"O" Is for Outlaw

Amazon.com

Wise-cracking, staunchly independent, and chronically curious, Grafton's gritty gumshoe Kinsey Millhone is back. This time, the alphabet series star will take on the toughest case to date: her past. What begins as a random phone call from a "storage space scavenger" (someone who buys the contents of defaulted storage units) leads Kinsey to a box of old papers and personal effects that her ex-husband, Mickey Magruder, left behind. Inside, she finds a 15-year-old unsent letter from a bartender that, among other things, reveals her former hubby was having an affair. The letter also contains details about the murder of a transient--a crime for which Mickey was blamed. Although never convicted, Mickey was ruined--losing his job, wife, and friends. But 15 years later, Kinsey realizes that foul play may have been involved in the murder, a deadly temptation for her.

Die-hard fans will especially enjoy Kinsey's self-disclosure--something she's infamous for not doing--about her childhood, the fate of her parents, and the randy details of her first marriage. A very vulnerable and interesting side to Kinsey's character is also revealed when her obsessive-compulsive fact-finding bent is mixed up with matters of the heart.

A fast, fun read, O Is for Outlaw is packed with Grafton's clear, colorful imagery and signature metaphors: "Our recollection of the past is not simply distorted by our faulty perception of events remembered, but skewed by those forgotten. The memory is like orbiting twin stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed." --Rebekah Warren

Book Description

Once Mickey Magruder was a cop with a wild streak. And Kinsey Millhone was a younger cop who adored and married him. Then Mickey was implicated in a fatal beating, and Kinsey walked out. Now, fourteen years later, she comes face-to-face with those tragic years and Mickey's harrowing downward spiral after he lost the job he loved--and the marriage he loved a little less.

Mickey lies dying in an L.A. hospital. Trying to find out how Mickey got there, Kinsey uncovers evidence that he was innocent of the beating charge. But as she searches through the lives that swirled around Mickey's--lives gone wrong and lives gone well--Kinsey must also search the blind spots of her own life, including one that hides a killer.

Customer Reviews:

Solidly in the middle, shows the limitations of Grafton's work.......2007-07-26

As soon as I read her earliest books, Sue Grafton became one of my favorite writers of light, straight, credible detective fiction. Kinsey Millhone is an entertaining character. Unfortunately, the quality of the series became inconsistent, dipping badly by the time of the skimpy, disorganized "G" and "H" stories, rallying with stronger efforts in "I," to some extent "J," and "K," stumbling badly again with "L," but climbing up again with the fair "M" and good "N" books. My reaction to "O" is that it slumped down from "I," "K," and "N" to "J" and "M" territory.

The book begins with Millhone being visited by someone who blind-bids on the contents of storage lockers when the person renting the locker has not kept up the payments. After refusing to budge on a price of $20, Millhone buys a box of old keepsakes of items from her past, all the way back to her tender school days, and then burgles the bidder's house to discover the location of the locker. Among the items, stuck to the back of something else, is a 14-year-old letter from Dixie, then bartender at the local cop bar, The Honky-Tonk. The letter tells Millhone that she should not be deserting her husband, ex-vice-cop Michael "Mickey" Macgruder, over his supposed involvement in the beating death of a Vietnam veteran with a plate in his head, because in fact Mickey was having an affair with Dixie and was at her place after hours when the beating took place. Apparently just before the letter had arrived all those years ago, Millhone left, never to look back, after less than a year of marriage, when Mickey asked her to give him a false alibi for the night of the beating. Mickey then left the police force, avoiding further investigation, on the advice of his lawyer, now a would-be politician. In later years, Mickey fell on hard times, drinking too much and losing his edge, scratching out an existence as a security guard. Soon after foraging the box, Millhone is approached by two LA cops investigating Mickey's shooting (by a gun he gave her for a wedding gift years earlier and kept). Throughout the book, Mickey lies in a coma.

Millhone begins investigating, which is more difficult than it seems because Mickey is a loner with "paranoid" tendencies, using aliases and fake addresses. She finds his apartment (with delightfully dotty old landladies, who act nice to Millhone at first but later grow strangely cold), searches it and finds hidden cash and fake IDs. She circles back to one of Mickey's ex-cop buddies, to Dixie and her formerly down-and-out Vietnam paraplegic husband who has now become a mogul with a big fake limbs business, to Mickey's long-time lawyer and his wife, and to "the Tonk," now under ownership and patronage of sons of Mickey's cop circle who had hung out there before, with its young, moody waitress. Into the mix rides a seedy young biker character who turns out to be the dead vet's younger half-brother, who, after the death, followed his brother's footsteps cross-country to California. With a box of Vietnam-era artifacts collected by the brother, the biker confronts Mickey but later tells Millhone that they became buddies.

Basically, two main plot lines flow from Millhone's look into Mickey's life. (There are subplots, like discovering which women Mickey has been involved with over the years.) First, after repeated visits to the bar, Millhone comes up with the idea that Mickey had tumbled to a scam being run out of the bar. This falls into place when an older guy shows up in the bar bearing the same name as one on Mickey's own fake IDs.

Second, Millhone tracks Mickey to Louisville, KY, which he had visited shortly before being shot and which turns out to be the origin of multiple characters in the book. With some interviews and research, she uncovers events involving certain characters that date back to Vietnam.

Millhone returns to California and, with the LA cops standing by, engineers a confrontation with the culprit that ends up spinning out of control into a lengthy car chase and action sequence. The book ends with a short description of later visits to Mickey in the hospital.

The book has Grafton's usual pleasant, breezy readability and light tone. Millhone has some candid moments describing her school days and her reaction to discovering her first husband's infidelity. There is some texture to the characterizations (for example, an apparent tough street punk has a disarmingly natural, low-key scene with Millhone), although Millhone does at times seem to act impish or contrary just for the sake of it, and her exchanges with Henry seem to cut a little rough. Millhone does some legwork. There is some detail and complexity to the story, which holds together well enough on its own terms.

But the book is painfully fragile under scrutiny. This is all the more so because Grafton chose potentially powerful, intense, and meaningful subject matter for the book, but she did not rise to the occasion.

When all is said and done, Grafton does precious little to make Mickey come to life as a character. There is not enough vivid description of his past or present to back up the "outlaw" label of the title; he comes across more as a weird, lanky lunkhead (Grafton should have done a better job and made this her "M" book, for Maverick). His motivation and involvement in getting to the bottom of the scam at the bar and the Vietnam events are weakly explained and, as a result, feel strained.

Indeed, as presented, the Vietnam plot -- both the original events and how they entangle characters in LA many years later, including Mickey -- is tenuous, contrived, and convoluted. This makes the book feel artificial, not alive with the raw emotion of deep, dark secrets and vindication of past wrongs (including wrongs to Mickey). The events are implausible, depending on one character having an affair (explanation is labored); another finding out at just the right time all about it (there is no explanation); the brain-damaged vet having the presence of mind to travel across country for repeated but completely unobserved attempts to shake down a character and coincidentally getting into a shouting match with Mickey; the biker half-brother, initially presented as a fierce misfit, following nobly and loyally in the brother's footsteps and becoming a puppy-dog confidant of Mickey and later Millhone; and so on.

The bar scam plot is a pasted-on, time-consuming side show to the main story line. I take the point of other reviews that the book seems padded (it is over 350 pages). This plot also leads to a forced scene in which Millhone supposedly discovers through building a house of cards with her trademark notecards about her investigation that "the name is the same!" of a visitor to the bar and one of Mickey's fake IDs, rather than simply remembering the very recently observed and distinctive name on her own.

Some reviewers are troubled by the coincidence of the bidder and police coming to Millhone, days apart. That does not bother me overly much, because the book explains that Mickey has fallen behind in his bills over the past several months and the shooting has only made matters worse.

What does concern me is the plot contrivance that unlocks Mickey's past and makes Millhone look at events completely differently -- Dixie's 14-year-old letter. It is not only hard to believe that Dixie would choose to communicate with Millhone by letter sent to the couple's house (and then never follow up). It is even harder to believe that Mickey (alone in the house, after Millhone's walk-out) would be the one to receive the envelope and toss it aside unopened, yet keep it, so it turns up "stuck to something else" in the box the bidder gives to Millhone 14 years later.

The tone of carefree, easy confidence and cocky detachment in Grafton's books can be entertaining and avoid pitfalls of melodrama or "social commentary." But it is out of place here. More attention is given to a couple of comic incidents where Millhone acts petulant or spiteful after finding out about Mickey's infidelity than any serious attempt to show the character dealing with the fact that she misjudged her husband about his involvement in the beating, that she walked out on him, that his heart seems to have gone out of his life, and that he is now dying.

Contrary to soft-touch reviews, the clumsy attempt in a few final lines of the book to paste on supposedly emotional scenes in the hospital are far too little, far too late, as Mickey hangs on just long enough for Millhone to solve the case first before she decides to go through the motions of showing any feeling. The only remotely genuine, effective moment on that score in the entire book is when Millhone is halfway out the door of Mickey's apartment with all of his items of value but goes back to the closet to collect his old leather jacket that she remembers from their past time together, which she later wears to the bar. But I cannot tell if even that gesture was written more for plot contrivance (hidden contents; gets waittress' attention) than any idea of emotional truth.

Finally, as others have pointed out, the chase-and-action ending is damaging, over-the-top excess that comes off as perverse, low comedy. It involves Millhone knowingly driving past two LA police detectives who were staking her out, as well as local police officers, with the armed culprit bearing down on her, grinning maniacally, in a following car. The scene drags on for the sole purpose of leading to a particular location where another character with a stake in the story line can overhear Millhone and the culprit exchange final comments about the case and burst on the scene with heavy machinery, dismembering the villain.

The upshot, as I see it, is another light-read, fairly solid, middling-quality Grafton that ends up stuck between two and three stars. What is particularly disappointing is the missed opportunity to give the personal elements of the story anything close to the depth, feeling, and meaning they deserved, and to link them more directly and effectively to the story.

Alphabet fun.......2007-02-06

I have read this entire series and cannot wait for the next letter to be
written. I enjoy following the same detective through the years. Very interesting stories; great reads.

Grafton is the best!.......2006-11-10

Sue Grafton has managed to maintain the quality of her Kinsey Millhone stories throughout her excellent series. I both re-read her books and listen to them on tape. Kinsey is a realistic character. We know who she is but her quirks do not take over the books--a pitfall many other writers of mystery series fall into. I keep checking for her next book...

My least favorite from A to O.......2006-06-25

I have enjoyed all of Sue Grafton's books from A to N, and this is the first one I didn't think was very good. It just didn't grab my attention. For the first time I had trouble finishing one of her books. Not bad; just not up to par.

Old love, new threat.......2005-12-02

PI Kinsey Millhone recieves a call from a man who wants to sell her a box of papers and photos that have her name on them, from a sale in a storage depot. When Kinsey goes through the junk, which she is unable to resist buying for a few dollars, she finds that it is the remains of her belongings she had left behind when she left her husband, Mickey, 14 years previously. The pair hadn't been in contact for all of those years but when she learns that he is in a coma in a Los Angeles hospital, after being shot, her sense of decency as well as her sense of curiosity, impels her to pay a visit to the hospital. A visit from the police investigating the shooting, pushes her back into a world she'd left, all those years ago, meeting again with people with whom she and Mickey had socialised, and leaving her unable to resist the pull of starting her own investigation. It's a fast, edgy read which Kinsey Millhone fans will adore.

Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Book
North side chicago vs the NYC mob classic
The Genuine Article: Rose Keefe Delivers 100 Proof Goods
Well-researched and a fun, fast read
O'Banion, Chicago's Premier Florist Gangster

Guns and Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot before Al Capone
Rose Keefe
Manufacturer: Cumberland House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminals | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Man Who Got Away: The Bugs Moran Story--A Biography
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone
After Capone: The Life And World Of Chicago Mob Boss Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti
Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld 1900-1935
Mr. Capone

ASIN: 1581823789

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Book.......2007-06-12

This is about the people who nearly beat the Capone Mob for control of the Chicago boot-legging business. They were led by a florist and included a war hero, a cowboy, a bigamist and a practical joker who starred in an early stag film in the middle of a gang war. The wild Northside Gang is today best remembered for being the victims in the St Valentine's Massacre but in the twenties they were household names. This and Rose Keefe's book about Bugs Moran are both fascinating. A must read!

North side chicago vs the NYC mob classic.......2007-01-23

A great bio on the Chicago gangster gunned down in his flower shop during the "Roaring Twenties". The book focuses on the rivalry between the Northside Chicago mob and the Southside Torrio-Capone mob.Obanion and his cohorts are literally devoured by the inter-city "big time" mobs with connections to New York city.From reading this book I don't believe Obanion knew what he was up against,he was a small town boy who moved to the city of Chicago, yet he tried to run his crime empire like a small business. Cavorting around a flower shop by day,shaking hands,(without an enemy in the world?),with little to no protection,meanwhile engaging in criminal activity that would include murder.That's just asking for it,and Torrio's mob,later inherited by Capone,was only too happy to oblige. It seems Torrio's mob when they arrived in Chicago was already an experienced hard core criminal transplant from NYC and cites thereof.How could Obanion honestly think that when the control of rackets,gambling,bottlegging,and the millions of dollars at stake, there was a "moral" line that shouldn't be crossed?Especially when dealing with the mob and seeing as the mob eliminated its own so what could a rival gang expect.Capone listed his profession as furniture dealer but I doubt you would see him lifting furniture into trucks.His furniture business was a fort.The short baby faced Obanion never had a chance in dealing with the NYC mob. this book really brought this out as I read it.An excellent work on crime history but it sort of makes Obanion look like a "farmer".

The Genuine Article: Rose Keefe Delivers 100 Proof Goods.......2006-07-11

This is the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched biography of Dean O'Banion and it has been justly recognized as definitive. Rose Keefe's greatest accomplishment is that her meticulous research has refuted dozens of journalistic half truths, embellishments and canards that have become commonly accepted as the truth simply because of constant repetition over eight decades. The actual Dean O'Banion is a far more complex and interesting character than his newspaper stereotype.

Many sources have characterized the Prohibition battles between the Northside Gang and the Capone/Torrio mob as simply a territorial battle between the Irish and those damned Dagoes. Keefe correctly points out that the Northsiders were, in fact, an exceedingly diverse group comprised of Irish, Italian, German, Jewish and Polish hoodlums. The reality was more complicated than the widely accepted conventional wisdom.

Although O'Banion could act in an utterly ruthless manner if circumstances warranted, more often than not he relied upon his quick wits. He possessed superior intelligence and had an engaging personality that inspired great loyalty from his comrades even long after his death.

Despite his humble origins, O'Banion had the ability to put people from various walks of life at perfect ease and to form lasting friendships that allowed him to move easily in political and social circles despite his criminal background. O'Banion was a contradiction: he was a devoted son and husband. One could envision the industrious O'Banion succeeding in almost any field of endeavor that he tried. The loss of his beloved mother to tuberculosis and a childhood accident that left O'Banion partially crippled with a permanent limp were traumatic episodes, but rather than contenting himself to be sidelined by his handicap or to endure a life of economic hardship and privation, O'Banion chose not to be pushed around as he hit back hard with both fists in order to survive in the rough and tumble, dog eat dog environment that was Chicago in the early years of the past century.

If you are living from hand to mouth, it always pays to be ambidextrous and O'Banion was, figuratively and literally: his custom tailored suits contained multiple pistol pockets which allowed O'Banion to draw concealed revolvers using either his right or left hand or both hands simultaneously. The same hands that O'Banion could and did use to fire pistols, crack safes, stuff ballot boxes or slug out rival newspaper hawkers would also cut flowers into lovely arrangements for weddings and funerals. As a bootlegger, O'Banion prided himself on selling quality products as opposed to the rot gut handled by his rivals.

Keefe relates the many occasions on which O'Banion performed acts of charity. Some of these kindly acts were calculated, however, since O'Banion was also interested in reaping votes come election time. By performing good deeds, he could call in favors when ballots were being cast by his neighbors. Unlike Al Capone who coupled brutality and with openly lewd and lecherous behavior (Scarface allegedly gained his trademark after making crude remarks about a woman's shapely posterior in the presence of her protective and knife wielding older brother), O'Banion was noted for behaving in a courteous and oftentimes chivalrous manner.

Keefe's writing is factual and entertaining. The O'Banion who she describes in such great depth proves to be such a charming and larger than life personality that it is entirely possible to imagine his immortal soul awaiting forgiveness and redemption in Purgatory. I was reminded of the Warner Brothers crime melodrama "Angels with Dirty Faces" in which a priest played by Pat O'Brien called upon a group of juvenile delinquents to "pray for a boy that who couldn't run as fast as I could" after his childhood friend who failed to escape the corrupting influence of the mean streets died at an early age as a result of embarking upon a criminal career. If this sounds like a mere Hollywood screenwriting cliche, consider the fact that a Roman Catholic priest was disciplined and transferred for leading graveside prayers for Dean O'Banion despite orders from the Cardinal to deny Christian burial rites to known gangsters.

The only serious fault that I found with "Guns and Roses" is that the book lacks proper footnotes. There is a bibliography, but Keefe ought to have provided footnote attributions to the excerpted materials that were previously published elsewhere. There are also some minor geographical, historical and typographical errors that Chicagoans may catch in the text, usually on minor details, but the book is otherwise solid. Despite these shortcomings, this book is nevertheless a significant addition to the true crime history of Chicago during the Prohibition Era.

Well-researched and a fun, fast read.......2006-07-06

I'm so glad to see some really well-researched books coming out these days about the legendary figures of organized crime. Dean (not Dion) O'Banion was one guy I never expected to see a full-blown biography on, yet here it is. Rose O'Keefe must have done a lot of digging to come up with all of this material, and virtually none of it can be found in any other book; certainly none that I've ever heard of. She scores well as a writer, too, telling O'Banion's story in a way that will keep you turning those pages, eager to see what's coming next. There's a lot of context here about the various gangs of 1910s-1920s Chicago, and O'Banion's place in that jungle, which is helpful. If I had to name one small criticism, I'd have to say that the author's tone betrays a tiny lack of objectivity about her subject. He just seems like a vicious thug to me, though a fascinating one, but the book empathizes more with O'Banion than with his victims. But overall this is a must-have book for anyone interested in the history of organized crime in America. You'll be so entertained in reading it that you won't mind the education you're getting!

O'Banion, Chicago's Premier Florist Gangster.......2006-06-02

"Guns & Roses: The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot Before Al Capone" by Rose Keefe is a long overdue crime book. This biography of Chicago's first celebrity gangster (he was a popular florist) is excellent and has numerous unpublished photographs. Dean's death started a five year run of killings and bloodshed. Keefe's writing style is very good and easy to read. I agreed with previous reviewers who have encouraged others to purchase this book.

Mike Koch, Author of "The Kimes Gang."

Average customer rating:

LOTS of mistakes
This One is Done Right
Possibly the best book in my extensive Western library
Review of Enyclopedia of Western Gunfighters
An absolute must for all gunfighter enthusiasts.

Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters
Bill O'Neal
Manufacturer: Univ of Oklahoma Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Shooters
Draw: The Greatest Gunfights of the American West
Age of the Gunfighter: Men and Weapons on the Frontier 1840-1900
Triggernometry: A Gallery of Gunfighters : With Technical Notes on Leather Slapping As a Fine Art, Gathered from Many a Loose Holstered Expert over the Years
Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen & Outlaws

ASIN: 0806115084

Customer Reviews:

LOTS of mistakes.......2001-09-18

This book is entertaining and well-organized; unfortunately, it's not very accurate. Some of the author's mistakes are due to credulity (it's possible, but not likely, that Butch Cassidy survived his final gunfight in South America; O'Neal reports it as fact); some to partisanship (he's an unabashed Clantonite in the matter of the OK Corral, and thus again reports speculation as fact); and some to ignorance (he doesn't seem to be aware that Florentine Cruz and "Indian Charlie" were probably the same person). The history of the American West is treacherous territory, and nobody can avoid a few mistakes, but Mr. O'Neal seems to make more than his share. I can't recommend this book.

This One is Done Right.......2000-10-22

What a great book for Western gunfighter nerds! O'Neal did his research and presents it in a highly accessible manner. I've had this book for over a decade and I still return to it with a gleam in my eye once or twice a year.

Possibly the best book in my extensive Western library.......2000-07-10

This book is fascinating because it separates truth from fiction. All documented gunfights of the old west are included here (as of the book's writing), & all gunfights that are undocumented are excluded. It's as simple as that. I don't buy the author's premise that if it was a real gunfight, it must have been documented at the time (wouldn't most killers have wanted to keep their killings a secret if at all possible, & wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that a good number of gunfights occurred in deserted, out of the way places where there likely would be no witnesses?). Other than that, this book is an old west fan's bible! It's that good!

Review of Enyclopedia of Western Gunfighters.......2000-01-06

Bill O'Neal's work is not a simple re-hash of old facts. Instead it is a refreshing and factual look at the men who made the frontier into the myth that survives today. The most interesting aspect of the book is that it shows, over and over, how truth often far outshines fiction in its detail and graphic nature. It is apparent in one read that O'Neal has an intimate knowledge of his subject. This book is destined to become a cornerstone of reference libraries for any and all western history aficionados.

An absolute must for all gunfighter enthusiasts........1999-09-19

Bill O'Neal has included information on 255 gunfighters including Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, amongst lesser known 'shootists' with equally sensational feats. It is an excellent source of reference. Where possible dates have been provided for births, deaths and gunfights. He has been careful not to glamorize the gunfighters achievements by concentrating upon hard facts, rather than speculating into more contentious issues. However, it is by no means exhaustive and in some areas could do with updating, in view of recent material surfacing. A good example of this would concern the careers of such characters as Wyatt Earp and Curly Bill Brocius. Nevertheless, a thoroughly enjoyable read, and an excellent acquisition for any personal library on 'Western Gunfighters'.

The Guns of the Gunfighters: Lawmen, Outlaws & Hollywood Cowboys

Average customer rating:

Very light & very poor
Gunfighters
Very Disappointing Book
A wealth of hidden gun lore
Cotton Candy for the soul!

The Guns of the Gunfighters: Lawmen, Outlaws & Hollywood Cowboys
Doc O'Meara
Manufacturer: Krause Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Firearms & Weapons | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Performing Arts | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide
Guns Of The Wild West (Buffalo Bill Historical Centre)
Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated History
Age of the Gunfighter: Men and Weapons on the Frontier 1840-1900
Single Action Sixguns

ASIN: 0873494334

Book Description

The romance of the Old West remains strong, even more than a century after the heyday of cowboys and gunfighters. This all-new title explores the romance of that bygone era, focusing on the guns that the legends of the West—good guys and bad guys, real and fictional characters—carried with them.

Profiles of more than 50 gunslingers, half from the Old West and half from Hollywood, include a brief biography of each gunfighter, along with the guns they carried. Fascinating stories about the TV and movie celebrities of the 1950s and 1960s detail their guns and the skill—or lack thereof—they displayed.

Stunning color photos depict each firearm in glorious detail. These guns range from custom-crafted high-end arms to non-functioning gimmicky props.

• Firearms carried by more than 50 real and fictional characters of the Old West

• Emphasis on the TV and movie stars of the 1950s and 1960s

• Modern and historic photos show each of the firearms

Customer Reviews:

Very light & very poor.......2007-04-20

Many people and guns missing,Jeff Cooper,George A. Custer, Gen. George Patton, Charlton Heston, Robert Stack, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and many others.
I lost my money

Gunfighters.......2007-01-16

This book is about 1/3 on old gunfighters of the old west and 2/3 on the "B" Western cowboys. It is interesting to read but you should realize it is mostly movies.

Very Disappointing Book.......2004-04-20

This is the most disappointing book I have read in a long time. There is very little about the actual guns of the gunfighters and the few facts presented are very general and broad brush. The author obviously is a fan of old Hollywood westerns as half of his "gunfighters" are in fact only Hollywood actors! He also includes several modern gun magazine writers. Worse yet, many of the noteable real western gunfighters are ignored. The editing is also poor. Several photos of the same gun appear in more than one place in the book. Spend your money elsewhere.

A wealth of hidden gun lore.......2003-08-08

The Guns Of The Gunfighters: Lawmen, Outlaws & Hollywood Cowboys by firearms historian and expert Doc O'Meara, is a meticulous and detailed survey of the weaponry carried by some of the most famous (and infamous) gunmen of the Wild West and the silver screen, including Wyatt Earp, Annie Oakley, Roy Rogers, and many, many more. Black-and-white photographs, extensive attention to detail, and a wealth of hidden gun lore make The Guns Of The Gunfighters a superb giftbook for gun buffs, Western American history enthusiasts, and those having a special interest in Hollywood portrayals of the Old West.

Cotton Candy for the soul!.......2003-04-29

This volume by noted gun writer Doc O'Meara is a fun and informative work for fans of the Westeren, Gun Buffs and anybody who enjoyed Saturday shoot em ups. The writing is bright and jaunty, like the subject matter. Well documented, and a treasure trove of beautiful photographs of the Gunfighters and their tools of the trade. A good reference volume sure to attract attention, the books suceeds on all levels.

Mother Outlaws: Theories and Practices of Empowered Mothering

Average customer rating:

Mother Outlaws: Theories and Practices of Empowered Mothering

Manufacturer: Women's Press (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Motherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0889614466

Book Description

Adrienne Rich opened of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution with the observation "we know more about the air we breath, the seas we travel, than about the nature and meaning of motherhood." In the twentyfive plus years since the publication of Rich's landmark book the topic of motherhood has emerged as a central issue in feminist scholarship. Central to Rich's analysis and developed by subsequent motherhood scholars is the key distinction Rich made in her book. Between two meanings of motherhood, one superimposed on the other: the potential relationship of any woman to her powers of reproduction and to children; and the institution--which aims at ensuring that that potential--and all women shall remain under male control. The term motherhood refers to the patriarchal institution of motherhood, which is male-defined and controlled and is deeply oppressive to women, while the word mothering refers to women's experiences of mothering which are female-defined and centred and potentially empowering to women. The reality of oppressive motherhood thus must be distinguished from the possibility or potentiality of empowered mothering. In other words, while motherhood, as an institution, is a male-defined site of oppression, women's own experiences of mothering can nonetheless be a source of power. The theory and practice of empowered mothering recognizes that both mothers and children benefit when the mother lives her life, and practices mothering, from a position of agency, authority, and autonomy. Secondly, this new perspective, in this collection examines how mothers seek to imagine and implement a theory and practice of mothering that is empowering to women as opposed tooppressive under five sections: Feminist Mothering Lesbian Mothering, African American Mothering, Mothers and Daughters, Mothers and Sons.

Do You Sincerely Want to Be Rich?: The Full Story of Bernard Cornfeld and I.O.S. (Library of Larceny)

Average customer rating:

Do You Sincerely Want to Be Rich?: The Full Story of Bernard Cornfeld and I.O.S. (Library of Larceny)
Charles Raw , Bruce Page , and Godfrey Hodgson
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminals | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Conman : A Master Swindlers Own Story (Library of Larceny) (Library of Larceny)
Ponzi: The Incredible True Story of the King of Financial Cons (Library of Larceny)
The Telephone Booth Indian (Library of Larceny)
Vesco: From Wall Street to Castro's Cuba, the Rise, Fall, and Exile of the King of White Collar Crime
McGoorty: A Pool Room Hustler (Library of Larceny)

ASIN: 0767920066
Release Date: 2005-05-17

Book Description

In the fall of 1955, Bernard Cornfeld arrived in Paris with scant money in his pocket and a tenuous relationship with a New York firm to sell mutual funds overseas. Cornfeld, a former psychologist and social worker, knew how to make friends fast and soon targeted two groups of people who could help him fulfill his economic ambitions: American expatriates who were looking to build their own fortunes and servicemen abroad who loved to live high-rolling lives and spend money. Using the first group as door-to-door salesmen and the second group as his gullible target, Cornfeld built a multi-billion-dollar and multi-national company, famous for its salesmen’s winning one-line pitch: “Do you sincerely want to be rich?” In this eye-opening yet entertaining book, an award-winning “Insight” team of the London Sunday Times examines Cornfeld’s impressive scheme, a classic example of good, old-fashioned American business gumption and guile.

Bill Doolin, Outlaw O.T (The Western Frontier Library, V. 41)

Average customer rating:

Bill Doolin, Outlaw O.T (The Western Frontier Library, V. 41)
Bailey C. Hanes
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0806116528

Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted

Average customer rating:

I liked this book
Shockingly truthful and real.
what the (bleep)?
The lifestyles or the rich and idle.
She is a nobody!!!!

Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted
Faye D. Resnick , and Mike Walker
Manufacturer: Dove Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Criminals | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Shattered: In the Eye of the Storm
Killing Time: The First Full Investigation into the Unsolved Murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman
Murder In Brentwood
Without a Doubt
The Other Woman: My Years With O.J. Simpson

ASIN: 078710339X

Customer Reviews:

I liked this book.......2005-12-11

This book was well written. It was about a lifestyle very different from most people. It is Faye Resnicks perception of events surrounding Nicoles life. I thought it was very insightful and a good read.

Shockingly truthful and real........2005-09-23

People who thrash and despise this book fail to understand something--Faye Resnick wrote it in order to warn other women involved in violent and demoralizing relationships about what CAN happen to them if they remain in these tragic relationships. The stories about O.J.'s viciousness and cruelty toward Nicole and his ruthless manipulation of her family are (in retrospect) 100% true. I admire Ms. Resnick very much because of her courage and willingness to tell and talk about truths that many were not prepared to face or accept. This book is as real as can be and highly recommended for anyone wanting to know more about the painfully tragic relationship between Nicole and O.J. and the events that led up to this horrific double-murder.

what the (bleep)?.......2004-07-06

I thought this book would be a chronical of Nicole and OJ's relationship from the get-go, and how things eventually devolved to the sad state they were in at the end, but instead, it focused more on Faye Resnick's scatterbrained rantings about restaurants, clubs, sexual partners, vacations, and utterly soulless, vapid "friendships"...all provided in non-chronological order! There was relatively little information about the relationship between the famous couple: strange in a book that purports to be about that very subject. I feel sorry for Faye and Nicole, because I come away from reading this disjointed, rambling, bizarre account of seemingly disconnected events with the impression that both of them were seriously emotionally damaged women. So at least that was conveyed well.

The lifestyles or the rich and idle........2004-04-06

Poor Faye Resnick. I really feel sorry for this lady. It must be a hard life, being a Beaverly Hills socialite. At what restaurant do we eat? Who do we have affairs with? Can we go to Cabo San Lucos next week? Such are the mighty questions Faye asks in her book. All that stress must have forced the breakdown of her marriages and the cocaine and alcohol habits.
As the previous reviewers have already noted, there is not much sympathy for this kind of lifestyle.

I read this book for the simple fact of gaining some insight into Nicole's husband. O.J. is indeed a great actor. His facade has masked what he really is. In this, the book suceeds in giving some glimpses of a very troubled person. At the same time, it gives a poor view of the lifestyles of the rich and idle.

She is a nobody!!!!.......2003-12-30

I read this book, from the librbay, and it is quite infuriating... Firstly, Resnik lists her occupation is "socialite"????? Give me a break!!!!!

Her whole claim to fame is name dropping... (and,this is her only claim to fame...) When you read this book you realize how fake and pretnetious people like Bruce Jenner, Kris Jenner, Faye Resnik, and Nicole and O.J. Simpson really are/were. Its almost as though Resnik was more upset about Nicole's death because ahe lost her "link" to the "inner circle".

I also think that the things she wrote about Nicole were SOOOO disrespectful, not only to Nicole, but especially to Nicole's childre, I cant imagine them reading such awful things about their murdered mother, Didnt they go through enough??.... There are extremely private things that Faye discusses about Nicole that are so cold and hurtful (if they are even true) I cant imagine that this was Nicole's best friend. If she cared anything for Nicole she would have kept her collagen-enhanced mouth shut.

She is a brat, she has done NOTHING worthwhile for this country, her "best frined" or those poor children that she left behind.., I can not believe that the publishing co. allowed her to write such trash about a person that was brutally murdered. With a friend like this, who needs enemies?

Book Description

A unique, ruminative biography-a fascinating excursion into the American underworld at the dawn of the twentieth century, the life of an unrespectable Irish woman, and the hidden inner life of any woman who has tried to choose the unconventional path-by the author of the New York Times bestsellers Are You Somebody? and My Dream of You.

Nuala O'Faolain, the author of three consecutive New York Times bestsellers, has come upon a story that is not only a perfect match for her literary gifts but also takes her career in a surprising and rich new direction. This Irish woman writer who achieved international fame with a remarkably candid appraisal of her own unorthodox life has taken as her subject another daughter of Ireland-this one a notorious criminal and unrepentant, independent woman.

The legend says that May was a tall girl with glorious hair and big blue eyes, compellingly attractive to men. At nineteen, she stole her family's savings and ran away from her home in rural Ireland to America-first Nebraska, then Chicago at the time of the World's Fair, and then on to New York. In these new American cities, she worked as a grifter, a confidence trickster, a prostitute, a sometime showgirl-earned her moniker and was hailed in tabloids as "Queen of the Underworld." And then she fell in love with a big-league criminal, followed him to Paris where they successfully robbed the American Express, then were apprehended, tried, and sent to prison. May survived prison, returned to America, and was reborn again and again-falling in love, lapsing back into the criminal life, flirting with legitimacy, writing her memoirs.

O'Faolain brings a sympathetic scrutiny to this extraordinary life story, reaching across the decades for points of connection and understanding. May was born in post-famine Ireland and died in the world of telephones, sportscars, and movies, in 1929, just before the stock-market crash. Is there a woman's experience they can share? An Irishwoman's experience? An outsider's? In the hands of one of our most astute and gifted memoirists, The Story of Chicago May is not only a tale well-told, but an inquiry into the telling of any life story. "There are pioneer journeys still to be made to the edge of the territory where we know how to be sympathetic," O'Faolain writes. "Shine the beam of attention out there and the dark recoils, and the frontier of human settlement moves forward."

Customer Reviews:

She Did It Her Way.......2007-07-28

I first heard of Irish writer Nuala O'Faolain when I picked up one of her books in the WH Smith at Heathrow as I ran to catch a flight back to the States. Sometimes we are drawn to certain authors in mysterious ways, as if the moments were meant to be. Thereafter, I was led to her two memoirs, breathtaking in their candor about moving through stages of life as a young Irish girl, a writer, and mature woman coming to terms with her past.

Knowing this writer's work, I didn't expect "The Story of Chicago May" to be a traditional biography, and it most certainly was not. May Duignan, born in post-famine Ireland, nicked her family's savings and ran away to America. There, she achieved legendary status as "Chicago May," working as a thief, outlaw, showgirl and prostitute.

What I find remarkable is how the writer weaves in her own process of discovery and personal experience in researching and writing the book. This approach won't work for all readers. Some prefer the conventional biography, but others will find this book refreshing. No matter how a writer strives for objectivity, biography writing will never truly elude the subjectivity of the writer's own experience. O'Faolain did it her way, though she painstakingly researched her elusive subject. She literally traced the steps of May through city after city on two different continents.

Years of May's life were spent in prisons on both sides of the Atlantic, but she managed to survive a life on the edge. Exhausted and sick at heart, she later met police reformer August Vollmer, who convinced her to write her autobiography as a way toward the light. O'Faolain refuses to sugarcoat the "Queen of Crook's" struggle to make ends meet, her experiences in and out of prison, or her poor choices in men, several notorious crooks in their own right.

"Hope kept me up," May wrote in her last, desperate note to Vollner before her death as "a tired old prostitute" in an unmarked grave in Philadelphia. But the book is not about a character who tried to save her own soul, whatever that may be interpreted to be. It ends with just as many questions about the seeming lack of meaning in May's life, yet assures us that even such a life as hers is worth examining: "Out there, people are waiting in the dark. Shine the beam of attention out there. The dark recoils."

When History and Memoir Mix.......2006-11-09

Like some of the previous reviewers, I was annoyed and bewildered after the initial reading of this book. Not because it wasn't well-written. It is. But the intermingling of the author's experiences and what she perceives May Duignan-Churchill to have felt/experienced was disorienting because I thought I was buying a biography of Chicago May. Most historical biographies are devoid of personal observations unless the author happened to be there along with his / her subject, which certainly wasn't true in Nuala O'Faolain's case.

It didn't take me long, however, to appreciate "The Story of Chicago May" for the unique literary effort that it is. O'Faolain is using May Duignan's story to depict one woman's struggle for independence AND show how similar struggles go on today despite increased earning power and educational opportunity. The author is an accomplished memoirist, and in this book she uses her brilliant capacity for insight to help make sense out of a cheerfully unrepentant female crook's career.

By the end of the second reading, I loved the book. That said, I understand why other readers who expected a no-nonsense historical biography, packed with facts and no fancy, were disappointed.

Disappointing.......2006-06-12

I agree with the previous reviewer that this book is "unfocused, disjointed, unstructured, incoherent, and rambling." It was difficult reading and difficult to keep up with what is fact and what is the author's interjections.
Also, I did not care for the personal family information from Ms. O'Faolain. In my opinion, it only added to the adjectives mentioned above and to the book's boring length that could have been more interesting if it were not so lenghtly.

As expected.......2006-02-25

The biography was much as described in other reviews, where an interesting person was described both through the historical facts found and personal experiences of the author. I enjoyed O'Faolain's strategy and the story of May's life.

A Sensitive Biography.......2006-01-27

I was struck with the skill and insight that the author demonstrates to draw us to this character. May becomes an examp-le of a human soul trapped by her environment and able to discard the yoke of fear that holds us in a dead-end life. She emerges as a soaring butterfly but is conscious of the difficulty of returning to "comfortable" life after living on the edge of society and flaunting it. The author carefully guides us thru the difficult years of incarceration and rejection, and is most skillful in identifying with the character in a way that makes the reader both despise and embrace her. Truly a fascinating story told in a manner which traps and holds the reader in timeless suspension.

Average customer rating:

'o' Is For Outlaw
Sue Grafton
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

N Is for Noose
M Is for Malice
P Is for Peril (A Marian Wood Book) (Kinsey Millhone Mysteries (Hardcover))
J Is for Judgment
L Is for Lawless

ASIN: B000IWJJP2

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books