Not the ultimate book on Jonestown
587647
I remember the Jones tragedy well, in 1978 I was 13 years old and I followed the news about it with gusto. Recently I saw a documentary about it on Discovery Channel and after that I decided to buy this book, to learn more. The writer does a great job in giving some insight into the workings of the cult, but there's something nagging me after I read it all. Somehow I get the impression that Deborah Layton does not want to distance herself completely from the mad cult with it's crazed, power-hungry and perverted leader. What's bugging me most is her reference to Jim Jones as 'Father'. Also, I think she talks in great detail about the small (mostly female) inner circle she was part of, but fails to capture the broader picture of the whole community. Also, she defends her brother Larry Layton, the only guy who was convicted of his part in the butchery and carnage of 18 november. She fails to give it to the reader straight: Larry was the guy in the plane who shot two people, and who was supposed to kill the pilot in full flight so the plane would crash. The plane didn't take off, so he shot two innocent people in the back - twice! Deborah Layton willingly keeps this part of the story shady and vague, and for that I condemn her. Still, the book is worth reading and gives a fascinating account of that inner circle of almost groupie-like admirers of the crazed and perverted Jones. It's a good book, certainly one of the best, but not THE best - because Layton is too much in a defensive mode to my taste.
4728984
I'd probably rate this book 2.5 stars if I could. It was somewhere between it's okay and I liked it. There were times where I wanted to DNF it, mostly because it seemed like everything had been explained and there was no new information to be gotten, but also because the origin of the FBI isn't as exciting as one might think.

I expected this book to be more like The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, where the reader goes along with a character or two as they piece together the mystery. Instead, most of it was bland, just a recitation of facts. And far more was about the FBI than I thought there would be. More about the Osage themselves could have given this book a bit more spark.

The parts dealing with the corruption behind law enforcement and the court of the time, along with the history of the Osage and how they gained their wealth, is where Grann really shines. Those parts were engaging, interesting, and informative. Much of the rest of the book was dry to the point of wanting to skim, if not skip entire sections.

This book appeared to reach its end (or what seemed to be its natural conclusion) and then start up again with the truly insightful stuff: that which David Grann uncovered in his own research. All of what is discussed in perhaps the last 15% of the book is far more interesting than almost everything that came before. If the whole book had been about this conspiracy and the links behind all the deaths, instead of mostly focusing on just a handful of murders, it would have been far easier to read.

All in all, it was a decent book that anyone interested in the history of the FBI or the poor treatment of the Indians even into the twentieth century should check out. But I doubt it's something many laymen would enjoy. The Lost City of Z was definitely more exciting and fun to read.
358194
There were parts of this book that were very, very good, but further into the book Jones seemed to ramble--maybe for the sake of length.  I was a bit disappointed.
2390006
Darktown is set in Atlanta, Georgia in 1948. The police department has hired eight black cops to police 'Darktown,' and although they do act as the authority there, they have no real power to make arrests, nor are they even allowed to drive squad cars or work out of the main police headquarters. If they need to arrest someone, they have to call for backup from their white fellow officers, most of whom do not care to help them out. As soon as I received Darktown in the mail, I was intrigued by how intense it sounded and also curious to see how Mullen would handle this topic. This book was not only a stark, informative look at the treatment of blacks, but also provided a note of relevancy to some issues facing us today.

Our main characters are Boggs and Smith, who attempt to witness a black woman, Lily Ellsworth, being physically abused by a white man; this woman eventually turns up dead, but the white man is not charged. In response to this outrage, Boggs and Smith decide to perform their own investigation, which they must do somewhat quietly and without any direct police help.

We also have the white cop duo of Dunslow and Rake. Dunslow is your stereotypical racist pig, complete with an unattractive body and a downright disgusting attitude. This was actually one area that sort of disappointed me about the story. Why did the main racist antagonist have to be so stereotypical? I feel like a much bigger effect could have been made if Mullen had made this rather despicable man have a somewhat more attractive or intriguing in his demeanor, mainly because not every racist man is going to be like this, and I think it's important for us to realize that racism is alive and present in any number of people.

The second cop, Rake, becomes a much more redeemable character as we see him interact with Boogs and Smith. In the begining of the book, we become aware that Rake doesn't really approve of how Dunslow treats black people, and he even halfheartedly attempts to get him to stop beating a black man, but he doesn't really do anything. Fortunately, he finds a bit of courage throughout the story to try to do what is right, though he is by no means a perfect character.

Darktown is much more focused on the racial aspect of the setting and plot than the crime itself, so if you are looking for a pure crime mystery, this isn't quite it. In fact, I think it's much more interesting because of the topic and questions it tackles, and I definitely would recommend this book because of that. The only somewhat disappointing aspect of this was that the focus on racism dominated so much that it almost reached a point in which I felt the characters were overshadowed. Now, I understand that racism itself is indeed a huge issue that dominates so many aspects of life today, but I had hoped to try to see more out of the eyes of some of the characters than I did. I felt like I knew most of the characters, but there was just some aspect that felt like I was kept at an arm's length, which made it somewhat difficult to become fully invested in the story at times.

Overall, I am giving Darktown four stars for superb handling of an intense and highly relevant topic.
2577110
This is an attractive book, presenting many charming local businesses. As an Oaklander, however, I am offended by the presentation of the book as "A Guide to the City's Most Interesting Places" -- as if to say that the majority of the most interesting places in our city are shops -- and mostly new, white-owned ones. Also, to title the book "This is Oakland" is to over-value a particular demographic and to serve as a booster to those with resources to take ownership of the city (the editorial review even says "People who want to know what's next are looking to Oakland").

As a middle-class white person, I know how easy it is to be blind to language that centers our own experiences while minimizing or obscuring others. The inequity of our culture is not our fault, but it is certainly our responsibility to work to recognize ways that we contribute to inequities with our words or actions. Future efforts to document, say, a locavore or hipster ethic should be honestly labelled as such, to avoid implying that the city has any less than a long, complex legacy of interesting people and places, a city whose current struggles with gentrification mark just one part of one chapter in its unfolding history.
4248475
Though this large wall calendar of my hometown, Philadelphia, contains spaces to enter events for 16 months  there are only 12 months worth of photographs. The first page shows small images of the 13 photos totally unrelated to Philly space to enter info for August  December 2014.

The 12 photos of Philly are large and sharp. Some  like the Girard Trust Bank Building c1907 (Now the lobby and restaurant portion of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel) and the obvious choices of Independence Hall c1910 and Carpenters Hall c1900, the other photos are less exact in their location. There is a great shot titled Looking Down North Broad Street , but none of the buildings are identified and  having collected many photos of Philly over the years, Im still not able to identify it. A similar thing happens with the one titled Chestnut Street with the old Post Office there are many historic buildings on Chestnut Street still surviving but none is the photo was recognizable.  There is no info on the source if these images and  in my opinion  the publisher should have provided a bit more narrative about each image.

Yes, it looks okay on a wall but  other than knowing the dates of each month, there is little info included.
I hope you found this review both informative and helpful.

Steve Ramm
Anything Phonographic
4913531
This book is a long read...almost 600 pages, and I'm not quite to page 100, but the author(s) took some time researching the life of Jim Jones. The story of Jonestown and Jim Jones has always intrigued me. From what I have read so far, Jim's upbringing has a lot to do with how he turned out. Too many people followed him blindly without questioning flaws in his character and his preaching. This is how so many people who are searching for something end up in a cult. If you really want to find out all the details of how Jonestown came about and who Jim Jones really was, this book is the one to read.
973822
I was a bit disappointed with this book. In my opinion it's not a chronicle, just a couple of more or less interesting facts and anecdotes about Las Vegas put together. Some chapters seemed to be thrown in just to increase book's volume, ie chapter about Marylin Monroe (who, as author says himself, never performed in Vegas, she just got divorced there) or chapter on history of games.

I read this book on kindle. The text was not justified but aligned left which made it a bit annoying to read, but maybe it's just me.

Overall it was not too bad, I have learned some new facts about Vegas but I wouldn't buy this book again if I had a choice.
1220717
This small book of about 78 pages was published in 1879 by Rev. T. Wysong, who lived near "The Rocks of Deer Creek" in upper Harford County, Md., known locally today as "The Rocks" or Rocks State Park. This book has little historic value in terms of actual events or facts about the area, but for the avid researcher it contains some hints about the past that might supplement or add some weight to new research.

One interesting article claims there was discussion locally about making Deer Creek navigable "from La Grange to the mouth of Deer Creek" once the Tidewater Canal along the Susquehanna was completed. This is one of the few articles that contains factual information - he names area landholders and those involved in bringing the railroad to Rocks.

The origin of the more fictional stories he relates is apparently unknown, and one can only surmise they come from oral history at some level; Wysong provides no references. Some of the information he relates is apparently his own recollections, but many of the stories would have taken place many generations before the author was born. Some of the titles to the stories are: The Last King and Queen of the Rocks of Deer Creek; Canal and Railroad; The Last Indian of Deer Creek; The Original Moonshiner; The Oldest Inhabitant; The Hermit of Otter Rock; The Enchantress of Hunting Ridge. Also contained is a lecture Rev. Wysong delivered at a commemoration of the nation's centennial.

Last, I should allow Rev. Wysong to speak for himself regarding the value of fact and fiction. He states in a brief introduction: "I hope that the character of these compositions will give offence to no one, not even the most conscientious. They are, indeed, the interweaving of fact and fancy, but the facts are more numerous than one would imagine who has not studied the locality and its history as I have done... My apology for the presence of fiction at all, is that it is, as I use it, a mirror, a reflection of the truth."
1780942
Thus far, I have read: Filene's, Gimbel's, Lazarus, Rich's and now Burdine's. When I used to go to Florida for vacation, I would always stop by and do some shopping at Burdine's. The store back in the mid to late 80's was much nicer looking than Jordan Marsh, even, Belk Lindsey, Ivey's, and Maison Blanche. My problem with this book, is that the author focused too much on Miami's history and it felt like I was reading a textbook about the History of Miami. With the above mentioned books, you got to know the ins and outs of how the store operated, this book just fell flat.
4974647
Greenfield also wrote a book about the Stones' Exile on Main Street sessions, a flawed tome about a fascinating moment in rock `n' roll history (perhaps the most fascinating). And while that book has been derided and mocked somewhat, I somehow learned more about the Stones in it than I did in this book, which I had high hopes for but which ultimately disappointed me with its shapelessness and its many, many "who cares moments".

The book hardly features the Stones, going more into the setup of touring, the mechanics of it, the madness, the insanity, the transportation and some of the parties. In this way, it's a bit like some sort of nutty rock `n' roll staging Apocalypse Now, complete with its very own new journalism McGuffin. There are a few incidents recounted, such as a scuffle with a photographer and an arrest in Rhode Island as Boston burns (the book's most dramatic, feel-good moment). There's the opening of the tour in Vancouver, the dates in San Francisco and hanging out with Bill Graham (who Greenfield has also written a biography of), there's encounters with kids queuing up to buy tickets and girls like Cynthia and Jo-Ann, who are hitch hiking between shows; there's the boredom and insanity of being in the middle of nowhere and there's groupies like Renee being set up for the risque parts of the film that Robert Frank is making during the tour - hey, he gets as much screen time as any of the other principals. Greenfield quotes Charles Bukowski, on Mick Jagger, in the LA Free Press:

He tried. And he was wonderful. He spilled more blood on that floor than a five thousand-man army but he didn't make it. He'd been tricked into acceptance... He was tired. He was too much money in. He was too famous. He sucked at the crowd He tried to remember how it was when he first worked it. How it was when he was really and purely real...

The book mistakenly notes that Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham had forced Bill Wyman to change his name from Bill Perks, I remember him saying in his autobiography that he'd done this on his own even before he joined the Rolling Stones. Nice interviews with Charlie Watts. Not much about Mick Taylor, who is still a mystery man. Printing goof-up on P137.

Transporting the Stones to parties, moving from city to city, getting stuck in traffic, all the mundanities of being on tour. Great description of life at Hugh Hefner's Mansion in Chicago, including a reproduction of memos to the bunnies. Funny Truman Capote anecdotes ("They're complete idiots... Intuition tells me they'll never tour this country again, and in fact will not exist in three years."), since he was there as a writer (although he decided later not to write the story he was preparing), Terry Southern also. Nice anecdotes with Bobby Keys about his days working with Buddy Holly, Bobby Vee, and Delaney and Bonnie. Greenfield describes a cool Keys anecdote of his days on the road with Vee, rehearsing in Moorhead, Minnesota:

This kid came in, asking for a gig as a piano player. He said his name was Eldon Gunn and he liked playing Hank Williams' stuff. Everyone in the wand was into wide silk ties, high collar shirts, and Aqua-Net to keep their James Dean hairdos in place, and the kid just didn't fit. So they told him to go home and practice some more and come back when your act's together, and instead he went to New York and became a folksinger by the name of Bob Dylan.

There are also tales of real fear as the band gets their equipment dynamited in Montreal (four times!), and Jagger is terrified of being assassinated, either by Hell's Angels still brimming over the Stones' betrayal at Altamont or by Manson Family crazies. What a life, man, what a life, and the Stones have been doing this fifty years this year!!!
1589835
I read it in the Grantville Gazette, the people are engaging. I was impressed with the Chronicles of Dr. Gribbeflotz written as a book.  Therefore I was expecting more from Bartley's man than there was. I was disapointed to pay for something I had already read. I really like the sewing circle, The Austrian Waltz and other stories by Paulette and Gerog. There is a misprint where instead of Twinlo, it read Winlo.
It is a nice addition to the rest of the series.
3695949
Nothing ever seems quite to happen in the idyllic town of Bullet Park: women almost fall into affairs or almost get ravished by lecherous neighbors, and a murder almost happens. John Cheevers third full-length novel, published in 1969, reads less like a short story collection than the two Wapshot books that preceded it, though it is still somewhat episodic, with two separate story lines that really only intersect at the end.

The plot basically centers around two men, Hammer and Nailles, and much of the novel deals with their lives and backstories. They only meet a few times in the narrative though they both live in Bullet Park.

Hammer is a frustrated man in a frustrating marriage who has spent much of his adult life meandering around and drinking. He is the illegitimate son of a well-to-do businessman and a strongly leftist woman with an independent income, and he has vaguely imbibed his mothers politics.

Nailles is much more conventional, though also frustrated, increasingly relying on booze and pills to get through the day. He loves his wife Nellie and son Tony, the latter of whom forms a kind of third leg to this story as Tony one day just drops out mentally, remaining in his bed for weeks on end. That catalyzes the plot and its climax.

I more or less enjoyed the book though I don't think its any great shakes either in its insight into people generally or suburban life particularly. I thought John Updikes Couples was a much better book on that subject. Still, if you like Cheever, this is probably a must-read.
2787799
This is the first eBook I purchased. Very convenient and affordable, but I still prefer a "real" book unless I'm traveling. The book itself didn't work for me. While the topic (freed blacks owning slaves) was a revelation to me, I found the writing style too drained of emotion for my taste. Jones is clearly a skilled writer, however, and I will be curious to see what he does next.
2487199
My interest in the city of St. Louis and its urban planning and development along with my personal familiarity with the Parkview neighborhood are what drew me to this book.  The book is a little too dense to just sit down and read, but it can be enjoyable in small doses.  My favorite things about the book are the photos showing what the neighborhood looked like in the very early stages of its development and the accompanying information about that time period.  What I dislike about this book is that it sometimes seems like its primary purpose is to glorify specific people who have lived in the neighborhood rather than to provide a history of the neighborhood as a whole. Still, I am glad to own this book as a part of my St. Louis book collection.
1692711
I must agree with the reviewer from Eindhoven, Netherlands, the buildup was great and I scoured the city for a copy, alas it left me wanting. Perhaps a closer scrutiny of the title would have been justified, "the Bone Lady" is about the bone lady, and much less about how she does what she does. I wuld recommend "Dead Men do tell Tales" fascinating and revealing.
3214123
In High, O'Dea certainly offers a number of entertaining and eye opening stories about his life in the drug trade and in prison.  In the end, however, the book simply did not come together in a way that offered me anything of lasting value.  Based on the book's description, I was expecting a more introspective account of the author's experience - one that was more complete and that focused as much on the transition out of the drug trade and into a more productive life as it did on the wild and crazy ride of the drug years.  Instead, it read more like a choppy highlight reel of a drug user/drug trafficker's life.  Put differently, the book caught my eye for a bit with its wild and sometimes unbelievable stories, and it certainly did give a glance at the author's life, but it didn't ultimately have enough depth or detail to provide much real insight into the struggle O'Dea found himself in.  Maybe I was hoping for too much - I am a pastor and enjoy hearing about the innerworkings of people, the challenges they face, and the ways the journey through them - but this book simply wasn't the book I was hoping it would be or think it could have been.