Reviews (15)

Outstanding Book
This is the best mob book I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them. The author's style is intelligent, witty, detailed, and extremely personable. He tells us so many facts about the Chicago mob, from its incarnation in the early 20th century to the 1990's, that I felt I was experiencing a living history class on the Outfit while I read. Russo supplies his readers with wonderfully colorful accounts of the "Chicago Boys" and their outrageous acts when they ruled Chicago. One of the most fascinating characters, about whom I never knew before, was the Welsh genius who essentially played consigliere to the Outfit for several decades. Curly Humphreys was never mnade because of his Welsh blood, but he could have been the smartest Boss the mob ever had. He came up with the 5th Amendment dodge that kept gangsters from having to tell the Kefauver or McClelland Committees anything damning about themselves or their gangster pals. He actually knew more about the Constitution than any of the Senators or lawyers attached to the Committees! He was brilliant.
Humphreys Retrospective
Detailed account of Chicago crime family's growth from pre-Capone days to death of mastermind Murray Humphreys in 1972, after which the chronicle trails off rapidly. Familiar highlights are there, showing how Chicago's corruptive tentacles reach into worlds of legalized gambling, labor unions, show business, and politics, with many household names surfacing, e.g. Kennedys, Sinatra, Monroe, Nixon, Hoffa, Truman, et. al. Anecdotes are numerous and fascinating, demonstrating once again how thoroughly the underworld intertwines with what author Russo terms the "upperworld". (For a provocative theory of how and why these two worlds interlock symbiotically, check out Peter Dale Scott's Deep Politics and the Death of JFK.) Though much of the material is familiar to students of the Chicago mob, Russo's treatment remains on the whole a worthwhile addition.
overrated author
I found alot of the authors references extremely dubious.For example, if Murray Humphries was such a smart mobster I find it hard to believe that he would allow his wife to keep a written journal detailing how the Kennedy election was fixed.The author also left out details of references to bolster his case that with the death of Tony Accordo the Outfit died also.When he cites an article called "Mob Lite"stating that there are only 50 outfit members remaining, he left out the part stating that there are at 700-1200 associates remaining and how they are more sophisticated than ever.I only wonder what else he left out. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Chicago    2. Chicago (Ill.)    3. Criminology    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History - U.S.    7. History: American    8. Illinois    9. Mafia    10. Organized crime    11. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    12. Outfit (Gang)    13. United States - 20th Century    14. History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (4)

So this is how it's done?
With no political background I really enjoyed reading Continetti take on the "system" and those behind it and the inner workings of a lobbyist and elected government officials. Straight out of the headlines this book will take the reader into the back rooms of our political system and the people who try to work the system to their advange and what happens when they go too far.

THE K STREET GANG INVESTIGATION: POWER + CONTEMPT = GREED
Five Stars!! A brilliant, historical, detailed, and disturbing examination of the demise of the leadership of the Republican party in the last twenty years, especially the House of Representatives. But the title may be both premature and presumptuous: the Republican party hasn't "Fall(en)" until it loses the House, the Senate, in particular; and you might also include the state legislatures, and the governorships. The K Street Gang is an incisive look at the rise of the Republican party since Bill Clinton's first term presidential win, into George W. Bush's second term, and it's current status at the hands of some truly powerful, greedy, and legally challenged members.
The K Street Gang was Libertarian Anarchist,not Conservative
Continetti(C)has written a timely expose of the machinations of Abramoff-DeLay-Norquist,etc.,aka the K Street Gang.He exposes their corruption,fraud ,and theft.Unfortunately,C identifies these Republicans as conservatives.The fact of the matter is that none of these characters are conservatives.Every member of the K Street gang is a libertarian anarchist follower of Ayn Rand,Ludwig von Mises,F von Hayek,Milton Friedman,Murray Rothbard,and their supply side followers like A Laffer and G Gilder.The hallmark of libertarian anarchism,be it the 18th century version of Thomas Paine,John Patrick Henry,George Mason,William Randolph and Thomas Jefferson(the Anti Federalists) or the 20th century version of Hayek and von Mises that has so influenced J Kemp,is a belief in(a) a mythical free market ideology,(b)opposition to the use oftariffs for any purpose,(c)a disdain for any form of strong federal(or state or local) government,as expressed by a constant stream of anti government rhetoric that matches any of the polemics,incendiary speeches, and pamphlets put out by Thomas Paine in the 18th century,and (d)the misbelief that all public sector spending, financed by the payment of income taxes, is fraud and theft.It is easy to follow their ends justifies the means logic.They were just liberating funds that had been stolen by the Federal government for use in the private sector.The real conservatives(Hamilton,Washington,Madison,Jay,Monroe,Franklin,and the Adams brothers) demolished these claims when they wrote or supported the arguments put forth in The Federalist Papers.The Founding Fathers rejected libertarianism well over 200 years ago .There are some lapses in the book concerning facts.For instance,C misstates the age of the conservative,Republican leader of the House in 1994,R H Michel,confuses the current Senator named Rockefeller with the late Governor of New York named Nelson Rockefeller,confuses theamendment to the constitution that gave women the right to vote with the amendment to the constitution that provided for the direct election of Senators,etc.Nevertheless,the book demonstrates the basically defective nature of libertarianism as both an economic and political philosophy.Hopefully,the author will revise the book in the future and correct his misidentification of Republican libertarians as Republican conservatives. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Conservatism    2. Government - General    3. Lobbyists    4. Political Corruption    5. Political Ideologies - Conservatism & Liberalism    6. Political Science    7. Politics - Current Events    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. U.S. Political Parties    11. United States    12. Political Science / Government / General   

Reviews (9)

Another bonkers avowed bad guy writes a page turner
You don't have to approve of the lifestyle choices of this thug to enjoy what is a great story. This is not really a morality tale per se although from the writer's warped perspective there is the redeeming aspect of the the whole in that Nee's passion was supporting the IRA terrorists by buying and shipping a huge magnitude of firearms for the "soldiers" to use to fight for their freedom. ( Great pains are taken to keep the arms dry so they are outfitted with plastic bags that the IRA soldiers store in the bogs ) A million dollars worthare shipped "free of charge" by the Boston irish patriots-I won't spoil all the fun for you readers. Whitey is only a supporting player in this particular shenanigans , but he does get artfully dissed which is a small pleasure... The bottom line is that all that honor and bravery aside,
An Irishman and a criminal
I absolutely loved this book. Richard Farrell captured the essence of Patrick Nee and put the words to paper beautifully. I read the book in three days, I couldn't put it down. It has already been stolen from me by my mother! Kudos' to a job well done.

Wow... just Wow.
Wow. This book was so captivating. Nee uses his talent as a refreshing to see that Nee wasn't one of those criminals that thinks he is the toughest thing to walk. (Unlike most authors to write about their gang related lives.)
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Subjects:  1. Organized Crime    2. General    3. True Crime / Espionage    4. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    5. Massachusetts    6. Infamous Crimes And Criminals    7. True Crime / General    8. Biography    9. True Crime    10. Irish American criminals    11. Gangs    12. Boston    13. Gang members   

Reviews (16)

A Waste of Money and Time
Let me save you the money and time of buying and reading this book.Here it is.....I was an Angel; I used, bought, and sold drugs; I got caught and squeeled on my brothers......Thats about all this book says.It's a waste.

Not great, but worth a look
George Wethern may appear to be "coming clean" in this book, but just like in every book written by ex-OMG'ers, the bravado as he describes his days with the HAMC is a bit of a turn-off. As Sonny Barger used to say, "Why do they lie about us? The truth is bad enough." Well, neither Sonny nor George seems capable of just laying it out there for us to see in some un-trumped-up manner. At least Sonny's books don't purport to be tell-alls. What is Wethern's excuse?
Will the Full Story Ever Come Full Circle?
This book is essentially George Wethern's autobiography from his days as vice-president of the Oakland, California Hell's Angels.
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Subjects:  1. California    2. General    3. Hell's Angels    4. Motorcycle gangs    5. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    6. True Crime    7. True Crime / Espionage    8. Wethern, George    9. True Crime / General   

Reviews (44)

Welcome to New York
'The Gangs of New York' by Herbert Asbury is a fascinating yet unsettling history of the gangs that inhabitated the area of lower Mahhattan in the 19th and early 20th century. They were mostly Irish immigrants, although some were native born or immigrants of other ethnicities. These areas were known as the Five Points and the Bowery, and they were arguably the most dangerous places on the continent at that time. Murder, mayhem, robbery, prostitution, gang wars, riots, were all every day occurrences. The violence is graphic, and it serves as a grim reminder of the savagery of human nature under certain conditions. I would agree with the other reviewers that the book was not exactly what I expected. Instead of an actual history, it reads more like a blow-by-blow narrative of certain events. It is often tedious, as the author recounts certain events, like the Draft Riots, with overwhelming detail. This is not to say that it is not interesting. It was fascinating to read about the Dead Rabbits, the Bowery Boys, the Chichesters, the Daybreak Boys and all the other gangs from the film of the same name by Martin Scorcese. Even Bill the Butcher was a real person, a butcher by trade, who was a member of the 'Know-Nothings' and one-time member of the Bowery Boys. Many have criticized the book for being inaccurate and embellished. While I can't say if this is true or not, the amount of detail in the book is astounding and it seems to me that the majority of the book is fundamentally true. So for certain fans of the film, this book might be too tedious, but anybody truly interested in the history of New York and it's inhabitants would definitely benefit from reading this book. America was born in the streets.

Okay
This book wasn't what I expected, but it will do. I was looking for a more like the movie book than anything.

Burnin', Lootin', & Shootin'
Herbert Asbury called his Gangs of New York "informal history."Reviewers here call it dime-novel history, tabloid history, belly-to-the-bar history.I call it the subset of fiction called nonfiction.
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Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. Gangs    3. History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. New York    7. New York (N.Y.)    8. New York (State)    9. New York - Local History    10. Offenses And Offenders    11. Social History    12. Social conditions    13. United States - 20th Century    14. United States - General    15. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic    16. Sociology, Social Studies    17. USA   

Reviews (6)

The Brotherhoods
Fair reading. Takes place in Australia, so things are a little different here in the USA. The author is pretty knowledgable and took a long time to research the material. The book is more like a text book than for entertainment.

Very informative book
This is a great book with loads of informationabout the motrocycle scene and the motorcycle clubs such as Bandidos,Hells Angels Gypsy Jokers and other australian motorcycle clubs.The author who is a psychologist dual citizenship and started life in U.S.A would make one wonder how someone who was not a patch wearer and did not have a motorcyclewould be the premier independent expert on these clubsand gangs.
An insight into Australian biker clubs
Arthur Veno is actually American born and was even at the infamous Hells Angels Monterey incident in 1969 as a teenager. Now Arthur lives in Australia, which he has called home for almost 30 years, and his curiosity in what could be best described as "patch clubs" has almost been a life long interest.Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia    2. Motorcycle clubs    3. Motorcycle gangs    4. Motorcycles    5. Motorcycles - General    6. Popular Culture - Counter Culture    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - General    10. Sociology Of Organizations    11. Subculture    12. Association: clubs, societies    13. Cultural studies    14. Motorcycles: general interest    15. Social Science / General    16. Social history   

Reviews (10)

read it to remind you of things you know deeply in your spirit
This is an excellent book, and an easy read.
Exceptional Work
This book has been instrumental in helping me reclaim good health.I wanted to read more of Dr. Sha's work so I also purchased Zhi Neng Medicine, which is also excellent.While I didn't always experience the same results as many of the case histories, I DID experience some positive results every time I used the techniques in this book and have been able to completely heal several disease conditions over time.

Power Healing
I was very happy with the contents with the book.I found the material to be very beneficial ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Consumer Health    2. Eastern - General    3. Healing    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health/Fitness    6. Complementary Medicine    7. Health & Fitness / Healing   

Reviews (8)

a historical goldmine
I am a philadelphian interested in the city's history.I have found that this book has provided insight into a section of philadelphia that i have traveled through but had no in depth knowledge of.The characters described in the narrative were colorful and resourceful,yet in the end met the end that was inevitable. A few of the main characters found some redemption,others did not.There is no fantasy in this book,it is hard realism.Mr. Hornblum is a competent chronicler

Good read...brought back a lot of memories for my father.
Even though his name wasn't printed (thankfully), the book brought back many good memories and stories for my dad (an former K&A guy himself.)His days of running with Dolan, "Raybo", and the Stockers are long behind him and distant memories, but if he says the book is pretty accurate, then I believe him.He should know since he had "ringside" seats for most of it.
This book contains alot of fiction
FYI...I'm the niece of one of these "gang members".One story mentions the fact that he died, then states that there was no money to bury him.He WAS buried and also had a viewing.He WASN'T put in the back of a meat truck for days, then buried by his friends in a freshly dug cemetary lot (this is against the law...duh!!!)The writer never bothered to consult with family members before using the names of these people and no one in my family EVER heard of this Junior guy...what a joke!Who did the author do his "homework" with?????It's a good "story" but that's just it...a story. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Criminals    4. Criminals & Outlaws    5. Organized Crime    6. Other Miscellaneous Crimes    7. Pennsylvania    8. Philadelphia    9. Sociology (General)    10. Sociology - Urban    11. True Crime    12. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic   

Reviews (2)

In their own words
This book consists of a series of chapters, one per "former gang member," with each individual telling his own story; brief biographical sketches and photographs are provided for each. A bit simplistic
It was well written but provided only a glimpse into gang life and leaving it.Excellent photography but a bit disappointing overall. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Attitudes    2. Case studies    3. Children's 12-Up - Sociology    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Gang members    6. Gangs    7. General    8. Interviews    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Social Situations - Violence    12. United States    13. Youth   

Reviews (2)

Informative, slightly out of date
This book was great for research purposes. Understanding gangs and their signs was pretty much on point. The only complaint would be that it's from the 80's. Lot of the gang MO is still true but there is a section about "Stoner" Gangs, which are 80's metal heads. Basically if you wear a band shirt, jeans and sneakers you fit the dress of a Stoner gang. Their graffiti is band names like Rush and Twisted Sister (this should tell you the age of the book) and "Satanic" things. Also that car clubs are gangs but they don't have a certain style of dress or have graffiti. If you want a good laugh you can read it but for research or academic purposes skip over those sections.
Good practical knowledge for training cops
I bought this book probably in '87 at Long Beach Uniform.It had good information at the time of publication concering the gangs in the greater LA area at the time.Gang associations, graffiti, turf, activity, and turfs are covered.Crimes known to be done by certain gangs are covered, heredity of the latino gangs, tattos, etc. are both covered and photos shown.Read more

Subjects:  1. Gang prevention    2. Gangs    3. General    4. Juvenile Delinquency    5. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    6. Political Science    7. Politics/International Relations    8. True Crime / Espionage    9. United States    10. Law / Criminal Procedure   

Editorial Review

We've heard about drive-by shootings and territorial battlesin the news. "East Side Stories" brings the code, the lives,the words, and the hope of actual gang members to light inthis stunning collection of essays, photographs, and aninterview of ex-gang member Luis Rodriguez, now the authorof five books and the recipient of several major awards. Thelabyrinthine rules and codes of gang life are examined andexplained, while intimate photographs of "gang bangers" intheir homes and with their families put a human face on whatis, for many of us, just another story in the afternoonnewspaper.Read more

Reviews (7)

Too many pictures
One would think that this book would describe gang life more thoroughly. But, well over half the pages are pictures. Also, a lot of the rest of the pages either have a only few sentences or they are totally blank. I am very disappointed.

GREAT BOOK!!!!
It doesn't get any more real than this!!I really enjoyed this book.It lets you really get to know the people in the book who are real and not just some made up characters. I hope to see more of these type of books from Joseph Rodriguez.I also like the idea that someone made above about the author doing an update to this book.That would be great!!!

Finally the truth
Finally someone writes a book and tells the truth i grew up in East los and believe me it was hard but something we chose,we chose to gangbang and finally someone was real about it and wrote this book showing the way it really is and what we really go threw.........THANKS,VBTP ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ethnic Studies - General    2. Individual Photographer    3. Military    4. Minority Studies - Ethnic American    5. Photoessays & Documentaries    6. Photography    7. Photojournalism    8. Sociology - General    9. Subculture    10. California    11. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (12)

mob trip
I didn't read this book until i was in new york, and i spend the whole morning druising around manhattan with it in hand.
Funny, cool and nicely done!
I loved this book.
Pathetic
As the other reviewers point out, this is another shameless attempt by Henry Hill to profit from the hard work of others, namely Martin Scorsese, Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci.Any one with a minimal knowledge of organized crime could have written this book.Henry Hill makes the following insightful comments, "New York has four seasons and five crime families.""The worst trip to NYC is if you don't come back (alive).""If you mispronounce Houston Street, you'll get whacked."Oh yes, Mr. Hill, the SoHo and Village residents will definitely kill when a tourist thrusts such a heinous indignity upon them.Complementing stories that aren't even up to New York Post standards are quite possibly the worst photographs I have ever seen.Photographs include the following: nightclubs at 10am with the shutters closed, an abandoned factor that could be anywhere in the US, a chain link fence at the end of a road, and surveillance shots of fatuously inflated lowlifes hanging around a junkyard.The unfortunate thing about this book is that it could be good.A serious book about the mob by one of its members could very possibly give insight to the rest of us.This is not that book.In Hill speak, other mobsters should have him `whacked' for embarrassing them since readers may assume the average mob mind is as weak as his. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Gangs    2. Gangsters    3. General    4. Guidebooks    5. History    6. Homes    7. Homes and haunts    8. Miscellanea    9. New York    10. New York (N.Y.)    11. New York (State)    12. Organized crime    13. Travel    14. Travel - United States    15. Travel & holiday guides    16. Travel / General   

Reviews (3)

True Story of Bikers, Drugs,Sheriff's and Women That Reads Like Fiction
A unique trip into the anatomy of the toughest of the bikers combined with an exciting, real life drama of undercover work on the edge of disaster.
A look into the 1970's southern calif. Hells Angels 4 1/2 stars
Wayne Carlander a Sargent for Orange county division of narcoatics is teamed up with a new partner one Victoria Seele he is not to pleased to have a new partner and that being a woman to boot. But he has a plan they dectectives have been wanting inflitrate the bikers to gather information and Carlander has his chance when he gets Cliff Mowery to turn to be a informant or rat in exchange for early parole and teams him up with investigator seele and go undercover.
One of the most fascinating books I've ever read
It feels pointless to write about a book that is out of print.However, this book made me wish for more by the same (pseudonymous) author.I became very interested in the Hell's Angels, and thought a lot about theman who acted as an informant.In my experience, this was a book thatreally stays with you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. California    2. Criminal investigation    3. General    4. Motorcycle gangs    5. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    6. Orange County    7. Sociology    8. Undercover operations   

Reviews (4)

The dark side of the American dream as expressed by working class hoodlums
I cannot imagine anyone ever writing a more thorough examination of the environment, causes and activities of juvenile street gangs in New York than Eric Schneider.Schneider, himself of lower-middle-class Manhattan origins, presents us, not with a vague cultural angle on the phenomenon, but an entire history of the changing economic and racial landscape of post-war New York and how street gangs were, in essence, a manifestation of that changing landscape.Gangs were a reaction to their underlying social circumstances and it is with this level of depth and rigour that Schneider has approached the subject.
only in New York...
This book is an excellent treatise into one of the many fascinating eras of the NY underworld. The author takes you back to a dark time when Italian gangs fought Irish and German gangs, then united to fight Puerto Rican and Black Gangs, after which even Puerto Ricans were assimilated. This was a time when gangs were vicious but had not yet discovered heroine, crack cocaine, and machine guns; very interesting reading.

This is real
My grandparents emigrated from ItalyRead more

Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. General    3. History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. Sociology    7. United States - 20th Century    8. United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)    9. American History    10. Anthropology    11. Cultural studies    12. Gender Studies    13. History / United States / 20th Century    14. Local history    15. Political Science and International Relations    16. Postwar period, 1945 to c 2000    17. Social history    18. USA    19. Urban communities    20. Violence in society   

Reviews (4)

Horseshit...
Not only is the author a bad writer.....jumping from timeline to time line...not able to tell a story in order.....he tries to pose the Hell's Angels as the bad guys. Anyone with a solid head on their shoulders will see thru his rhetoric and realize HA is a stand up orginization that takes care of business like any normal person would. The crimes they were accused of, weren't crimes at all......they were simply the exercising of human rights against agressors that would try to deny said so rights......in fact in the entire book, i found no fault with the Angel's actions, and applaud them for their efforts.

facts and names lacking storytelling
The author have gone though a great deal to find the facts in hundreds of events during many years. He covers hundreds of people. Hundreds of crimes and killings. He could have picked a few events, clubs or people and written their full story. Instead the book hops between people and clubs, between centuries and continents like a school book. Theres no story, but namedropping enough to confuse anyone. Stadnik is one of hundreds of figures skidding though events, none of them with depth. People are shot and stabbed, but you find it difficult to care, since none is in the book for more than a page, and you dont get to know them. It feels disorganised. If it was in cronical order, or at least with chapter names reveiling what every chapter will cover it would be easier. Perhaps its interesting and understandable for the surviving few who were there. If your looking for facts its fine, but its too packed with facts for me. I need a story.

Disturbing Errors for an
This book provides a lot of information on Walter Stadnick and the Canadian Hells Angels along with information on lesser clubs in Canada.The author, Jerry Langton, however, has made numerous disturbing errors in reporting on certain aspects of the Hells Angels and other clubs.Langton reports on page 26 that prospective members (prospects) are awarded the top rocker (Hells Angels) along with the center patch. Langton then states that the prospects recive the bottom rocker which identifies the chapter's geographical location upon earning full membership.THE OPPISITE IS TRUE for the Hells Angels and ALL OTHER CLUBS!It is hard to believe that Lanfton could make such an obvious error in his writing.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Crime And Criminals    3. Criminology    4. Gang members    5. General    6. History    7. Motorcycle gangs    8. Ontario    9. Quâebec (Province)    10. Sociology    11. True Crime    12. Biography & Autobiography / Military    13. Canada    14. Organized crime   

Editorial Review

Leslie, a sweet-natured young woman with the mental age of an 8-year-old, just wanted to be friends with the high school football stars. When they invited her down into the basement rec room of a suburban home, she jumped with joy at being included. The young men raped her--with a baseball bat and a broomstick. In this vividly detailed book, Bernard Lefkowitz brings us into the daily life of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, the hometown of Tom Cruise. It's an affluent white community that values propriety, order, discretion, continuity, and a fantasy of the gentleman-athlete. Lefkowitz writes of the boys who raped Leslie: "'These Glen Ridge kids, they were pure gold, every mother's dream, every father's pride. They were not only Glen Ridge's finest, but in their perfection they belonged to all of us. They were Our Guys." What's ultimately most shocking about this crime is how ordinary it was, how predictable--how in one way or another it's happening now, all across America. ... Read more

Reviews (69)

Suburban horror
Beyond being an utterly gripping read, Bernard Lefkowitz's 'Our Guys' is an incredibly powerful indictment of the perverse cultural values that permeated Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in the late 1980s--and that continue to be America's dominant values. The bored, pampered, arrogant, sociopathic jocks (from affluent families) who gang-raped a mentally retarded schoolgirl for their amusement didn't just fall out of the sky. These evil young men were the pure products of a deranged culture that sanctifies (white) male violence, domination, winning, and hedonistic pleasures as some sort of birthright.

A shocking look at what norming sexism does
One of the boys in this case never went to trial because the victim's family and the victim herself were worn out by the process of trial and the community harassment that went with it. You see, the community sided with the good boys in the case, not with the victim---she was 'different' after all. Richie Corcoran went on to join the Army, despite his record, with the full understanding of the military.When he came home from a tour in Afghanistan to his estranged wife, he tried to kill her and her new boyfriend, and then himself. In the latter he succeeded.He was a wife beater and a rapist, and he was the product of his town and his father, who was a cop. Wonder what that guy's view of rape victims was?
Ultimately a disappointment
I'm a big fan of true crime books and the glowing reviews of this one made it look enticing. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as good as the reviews here suggest. It is a promising topic - the gang rape of a retarded girl by a group of moneyed jocks - but it's just not engrossing. The book can't seem to make up its mind what it wants to be - journalism or sociology. So it fails as both. Frankly, it's appallingly edited, and is overlong by several hundred pages (it would have made a good pithy New Yorker article). There's a lot of amateur sociological speculation. The characters are not finely drawn (the author thinks research is a good subsititute). Just when a part gets interesting, more dry pseudo-analysis bogs it down. It is occasionally interesting, and eventually you get the facts of the case. But it's not very well written and is best read if you're interested in the subject rather than fine journalism. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crimes aganist    2. Criminology    3. Gang rape    4. Glen Ridge    5. New Jersey    6. Offenses Against Women    7. Sexism    8. Social Psychology    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. United States    13. Women with mental disabilities    14. Crime & criminology    15. Ethical issues & debates    16. History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies)    17. Men's studies    18. USA   

Reviews (16)

Either Scary Journalism or Scandalous Liable
Mr. Nace documents the corruption of American law by corporations starting with a California supreme court judge who seems to have single-handedly knocked out the keystones of constituitional law. This law was established by our founding fathers to protect themselves from the abuse imposed on them by Great Britain through the manipulating hand of the East India company. The company, it seems, was disappointed with their profits after the expensive French and Indian war. This monopoly bought the English government of the time forcing through what legistlation it desired, including the Stamp Act, which initiated the Revolution. The Stamp Act was imposed to stifle the rising industry in the colonies. Understanding the power of this threat, the founders both in state law and federal law, established limits on the life of corporations. Under the original laws of this country, the corporation was regulated careful. The expansion of US industry after the Civil War created stresses on the original laws. Corporations were seen as useful entities, constrained by "unnecessary" laws. Once out of the box, they have grown unconstrained. During the 1870's the coal monopolies crushed the Molly Maguires. In the 1890's, farmers attempting to keep their liberty established the Grange movement. Other attempts by labor, and these, were crushed because they "interferred" with capital. After nearly 50 years of unconstrained growth, the fall of the Republican Congress in the early 1900s led to the rise of organized labor and the introduction of plant safety, etc. In the 1960's, corporations felt the threat of consumerism and environmentalism fueled by the fourth estate, i.e., the press. By the 1970's the corporations found ways around collusion laws and began to organize a counterattack: the institute, or think tank. Institutes do their bidding: funding favorable research (corrupting academia), sueing people who threaten them (Ophra Winfry was sued by Texas cattlemen for a comment about how poorly the FDA was handling mad cow disease.), corrupting politicians pandering to their views, and perhaps black bag operations.
Democracy lost
I found this to be a fascinating book, well researched and documented. Mr. Nace traces the history of the American Corporations from the earliest years of our union. It would be easy to draw the conclusion that Mr. Nace is anti-business, but that is not how I read his position. Instead, what he is suggesting is that we have created a monster with our catering to the "personhood" of corporations at the expense of focused small businesses.
Glad I picked this up...
I bought this book at the airport with the intention of reading a "good" but perhaps not "great" account of the rise of Corporate America. I was in for a nice surprise as quite the opposite happened, the book was great.