Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story

Amazon.com

Bill Bonanno could be just another 66-year-old retiree, gone to Tucson, Arizona, to live out his remaining years in a hospitable climate. But he's not. "I come from a long line of Mafiosi," he informs us, taking pains to establish the difference between Mafiosi, a term "rooted in the character and the values of the men and women who were the everyday makers of Sicilian history," and the fictional Mafia. (Bonanno knows from crime fiction: there are those who say that he's the real-life model for Michael Corleone, and he does not deny it.) Bound by Honor is as much a family saga as it is a true crime story, and Bonanno's insightful self-reflection guarantees a distinctive degree of honesty and depth.

Book Description

A young mafioso being groomed for leadership spends his nights at the Stork Club in New York City, rubbing elbows with the likes of Tony Bennett, Marilyn Monroe, and Mickey Mantle....Two proud men, one named Bonanno, the other named Kennedy, dream of their sons taking over their dynasties-each taking a different, but equally powerful pat....A sudden spray of bullets rips through the salon in Manhattan's Park Sheraton Hotel; moments later, a major figure on the organized crime scene-slumped over in midshave-lies dead in his barber chair....These are stories not from Mafia movies, but from real life....a way of life which may be gone, but is long from forgotten. Bill Bonanno is the authentic article-born into a powerful mob Family and married into another, he has seen it all. Widely reputed to be the model for Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Bonanno tells the astounding story which only he can tell in Bound By Honor: of the Five Families and their stormy infighting for control over organized crime; of his father's close friendship with Joe Kennedy and the truth about JFK's assassination; and of a world born of respect and loyalty....and etched in violence and blood.

Customer Reviews:

Good Book.......2007-10-01

This was a very interesting book. It had some fascinating insight into the world of Mafiosa.

Bag of Wind.......2005-11-16

I have read nearly every book written about the Mafia, both good and bad. Let me say this: Bill Bonanno's book goes beyond bad. It's absolutely awful.

The title itself, "Bound by Honor", is soaked in irony. Where is the honor in breaking the law, going to prison, living a lifestyle that includes trampling on the rights and lifestyles of other people?

My own father truly was a Man of Honor. He got up everyday and went to work and made an honest living. He may not have gotten rich, but he never served a day in prison or lied to save his own skin. But Bonanno has done both. Where is the honor in that?

As I read one of the book's passages about a gunfight that Bonnano was in, it struck me that his vision of that shootout was rooted more in stupidity than in danger.

While Mafia books do interest me, the lifestyle itself disgusts me and makes me glad that I live a clean life.

My biggest regret concerning Bonanno's book is that I spent money on it- even if it was on sale. It was a waste of money written by a blowhard who wasted a college education and probably put a good wife through hell. Some Man of Honor, that Bill Bonanno.

So the bottom line is this: don't waste your money. His story isn't worth reading, he isn't worth respecting, and there isn't one scintilla of honor to be found in the activities of his family.

Legend of his own mind.......2004-03-22

The book as such is an easy read and has some amusing stories, it is, however, filled with appearent contradictions and self promoting spins on most of the events.
The writer is clearly unable to put is own life into perspective and believes he has done no wrong........but that the government is at fault for hunting down organised crime, mostly himself and his father (who is depicted as the role model mobster).
The book is worth reading if the subject itself is of interest to you. For most readers it will become clear that the writer is a complete and total loser.

Don't Miss the Point.......2003-06-25

This book isn't about crime; it's about a broken heart. Like Michael Corleone, what Bonanno did to preserve his family destroyed it; like Corleone, once he got involved, he couldn't get out. This explains his fatalistic feeling that his role in life was preordained at birth.

Contrary to other reviews here, Bonanno DOES give new details, like why Bugsy Seigal was killed and who the second shooter was in Dallas. His explanation of who killed the Kennedys and why is worth the price of the book. He shouldn't be expected to give details about his own capers, not only because this would be self-incriminating, but because he was a strategist, not a soldier or capo. He's a policy wonk of crime.

He says the U.S. Government is the biggest mob around. If true, this not only justifies why Sicilians are as they are, but burdens the rest of us with a warning. Even if false, it indavertently supports his point that "the life" came to an end when those practicing it entered into a war of attrition with a foe more capable of maintaining it. Maybe greed wasn't to blame; maybe it was hubris.

Even if the book is self-serving or written for profit, that it exists is omerta's epitaph. It demonstrates that action for its own sake can be as addictive as heroin and harder to shake. It restates two great truths--"whatever is taken by force must be maintained by force" and "force feeds on force." It also proves that two cultures can't exist in the same place at the same time; one absorbs the other or eliminates it. A war between the Mafia and America could end in only one way. Bonanno says that his father knew this; I believe him.

Honorable Mention.......2003-03-17

Most people would agree that the word "honor" is a fairly abstract one that means different things to different people. That is, in essence, the biggest problem with Bill Bonanno's book. Although written in what seems to be straightforward English, the values he espouses and particularly the manner in which he espouses them are so impenetrable to the average reader that BOUND BY HONOR might as well be written in Sanskrit.

Part autobiography, part history, part memoir and part apologia, BOUND BY HONOR is Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno's personal record of growing up inside one of New York's Five Families. Bill Bonanno was the first of the Mafiosi to go public with his written reminiscences, being the subject of this book and Gay Talese's HONOR THY FATHER which is also recommended.

As autobiography, BOUND BY HONOR is engrossing, although it is clear almost from the outset that Bonanno is not a reflective man able to step outside himself and evaluate his life with any real objectivity. The truth is that Bonanno is more comfortable with the concept of living in eighteenth century Sicily than twentieth century America, and apparently internalized and romanticized the values of the Sicilian Vespers without questioning them. Bonanno speaks well of "family," "honor," and "pride," and deplores their erosion in the United States, speaks robustly of "our world," but never remarks on the inherent contradictions of internecine gangland warfare which pitted brother against brother, literally, too often ending in death.

Bonanno handles his history fairly well, although to hear him tell it, the Bonanno Family was the most powerful, most well organized, and most effective of the Five Families (other authors would dispute this hotly). He claims that his father, Joseph Bonanno was the inspiration for "The Godfather," Vito Corleone and that he himself was the inspiration for Michael Corleone. (This reader at least saw in his actions more of Sonny Corleone.) He also spends much of the earlier portion of the book drawing parallels between his father and Joseph Kennedy, and himself and JFK. Bonanno utterly misses the irony in comparing even Joseph Bonanno the Mafioso to the base, amoral, manipulating and serpentine senior Kennedy, never recognizing that that such a comparison is no honor to his own father.

As memoir, Bonanno is careful to move deftly around self-incriminating facts and circumstances. Since there is no objectivity between these covers, there is no way of assessing whether he has altered the facts to fit his view, but that is a virtual certainty. He attempts to minimalize the urban "Banana War" of the mid-1960s, reporting that little violence actually occurred, but he is unable to explain away (nor does he try to explain) the deep schisms in the Bonanno Family which led to this conflict. He denies and ignores the Bonanno Family's documented involvement in the drug trade. He describes the ill-fated Commission meeting at Apalachin (broken up by the local police) as a comedy of errors, but he cannot ignore the long repercussions of that day in 1957. Vice, illegal gambling, and other illicit activities are described as of minor importance to the Family and of no real harm to the community. Bonanno, however, is indefatigable in recalling his involvement with every subpoena, every grand jury, every hearing, every wiretap, and every government-machinated attempt to discredit the Families. His sense of outrage at having to do prison time for credit card fraud is manifest, though he glosses over most of his jail time and the reasons for it in a brief paragraph toward the close of the book.

In his apologia, Bonanno blames the downfall of the Families on attrition, essentially on the succession of "Americanized" leaders over the older Sicilians as they died off. In this, he may well be right. The stable nexus of "Family" unquestionably withered as the old Sicilian blood ties were replaced with alliances of convenience. He derides a rat like Valachi and a histrionic Don like Gotti with venom, pointing out that the "Dapper Don" ruled his Family for mere years not decades. More to the point, Bonanno sees the downfall of "his world" not as the result of vast societal changes in the 1960s and 1970s, but as the result, ultimately, of a single act, the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He posits that it was one of Sam Giancana's crew, Jimmy Roselli, who was the triggerman in Dallas. Since Roselli is dead and there is no corroboration available, Bonanno ends his book, Sphinxlike, with an intriguing, but essentially unanswerable riddle.

Average customer rating:

WW2 -SOUTH AMERICAN ACTION.
A Superb Story Well Told
Magnificent, Captivating, Rich, and Wonderful! SCORE: (A+)
Bound with Honor
Character Building into a Magnificent Nove

Honor Bound
W. E. B. Griffin
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0515114863

Customer Reviews:

WW2 -SOUTH AMERICAN ACTION........2006-08-01

WEB Griffin fills a gap in my military history of actions outside the main combat arenas. He obviously researches thoroughly and the result is gripping all the way through.

A Superb Story Well Told.......2005-06-20

Honor Bound captures your attention at the start and never lets go. While there is not really a lot of "action," the story, the settings and the character development all make for an excellent book.

The story is the recruitment and development of an OSS team to carry out a secret mission to disrupt German submarine activity in neutral Argentina during WWII. The sub story is the reconnection of a powerful Argentine father and his American son who have not seen each other since the son was an infant. Several other sub stories are also woven in. All are interesting and well told.

The primary setting is WWII Buenos Aires. Most of us are unaware of the atmosphere there during the war, so that makes for a good learning experience. Other settings include Guadacanal, Midland (Texas) and New Orleans. All add interest to the story.

Griffen also does an excellent job of developing his characters. The primary ones really come to life.

If you are looking for "shoot 'em up" action, this book is not for you. If you are looking for a fascinating book about an arena that you probably know little about, give this a try. I am pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Magnificent, Captivating, Rich, and Wonderful! SCORE: (A+).......2003-12-26

The book set in WWII Argentina, "Honor Bound" is a great historical fiction of the WWII espionage game, coupled with an intense and dynamic story line. Cletus Frade, is a magnificent hero who has intensity, likeability, and charm. The secondary characters are richly developed and are as interesting in many cases as the hero. This story wraps you up in the characters, make you care about them, and takes you on a wonderful journey that ends way too soon, thankfully there are two more books in the series.
This is the best W.E.B. Griffin book yet in my opinion, and one of the most enjoyable books that I have ever had the pleasure of reading!
OVERALL SCORE: (A+)
PLOT: (A+), CHARATERS: (A+), DIALOGUE: (A), SETTING: (A), ACTION/COMBAT: (B-), ANTAGONISTS: (A+), ROMANCE: (A-), SEX: (Light), AGE LEVEL: (PG)

Bound with Honor.......2002-05-29

Shipped home from the Pacific, Cletus Frade learns that he will be sent to Argentina to aid in the war effort against the Nazis. He and two other Americans are sent to Argentina to sink a Nazi ship refueling and rearming German U-boats. In Argentina Cletus meets his long lost father, a very important man in Argentina and tries to sway him toward the United States. During the course of his mission Frade comes upon many problems, falls in love and builds a strong relationship with his father.
I recommend this book very highly. This book never had a dull moment. This is the second book of W.E.B. Griffin that I have read and I enjoyed both of them. This book takes place during World War Two and contains a lot of real to the time's technology and information. Griffin obviously spent a great deal of time researching before he wrote this book. It pays off. The quality of the story is greatly enhanced by the use of factual information. Of the many books in this genre that I have read this is one of the better ones. The story line drives along at a steady action packed pace. Though this book is projected more towards the middle-aged male demographic, I think that anyone who enjoys espionage, romance, anyone interested in World War Two or anyone who enjoys fiction would greatly enjoy reading this book. This is a great book and I recommend it to anyone.

Character Building into a Magnificent Nove.......2001-09-23

Griffith is well known for his military books that have real characters doing unreal things that make the entire novel a real story of unreal quality. Ok just a confusing enough sentence to make you read more. Griffith is such a writer that his characters are what carries the story; meaning the reader wants to know how the characters are going to develop in the situations. Cletus Frade is akin to another of WEB's great characters...Craig Lowell.

Amazon.com

Don't be deceived by the blockbuster size of W.E.B. Griffin's third installment in the Honor Bound series. Secret Honor is an intricate book that reveals a remarkable attentiveness to historical detail and characterization. It is also a top-notch thriller set in Griffin's quasi-fictional version of WWII.

The plot is woven with so many threads, all of them worthwhile, that it actually feels more like a chronicle than a novel, but the central story takes up the continuing adventures of OSS agent Cletus Frade. Frade, a U.S. Marine whose father was almost the president of Argentina, was raised in Texas and now uses his father's special status in Argentine society to penetrate Nazi plans for South America. This time, however, Frade is not so much fighting the Nazis as supporting them. While one group, Himmler among them, is secretly stashing funds in Argentina to prepare for an escape when the Reich finally crumbles, a second group, including a German general and his son, are actually plotting to assassinate Hitler. Meanwhile, the OSS is on the verge of ex-communicating Frade, given his unwillingness to reveal the identity of the son, code-named "Galahad."

The details are what make this book: Cletus Frade is imprinted on the mind, clad in grease-stained khaki trousers, spouting Spanish-Texan four-letter epithets, and sporting cowboy boots as he repairs his father's ravaged old Horch touring sedan at Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo. Particularly engaging is Griffin's account of Argentine upper-strata social "politics," as Father Welner steers Cletus into his inevitable marriage. Reading Secret Honor, one enters many vividly drawn places--from Nazi secret meetings to Argentine estates--that bring this pivotal era to life. Finishing the book leaves one feeling a rare combination of sadness in leaving close colleagues behind and exhilaration at having witnessed history being made. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

A crackling new novel in the bestselling Honor Bound series, by the master of the military thriller.

Abridged. Four cassettes, 6 hours

Simultaneous release with the G. P. Putnam's Sons hardcover

Customer Reviews:

W.E.B. Griffin - Secret Honor.......2007-01-12

If you like Griffin as I do, this is another good tale. You learn a little real history along the way. If you don't know Griffin, he tells very good readable stories but they are certainly not Shakespear. Purely fun with a little true history thrown in.

WW2 in Argentina........2006-08-01

Again WEB Griffin provides information about areas of conflict not writtn about. With its polyglot population of Italian, German, and British immigrants it must have been a hotbed of intrigue. He brings it to life.

Secret Honor.......2005-05-01

Griffins book Secret Honor is a big dissappointment, I would suggest he has become a troll of commercialism. No plot, no suspence, no excitement, no story line. This book reads like a soap opera, a high school student could have written a better story. It seems Griffin is relying on his name to sell this book, also his other novels in this series are somewhat dull and redundent in character. I hope he wakes up, I will not purchase or recommend any more of his books.

Excellent detail, but lacking substance.......2004-10-15

This book was a disappointment. While it seems like the book is relatively realistic (unless you count the fact that there are military officers that are allowed to run around, doing as they please), it lacks the story to make use of that realism. The plot is hard to follow, taking turns that end up right where they started. It seems that throughout the book, the reader is bothered with the characters' problems that simply exist and do not affect the character.

This book has an somewhat interesting plot, but it is bogged down with memos between Nazi officers, which take attention away from the main plot. There is simply too much information to keep straight, especially since many of the titles of the character's are in German. A large portion of the book could have been eliminated, and the book would have made more sense and had more impact.
When I finished the book, I was not beside myself that I would never again experience that adventure of the characters again. I was happy that I was done with the book, and I then wondered where all my time had gone. At the end of the book, I ended up having a greater knowledge of the Nazi beuracracy. This is not a book that I would recommend.

READING CON BRIO.......2004-02-23

Griffin proved himself to be a champion of military suspense with "Honor Bound" and "Blood and Honor." Brace yourselves for a roller coaster of thrills because he's done it again.

In "Secret Honor," a German general plots the assassination of Adolf Hitler. At the same time in Buenos Aires the general's son is targeted by the SS following a botched Nazi operation. OSS agent Cletus Frade knows them both and he knows the truth. But, Frade is branded a rogue agent by the OSS. All three men are in peril.

Amazon.com

If you enjoyed W. E. B. Griffin's Honor Bound, you should segue with pleasure into this involving sequel. Set in Buenos Aires in 1943, it follows the adventures of three American soldiers as they think and fight their way through a complex story about Nazi sympathizers, dedicated supporters of the Allied cause, and other people just trying to stay alive. As we've come to expect from his many books about soldiers and cops, Griffin knows how to use the small moments of crime and war to invent a compelling canvas for his solid characters.

Customer Reviews:

A great summer read.......2006-07-08

I make a habit of reading a W.E.B. Griffin book almost every summer. I think they make the perfect beach book. They read easily, hold my attention, and are chock full of historical information. I always enjoy a fiction book where I still feel like I am picking up all sorts of historical info.

This is the second book in the series about the exploits of a former Marine Corps Aviator turned OSS operative in World War II Argentina. Griffin always paints the military in a good light, but he really loves the Marine Corps. His extremely detailed knowledge of the German military makes his Nazi characters feel genuine. It was obvious Griffin spent considerable time in Buenos Aires, since the city and its culture are described in such intimate detail. While he is known as an action writer, most of the 600+ page book is extensive dialogue. The German and Argentine characters speak in a very formal and drawn out manner, which while realistic, often slowed the pace of the book down. Most of the action takes place in the final 150 pages of the book. These were all minor points. It was a great summer read and I look forward to the final book in the series.

Great Adventure.......2006-03-24

Typical WEB Griffin. A wonderful story teller with a great backround in all things military.

H e Makes You Care.......2005-07-26

I get almost annoyed that I get so involved with the characters and plots of Griffin's books.I HATE it when they end,I waited for however long it takes for the sequels.I may not like killing off the good col.Frade,but that's life,and it goes on.I care about the good Germans,like Kurt,fighting their inner battles for their own souls and survival in a world filled with the deadliest of dangers.You can't put a Griffin book down and I guess that is what it was all about.Some I have read more than once.I like the WWII books best.They put me a little in touch with the world that formed my parents lives,as he helped chase the nazis across Europe and my mother worried herself sick at home,while doing her part in the effort.

Great buildup, but to what?.......2004-04-17

I enjoyed this book for the first 700 pages tremendously. However, I soon realized that the only way to wrap up all the complex story lines Griffin offered us, was by a disappointing ending. My worst fears were realized when the book came to a screeching halt. The climax was lackluster at best and entire story lines were completely forgotten. I enjoyed the great character development, however, there were at least 1/2 dozen characters that were completely left hanging when the end came. It was almost as if Griffin had a 723 page limit and was ineffective at providing a successful conclusion to all the plots derived. I was extremely disappointed when I put the book down, and question if I should read any other books by Griffin, despite all the critical acclaim he receives.

Blood & Honor.......2001-07-20

In general, people who review books fall into two categories: (1) "hooked on..." folks (like me), and (2) Self-styled critics, that live to criticize - even if there is nothing to criticise, and they don't even know why they read the book. "Blood & Honor" was another in the ongoing productions of Mr. Griffin that so enthralled all of us "hookies" since the first series. I've read every one, by the way, and can never wait till the next in whichever series arrives for us. Bravo W.E.B. - and please, please continue. Many thanks, Jim Malone

Average customer rating:

More
Book 2 in the houor series
Headstrong
This is Bound to Please Readers
Absolutely Amazing

Honor Bound
Radclyffe
Manufacturer: Bold Strokes Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1933110201

Customer Reviews:

More.......2007-08-12

I missed this one on my run through this series in reveiws. I think I have already said this but Radclyffe's Honor Series rock.

Book 2 in the houor series.......2006-08-14

After I read the first book I could not wait to read the second, and I was not disappointed. This is a wonderful book. I would recommend it, as well as the rest in the series.

Headstrong.......2006-07-31

What do you do when you have the headstrong daughter of the President of the United States and a headstrong head of her security detail?

A lot of head butting and disagreeing, but the love the two characters have for each other overrides all others.

This is again and action pack novel.

This is Bound to Please Readers.......2006-06-21

Secret Agent Cameron Roberts is responsible for the safety of the President's daughter. She takes her assignment very serious, indeed. The fact that she is romatically involved with the first daughter adds to her wanting Blair kept safe.

Whether you read Radclyffe's series books or you read one of her stand-alone romances, you can not go wrong.

I have been reading lesbian fiction for many years, and can honestly say that I have never come across a writer that has so affected me. Her characters are strong, intelligent, and romantic. Naysayers will say that Radclyffe's characters are too perfect almost never flawed - either in looks or character. That may be true, but aren't you tired of the genre's penchant for ordinary? Radclyffe's characters are always enchanting, intoxicating, enticing, and intense. The stories, particularly in the series books, are all first class. Most of her series books are page-turners. And in two of the books, I actually turned to the last page to make sure that the main characters survived - something I never do.

Radclyffe let us believe, at least for the duration of each of her books, that the grand passion, the true love, the happy-ever-after are all possible. She lets us believe that being a strong, intelligent woman does not mean that we will be alone and/or isolated.

The only caveat I have is to read the series books in order. And if you enjoy watching a writer grow, then read the non-series books in the order they were written and watch Radclyffe's talent grow before your very eyes.

Absolutely Amazing.......2006-02-10

Once again, Radclyffe delivers a phenomenal story. This second book in her Honor series can't be beat. In this reader's opinion, this is her best series and is best enjoyed in quick succession... Pick up all 5 books, start with the first and work your way through!

In 'Honor Bound,' Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts finds herself once again assigned to protect First Daughter Blair Powell. Blair is livid about this arrangement for several reasons. First, she doesn't want Cam protecting her because Cam almost died at the end of the last book. Secondly, Blair and Cam finally consummated their relationship after months of build-up... now with Cam as her security chief that relationship is once again put on hold.

Cam has been brought in to work with the FBI in their quest to capture Lover Boy - Blair's stalker who shot Cam in 'Above All, Honor' and is still at large. Neither woman knows how to handle their feelings which conflict with their responsibilities.

I freely admit Rad is my favorite, but this is genuinely a great book. I read a lot of lesbian fiction and, with the exception of book 5 which I've read once, have read and enjoyed this series three times.

A must have. No collection of lesbian fiction is complete without this book.

$Bound By Honor: Mercenary's Woman\The Winter Soldier$
Average customer rating:

The author is good
I like other Diana Palmer books much better
Curl Up With This Book
Formulaic to say the least.

Bound By Honor: Mercenary's Woman\The Winter Soldier
Diana Palmer
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0373771827

Customer Reviews:

The author is good.......2007-03-23

I have read all her books. She is very goood

I like other Diana Palmer books much better.......2006-04-29

I thought that this book was ok. I would not re-read it though. This book did not lack in action and suspence though, there was a lot undercover agents, secret missions, police forces, special agents , etc... in this book that it kept me reading it. Other than that, there was hardly any romance in it. I bought this book as a romance book and it really wasn't. The second story was better than the first. In the first story, Eb and Sallie had a bitter past together and they seemed just too forgive and forget very easily. Like in one day they were friends. Then came all the action with the drug lords and Eb ended up saving the day! The second story was rushed but I liked it better than the first. It played off of the first story, so it leads off where the other ended. So, you enojy the mercs, going undercover to catch a drug lord. I think that Mrs. Palmer should have just wrote this as one big book instead of two.

Curl Up With This Book.......2006-02-25

whenever I want a 'feel good' night, I curl up with a diana Palmer book and this one is no exception. Having read subsequent books that reerred to both of these men, it was great to read their stories, and they certainly are hunky guys. Although some scenes really require a 'wllling suspension of disbelief," you'll know what romance is all about when you finish.

Formulaic to say the least........2006-01-16

First let me clarify: this is from the Media Scholar's wife. What's good about this book is its' price: it's cheap. You get two stories for the price of one. What the back cover doesn't tell you is that both stories are part of a series and are completely connected (which I, as a reader, don't love). I can live with that, though. Unfortunately, the similarities don't end there. Along with having the same characters, it has the same general plot. It is 100% predictable. The last chapter of the second story is there for the sole purpose of introducing another book, the next in the undisclosed series which- surprise- has the same plot! If you have a favorite plot and enjoy series/soap operas, then this book is for you. Another book by Diana Palmer, A Matter of Trust, is virtually the same as this one. Lucky me, I read them back to back. I most likely will not read another written by this author.

Average customer rating:

Well... I liked it and couldn't tell it was a re-issue!
Lighten up!
Give me Judith McNaught!
Honor Bound is a simple timeless love story
Yes.........

Honor Bound
Sandra Brown
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1551668904

Book Description

In Honor Bound Sandra Brown paints a moving story of love and hate, passion and duty as she explores the deepest obligations of the heart -- to family, to heritage, to love.

Aislinn Andrews met Lucas Greywolf under unusual circumstances -- she caught the escaped convict raiding her refrigerator. But was he a troublemaker who aroused dissidence among Arizona's Native Americans . . . or a hero who'd gone to prison for a crime he hadn't committed? It didn't really matter now, since Lucas Greywolf had taken her hostage. He was going home to the reservation of his birth, honor bound to pay last respects to his dying grandfather. And Aislinn was his ticket home.

Through their journey across the hot Arizona desert, Aislinn was alternately intrigued and infuriated by this rebel with a cause. This defiant, determined man made no secret of his hatred for her kind: the Anglos who betrayed his people.

Yet among his people, Aislinn saw another side to Lucas Greywolf as she was swept into a world where sacred tradition clashed with despair and poverty, where family, heritage, and honor was all that remained. Transformed by his world, by his strength, by her growing love for this complicated, proud man, she gave in to her heart's demands, knowing that Lucas would soon return to prison. Neither anticipated the gift he'd leave behind.

Honor Bound is a classic romance that explores the myriad emotions that drive men and women to find each other -- to cross the boundaries of fear, uncertainty, even hate, to explore the uncharted territory of love.

Customer Reviews:

Well... I liked it and couldn't tell it was a re-issue!.......2005-04-14

For some reason I had been putting off reading it - and I really was hesitant when I saw the original printing date was several years ago. But my mind was changed soon after starting the book. It has a good story line and plenty of romance, too. The end could have been different but... don't get me wrong- it is still a sweet one. What's the story line? Lucas breaks out of prison to go home after receiving word that his much-loved grandfather is on his death bed. On his way back to the reservation he makes a much needed stop for food and rest in an apartment he happens to pick out. Come to find out it belongs to a pretty blue-eyed, blonde, English, young lady- Aislinn. Oh, no! An Anglo- just who Lucas thinks of as an enemy. Aislinn is on her own trying to separate herself from wealthy, domineering parents - with no plans of starting a relationship up with any man. There is a stirring in Lucas' heart and his ... (let's say sexual desire) and instead of taking her food, car and leaving her behind, Lucas takes Aislinn as a hostage. The story gets going then. He does make it to his grandfather before Joseph dies. Lucas takes out his sorrow on Aislinn in a very real way - and then he and she has to live with it's consequences. I'll let you read the story to find out what that is. I enjoyed it and would recommend your reading it. It's a good story...

Lighten up! .......2004-10-03

Lucas Greywolf is so HOT!!!!! I tease my husband saying that my next husband will be a Native American! I have sent this book with friends and have gotten the same review! It is a romance novel, not a literary classic! Lighten up ladies and enjoy this diversion to housework!

Give me Judith McNaught!.......2004-01-26

This is actually the 2nd Sandra Brown book which I have read. I didn't particularly like the 1st one but thought that I should just give her another shot.

I'm not sure if I've been biased from the very beginning, but the lengthy description in the 1st few pages of the book irked me.

A short summary of the book:
Lucas Greywolf was jailed unjustly for a crime which he hadn't committed. He broke out of prison and took Aislinn hostage. He was a half Indian-Anglo while she's a pure Anglo princess. So, throughout the whole book, you will be reading about how Lucas hated himself for falling in love with his "enemy", how he had to deal with his own inferiority complex and whenever he felt guilty, he would lash out at Aislinn. *shrug*

Give me a Judith Mcnaught anytime!

Honor Bound is a simple timeless love story.......2003-02-16

This hardcover release of one of Sandra Brown's classic romance written using her pesudonym Erin St. Clare may feel outdated but its theme of underlying racial tension and love is resonant. Escaped convict and ex-lawyer Lucas Greywolf is a Native Arizona Indian wrongly accused as a dissident who desperately needs to see his dying grandfather the last time. He holds the innocent "Anglo" Aislinn Andrews as hostage and shares a night of passion that yields a child. Lucas, after his release, discovers her secret and forces her to marry. Aislinn finds herself surrendering to the hardened cynic as she unearths the honor and passion in Lucas as a lover and father. Honor Bound is a simple love tale packed with heated tension and emotions that unfortunately lacks the finesse of maestro Kathleen Eagle in depicting inter-racial romance. It, however, stays faithful to its exploration of the shades of love to satisfy romance readers.

Yes................2002-09-26

Ok I read another Sandra Brown book before and it was ok but this one was really good! I really really liked it. It was funny and nice. I liked Aislinn and I liked Lucas. I only didnt like the fact that he kept on asuming she was racist. The ending was good I liked tht at the end Aislinn.....no just kidding I wuldnt tell the end...Just read it.Im surprised it didnt get a 5

Average customer rating:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!

Bound by Honor
Gary Smalley , and Greg Smalley
Manufacturer: Bethany House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 1561796328

Book Description

Family expert Gary Smalley and his son Greg provide parents with the keys to building a great relationship with their teenager and preparing him or her for life as a successful Christian adult.

Customer Reviews:

R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!.......2003-11-22

This book was an incredible guide to establishing respect and communiation with a teen.

Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973

Average customer rating:

Ultimate Book on Vietnam POW's
Great Work of Military Schlorship
If you want to know the unpoliticized truth - here it is
One of two important books on Vietnamese prisons
The phenomenal history of American POW's in Vietnam.....

Honor Bound: American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia, 1961-1973
Stuart I. Rochester , and Frederick T. Kiley
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1557506949

Book Description

Among the many horrors of the Vietnam War, some of the most brutal and, until now, least documented were the experiences of the American prisoners of war, many of whom endured the longest wartime captivity of any POWs in U.S. history. With this book, two of the most respected scholars in the field offer a comprehensive, balanced, and authoritative account of what happened to the nearly eight hundred Americans captured in Southeast Asia. The authors were granted unprecedented access to previously unreleased materials and interviewed over a hundred former POWs, enabling them to meticulously reconstruct the captivity record as well as produce an evocative narrative of a once sketchy and misunderstood, yet key chapter of the war.

Powerful and moving in its portrayal of how men sought to cope with physical and psychological ordeals under the most adverse conditions, this landmark study separates fact from fiction. Its analysis of the shifting tactics and temperaments of captive and captor as the war evolved skillfully weaves domestic political developments and battlefield action with prison scenes that alternate between Hanoi's concrete cells, South Vietnam's jungle stockades, and mountain camps in Laos.

Giving due praise but never shirking from criticism, the authors describe in gripping detail dozens of cases of individual courage and resistance from celebrated heroes like Jim Stockdale, Robinson Risner, Jeremiah Denton, Bud Day, and Nick Rowe to lesser known legends like Major Ray Schrump and Medal of Honor winner Donald Cook. Along with epic accounts of endurance under torture, breathtaking escape attempts, and remarkable prisoner communication efforts, they also reveal Code of Conduct lapses and instances of outright collaboration with the enemy.

Published twenty-five years after Operation Homecoming, which brought home 591 POWs from Vietnam, this tour-de-force history is a compelling and important work that serves as a testament to the courage, faith, and will of Americans in captivity, as well as a reminder of the sometimes impossible demands made on U.S. servicemen under the Code of Conduct in prisoner of war situations. It is vividly illustrated with maps, prisoners' renderings of camps and torture techniques, and dozens of photographs, many never before published.

Customer Reviews:

Ultimate Book on Vietnam POW's.......2007-09-12

This is a lengthy but well written book. If you are looking for an excellent history of the POW's from the Vietnam war, this is the one to get. If you are interested in history or the human aspects of the Vietnam POW's this would be very valuable. I have read a number of books on POW's and this is by far the best of the lot.

Great Work of Military Schlorship.......2007-07-03

This observer has followed the POW situation since 1972, when he was still on active duty. He is familiar with many POW memoirs, so the men in Messer's. Kiley and Rochester's voluminous work are no strangers. Most of the prominent POWs are well known to many and they are certainly all here: Ernest Brace, Robinson Risner, James Stockdale, Jeremiah Denton, Frank Anton and Everett Alvarez-plus many more. If this reviewer had to choose a favorite memoir, it would be Anton's "Why Didn't You Get Me Out?" Honorable mention certainly goes to "A Code to Keep" by Mr. Brace. HB goes into far deeper detail than do individual stories, yet necessarily lacks the personal touch folks like those two gentlemen provide. Those in the amazon community who have read no POW tales and are satisfied with one big picture have the perfect book in HB. The back cover noted that HB "combines rigorous scholarly analysis with moving narrative". That it certainly does, in fullest detail. All the torture, all the mind games, all the coming and going and transfers, all the gripping boredom and fear, all the gruesome details of prison life are here. It will be clear that the POWs were anything but one big happy family. Disagreements abounded, especially that nebulous subject regarding compliance with the Code of Conduct. Some favored active resistance, some a "cooperate-graduate" approach. The authors also do an excellent choreographing of the release of the Spring of 1973. They were not repatriated on one fleet of C-141s but came home in stages. We learn that a handful of guys were released through Saigon and 2 through Hong Kong (!). There are some caveats attached to this review: HB cannot be skim read. It demands attention and a substantial investment of time upfront. Casual readers are in the wrong place! They won't appreciate the 88 pages of appendices and notes/footnotes. HB also concentrates on prisoners held in the major North Vietnam detention centers. The missing in Cambodia, Laos and even China are outside the scope of HB. But HB is also silent on the fate of the discrepancy cases of those lost in the 4 countries. One hopes that the authors, writing a book that admits to being "an official publication of the Department of Defense", are not attempting a "Case Closed" on the 1,783 still unaccounted for. This observer will give the authors the benefit of the doubt here. Still. FAR more disturbing is a gratuitous remark on Page 589 that those who continue to press for a fullest accounting of the missing are "a swarm of polemicists and opportunists". This reviewer is one of them! He belongs to neither of those species! Since it is most likely that no offense was intended, none is taken but that comment demands an explanation! It certainly merits an unfortunate reduction in rank to 4 stars. That there even is a page 589 is the essence of HB. This one is not for those with a passing fancy on the Indochina War. A final note: There is a new, voluminous publication available on amazon-"An Enormous Crime". That particular 566 page volume-in small type no less-claims to be the "definitive account of American POWs abandoned in Southeast Asia". The different scope of EC should encompass what HB did not. Maybe these 1,000+ combined pages of text will shed a final light on the thorny question of POWs/MIAs in Indochina. Congressman King (R-NY) is also attempting to convene new hearings on the same subject. This painful matter will be with us for a while. The bottom line to "Honor Bound" is the headline above. This is indeed a great work of military scholarship and for that the authors deserve their due.

If you want to know the unpoliticized truth - here it is.......2005-06-24

Unfortunately, even the suffering of our soldiers in captivity is made into political fodder for sick creatures seeking their own gain. It is hard to get the truth about anything anymore in any of the popular media. This book is put out by the Naval Institute Press and is a complete, scholarly, unemotional, objective, and horrifying recounting of what our men suffered in Southeast Asian Prison Camps from 1961 - 1973.

The book takes us through the various prisons by their geographic location and their time period with photographs and unflinching text. It is very clear about the development and progress of the torture and when it finally declined. It explains the treatment of all PWs and singles out some for individual and extended treatment. There are many photographs of these men, so many of them heroes, and diagrams of the tortures they endured. It also talks about the early releases and the pressure put on some (like John McCain) to leave out of order.

One of the things the PWs did in captivity was commit the names of all the prisoners to memory, included those who died in captivity. These lists of names were considered sacred. This book lists the PWs at the end of the book by name with their service, capture date, release date, and status. It is indeed a sacred list and we would all do well to read it and ponder what it means.

There are many notes, a full biography, and an index.

Stuart Rochester and Frederick Kiley have performed a great service for us with this book.

One of two important books on Vietnamese prisons.......2004-11-13

This book reminds me why I'm able to walk freely within my country due to the efforts of those during the Hot/Cold War. I consider this book and "The Bamboo Chest", memoir by Frederick "Cork" Graham, to be the best books on Vietnam and communist prisons and our involvement taking the history from 1961 all the way to 1984 and showing how those who crippled our efforts to help defend Vietnam were only helping the communists overtake another nation and resulted in genocide of millions of Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians by their own supposed communist liberators. Lessons learned in our present time.

The phenomenal history of American POW's in Vietnam............2003-06-19

After reading many individual POW memoirs and similar material, it was immediately evident to me that Honor Bound is the premier and defining work on American POW's in Vietnam. For its sheer scope and immensity, this is the best reference material ever composed on this subject.

Beginning with history of French occupation in Vietnam and the follow on role of United States involvement, an intimate portrayal is drawn of every aspect of captivity faced by U.S. personnel. In minute detail, Northern and Southern Vietnamese POW camps are put under the microscope revealing the harrowing physical and psychological experiences that affected U.S. servicemen in appalling conditions which equated to a daily battle for survival. Also examined is the known information on captivity in Laos which continues to be controversial even today due to the unknown fates of many Americans still missing in that country.

Book Description

Honor Bound:
October 1942. At a secret rendezvous point off the coast of neutral Argentina, a small merchant ship delivers supplies to Nazi submarines and raiders. The OSS is determined to sabotage the operation by any means necessary. But one of the key saboteurs must fight his own private battle between duty and honor. Because he was chosen for a reason - to gain the trust and support of his own flesh and blood. A powerful Argentinian called "el Coronel." The father he never knew...

Behind the Lines:
World War II. On the island of Mindanao, the Philippines, a man calling himself "General" Fertig has set himself up as a guerrilla leader to harass the Japanese. Army records show that the only officer named Fertig in the Philippines is a reserve lieutenant colonel of the Corps of Engineers, reported MIA on Luzon. It's Marine lieutenant Ken McCoy's mission to sneak behind the lines and find out if he's for real.

The Murderers:
A cop is found shot dead in his home - is it connected to corruption in the narcotics division? A bar owner and his partner's wife are in the wrong place at the wrong time and are gunned down together - was it a mob hit? A beautiful, well-connected young woman dies an ugly death in her parents' mansion - was it accidental? It's up to Special Operations Division detectives Washington, Payne, and their crew to piece it together.

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