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Books > Fiction > True stories
Independence Day weekend, 1960: a young police officer is murdered,
shocking his close-knit community in Stamford, Connecticut. The
killer remains at large, his identity still unknown. But on a beach
not far away, a young Army doctor, on leave from his post at a
research lab in a maximum-security prison, faces a chilling
realisation. He knows who the shooter is. In fact, the man—a
prisoner out on parole—had called him only days before. By
helping his former charge and trainee, the doctor, a believer in
second chances, may have inadvertently helped set the murder into
motion. And with that one phone call, may have sealed a
policeman’s fate. Alvin Tarlov, David Troy and Joseph DeSalvo
were all born of the Great Depression, all with grandparents
who’d left different homelands for the same American Dream. How
did one become a doctor, one a police officer and one a convict? In
Genealogy of a Murder, journalist Lisa Belkin traces the paths of
each of these three men—one of them her stepfather. Her canvas is
large, spanning the first half of the 20th century: immigration,
the struggles of the working class, prison reform, medical
experiments, politics and war, the nature/nurture debate,
epigenetics, the infamous Leopold and Loeb case and the history of
motorcycle racing. It is also intimate: a look into the workings of
the mind and heart. Following these threads to their tragic outcome
in July 1960, and beyond, Belkin examines the coincidences and
choices that led to one fateful night. The result is a brilliantly
researched, narratively ingenious story, which illuminates how we
shape history even as we are shaped by it.
A selection of true-life dramas that chronicle the perils and
misfortunes faced by deep-sea sailing ships of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. It relates the dangers faced and the battles
waged, and all too often lost, against the hazards of the sea.
Shipboard work was hard and often routinely dangerous for crews who
bore the extraordinary hardships as their duty to obey their
captains and drive their ships to a safe port to discharge or take
on cargoes. From remarkable voyages, mutinies, hoaxes, curiosities
and disease, to messages in a bottle, this book has a fund of
amazing tales and will engross the reader - maritime historian,
sailor (whether retired , current or armchair), or anyone with an
interest in the sea and tales of adventure.
Cyberstalking is an entirely new form of deviant behavior that
uses technology to harass others in a variety of ways. In less than
a decade, our reliance on the Internet, email, instant messaging,
chat rooms, and other communications technologies has made
cyberstalking a growing social problem that can affect computer
users anywhere in the world. This is the first book devoted
entirely to an examination of cyberstalking, providing an overview
of the problem, its causes and consequences, and practical advice
for protecting yourself and your loved ones.
New technologies have enriched our lives in countless ways. Yet
these technologies can easily be misused to frighten, intimidate,
coerce, harass, and victimize unsuspecting users. Cyberstalking is
an entirely new form of deviant behavior that uses technology to
harass others in a variety of ways. In less than a decade, our
reliance on the Internet, email, instant messaging, chat rooms, and
other communications technologies has made cyberstalking a growing
social problem that can affect computer users anywhere in the
world. This is the first book devoted entirely to an examination of
cyberstalking, providing an overview of the problem, its causes and
consequences, and practical advice for protecting yourself and your
loved ones.
Although cyberstalking usually involves one person pursuing
another, this is not always the case. As the behavior has evolved,
it has come to include such acts as stock market fraud, identity
theft, sexual harassment, data theft, impersonation, consumer
fraud, computer monitoring, and attacks by political groups on
government services. More disturbingly, pornographers and
pedophiles have begun to use cyberstalking as a way of locating new
victims. While cyberstalking has become a worldwide problem, most
cases originate in the United States, making Americans the most
vulnerable group of targets. Bocij carefully delineates the
boundaries of cyberstalking, providing real-life examples, guidance
for avoiding the pitfalls, and suggestions for what to do if you
fall victim.
These bald facts, horrific as they are, do not begin to scratch the
surface of the truth about Robert Black, a Scottish-born serial
killer who undoubtedly committed further murders for which he was
never tried, both in this country and on the Continent. In this
ground-breaking account, Robert Giles, who has spent years tracing
the killer's movements and sifting through all the evidence,
including transcripts of the trials, convincingly argues that Black
was an habitual serial killer over many years, and quite certainly
responsible for more than the four child murders for which he was
convicted. Co-written with Chris Clark, a former police
intelligence officer whose tireless work into the Yorkshire Ripper
produced convincing new evidence of other murders that went
unnoticed or unrecorded, The Face of Evil shows once and for all
that Robert Black was a serial killer whose crimes went far beyond
what is generally believed. In doing so, it paints a portrait of
human cruelty at its worst.
Thembelani Ngenelwa is a personable 20-something guy who can't find
a good job in Cape Town. Like many of his peers, he goes to Jo'burg
in search of work and to catch up with old friends. After leaving a
friend's house in an informal settlement one night, Thembelani and
three companions are attacked by a group of gunmen. Running for
their lives, the friends scatter in all directions, and Thembelani
is chased after and shot five times at point-blank range, before
being dragged over a railway crossing to die. Having sustained such
serious injuries - and after being in a coma for four days - there
is little hope that Thembelani will survive. Through his own
tenacity, and the support of his friends and the hospital staff, he
makes a full recovery.
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Dear Kobe
(Hardcover)
Patricia Schwindt, Sidoeun Sean
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*The story that inspired the film Brian Banks* Discover the
unforgettable and inspiring true story of a young man who was
wrongfully convicted as a teenager and imprisoned for more than
five years, only to emerge with his spirit unbroken and determined
to achieve his dream of playing in the NFL. At age sixteen, Brian
Banks was a nationally recruited All-American Football player,
ranked eleventh in the nation as a linebacker. Before his
seventeenth birthday, he was in jail, awaiting trial for a heinous
crime he did not commit. Although Brian was innocent, his attorney
advised him that as a young black man accused of rape, he stood no
chance of winning his case at trial. Especially since he would be
tried as an adult. Facing a possible sentence of forty-one years to
life, Brian agreed to take a plea deal-and a judge sentenced him to
six years in prison. At first, Brian was filled with fear, rage,
and anger as he reflected on the direction his life had turned and
the unjust system that had imprisoned him. Brian was surrounded by
darkness, until he had epiphany that would change his life forever.
From that moment on, he made the choice to shed the bitterness and
anger he felt, and focus only on the things he had the power to
control. He approached his remaining years in prison with a
newfound resolve, studying spirituality, improving his social and
writing skills, and taking giant leaps on his journey toward
enlightenment. When Brian emerged from prison with five years of
parole still in front of him, he was determined to rebuild his life
and finally prove his innocence. Three months before his parole was
set to expire, armed with a shocking recantation from his accuser
and the help of the California Innocence Project, the truth about
his unjust incarceration came out and he was exonerated. Finally
free, Brian sought to recapture a dream once stripped away: to play
for the NFL. And at age twenty-eight, he made that dream come true.
Perfect for fans of Just Mercy, I Beat the Odds, and Infinite Hope,
this powerful memoir is a deep dive into the injustices of the
American justice system, a soul-stirring celebration of the
resilience of the human spirit, and an inspiring call to hold fast
to our dreams.
The first book ever written about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover by a
member of his personal staff-his former assistant, Paul
Letersky-offers unprecedented, "clear-eyed and compelling" (Mark
Olshaker, coauthor of Mindhunter) insight into an American legend.
The 1960s and 1970s were arguably among America's most turbulent
post-Civil War decades. While the Vietnam War continued seemingly
without end, protests and riots ravaged most cities, the Kennedys
and MLK were assassinated, and corruption found its way to the
highest levels of politics, culminating in Watergate. In 1965, at
the beginning of the chaos, twenty-two-year-old Paul Letersky was
assigned to assist the legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover who'd
just turned seventy and had, by then, led the Bureau for an
incredible forty-one years. Hoover was a rare and complex man who
walked confidently among the most powerful. His personal privacy
was more tightly guarded than the secret "files" he carefully
collected-and that were so feared by politicians and celebrities.
Through Letersky's close working relationship with Hoover, and the
trust and confidence he gained from Hoover's most loyal senior
assistant, Helen Gandy, Paul became one of the few able to enter
the Director's secretive-and sometimes perilous-world. Since
Hoover's death half a century ago, millions of words have been
written about the man and hundreds of hours of TV dramas and A-list
Hollywood films produced. But until now, there has been virtually
no account from someone who, for a period of years, spent hours
with the Director on a daily basis. Balanced, honest, and keenly
observed, this "vivid, foibles-and-all portrait of the fabled
scourge of gangsters, Klansmen, and communists" (The Wall Street
Journal) sheds new light on one of the most powerful law
enforcement figures in American history.
Discover how $55 million in cryptocurrency vanished in one of the
most bizarre thefts in history Out of the Ether: The Amazing Story
of Ethereum and the $55 Million Heist that Almost Destroyed It All
tells the astonishing tale of the disappearance of $55 million
worth of the cryptocurrency ether in June 2016. It also chronicles
the creation of the Ethereum blockchain from the mind of inventor
Vitalik Buterin to the ragtag group of people he assembled around
him to build the second-largest crypto universe after Bitcoin.
Celebrated journalist and author Matthew Leising tells the full
story of one of the most incredible chapters in cryptocurrency
history. He covers the aftermath of the heist as well, explaining
the extreme lengths the victims of the theft and the creators of
Ethereum went to in order to try and limit the damage. The book
covers: The creation of Ethereum An explanation of the nature of
blockchain and cryptocurrency The activities of a colorful cast of
hackers, coders, investors, and thieves Perfect for anyone with
even a passing interest in the world of modern fintech or daring
electronic heists, Out of the Ether is a story of genius and greed
that's so incredible you may just choose not to believe it.
"Gods of Mischief" is the harrowing, no-holds-barred true story of
a bad guy turned good who busted open one of the most violent
motorcycle gangs in history.
George Rowe's gritty and high-octane story offers not only a clear
window into the violent world of the motorcycle outlaw but a
gripping tale of self-sacrifice and human redemption that would be
the stuff of great fiction - if it weren't all true.
After witnessing the Vagos, one of the most dangerous biker gangs
in the country, brutally and senselessly beat his friend to near
death over a pool game, Rowe decided to pay back his Southern
California hometown for the sins of his past by bringing down the
gang that was terrorizing it. He volunteered as an undercover
informant and vowed to dismantle the brotherhood from the inside
out, becoming history's first private citizen to voluntarily
infiltrate an outlaw motorcycle gang for the U.S. government. Along
the way, Rowe lost everything: his family, his business, his home -
even his identity.
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are full of iconic places, beautiful landscapes and flourishing wildlife, but its past has seen horrifying and brutal crime of all sorts.
Life in the Highlands of the 19th century was not easy. The glens and moors were home to poachers and whisky smugglers, while the towns were often ready to explode into riot and disorder. Even the Hebridean seas had their dangers, while the Islands seethed with discontent.
Whisky Wars looks behind the façade of romantic tartan and vast estates. As well as petty thefts and assaults, the Highlands had a coastal town where riots were endemic, an island rocked by a triple murder, a mob besieging Dornoch jail and religious troubles on the Black Isle. Add the thief who targeted tourist hotels and an Exciseman hanged for forgery, and a hidden history is unearthed in all its unique detail.
A fascinating insight into life in the Highlands and Islands as the forces of law and order battled to bring peace to a troubled land.
'Throws off the cloak of romance and shows the land was rife with all manner of crime' - SCOTS MAGAZINE
'History buffs and crime fans will be equally intrigued by this atmospheric account of the law-makers and law-breakers of past times' - DAILY RECORD
Previously published as Whisky Wars, Riots and Murder
What really happened before, during and just after the sensational,
Prohibition era murder of the police chief by the town's most
admired physician has been saved from oblivion by this book by
retired newspaper editor Wint Capel, "The Good Doctor's Downfall."
The author dug up the facts and has arranged them to show in great
detail how brilliant Dr. J. W. Peacock ambushed the young, arrogant
police chief, John Taylor, on a busy downtown street in
Thomasville, a small North Carolina factory town. The doctor
finished him off with a World War I souvenir, a German Luger. The
doctor, also a city councilman, and the chief began feuding after
the chief decided to crackdown on those, like the doctor, who
ignored the laws against gambling and drinking. The feud became
unbelievably bitter and explosive. By the time of the attack
downtown, the doctor had been convinced, "It's either him or me."
In a trial that featured the best legal minds in North Carolina,
the doctor barely escaped the electric chair. Then, a year later,
he escaped a prison for the criminally insane. He managed to outrun
them all. Only a horrible accident in California could rob him of
his freedom.
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