The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

Amazon.com

John Grisham tackles nonfiction for the first time with The Innocent Man, a true tale about murder and injustice in a small town (that reads like one of his own bestselling novels). The Innocent Man chronicles the story of Ron Williamson, how he was arrested and charged with a crime he did not commit, how his case was (mis)handled and how an innocent man was sent to death row. Grisham's first work of nonfiction is shocking, disturbing, and enthralling--a must read for fiction and nonfiction fans. We had the opportunity to talk with John Grisham about the case and the book, read his responses below. --Daphne Durham

20 Second Interview: A Few Words with John Grisham

Q: After almost two decades of writing fiction, what compelled you to write non-fiction, particularly investigative journalism?
A: I was never tempted to write non-fiction, primarily because it's too much work. However, obviously, I love a good legal thriller, and the story of Ron Williamson has all the elements of a great suspenseful story.

Q: Why this case?
A: Ron Williamson and I are about the same age and we both grew up in small towns in the south. We both dreamed of being major league baseball players. Ron had the talent, I did not. When he left a small town in 1971 to pursue his dreams of major league glory, many thought he would be the next Mickey Mantle, the next great one from the state of Oklahoma. The story of Ron ending up on Death Row and almost being executed for a murder he did not commit was simply too good to pass up.

Q: How did you go about your research?
A: I started with his family. Ron is survived by two sisters who took care of him for most of his life. They gave me complete access to the family records, photographs, Ron's mental health records, and so on. There was also a truckload of trial transcripts, depositions, appeals, etc., that took about 18 months to organize and review. Many of the characters in the story are still alive and I traveled to Oklahoma countless times to interview them.

Q: Did your training as a lawyer help you?
A: Very much so. It enabled me to understand the legal issues involved in Ron's trial and his appeals. It also allowed me, as it always does, to be able to speak the language with lawyers and judges.

Q: Throughout your book you mention, The Dreams of Ada: A True Story of Murder, Obsession, and a Small Town. How did you come across that book, and how did it impact your writing The Innocent Man?
A: Several of the people in Oklahoma I met mentioned The Dreams of Ada to me, and I read it early on in the process. It is an astounding book, a great example of true crime writing, and I relied upon it heavily during my research. Robert Mayer, the author, was completely cooperative, and kept meticulous notes from his research 20 years earlier. Many of the same characters are involved in his story and mine.

Q: You take on some pretty controversial and heated topics in your book--the death penalty, prisoner's rights, DNA analysis, police conduct, and more--were any of your own beliefs challenged by this story and its outcome?
A: None were challenged, but my eyes were open to the world of wrongful convictions. Even as a former criminal defense attorney, I had never spent much time worrying about wrongful convictions. But, unfortunately, they happen all the time in this country, and with increasing frequency.

Q: So many of the key players in this case are either still in office or practicing attorneys. Many family members and friends still live in the same small town. How do you think The Innocent Man will impact this community and other small rural towns as they struggle with the realities of the justice system?
A: Exonerations seem to be happening weekly. And with each one of them, the question is asked--how can an innocent man be convicted and kept in prison for 20 years? My book is the story of only one man, but it is a good example of how things can go terribly wrong with our judicial system. I have no idea how the book will be received in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma, or any other town.

Q: What do you hope your readers will take away from The Innocent Man?
A: A better understanding of how innocent people can be convicted, and a greater concern for the need to reimburse and rehabilitate innocent men after they have been released.

Book Description

John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, is his most extraordinary legal thriller yet.

In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory.

Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits—drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.

In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.

With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

Customer Reviews:

Unbelievable In This Day and Age.......2007-09-30

I read this book thinking it had to be another Grisham work of fiction because if the story were true, America is in trouble.
This story is riveting, fast-paced and shows how truly horrible our justice system can be for those who can't afford a "Johnny Cochran".
I couldn't put this book down. The more you read the more you can't believe it really happened. Thank goodness for the pictures of the people in this story, it really brought home the fact that it's a true story.
Excellent job by Mr. Grisham.

Real Life Horror.......2007-09-29

"The Innocent Man" is a chronicle of Ron Williamson (former minor league baseball star), his life and ordeal as he was wrongly accused of murder and sentenced to death row as a result. He was forced to suffer this horror for 11 years until finally the system began to work for him, but only through the diligence and persistence of attorneys assigned to him years later, Mark Barrett and Barry Scheck, his loving mother and persistent sisters, in particular, his sister Annette. The cruelties and disrespect by the officers and District Attorney Bill Peterson that were inflected on him were horrifying. The shabby police work and "junk science," as well as the district attorney's expert witnesses (a majority of them picked from men and women serving time for horrendous crimes themselves) and brought to the stand to testify against Ron, was not only incomprehensible in itself but the fact that the Judge allowed their testimony to stand and control a man's life sentence is abominable. Ron's hometown of Ada, Oklahoma completely turned on him and he was proven guilty without a shred of hard evidence as was his friend, a respected 7th grade Science teacher, Dennis Fritz, merely by association. The book goes on to tell Ron's sad story as only it can be told by such an esteemed author/attorney as John Grisham. I would highly recommend everyone read this true story; it is a real eye opener as to how our justice system can go astray with the wrong people serving in our trusted government positions.

No good ending here.......2007-09-27

I seldom read Grisham but found his first non-fiction work hard to put down. The story of Ron Williamson has no happy ending. Not for Ron nor the young woman who was so brutually murdered.

Grisham does an excellent job of drawing us into the story. If you have never experienced justice (or lack of) in a small town you need to read this book. Had Ron lived in New York City or even Dallas he may have gone unnoticed wandering the streets and babbling like a mad man. But not in Ada, OK.

Lack of remorse in Oklahoma.......2007-09-26

This story had a tremendous impact on me. I support the death penalty but was abhorred to see how flippantly it was applied in Ada Oklahoma. Read this book first and then log onto District Attorney Peterson's web site to read his defense of his actions that were the subject of the book. The first thing he displays on his website is the American flag. Then he has a lengthy and tedious defense of all the minor points in Grisham's novel. He provides statistics on the probability of innocent people being convicted of felonies as if this excuses him for almost sending an innocent person to his death. Peterson tries to blow off Grisham as an anti-death penalty advocate. I truly fear for the soul of Mr. Peterson and the good people of Ada Oklahoma - a bit of remorse and repentance for what they almost did to an innocent man would help them when they meet their Maker. Hiding behind the American flag might help now but certainly not later!

Had it been a work of fiction I would have given it 1 star..........2007-09-18

... but it's not. It only looks like fiction in bad taste. Instead, this truly happened as described.

I'm not summarizing the story as the editorial reviews and most reviewers before me are quite descriptive.
May I just say that I think that every judicial system has its share of faults and flaws, but what's revealed in this book is simply astonishing and unbelievable from beginning to end. I can only hope that it rattles a few consciences whilst increasing awareness to prevent disastrous consequences for those involved.

As it always happens when I read J. Grisham's books, I've appreciated and enjoyed the clear and well structured narrative, even more so on this occasion. Being a real-life story, I'm sure it must have been quite a task to extrapolate all the relevant facts from all the interviews and paperwork generated by this case during the years, in order to present them clearly to the readers.

Unless you already know the epilogue, try not to peek at the photographs published right in the middle of the book. Some are quite revealing for the yet-to-be-read rest of the story. They don't actually "spoil everything" -in fact, whatever unfolded after turning those pages kept me on the alert and as incredulous as ever- but I still think it would have been preferable to print them at the very end of the book.

A part from that, "The Innocent Man" is highly recommendable.

Out Of The Dust (Apple Signature Edition)

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Gritty
Jacky shares his thoughts
Not just for Children
Billie_Joe's escape
back to the prairie

Out Of The Dust (Apple Signature Edition)
Karen Hesse
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0590371258

Amazon.com

Like the Oklahoma dust bowl from which she came, 14-year-old narrator Billie Jo writes in sparse, free-floating verse. In this compelling, immediate journal, Billie Jo reveals the grim domestic realities of living during the years of constant dust storms: That hopes--like the crops--blow away in the night like skittering tumbleweeds. That trucks, tractors, even Billie Jo's beloved piano, can suddenly be buried beneath drifts of dust. Perhaps swallowing all that grit is what gives Billie Jo--our strong, endearing, rough-cut heroine--the stoic courage to face the death of her mother after a hideous accident that also leaves her piano-playing hands in pain and permanently scarred.

Meanwhile, Billie Jo's silent, windblown father is literally decaying with grief and skin cancer before her very eyes. When she decides to flee the lingering ghosts and dust of her homestead and jump a train west, she discovers a simple but profound truth about herself and her plight. There are no tight, sentimental endings here--just a steady ember of hope that brightens Karen Hesse's exquisitely written and mournful tale. Hesse won the 1998 Newbery Award for this elegantly crafted, gut-wrenching novel, and her fans won't want to miss The Music of Dolphins or Letters from Rifka. (Ages 9 and older) --Gail Hudson

Book Description

Introduce your students to a Newbery Award winning book with this engaging teaching guide. Includes an author biography, chapter summaries, creative cross-curricular activities, vocabulary builders, reproducibles, and discussion questions.

Customer Reviews:

Gritty.......2007-10-08

Wow, this powerful book left me thirsty and choking from the grit of the Oklahoma plains. A great coming of age story, Hesse gives us the feminine perspective of what is important - what is worth living for - during a time of extreme poverty and hopelessness. The drought, the dust storms, the grasshoppers, "The Path of Our Sorrow" (p. 83-84) has taken away any hopefulness for a fruitful harvest. But Billie Jo and her family are some of the more fortunate ones. They are able to keep their farm; they have a house and some food, even if they have to "chew" the milk because of the dust. (p. 22) The piano offers some comfort, too, until the accident.
In addition to the Great Depression, Billie Jo has to deal with her own depression, a result of the accidental death of her mother and the disfiguring hurt of her own injuries. Was it Billie Jo's fault? Her Father's? Will she be able to forgive him, or herself?
Billie Jo is bitter. Bitter from the dust, from her father's silence, from her mother's absence. She tries to run away from her hurt, "Out of the Dust" (p. 197-8) but she finds that the hurt follows her, and it is in this realization that she is finally able to forgive her father and herself. She is ready to begin living again.

Jacky shares his thoughts.......2007-08-30

This book has a lot of poems about the main character, Billie Jo's childhood. She has many sad stories that make me feel upset; also she has some happy stories too. Her poems are really good. I can imagine the area that she wrote about and feel the way she feels. Finally she was happy, which makes me really glad. I really love this book. I sympathize with the experience of her mother and brother dying, her friends leaving, and her hand being burned. These poems really describe Billie Jo from her outside to her inside. Her life wasn't happy most of the time, because she couldn't even play piano or forget the pain in her hands and heart. Her stories to the world make me feel very touched; when she is happy I can feel it, when she sad I share that with her. The last part is my favorite because they are finally out of the dust and they have their family back together. She described it perfectly; I can see the picture of the story. While reading the book, I looked up information on the internet and watched a movie (The Grapes Of Wrath) to learn more about the time period and understand more.

Not just for Children.......2007-08-07

Though "Out of the Dust" is marketed at a YA selection, it is no more a children's book than "The Grapes of Wrath" or "To Kill a Mockingbird." With a series of perfectly rhythmed prose poems that capture the sensations of the 1930s dust bowl, "Out of the Dust" tells the story of a young girl in Oklahoma who must overcome her own guilt when her mother is killed in a house fire. This is one of the most vivid, painful and, in the end, joyous stories I have ever had the great fortune to find.

Billie_Joe's escape.......2007-06-03

I thought that this book out of 10 was a 10.It was a great book and I just hope that after reading this book review that you will want to read it, too.I hope that everyone will read this book(if they like my book review about it).Well this book was my favorite book that I've read so far and i hope that you will love it, too.

back to the prairie.......2007-06-02

Out Of The Dust (Apple Signature Edition) is the 2-year diary of an adolescent Oklahoma girl, Billie Jo. Each 1-2 page entry is a prose poem that relates the dust-bowl setting to the lives of Billie Jo, her family, and community.

Karen Hesse's free-verse prose is serviceable, reminiscent of Masters' Spoon River Anthology (Signet Classics). It serves simply to control the flow, tempo, and idiom of the narration.

Through most of the book, I feared that the story would seep away into despair and inevitability. Instead, at the end I recognized the toughened and tangled strands of Billie Jo's life rising from the dust in a perfect metaphor of the prairie sod.

For a completely different, but equally wonderful treatment of this metaphor I recommend PrairyErth (A Deep Map): An Epic History of the Tallgrass Prairie Country.

Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado

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Gripping Tale of our Killer Storms
compelling book about tornadoes
A Great Book on Tornados
Like an IMAX movie in hardcover
A Riveting Read

Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado
Nancy Mathis
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743280539

Book Description

The Perfect Storm on the prairie, Storm Warning is a compulsively readable account of one of the most terrible tornadoes in history -- and the extraordinary people who kept it from becoming the deadliest.

May 3, 1999, is a day that Oklahomans will never forget. By the time the sun set over a ravaged plain, some 71 tornadoes had claimed 11,000 homes and businesses and caused a billion dollars in damages. One of them was a mile-wide monster of incredible power, the fiercest F5 twister to hit a metropolitan area, and whose 300 mph winds were the fastest ever recorded on the planet.

Veteran journalist Nancy Mathis draws on numerous interviews to weave the story of those few terrifying hours that irrevocably changed the lives of many Oklahomans. Storm Warning features Kara Wiese, who fought to save her son from the fatal winds, and Charlie Cusack, who followed the tornado's progress on television until it came knocking on his front door. Amazingly, only thirty-eight people perished at the hands of the Oklahoma F5. Many lives were saved by the efforts of professionals such as Ted Fujita, the creator of the Fujita Scale (dubbed "Mr. Tornado" for his relentless pursuit to unravel a twister's mysteries); the oft-criticized but dogged government meteorologists; and Gary England, a resourceful TV weatherman whose tireless efforts prepared hundreds of people in the tornado's path. Storm Warning alternates between personal stories and the history of the struggle to understand this bewildering force of Mother Nature, creating a nail-biting, captivating look at surviving the fury from the skies.

Customer Reviews:

Gripping Tale of our Killer Storms.......2007-06-17

Tornadoes are the most powerful storms known, with an F5 monster reaching 300 mph winds. Fortunately they are far smaller than hurricanes and so do not usually cause the extensive damage that hurricanes can. The localized damage is often nearly total!

Nancy Mathis in her book "Storm Warning: The Story of a Killer Tornado" chronicles the story of one F5 tornado in particular, the one that struck Oklahoma City in early May of 1999. She provides much historical background, including the story of Ted Fujita, who survived World War II in Japan by a series of apparently random events to produce the Fujita scale to to aid in the understanding and prediction of tornadoes. Another important player, Gary England, pioneered tornado prediction when the United States Weather Service was unable to do so. Numerous people worked on developing the ability to give at least several minutes warning of an approaching storm. In the case of the Oklahoma City storm of May 3, 1999, this paid off big time, with many fewer fatalities than would have happened otherwise.

Nancy Mathis tells this story with great skill. Before the reader is through they develop a wide respect for the obsessional people (including storm chasers) who have continued to develop an understanding of the formidable storms. The reader also begins to understand the power and fascination of these nearly unique monsters of the American Great Plains, where 80% of all tornadoes develop.

I have seen the result of the passage of a weak tornado in Florida (in fact I crossed its path just an hour before it went through). Even though the storm skimmed the treetops, it dropped several long-leaf pines into the roofs of apartment complexes. Luckily no one was hurt, but it was close. These are not storms with which to trifle!

This is a great summery of tornado research and history, plus a great description of a particularly savage storm. If you live anywhere were tornadoes can strike (the whole United States, but especially the Midwest), you should read this book!

compelling book about tornadoes.......2007-05-18

This was a book i could not put down, despite the author's letting us know right from the beginning who lived, who died, and how big the killer tornado was. Mathis' description of the history of weather forecasting was fascinating, and her summary of the science of weather (and tornadoes in particular) was easy to understand and compelling. Her recommendations on how to survive a tornado are vital for anyone who lives in "tornado alley" as well as for people who live in areas rarely visited by these potential killers. I recommend this book to anyone interested in weather and its effects on people.

A Great Book on Tornados.......2007-05-13

Nancy is a fantastic author and did a great job with this book. An enjoyable read.

Like an IMAX movie in hardcover.......2007-05-01

Just finished reading Nancy Mathis's Storm Warning in one sitting. Having grown up in Oklahoma and spent more than two decades as an airline pilot, I thought I knew a thing or two about hook echos, doppler radar and microbursts. Mathis nails these down--making the science interesting and easy to understand. But she also tells the story of this terrible twister in a way that puts the reader right in the middle of the action. And that is scary, especially if you happen to be reading Storm Warning during a blustery spring storm, as I did. I could picture the eerie green sky as the storm chasers sped across the plains and smell the dank culvert where victims perished. The blow-by-blow description of the destruction of a two story house in 20-25 seconds is as vivid and chilling as anything I've ever read. Do yourself a favor though: read it on a quiet sunny day with calm winds.

A Riveting Read.......2007-05-01

Ok, so who knew that a book about tornado forcasting could make me tearful at its ending. It is a tribute to the author's ability to thread the stories of the lives so affected by these events through, in and around the science that makes this book read like wonderful fiction while carrying the burden of informing like nonfiction. There are two layers of the human element here, the victims of the killer storms, some of whom heal and many who don't, but the other story is of the men who pursued the science of forcasting, both for the love of the science itself, and for the advancement of the common good. The people I came to know in this book will be with me for a long time. This is, simply stated, a great read.

Average customer rating:

True injustice in America.
A Greek Tragedy in Oklahoma
Very compelling !
Couldn't put it down
The Dreams of Ada

The Dreams of Ada
Robert Mayer
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0767926897
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Book Description

The true, bewildering story of a young woman’s disappearance, the nightmare of a small town obsessed with delivering justice, and the bizarre dream of a poor, uneducated man accused of murder—a case that chillingly parallels the one, occurring in the very same town, chronicled by John Grisham in The Innocent Man.

On April 28, 1984, Denice Haraway disappeared from her job at a convenience store on the outskirts of Ada, Oklahoma, and the sleepy town erupted. Tales spread of rape, mutilation, and murder, and the police set out on a relentless mission to bring someone to justice. Six months later, two local men—Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot—were arrested and brought to trial, even though they repudiated their “confessions,” no body had been found, no weapon had been produced, and no eyewitnesses had come forward. The Dreams of Ada is a story of politics and morality, of fear and obsession. It is also a moving, compelling portrait of one small town living through a nightmare.

Customer Reviews:

True injustice in America. .......2007-08-31

This is the TRUE story of two men unjustly put in jail for life for a murder they did not commit. It is not the first time the district attorney has done this. Before you read this, and be sure to read it, pick up John Grisham's book The Innocent Man. It's about 2 more men who were convicted of murder too - by the same D.A. BOTH BOOKS ARE MUST READS.

A Greek Tragedy in Oklahoma.......2007-06-07

This is one of the most incredible stories I have ever read. I would take it for fiction if I didn't know it wasn't.

The story of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot is fraught with tragedy and human error. Overzealous prosecutors, shoddy police work, too much reliance on one line of evidence (fake confessions), and incompetent yet highly paid defense attorneys all combined to spell doom for two men who never should have been on trial to begin with.

What Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot needed was a hero. As misfortune would have it, there was none. Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz had Mark Barrett and Barry Scheck. Ward and Fontenot had no one.

Barrett and Scheck worked tirelessly to prove the innocence of Williamson and Fritz, even long after their sentences. Ultimately, they were successful, and became heroes that stood up against corrupt justice and beat it back. But Ward and Fontenot have had no such luck.

If there is a hero in "The Dreams of Ada" it is defense investigator Richard Kerner. His findings helped unearth alternative theories as to how Denice Haraway died, and who killed her, and even provided the only concrete evidence in the case, photographs of Ward and Fontenot that should have proven exculpatory but for whatever reason were disregarded by the jury.

The surprising villian, in a story loaded with them, is jury foreman Leslie Penn. I won't give away too much more of the story, but it is truly a Greek tragedy in Oklahoma, albeit a riveting one. Had this story had a happy ending, I'd have given it 5 stars.

Very compelling !.......2007-04-11

This is a great follow-up to Grisham's "An Innocent Man". This true story is very well told to the point where it will haunt you just as Grisham's non-fiction piece from the same town and the same investigators. You will be disappointed with this author. Robert Mayer weaves the story as only a true proessional could. Very powerful expose on the Ada, Oaklahoma system of justice.

Couldn't put it down.......2007-03-26

I found this book in my airplane seat pocket and started reading it without knowing anything about it. I couldn't put it down. It's been three days since I finished reading it and I'm still thinking about it and wanting more. I wish there were pictures because I feel I know everyone involved. Supporting Tommy and Karl should in no way be considered disrespectful to Denice and her family. I'm sure they want the real killers behind bars to pay for their crimes against this lovely girl.

I do feel these guys are innocent and it breaks my heart. After many hours of denying involvement, and because of the police asking leading questions, Tommy and Karl confessed to the crimes. But none of the details of the confessions are true. The details actually had to be disproved by the prosecution - who was there, how she was taken, where she was taken, how she was killed, where her body was, etc. If the confessions were so full of lies, why does the prosecutor get to pick and choose which ones are true?

Why would someone confess to a crime they didn't commit? False confessions are more common than you think. Everyone has a breaking point and police know this. I hope the real killers are found very soon.

The Dreams of Ada.......2007-02-19

This should be the prequel to Innocent Man and Journey to Justice. This book and the other two mentioned I highly recommend. To believe that innocent men are put on death row and come so close to death for crimes they did not commit is sad. This book is well written, and follows Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenou from being arrested and put on trial, to the sentences of crimes they did not commit, all without a body, any evidence, just a confession that Tommy 'dreamed'. Was really hard to put down, and the outcome is heartbreaking.

The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The Unreported Stories

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Incredible Work
What a McGovernite Liberal is Really Like
A must-read to any American citizen...
Partisan Revenge Tactics = Big Bucks
It's time for One Term Limits for all Politicians

The Secret Life of Bill Clinton: The Unreported Stories
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0895264080

Amazon.com

These days, it seems like everyone's a Friend of Bill--Clinton's buddies from Arkansas are turning up in powerful White House positions faster than you can say "Whitewater." But make no mistake, British journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is no F.O.B.: in the course of The Secret Life of Bill Clinton's 350-plus pages, he manages to connect the president to everything from 1997's Oklahoma City bombing to Arkansas's drug underworld to the mysterious death of White House aide and longtime Clinton friend Vince Foster, and, of course, to Paula Jones. According to Evans-Pritchard--who has reported for the London-based Spectator, Sunday Telegraph (where he served as Washington bureau chief), and Daily Telegraph newspapers--Clinton's "original sin" was the Waco incident, the FBI's much-criticized assault on the Branch Davidian community in Texas that led to the deaths of 76 people. From that point on, the author asserts, it was all downhill for the American people.

Evans-Pritchard's exposé of Arkansas's favorite son is indeed scathing: he documents the then-governor's drug use and consort with prostitutes (primarily in the company of ne'er-do-well brother Roger); innumerable lies to friends, staff members, and the people who empowered him; numerous infidelities; blackmail--the list goes on and on. Evans-Pritchard claims that, because he is not an American citizen, he is not "beholden to any political or financial interest in the United States," and he does not "hang on lips of official sources," nor does he "fear the loss of access in Washington, or the blackball of [his] profession"; in other words, he ain't afraid to call 'em like he sees 'em. And although many of his seemingly wild claims and accusations are substantiated by thorough notes and appendixes following the text (including copies of original FBI documents), you're never quite convinced of the author's theories. Whether or not you come to believe, as Evans-Pritchard does, that "Arkansas was a mini-Colombia within the United States, infested by narco-corruption"; that--because of William Jefferson Clinton--"you can sniff the pungent odors of decay in the American body politic"; that the president's "actions and character ... have engendered the most deadly terrorist movement in the industrialized world," you will most certainly be entertained and enlightened by the dirt this British muckraker has uncovered. You may not be an F.O.B., but after reading this book, you may not mind so much.

Book Description

An illustrious investigative reporter adds shocking new and exclusive revelations to his swelling bag of Clinton scandals.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Work.......2007-06-23

I just read this book for the second time after having read it a few years ago. It's amazing how time dulls the memory. I had forgotten about all of the scandals and crimes associated with the Clintons and it is chilling that after all of this time the Clintons still have not been held accountable and at this time Hillary is even in the running to become our next president.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has written a well-documented and well-researched book from years of investigation and interviews. He has meticulously laid out the evidence for the Clintons association with the Oklahoma bombing, Vince Foster's death, the sad murder of Kevin Ives, the "Dixie Mafia" and even Paula Jones.

I can understand why those who are enamored of Bill Clinton will not like this book but in typical left-wing form those who have given this book only one star and complain that it is filled with lies offer no facts to refute those supposed lies.

What a McGovernite Liberal is Really Like.......2004-09-25

Evans-Pritchard reveals what America gets when it elects a new age liberal. Bill Clinton a "new democrat"? Yes, if you mean New Left.

This Clinton is a man who served under the segregationist and anti-Vietnam war senator Fulbright.

Evans-Pritchard takes you behind the sanitized snapshots. What you see is at least a third of the American voting populace who does not mind Clinton's Arkansas corruption and subsequent White House coverup. "They all do it," was the Clinton defense.

Most reporters were too cowardly to investigate the suspicious activities at Mena, Arkansas airport, or the bumbling of Clinton's handpicked stooges in the Justics Department, and the subversion of the FBI's handling of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Before the dead kids bodies in the Murrah Building were even cold, Clinton blamed conservative talk radio for creating the climate that led to the bombing. That is what a real liberal does.

In retrospect, it now becomes clear why James Carville became Clinton's most staunch defender. To paraphrase a threat from Carville, "Ken Starr is one step away from having his kneecaps busted." THAT IS THE REAL BILL CLINTON, not the easy-going good-time charlie playing the sax on TV.

Bill Clinton was a Rhodes scholar . . . with extremely poor judgment. Crafty? Yes. Wise, like Reagan? Hell No.

A must-read to any American citizen..........2002-12-30

I purchased this book after hearing review after review of it from my family members. Needless to say, they were right - this book is an absolute bombshell of information that pinpoints most, if not all of the ethical and legal faux pas raised by the Clinton Administration and the organizations under that regime. Some of the highlights include how the FBI blundered Waco, how the Murrah building was most definately more than a one-person job (but was apparently ordered not to investigate it as such), how Clinton was dealing in cocaine trafficking and how the Clintons managed to cover all of this up with the help of the liberal media.

... Ambrose Evans-Pritchard documents everything he asserts based on facts of witness testimony, comparing FBI affadavits, and other documents related to these cases. If there is any flaw with the book is that Pritchard couldn't 100% tie all of the incidents to Clinton, though 95% of the crimes mentioned in the book can be easily seen how they tie to Clinton or to someone high up in the Clinton administration.

I reiterate - this book is a must-read to anyone who is sick and tired of hearing how great the Clinton Administration is, and should be read by those people who continue to profess how wonderful Clinton was.

Partisan Revenge Tactics = Big Bucks.......2002-10-29

To the people who read this book, you really should do some research on the author, who was sure that he was going to be killed by Clinton's "Death Squads" while writing this. It's a perfect book to feed the conservative paranoia that the Clinton years cultivated. The guy couldn't even have a successful affair without getting caught, how he could have managed all that he is accused of in this book is borderline absurd. And the section regarding the advanced knowledge of the Oklahoma bombing is just plain ridiculous, especially when you compare it to the recent allegation of the Bush administration's advance knowledge of 9/11 activities. It's easy to dislike Clinton when you're a conservative, I understand, and this book certainly gives you fuel for the fire. But no one should take anything in this book as entirely factual or of any journalistic value. The elaborate footnotes and "documentation" are an almost comedic exersize in logical thinking. But hey, I'm not going to knock a book that so many people like. The only thing I object to is its classification as a "non-fiction" book.

It's time for One Term Limits for all Politicians.......2002-01-29

I just finished reading this book - on the heals of finishing Bernard Goldberg's book, Bias. It made me sick to my stomach. Not being one to swallow what someone tries to feed me without thinking for myself, if even some of the allegations made in this book are true, it's horrifying.

I'm wondering why no one in the media wants to uncover the truth about Vince Foster's death. I learned recently that his widow received a $286,000 wire transfer 4 days after his death and no one wants to account for the money trail.

What blows my mind is if Bill had a "nose like a vacuum" as the author alleges Roger Clinton stated on a surveillance tape, why isn't that front page news? Are we so gullible as a society that we tolerate such behavior from our leaders so long as it doesn't interfere with our own personal quality of life?

I admit I am no fan of the Clintons and I didn't vote for Al Gore. However, I'm having trouble sleeping at night in fear for the country my son will inherit if these allegations are true. I always knew the rich and powerful got different justice from the rest of us - I guess I always thought the press would protect us from ourselves. God help us all.

This book is powerful in its ability to "probe and disturb".

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Grumpy Old Stoners

So Much For the Golden Years

Crunchy on the outside, soft at the core

Taking a walk on the "wild"& unique side...

Comic romp and frightening parable wrapped into one

Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty
Tim Sandlin
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594489335

Book Description

It's 2023, and Guy Fontaine is an unwilling new resident at Mission Pescadero, an assisted-living facility outside San Francisco. It doesn't take him long to realize that his fellow residents have reverted to the lifestyles they embraced in the sixties, complete with sex, drugs, and rock and roll (with a little Viagra thrown in for good measure). The Mission Pescadero staff, and the world outside, would like nothing more than to forget these aging hippies, but the residents want-no, demand-to be treated with respect and dignity. And they'll fight for it. When one resident's prohibited cat is discovered by Mission Pescadero's domineering administrator, the resulting confrontation mushrooms into an epic battle between authority and anarchy, complete with twenty-four-hour media coverage and the involvement of California's governor, Drew Barrymore. As tensions escalate, Guy finds himself cast as an unlikely radical in a drama he doesn't understand.

By turns outrageous, hilarious, and, ultimately, touching, Tim Sandlin's new novel is a fascinating exploration of how the baby boomers are facing their own mortality. Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty is Sandlin at his iconoclastic best.

Customer Reviews:

Grumpy Old Stoners.......2007-08-14

As much as I would love to take credit for that descriptive title, I cannot. That is merely another gem from Tim Sandlin.

If you enjoy reading a well written, entertaining, laugh out loud funny book with a whole lot of heart then you are in luck because "Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty" will deliver on all counts.

So Much For the Golden Years.......2007-08-03

I must admit to being a big fan of Tim Sandlin, ever since "Sex and Sunsets" he has had my attention. This book is way to close to my age group and Tim is too young to know all the 60's music references. Scary as the prospect of my future in an "assisted living" facility may be, send me to this spot, I want to sit between the two Sunshines, I think I met one of them at the Fillmore at a Paul Butterfield Concert many years ago. Congrats to Tim, this hilarious book has a brutal honest side that is longer than Jerry Garcia's beard.

Crunchy on the outside, soft at the core.......2007-05-19

In this old-age romp, Sandlin turns his sharp satirical talents loose while doing that other thing that hilarious satirists can't always do -- empathy. Sandlin is able to both poke fun at sentimentality and yet he has a soft touch too; when these old peeps aren't expsoing their rear ends in mass-moonings, they expose their sadnesses, bewilderments, regrets, and disappointments at the lives behind and in front of them. The best part of JHT80 is the highly refreshing take on stereotypes of old age: the wisdom, feeblemindedness and bloody boringness with which old people are often relegated don't feature here. These old folks stick it to that portrayal and fling an adult diaper at anyone who ever says growing old means acting like it.

Taking a walk on the "wild"& unique side..........2007-04-02

All "baby boomers" should read this book. The references to the sixties and people and places of the time are nostalgic. The honesty about situations that the elderly of our generation are realistically written about. Alot of food for thought, I enjoy the authors writing style.

Comic romp and frightening parable wrapped into one.......2007-03-08

It's 2022, Jenna Bush is President, Gulf War VI is going on, and Gen Xers are warehousing their aging boomer parents in "assisted living" communities and taking control of their money under false pretenses.

Guy Fontaine, a retired sportswriter from Oklahoma, has moved in with his daughter, Claudia, in California after the death of beloved wife Lily. But when he has a senior moment--he hallucinates and drives a golf cart onto the freeway--he is locked up in Mission Pescadero, an assisted living community that encapsulates the frightening world Sandlin posits for our future. An evil administrator runs the place with all the humanity of the worst lunch lady in the boomers' past, peopling it with patients brought in on the flimsiest diagnoses of dementia, with residents going "through the tunnel" to the nursing wing on even flimsier diagnoses by her corrupt doctor/near lover, where they are drugged comatose and quiet.

The Mission's population is mainly leaders of the leftist movements of the Sixties, who have created a hierarchy based on when and what they did in the decade that you're only supposed to have been there if you've forgotten it. Guy, straight, drug-free and monogamous all his life, finds himself struggling to adjust with the proponents of free love and drug use in the golden years. But when the administrator discovers one patient has--shudder--a cat in his room, Guy is driven to violence to defend someone who had befriended him, setting off a revolt to liberate the Mission.

Sandlin carries this absurd yet realistic situation with aplomb, showing real understanding of the concerns and difficulties faced by old people, as well as the trends of society that, if left unchecked, could lead to a world like the one he imagines here. Even minor characters are given some depth and the good lines are dispersed amongst them. Guy's unconventional romance with Rocky is counterpointed by other love stories, from a lesbian encounter between one of the youngest residents and a yoga instructor to an alley cat of a man who doesn't realize he has terrible breath. Even the villains are given some back story and some sympathy. And all to the tunes of Jefferson Airplane and The Who.

My favorite character is a woman who comes out of a drug-induced coma to lead the revolution, barking orders in a remarkably cogent and prepared manner, which foreshadows revelations about her character that end up shocking the residents and prolonging their isolation. Full confession: I once met a woman who might have been a model for this character while doing work in a prison. Sandlin has the type down perfectly.

He also has the good sense to provide a bittersweet ending, reminding us that mortality and fragility occur even among the worthy.

Whether the book will become non-fiction, as Sandlin predicts, is really up to all of us.

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Billie Letts is captivating!
Review from Texas
A departure and new direction for Billie Letts
Certainly not the best by Billie Letts
(Really 3.5 stars) Under the moon, in a week...

Shoot the Moon
Billie Letts
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0446695068

Book Description

From one of America's best-loved storytellers-the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Where the Heart Is-comes her latest national bestseller, a tale of a small Oklahoma town and the mystery that has haunted its residents for years. In 1972, the tiny windswept town of DeClare, Oklahoma, was consumed by the terrifying disappearance of Nicky Jack Harjo. When he was no more than a baby, his pajama bottoms were found on the banks of Willow Creek. Nearly 30 years later, Nicky mysteriously returns in this intriguing and delightfully hypnotic tale, full of the authentic heartland characters that Billie Letts writes about so beautifully.

Download Description

In 1972, the town of DeClare, Oklahoma, was consumed by the terrifying murder of Gaylene Harjo and the disappearance of her baby, Nicky Jack. When the child's pajama bottoms were found on the banks of Willow Creek, everyone feared Nicky Jack was dead, although his body was never found. Nearly thirty years later, Nicky Jack mysteriously returns to DeClare. His sudden reappearance will stun the people of DeClare and stir up long-buried emotions and memories. But what Nicky Jack discovers among the people who remember the night he vanished is far more than he, or anyone, bargains for. Piece by piece emerges a story of dashed hopes, desperate love, and a shocking act with repercussions that will cry out for justice...and redemption.

Full of the authentic heartland characters that Billie Letts writes about so beautifully, SHOOT THE MOON is a hypnotic tale filled with suspense and emotional truth. It further establishes Billie Letts as an American writer to be reckoned withâan original storyteller whose words go straight to our heart.

Customer Reviews:

Billie Letts is captivating!.......2007-09-09

Billie Letts creates a wonderful story in Shoot the Moon. She holds you captive until the very end with her twists and turns in the plot. Her characters are so intriguing. I highly recommend this book.

Review from Texas.......2007-07-16

I don't know where Billie Letts gets all these characters. This is a good book and one that keeps you turning the pages. The story line was good and I love the twists and turns that keep you guessing. I gave it 4 stars because there are so many characters that it is sometimes difficult to keep up with all of them. However the main charcters are like people you know. I would recommend this for a good read.

A departure and new direction for Billie Letts.......2007-04-23

I've read several of Ms Letts' novels and have loved each and every one of them. Her characters were a tad on the eccentric side and her writing made me care about all of them.

Her newest novel, though, is somewhat different. In the first place, though it doesn't quite fall in the genre, it could easily be termed a mystery - something I wasn't prepared for when I picked up this book. In the second place, at least one, possibly two, of the characters in "Shoot the Moon" is a definite SOB - O Boy Daniels, the local sheriff; and Arthur McFadden, his half-brother and owner of the local radio station.

The plot in and of itself is nothing to write home about. Mark Albright, a Hollywood veterinarian, discovers after his parents deaths that he was adopted and manages to trace his roots back to DeClare, Oklahoma. He travels to DeClare to find out about his biological parents and winds up in the middle of a small-town drama. Turns out his mother was killed when he was a baby, and until he showed up the town thought he was dead too.

The rest of the book concerns Mark's search for himself (as Mark Albright and as Nicky Jack Harjo, the name he was born with), for his parents, and for the killer of his mother. Along the way we meet and get to know several interesting characters, on both sides of the moral fence - the aforementioned sheriff and radio station owner; Teeve Harjo, owner of the local mom-and-pop store and her pregnant daughter Ivy; and Hap Duchamp, local lawyer and Matt Donaldson, the local fire chief - the unlikeliest couple, gay or straight, that you will ever run across.

The only fault I can find with this story is that Letts didn't give full descriptions of her characters until the story was well under way. It took me a while to realize that Mark and his biological mother were Native Americans, which turns out to be central to the plot. But once that confusion was cleared up it turns out that "Shoot the Moon" is a wonderful small-town mystery by someone who, it seems, could write another one if she wanted to.

Certainly not the best by Billie Letts.......2006-10-11

While I couldn't seem to put the book down, I believe it was mainly to see if it all turned out the way I predicted. It did. I couldn't pin down the "who done it" but thought it was someone connected to O Boy. I loved "Where the Heart Is" and truly expected more from this author. The book read like a bad Lifetime movie.

(Really 3.5 stars) Under the moon, in a week..........2006-08-22

This was a great after-work, getaway book. The story line was unique and interesting to me (Veterinarian, my father; adopted, me).
Dr. Mark Albright, Hollywood Veterinarian complete with fancy car and uptight clothing, mourns the loss of his parents and soon discovers he has a 'past' that he can not remember. He was adopted at 10 months old, never being told, and he begins his search with the only piece of information he has... His original birth cert. listing Gaylene Hjaro as his birthmother.
Dr. Albright soon discovers he is really Nicky Jack Hjaro, who was thought dead at 10 mnths old after his mothers (sort of unresolved) murder 30 years before.
We meet some interesting folks along the way, but most charachters are not fully developed. The relationship between Mark (NickyJack) and Ivy, and even Ivy's mother would have been unforgettable if Mrs. Letts had dug a little deeper.
All in all.... Good plot, quick read, entertaining mini-twists.
3.5 stars. Would recommend for it's content and simpleness (every once in a while one just needs a little quirky, nonsensical romance with a twist, that may be read in a few days!), not for it's lasting ability.

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Surprising Piece of Work.....
Still Sold at Every Gun Show in America...
Propaganda Pure And Simple
Far Thinking Novel
The Turner Diaries

The Turner Diaries: A Novel
Andrew MacDonald
Manufacturer: Barricade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1569800863

Book Description

At 9:02 am on Wednesday April 19, 1995, two tons of explosives ripped apart the federal office building in Oklahoma City and the psyche of America. The worst case of domestic terrorism in our history, this explosion killed 169 men, women, and children. The author of this book has written, If [this book] had been available to the general public . . . the Oklahoma bombing would not have come as such a surprise. It has been considered by the Justice Department and other government agencies as the bible of right-wing militia groups, and the FBI believes it provided the blueprint for the Oklahoma City bombing. Barricade Books has published it so America can better understand the cause of racism and extremism.

Customer Reviews:

Surprising Piece of Work............2007-09-13

While this book is far from a literary classic, it is a rather fascinating read. I don't profess to be an extremist, but some of the things McDonald describes about the fall of our society ring eerily true.

Still Sold at Every Gun Show in America..........2007-09-07

THE TURNER DIARIES is disgusting Neo-Nazi pornography. Many have commented on Pierce's (lack of) writing ability, but it is the content of this book that would be grossly revolting to any human being with basic decency. Pierce's "protagonist" is a gun nut who rants about government "tyranny" and the loss of personal freedom and then goes about helping to create one of the most brutal, violent, racist and oppressive societies imaginable, slaughtering millions upon millions across the globe in the process. The hypocrisy is unbelievable, but what makes it more unbearable is the smug, self-righteous tone Pierce's "protagonist" takes throughout the book as he personally murders innocent men, women and children for the "Organization." Hitler is described in these pages as "the Great One" and his Final Solution is fully embraced. People are murdered in cold blood not only because they are non-White, but simply for disagreeing with the "Great Revolution"'s racist doctrines.

The book has no redeeming value whatsoever, but it is interesting for the following reasons: 1) It inspired Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City; 2) It is still sold at EVERY gun show in America alongside Nazi paraphernalia; and 3)Many of the basic tenets espoused by Earl Turner are being aggressively advocated for today by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Take a look at the NRA's "Freedom in Peril" pamphlet, which was leaked on the Internet in early 2007, and you will see many of the themes of THE TURNER DIARIES repeated in a more "politically correct" dialect. Hyperbolic warnings of a "marching axis of adversaries far darker and more dangerous than gun owners have ever known," racist depictions of "illegal alien gangs" hovering menacingly over white America (and their women), vicious attacks on the country's free press, and even a crude drawing of a "liberated" American woman complete with hairy legs.

One of the Organization's key goals in THE TURNER DIARIES was to create chaos in urban areas and convince Americans that the government could no longer protect them. Lacking confidence in the government, they would then turn to the Organization for protection, out of simple fear. The NRA is following that playbook today, implementing policies at the federal and state level that: a) create massive loopholes in our gun laws and ensure the flow of illegally trafficked guns in our nation's cities; b) break down the rule of law by turning everyday Americans into would-be Earl Turners that can fire away on their fellow citizens with impunity (Shoot First statutes); and c) cripple law enforcement by denying them access to key information and resources (i.e., the Tiahrt amendments and a miniscule ATF budget).

In that sense, THE TURNER DIARIES (published just before the NRA's infamous "Cincinnatti Revolution") can be seen as an early landmark in an evolving right-wing response to the civil rights movement and "Peace Era" of the 1960s that continues to this day.

Don't believe me? Visit the next gun show in your area.

Propaganda Pure And Simple.......2007-08-12

Born in 1933, William Luther Pierce earned degrees in physics and worked for a time at Los Alamos; he was also an early associate of The American Nazi Party, which later became known as the National Socialist White People's Party. Following various internal conflicts, Pierce left the NSWPP to assume control of the like-minded National Youth Alliance, which in turn came to be known as the National Alliance. All these organizations were both fascist and racist in ideology. Pierce died in 2002.

In 1978, and using the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald, Pierce published the book THE TURNER DIARIES. Although it circulated through numerous racist organizations, and although it inspired the formation of at least one terrorist group in the 1980s, the book was not well known until 1995, when Timothy McViegh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people and injuring more than 800. Although McVeigh seemed to be primarily motivated by the federal fiascos at Ruby Ridge and Waco, he was also a great fan of THE TURNER DIARIES; indeed, photocopied pages of the novel were found in his possession at the time of his arrest. While THE TURNER DIARIES did not offer a "blue print" for the bombing per se, many consider that it contributed to McViegh's mindset and motivations, and the book became famous as a result.

THE TURNER DIARIES is told in the form of an extended flashback. It is 2099, and all non-white races have been purged from the earth; the diary itself tells how this purge occurred. The story begins with the government and media in the hands of Jews and liberals who have passed "The Cohen Act," a law that strips civilians of their right to bear arms. In response to this, Turner and other like-minded people launch a guerrilla war against the government. Centered in Los Angeles, they execute all Jews, blacks, people of color, and "race traitors;" in time they take possession of a nuclear weapons site and provoke a nuclear war that has the effect of killing all non-whites and leaving their own group to create an all-white fascist state where every one lives happily ever after.

In terms of literary merit, the book is very simplistic, written for people who operate at a fifth or sixth grade reading level. There are no hard words, no complex plots, and the book tends to be inconsistent in terms of internal logic. It is also very, very badly edited, with one misspelling and typographical error after another. But all of this is really a little beside the point. Simply put, the book is a vicious, paranoid, anti-American, pro-fascist, horrendously racist piece of trash. It is a highly obvious bit of propaganda that exists purely in order to recruit the uneducated into the author's own anti-American, pro-fascist, ultra-racist mindset.

Sociologists and others who wish to obtain insight into the ravings of extremist groups will find THE TURNER DIARIES a good place to begin--but if you read the book from such motives, I strongly recommend that you find a way to do so without actually buying a copy, lest you actually fund the organizations that subscribe to its philosophy. As for casual readers--no, I do not recommend it. THE TURNER DIARIES is a waste of paper that could be used to print something else--and almost anything else would be better.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Far Thinking Novel.......2007-08-11

I had the privilege of knowing the author, Dr. William L. Pierce. He was a brilliant physicist and teacher. He thought of societal problems in the same way that he thought of physics problems. He would observe trends and counter forces in society and predict the future based on his observations. Like using a telescope to see into the future, Dr. Pierce was very far-thinking.

The author saw societal disasters looming for the White race similar to a scientist observing an asteroid heading for planet Earth. He took it upon himself to warn the White race of the impending danger. It is not something that he wanted to do. It was something that he had to do. That was his mission in life. The book "The Turner Diaries" was one vehicle that he used to accomplish his mission.

Another tool that he used was the creation of his organization, The National Alliance. Every week he would do a very deep thinking internet broadcast that is still available in free archives on the internet. Even though he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he continued with his mission of making videos and internet programs right up to the end in the year 2001.

The Turner Diaries.......2007-03-30

I believe this book has been given an undeserved bad wrap. There are some parts that you must park your brain and realize that it is only a book, but it also has many intriguing situations. Aside from some out-of-the-blue racism, the book does have content to it. It also shows what could possibly happen in our country. Liberals are always trying to take our 2nd ammendment right away from us. In fact, a bill was just circulated for that exact reason.

The main reason the Organization even revolts is because the goverment took away all legal gun ownership. There are just too many misrepresentations of this book, and it kind of disturbs me. Yeah, it gets pretty hateful, but there are too many unfair reviews on this book saying that it's all racial. The point of it is to overthrow our ridiculous goverment that begins taking rights of all Americans away.

Read it for yourself and make your own opinion on it. I thought it wasn't the greatest literary work, but none-the-less, it was still very intriguing.

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So that's what happened to the oil business
Entertaining, but a little light
What everyone needs to know
Corrections to reviews
Okiesmo Lives

Funny Money
Mark Singer
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618197273

Book Description

From esteemed New Yorker writer Mark Singer comes this cautionary tale of the Penn Square Bank, the oil and gas broker in an Oklahoma City shopping mall whose collapse in 1982 staggered America's banking industry. Recounting the whole spectacular story and its colorful characters, Singer makes brilliantly (and hilariously) clear what actually happened and why it had to happen in boom-time Oklahoma. Nowhere else did money flow in quite the same spontaneous fashion. "[A] tale of wonderful verve" (New York Times), Funny Money comes to life through Singer's vivid prose and continues to resonate in today's culture of corporate corruption.

Customer Reviews:

So that's what happened to the oil business.......2007-09-23

Well written and enjoyable - not a easy thing for such a potentially droll subject. Made a living shutting down oil companies for a while - now I know why.

Entertaining, but a little light.......2006-10-03

As one who lived through this, and is trained in economics and finance, and knew several of the individuals of the era, I enjoyed this book, but found it not as thorough nor displaying a comprehensive grasp of the context of the times as it could have. I felt like the author was striving more to be entertaining and engaging, than to provide a comprehensive historical record or in-depth economic analysis. I would recommend Philip Zweig's "Belly Up, the Story of Penn Square Bank" in its place for those seeking a more in-depth history. Zweig's book is better researched and also does an excellent job of communicating the flavor and energy of those years. I might give Singer's book a 3.6, but I think a 4.0 is too high.

What everyone needs to know.......2005-07-28

Mark Singer has written one of my favorite books ever. It is simple to read and simply hilarious to think that a bank in a shopping maul almost brought down the entire banking industry of the United States and hence the world. Mark Singer's understanding of how this happened and the characters involved in the fiascal leaves the reader with a more profound and terrifying idea of what makes the world go round.

Corrections to reviews.......2003-01-06

As someone who has grown up in Oklahoma City and graduated from high school the year that the collapse had happened, I knew of some of the persons involved through other people.

The red piggy bank logo belonged to Sooner Federal Savings and Loan, and sat on top of 50 Penn Place.

Penn Square Bank had built what is now known as The Tower a couple of blocks down the street. They never moved into it, they were shut down while they were still inside the north end of Penn Square Mall, and the building was finished out after the closure.

Singer has relatives here in Oklahoma in the oil business, so he had some insight into the things that had happened.

If you want more detail, Belly Up goes into much more greater detail and is harsher in it's treatment of the characters involved.

Okiesmo Lives.......2001-02-20

Growing up in Oklahoma my only real memory of the Penn Square Bank failure was when they pulled down the red-piggy-bank logo from the top of the building. It was something that was talked about on the national news every evening, but it wasn't well understood just how such a small local bank could cause such a ruckus.

Mr. Singer's book explains what was at the bottom of all of the trouble, how Penn Square fell from grace, and in the process of doing so provides interesting commentary on Oklahoma culture, as well as some history and other facts pertaining to the oil business. The book is very well written and quick paced, providing just enough detail to be considered in depth, while not languishing on unnecessary detail.

It is interesting to remark that the same conditions that caused everyone to say oil at $100 per barrel was a no-brainer are those that caused people to put forth the indestructible nature of internet-retailing. The Okiesmo of wildcats in pursuit of oil bears striking resemblance to the aggressive idiocy of venture capitalists fighting to put money into business plans that ignored common sense.

This book is satisfying on a lot of levels, the depth of information on the figures behind the bankruptcy, the environment that spawned and incented those figures and also the culture, both nationally and locally, which created this collapse. This is a very interesting book, and I highly recommend it.

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heavenly patchwork

Centennial Stitches and Oklahoma's centennial

Centennial Stitches--Oklahoma History in Quilts
Judy Howard
Manufacturer: Dorcas Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0976237512

Product Description

Like a magic carpet whisking us back in time, quilts stitch our past to the present. They record community and family history by memorializing lost loved ones, welcoming new members to our tribe, smiling upon new marriages or celebrating an anniversary or graduation. Like Judy Howard's previous two Heavenly Patchwork books which won First Places in regional competition, Centennial Stitches inspires and entertains as it transports you into the lives and hearts of pioneer and contemporary women. Rejoice or cry with those who homesteaded Oklahoma's hostile and barren landscape, struggled to survive and nurture their families through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl Days or currently cope with our fast-paced society. These stories will renew your hope and inspire your faith in God. They show how everyday heroines stitch true tales of courage against insurmountable obstacles into heart-warming patchwork. Centennial Stitches tells the larger story of God's faithfulness to sustain, comfort and strengthen women through hardships. Included in this full color, coffee-table gift book are the eighty Oklahoma Centennial Quilt Contest winners, and a sampling of fifty 1800's treasured legacy quilts homesteaders brought with them in covered wagons to bring beauty and comfort to their first sod dug-outs and log cabins. Celebrate Oklahoma's unique history as seen through the eyes of our pioneer women in this full color limited collectors edition of 128 pages. All book profits go to non-profits who provide quilts for orphans, sick babies and victims of disasters--all those most in need of the touch of God's love and comfort quilts represent. Quantity discounts available for fund-raising. See www.HeavenlyPatchwork.com, 405-751-3885

Customer Reviews:

heavenly patchwork.......2007-05-23

I was very happy with my purchase, it arrived in Australia in good condition and was true to the description. I enjoyed the stories they were uplifting and encouraging. I am looking forward to reading the next 2 books.

regards Louise

Centennial Stitches and Oklahoma's centennial.......2007-05-23

This book has a collection of color photos of quilts connected with Oklahoma and its history. Some of the quilts presented in this book are as old or older as Oklahoma and some have connections with Oklahoma historical personages. Some of the quilts provide history lessons of the state or of families from Oklahoma. Some of the quilts have stories about the quilts and the makers with the quilt. Some have photos of the creators of them.

There are three parts to this book: Part one is entitled, Oklahoma history stitched in quilts. Part two is of the McCloy's Masterpiece collection which is very colorful. Part three is the Oklahoma centennial quilt contest winners. Winners are of various ages.

There are scripture quotes at the end of each entry description.

There is a table of contents at the front of the book.

The book is very colorful and a great keepsake for the Oklahoma centennial. Oklahomans interested in quilts, Oklahoma history will want to get this book. Quilt lovers too will want this book.

I purchased this book in memory of my deceased Grandmother who was a quilter. She would have loved the book.

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