Smokescreen: A True Adventure Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I guess they changed the title of this book at some point -- the copy I got from the library was called "Loaded, A Misadventure In the Marijuana Trade". At any rate, forget any tepid reviews by "professional" reviewers who somehow feel this story wasn't quite up to their literary standards. The book is just a flat out great read and had me laughing out loud many times. A hilarious but cautionary tale with a serious ending, the adventures of pot smuggler Allen Long are so far out there that you know they must be true. Any baby boomer who did time in the counter culture of the 60s and 70s, or who is familiar with the drug culture of that era will get a big kick out of this book, and I'd think many younger readers would enjoy it as well.
Allen Long was a man of immense ability, ambition and personal charm, as well as a natural leader... who also loved to smoke the best pot he could find. He probably would have been successful in any field but some people need to take the road less travelled. Long was the man responsible for Columbian marijuana coming to the US (millions of tons of it). I got the impression that he was as much a crusader for marijuana as he was in it for the money, at least in the beginning. The first part of the book is almost like a Cheech & Chong screenplay, with multi-million dollar deals and hair-raising scenarios being improvised by people who stay as stoned-out as possible at all times; but by the end the gangsters have moved in, the trade has turned to cocaine, and the intial hippie-capitalist spirit has vanished, to be replaced with cutthroat competition, greed and violence. Long never has the heart to become a gangster and is eventually squeezed out of the business by the more ruthless and hungry Latin Americans. It's a look at a particular part of era that hasn't often been told, and certainly never told in such a thoroughly entertaining manner. Thumbs up all the way.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Smokescreen: A True Adventure

Click here for more information about Smokescreen: A True Adventure

Read More...

To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Many books have been written about real-life tragedies, and in this sense, Cowan and Kuenster's book is no different. However, there is a thin line in these type of books between boring the reader by burying the human aspect of the story with an overload of factual material and becoming nothing more than a non-fiction hankie weeper. Quite a few books have disappointed me in the past by straying to either one side or the other. Not so with this one. It is a solid piece of reporting that does not lose the human dimension of the tragedy. Nor does it obscure the investigation and the facts with too much emphasis on the human dimension.
The fire at Our Lady of the Angels was one of the worst tragedies to strike America, made even more so in that the vast majority of its victims were innocent children. The authors follow the story from the day it occured to the fire itself and the heroic efforts of the fire department to the later delegation of blame and recriminations from what was seen as a bureaucratic conspiracy. In doing so they manage to bring the reader into the story not merely as a spectator but almost as a fellow reporter, sharing not only facts, but also conjectures and whispers plus personal items about the victims, always careful always to straddle the line between objectivity and thje trap of a "crusading" journalism. By letting the story speak for itself, they bring it home all the more forcefully, to where no one who reads it will remain unaffected.
This book should also serve as a warning against the false sense of security that this sort of thing cannot happen again. There are still many schools, public and private, at risk, and this is a book that should be read by every parent with children still in school, and not only during Fire Prevention Week.

Click Here to see more reviews about: To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire

Get 19% OFF

Click here for more information about To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire

Read More...

Smoke and Murders Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Blain Hodges, Teresa Hodges, and their two young daughters were brutally murdered in their home in Vinton, Virginia in August 1994. Earl Bramblett was arrested, tried, convicted and executed for the crime. Author Douglas Chandler Graham is convinced Bramblett was framed and is on a mission to find justice for Bramblett.
Smoke And Murders is a fictionalized account of the crime. Many of the characters are sketches of people close to the case. Except for the murders, much of the story is made up.
Graham has included all the ingredients of a first rate, hard boiled mystery. From the crime scene on we meet corrupt cops, drug dealers, a careless medical examiner and a long list of intriguing, believable characters.
It is set in rural Virginia in a small town where the haves avoid the have-nots and gossip and speculation is the favorite pastime. The town elite demand a conviction and for the problem to go away. A State Police investigator has hand picked his suspect and quickly brings the mayor and local cops onside.
Graham draws on his considerable research of the evidence and knowledge of the case to form a plausible theory as to what he believes really happened. His hypothesis is played out in this fast paced, enjoyable read. He brings together all the players and cleverly sets the tone for the sequel, leaving the reader wanting more.
I highly recommend Smoke And Murders to fans of True Crime and Murder Mysteries and I look forward to the sequel, "Three Trailers Down" (November 2009).
Reviewed by WR Potter for Reader's Choice Reviews.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Smoke and Murders

Click here for more information about Smoke and Murders

Read More...

Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I haven't met an Ann Rule book I didn't like, but they are always too short! This one I read in two days. This book focus' on women in abusive relationships that lead to murder or almost-murder. I really liked the stories that are older cases. With so many true crime shows on TV, it's hard to find something new and fresh. Since this is a "crime file" you have the option of dipping into the book when you'd like, story by story. Ann also has many resources for women in trouble in this volume including websites to visit. Ann always makes the victims come alive in each of her books, honoring them in a way few can.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files)

Click here for more information about Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files)

Read More...