveled in the limelight I also think that she longed for privacy, but mostly I think she longed for their respect.
   The stereotypes of this time period are evident and well known. Bentley was a woman in a male dominated society. She held a high-ranking position but she was never really respected for it. Not by the Soviets, the FBI, nor the media who directed lots of name calling her way. If she had been a man I wonder what their views would have been of her and how she would have been handled. Clever Girl shows the life of Elizabeth Bentley, the past she couldn't outrun and the price she paid for the choices she made. Kessler's interpretation of the facts is worth reading both for its historical and entertainment value.
   
   Review Originally Posted at http://www.linearreflections.com



3. Liz Bentley was born in a society that had limited opportunities for women. In the 1930's with the Great Depression this Vassar graduate had only the socila outlet of the Communist party.
   Kessler documents the importance that Bentley played as a Communist spy. Indeed before this book was written I always had the impression she was a courier or a bit player. Kessler documents that when bentley's lover got sick that she ran the spy ring. I always thoguth of Communist espionage in the 1950's as male driven from Greenglass, Julius Rosenberg, Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss. But this book docwement without Bently the FBI would not had the collaboratiog evidence for the secret Venona intercepts. Because these tapes were secret ,Bentley had no collaboration and only one person -William remington went to jail arising directly fromn her accusations.
   Bentley had to endure the hatred of the far left for being a rat , a liar and worse. She contributed to rise of McCarthy and for J Edgar Hoover getting more powerful. Benley was years ahead of herself -running a businees (admitedly a Communist front). She was sexually expressive and her lover -Jakob Golos (whom was married) was her boss in epsionage. Benley exposed 2 spy rings the Perlo and Silvermaster ring and in doing so performed a patriotic duty.
   Where I fault this book is that more details on the spy ring could have been given. Kessler seems to weant to defend Bentley against the far left but is uncomfortable delineating the extent of Soviet infiltration of the US Government. Such a thing sounds like McCarthyism (proof of the validity) and she may be showing her poltical bias in not making this connection. This book is a quick read and gives this fascinating part of US history. This book should be included in a Women's Study group.



4. Although the life of Elizabeth Bently deserves a bigger book, I enjoyed this first biography of the enigmatic but fascinating commie spy, Elizabeth Bently. The author attempts to explain this Vassar educated American woman who became a Russian spy, but Bently still remains a vague phantom. Since I'm fascinated by that whole period--of Joe McCarthy, Alger Hiss, the shocking presence of real-life commnists in American government back in the 30s and 40s--I found this book very readable. You might also enjoy related books, especially Ann Coulter's best-selling, "Treason," which really delivers the goods about how the Communist scare of the 40s and 50s was not the imaginary fear of paranoid Americans. It really was something to cause genuine fear. Elizabeth Bently revealed just have intensive this spy network was.



5. As indicated, I have mixed sentiments about this book. The story is engaging enough, and Kessler delivers it in a readable, comfortable manner. However, it often seems as if she is acting more as an apologist for Bentley, rather than giving a fully candid evaluation.
   Bentley's career as teacher, communist, spy, and FBI informant is enticing and worth investigating, but there are some irritating flaws. Most prominent is the lack of footnotes; there is an endnote page, but no numbers in the narrative that correspond with it. There is also the unnerving sense that something is constantly amiss. For all her organizational skill, and apparent value to the Soviet spy network, Bentley is repeatedly duped, manipulated, and outright naive. The author never adequately resolves this paradox, and thus somewhat undermines its historical credibility. In fact, she ( Bentley) almost never seems to understand the implications of her actions, and is striking for appearing so intellectually shallow. Indeed , not very clever at all.
   Despite these limitations, it is entertaining, but should be read with the cautionary anteenae in place.

5 comments about His Name Is Ron.

1. I won't lie to you. I never really liked the Goldman family. They came across as way too functional to me and slightly pretensious and the book only enhances that impact. Sadly, the Goldmans rely on the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles Police Department for the truth. Of course, the L.A.P.D. is responsible for the Rodney King's savage beating, losing key evidence in the city's most famous unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia a.k.a. Elizabeth Short, etc. The only reason that their killer got away in the criminal trial is that he had the resources to hire high-powered attorneys like Johnnie Cochrane, Robert Shapiro, Barry Sheck, Alan Dershowitz, but they forget to list Sara Caplan as one of his attorneys. I don't think the Goldmans ever considered anybody else as a suspect and convicted the killer before he stood trial. Regardless, they became amateur court television viewers in the courtroom but they were biased in their views and opinions. I was expected to read more about them to get a better feeling of them but it didn't. I only resented them more because they are just pigeon-holed into believing black and white. They lost me when the killer's sister, Shirley, did something during the civil trial and Patti concluded that violence must run in the family. Regardless, you don't know everything even with two trials under your belt and I have read every true crime out there except about the Simpson case. When you seek the truth, you can't be blinded by your bias and prejudices. The Goldmans moved from one white community in Illinois to another in Los Angeles and again to Arizona. They never cite any contact with African Americans in the book. For the record, I am white, female school-teacher who works with predominantly African-Americans and Hispanic students in New Jersey. My students told me that all whites were rich but I didn't have time to explain that poverty exists in white America as it does in black America.
   
   I don't think Ron would have wanted his family to suffer. He would want them to live life to the fullest. The killer didn't take that away from them, they choose to hurt themselves and remain in mourning. Regardless of such a loss in the family whether by accident, murder or illness, a surviving relative moves on with their lives. I can't tell you how many people who have lost their loved ones on 09-11-01 and on Pan AM 103 and the many men and women overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Goldmans have been regular guests on television shows with the other book which I won't comment but I believe it's also biased in it's view and trash. Instead of using the airtime to bring light about the victims of violence, they use it to target the one person that they hate so much. I couldn't get talk shows to recall the tragic event of December 21, 1988 when 270 lives were snuffed out by terrorism over Lockerbie, Scotland. Every year goes by, it's bearly mentioned and when Daniel and Susan Cohen writes about their pain, anger, and frustration. People criticize them for not having peace. In fact, their book is one of the most heartfelt book in my collection and they can't even get on Larry King Live or get a film made about it.
   
   It's sad really because they should have some closure, some peace but only if they choose to except it in their lives.
   
   You wonder if Ron and Nicole weren't attractive that people would care as much about them.
   
   If you believe in heaven and an afterlife, you have something to look forward too. In fact, everybody who has had near death experiences regrets and cries coming back to life. The Goldmans don't believe in anything at all. But I can't stand to see the family in pain, maybe I just don't like them because they are so naive about life. I believe that when you die, it's your time regardless of the cause of death. I believe in something more than this earth.



2. I Have read this book about 3 times it is very good and very very interesting. it is the best book on this case so far. So many things are brought out in court that the public did not hear that I was shocked that he got away with it. I think a lot has to do with the judge being star struck.
   If the things brought out in court are true then how can anyone just overlook that? I will never understand that. This is a goooooooooood! book!



3. Fred Goldman has always impressed me. Here is a guy who was forced to deal with his tremendous grief in a very involuntarily public fashion, who totally kept his act together while expressing as much rage as possible without comprising his credibility. There was no rush to forgiveness of his son's killer, as we too often see as a symptom of this country's desire to conflate unconditional forgiveness with "enlightenment." Did most rational people secretly hope Fred would shoot OJ outside the courtroom or run him over with his car in the streets of Brentwood? Of course. However, the Goldman family didn't need the additional difficulty of Fred's arrest, and their case didn't need anything to detract from the monumental evidence supporting OJ's commission of the murders. Sadly, it was Johnnie Cochran and his "Scheme Team" that derailed the locomotive of justice, through at least race-mongering and conspiracy theory.
   
   "His Name Is Ron" allows the Goldmans to vent some of their anger, and recounts the life and death of their son and subsequent trials with great detail, dignity, and a surprisingly amount of objectivity. They didn't need the money for the book: its writing arose to counter "works" from the dark side, including from the killer himself, and from a desire to set the record straight about their son. The Goldmans were never baited by the black-white race card played by the defense team; they, like so many of us, hated OJ because of what he did, not who he was. Expressions of the Goldmans' understandable erosion of faith in the legal system are balanced with a continued recognition that, defects notwithstanding, we still need fair legal representation for criminals and to at least attempt to conduct fair trials. Certain Goldman family members even remain opposed to the death penalty, despite the fact that OJ made many nation-wide change their mind in favor of capital punishment.
   
   For anyone who wasn't familiar with all the finer points of the Trial/Blunder of the Century, this book is gives a clear and informed account, and is particularly eye-opening with respect to the pain endured by the Goldman family. As the litany of horrors described grew, so did my admiration for Fred, Kim, Patti, etc., and for their ability to not suffer nervous breakdowns. The non-exhaustive list of insult added to the Goldmans' injury includes watching OJ laugh and joke with his oily lawyers, taunt the victims' families, and recount his golf game during the trials; witnessing a juror throw a black power salute to the criminal defense team, definitively acknowledging the trial boiled down to nothing more than race; being scolded by courtroom officials for drinking bottled water during the trial, and risking losing courtroom seats that weren't filled every day; lectures about courtroom decorum from the trashy family of Nicole Brown; an interloping mother of the deceased, who had no involvement with the family until she saw dollar signs from Ron's death; and death threats made against the family and its legal counsel.
   
   Sadly, I recently heard that the Goldmans have yet to see any money from OJ- not because they need the money, but because every dollar gained represents one lost by the killer. I also believe that Safe Streets, the victims-rights organization that Fred Goldman become a part of, is no more. This country needs a lot more advocacy for real victims than for criminals, and people like Fred Goldman help us make gains to that end, turning pain into progress. One final wish is for the Goldmans to realize their dreams of OJ's premature (though by now, already too late) death sometime soon.



4. I have read this book over and over.
   It is written in such present tense, that I am right
   there, feeling the emotions.
   Nearly every time I check my messages on my answering
   machine.......I think of Ron's messages those couple days.
   I have never seen such injustice.
   *
   Lawyers and judge Ito were too star struck
   to even realize there were two Precious Stars
   crying out the name of their killer....
   ....O.J. SIMPSON! Brutal murderer...and arrogant
   about it.
   I love the Goldmans and they don't even know me!
   They don't know how many prayers and tears I have
   for them!
   I keep the hardback book on my coffee table.....
   I pick it up often......
   sometimes just to look at the pictures.
   
   * We did have a case here in Louisville several years
   ago. Mel Ignato got away with murder, also.
   Due to an incompetent prosecuting attorney;
   ....Ernie Jasmine! and, like O.J. it was a slam dunk
   case! I'm just waiting for O.J. to go into the ministry
   like Mel Ignato did!



5. I think this is one of the saddest, yet most hopeful books I have ever read.. The Goldman family handled their tragedy with grace and dignity, and set an example for the entire world in which to follow.

5 comments about Brothers and Keepers.

1. John Edgar Wideman has composed an interesting take of two lives gone wrong in his memoir, "Brothers and Keepers". In the memoir, Wideman explores the causes and consequences of his brother's life sentence in jail for murder. Wideman speaks his mind about the whole affair, but also lets his brother do his fair share of the talking through a series of interviews the two shared in the prison visiting room. Though the basic goal of the memoir is to determine how two brothers followed such radically different paths, it delves into the broader topic of African-American men and society.
   
   Even though it overall is a great experience, two problems I had with the novel was its lack of structure and Wideman's tendency to rant. It seems that Wideman tends to build up a subplot, but then just as suddenly dashes away to discuss something new. This makes the book difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. As for the ranting, it's like Wideman tries to use the text as a way to vent his frustrations about racism in America. His whining can get excruciatingly annoying. But, despite these problems, "Brothers and Keepers" is an excellent look into the lives of two African-American men, while reflecting on the role of the African-American race as a whole.



2. Brothers and Keepers is a fantastic memoir written by John Edgar Wideman that explores how the narrator and his brother, Robby, end up living extremely opposite lives. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Wideman and his brother are not given all of the best opportunities but Wideman does what he can to work hard. His efforts result in a well educated, middle class man, while his brother ends up a convict. The memoir explores where the two divulged and what influences they've had throughout their lives.
   In terms of actual material, the memoir is ordered in a way that keeps the reader riveted throughout all of the text. Wideman tells the story of his brother's crime, divulging from that plot to reflect upon their family's life as a whole. These unique reflections provide valuable insight into both John and Robby's most inner thoughts. The pace of the novel is fairly rapid; although, sometimes I found myself losing interest in Wideman's reflections, anxious to hear the next part of Robby's tale.
   What makes this memoir most unique is the frequency with which Wideman acknowledges what few or many details he is capable of recalling from his past. Not only does this make the story even more believable, it allows the reader to make many of their own decisions about what really happened in John and Robby's lives. The reader also gets to hear the voice of Robby, who also often fails to remember specific or important details. Wideman writes, speaking for his brother (the text uses no quotations), "Must have passed out or gone to sleep or something, cause it gets blurry round in here. Don't remember much but they gave back my clothes and took me Downtown and there was a arraignment next morning" (103). On one of the most important and emotional days in Robby's life, he can't seem to remember how the day ended. It is these sporadic inclusions and omissions keep the reader inquisitive throughout the text.
   Overall Brothers and Keepers is a very well written memoir that forces readers to dig deep into their own mind because most humans struggle with very similar life dilemmas, although probably not to the same extent. Although some may argue that that some memories ramble on too long, each provides a unique perspective about Wideman and the human race as a whole.



3. In a sentence: This is an excellent book about honesty and fact and fiction. It blurs the lines between truth and lies, real and fake, memory and what happened v.s. what really happened. Beautiful. Wideman puts himself and his family front and center and at the core of the story. One is not quite sure which is fiction and which is non-fiction. Also, when persons speak there are no quotation marks and the reader distinguishes who is talking by the choice of vocabulary and flow of the language. You can really hear the difference in your head.
   The basic discription is: It's Wideman trying to make sense of his growing up and how his broother ended up in jail for murder.
   This is a great book for lovers of Paul Auster in that "what is the truth of the matter?" is a recurring question......



4. wideman tells an excellent tale about how two siblings of the same environment can go on to lead totally different lives. One brother is a world reknowned novelist and professor. The other brother is a convict serving a life sentence for murder. Wideman explains and analyzes how culture, including racism, classism,and self-identication, influences a person's lifestyle. At times the memoir seems reminscent and nostalgic. Other times, wideman tends to get lost in his own thoughts while writng, which makes the work appear as therapeutic writing not intended for others to read. The issues he raises in the book such as racism, self-identification, and guilt, helps us as readers to recall our own issues with these subjects and how we can work through them.



5. As a proponent for art that breaks the rules, I was both impressed and confused by Wideman's foray into creative nonfiction. He explores the relationship with his brother, Robby, who was involved in criminal activity and subsequently sent to prison. Wideman engages the reader with detailed descriptions of not only the physical barriers between himself and Robby but the emotional canyons that separated and then, ironically, brought them back together. This work also examines the ways in which race and class affect those most at risk in America, specifically African American men.

   At times, the scenes between brothers are eloquent and endearing. However, much of the writing seems stream-of-consciousness, with Wideman switching voices and recalling seemingly random memories. Understanding that this book is Wideman's attempt at answering questions that have plagued him his entire life - self-exploration - as readers, we work through his issues with him. The journey is an arduous one for both writer and reader and if you plan on picking up this book, be prepared to work.

No comments about American Murder: Criminals, Crimes and the Media.