Customer Reviews:
Other Books.......2007-09-03
Not as interesting as Papillon, but that is probably also partly because you know what to expect, and it is also not the same setting. Less smuggling gear up the date, that sort of thing. After the nastiness of a prison island, I suppose this is not that surprising that it does not girp you in the same way.
Banco - Disappointing after the success of "Papillon".......2004-10-24
Usually I'm not very critical about books, but I feel like I have to make an exception. I STRONGLY advise to just read "Papillon" and keep it with that. Papillon is such a strong, adventurous and exciting story that you just want it to continue after you've turned the last page.
The first thing I did after reading Papillon, was going to the bookstore to buy Banco, expecting interesting details about his further life and adventures. Most of all I wondered if he would return to Lali and Zoraïma.
I regret to say that I have never read such a disappointing "sequel" before. Although the life of Henri Charrière is probably more adventurous than most of ours, the story really never gained my attention. The power of "Papillon" was that the story was enormously strong and it had an obvious focus. In "Banco" there isn't a focus at all, it just consists of a bunch of hardly interesting anecdotes. There isn't really ANY decent link between the story from "Papillon" and the life of Charrière as portraied in Banco.
For those who are interested if Charrière returns to lali and Zoraïma, I'll only give the hint that there are probably two lines spent on them in Banco. Let's make it clear, I am a HUGE fan of "Papillon", but that is exactly the reason that I would'nt advise anybody to buy Banco, unless they have sleeping problems.
A Magical Finale.......2004-08-18
didn't papillon leave you wishing he stayed with the pearl diver's in paradise, instead of being tempted back to civilization by its siren song? Well it turns out there is a lot more to this tale than the first book would have you guess, but surely papillon has many adventures before him, and good ones too, if i may be the judge. it seems everyone knows about the first book, because of the movie, and no one ever seems to realize there is more. if you made it this far to read my review, you just got to give banco a read. how papillon comes to peace with himself and his world IS THE STORY! i would rate this book higher than five if i could!
The Evolution of a Man.......2003-07-01
Unlike some of the other reviewers who did not care much for "BANCO", I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Now, I confess not to have yet read "PAPILLON". So, my critique of "BANCO" is not reflective of what "PAPILLON" was about.
"BANCO" takes up from where "PAPILLON" left off. The author has escaped into Venezuela. He is deeply embittered and finds it difficult at first to readjust to life on the outside. He is set on revenge for he feels that he was framed for a crime he did not commit. As a way of working out his anger, the author becomes involved in an elaborate plan to stage a big robbery so that he can not only enrich himself, but also return to Europe and exact his revenge. While set on his plans for revenge, however, the author finds love and peace of mind.
"BANCO" stands as a fine example of what a person is capable of achieving in terms of self-improvement and spiritual renewal. When I finished reading this book, I felt very happy for the author, who had learned to cast aside the anger and rage he had bottled up inside himself during his imprisonment on Devil's Island, and find an inner peace for himself.
'Papillon part deux' disappoints.........2003-04-21
Everyone who reads 'Banco' does so because he/she was completely enthralled with 'Papillon' and are curious as to what happens to Monsieur Charriere. But this reader was foolish enough to think 'Banco' would be as good as 'Papillon'. Sadly, this sequel is a mere shadow of the original.
Why? Firstly, the book is poorly structured. The author bounces around quite a bit leaving discarding characters in its wake. He is also too selective on what he wants to say about his life. For example he does not tell us at all about his French wife even upon returning to France to meet with the rest of his family. And the final fifty pages are an over-blown flashback to his original trial where he claims emphatically that he was framed, perjured against, etc. After so many cries of "I'm innocent, really!!!" I'm beginning to wonder.
Still, overall I do recommend 'Banco' to those who have just finished 'Papillon'. Just don't expect so much and you won't be disappointed.
Book Description
This is the outrageous story of how “Hawkeye” went from flying combat missions in Vietnam to smuggling dope by the boat and plane load into the U.S. from Colombia. His amusing reflections of his adventures and misadventures offer a vivid and accurate portrayal of the drug-smuggling world of the late 1960s and 1970s, with its colorful cast of war heroes, dealers, middlemen and addicts.
Customer Reviews:
Adventure & excitement in the post vietnam smuggling culture.......1999-12-20
Set back in the heyday of drug smuggling, before it became organized and much more deadly, Hawkeye's book is a must for anyone who just enjoys stories of action, adventure, humor and nail biting suspense. Part autobiographical and part how-to, Mr. Gross introduces you to a host of characters that Hollywood would salivate to weave a story around, from a hot headed, often times bizarre leader to a dentist with no teeth. The early chapters are a bit slow but neccessary to set the stage for post vietnam personalities. Once they got the planes in the air and the boats on the water, Gross delivers a definate page turner. Before heroin and coke turned smuggling into a dirty subject and a very deadly pastime, with crack-heads, drive-bys and the infiltration of drugs into our schools, there was a subculture of happy hippie marijuana smokers and the adventurous, sometimes half-crazy sugglers who brought the product in. Hawkeye makes great efforts to portray the smuggling life as, in short, quite fun, but full of misfits, misorganization and miracles, the miracles being any decent marijuana entering the country at all. A very fun week and a half of reading. Suspend your judgement on what laws they may have been breaking or what criminals they may have been and just enjoy the adventure of it all. Ranks right there with Jerry Kamstra's Weed. Well done, Mr. Gross.
Book Description
From New York to San Francisco, Times Square to the Tenderloin, graffiti artists, young people, radical environmentalists, and the homeless clash with police on city streets in an attempt take back urban spaces from the developers and "disneyfiers". Drawing on more than a decade of first-hand research, this lively account goes inside the worlds of street musicians, homeless punks, militant bicycle activists, high-risk "BASE jump" parachutists, skateboarders, outlaw radio operators, and hip hop graffiti artists, to explore the day-to-day skirmishes in the struggle over public life and public space.
Customer Reviews:
URBAN AESTHETICS FOR EVERYDAY LIFE.......2007-05-21
One of the most important books I have read for the reclaiming of social space in an increasingly controlled and legislated urban landscape. His discussion of hotel cleaning women working on a Sunday morning in different rooms while singing Gospel music with each other is alone worth the cost of the book. The book is mandatory reading for anyone doing public art or performance, writing about it, or just trying to figure out why the Paris Commune is so important to understanding life in the city.
Book Description
Adventures in Criminal Justice Research: Data Analysis for Windows ® Using SPSS ™ Versions 11.0/11.5, or Higher, Third Edition is the only book that guides students through a series of investigative adventures in criminal justice research using current General Social Survey data and the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Authors George W. Dowdall, Kim Logio, Earl Babbie, and Fred Halley offer students practical experience using version 11.0 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), the most popular professional program available for criminal justice data analysis. Emphasizing use of the Web for research, the authors explain how to conduct surveys, analyze data, and present findings.
This
Third Edition has been extensively updated to include
- Step-by-step instruction in the use of SPSS 11.0 or higher
- Over 150 Windows screen captures to facilitate program navigation
- A CD-ROM with data sets, appendixes, learning exercises, and quizzes
- Variables from the 2000 General Social Survey
- Access to national and worldwide criminal justice data
Adventures in Criminal Justice Research can be used with SPSS version 11.0 or higher for Windows 95, 98, or XP. Encouraging the analysis of students’ own interests and insights, this concise text provides a hands-on introduction to the intellectual skills of conceptualization, measurement, and association.
Designed as a supplementary text for both beginning and advanced students in research methods for criminology and criminal justice courses,
Adventures in Criminal Justice Research may also be of interest to students in research methods courses in public administration and sociology.
Book Description
SOMETIMES THE DEAD WON'T GO AWAY.
Lionel Bruno Jordan was murdered on January 20, 1995, in an El Paso parking lot, but he keeps coming back as the skeleton key to a multibillion-dollar drug industry, two corrupt governments -- one called the United States and the other Mexico -- and a self-styled War on Drugs that is a fraud.
Phil Jordan runs DEA intelligence, but when his brother Bruno is killed, he is powerless. Amado Carrillo Fuentes runs the most successful drug business in the history of the world, but when his usefulness to governments ceases, he mysteriously dies in a hospital. Carlos Salinas runs Mexico, but as soon as he leaves office, his brother is jailed for murder and Salinas flees into exile. Sal Martinez, DEA agent and Bruno's cousin, does the secret work of the U.S. government in Mexico, but when he seeks revenge for his cousin's murder, he is sentenced to a term in federal prison.
Beneath all the policy statements and bluster of politicians is a real world of lies, pain, and money.
Down by the River is the tale of how a murder led one American family into this world and how it all but destroyed them. Of how one Mexican drug leader outfought and outthought the U.S. government. Of how major financial institutions fattened on the drug industry. And how the governments of the United States and Mexico buried everything that happened.
All this comes together down by the river, a place where the fictions finally end and the facts read like fiction. This is an unforgettable American story about drugs, money, murder, and family.
Customer Reviews:
Best book I've read in a long time!!!.......2007-08-22
This book I just couldn't put down. The story was a real heart breaker and the book full of information. I learned more history on Mexico's government then I ever did in school. I am astounded at what I didn't know about my government!?! From the refernece list I have picked 2 other novels I am currently reading. Great job Charles Bowden!!! I can't wait for the movie!!!
AS GOOD A PLACE TO START AS ANY...........2007-07-12
When I read this book, back in Dec. 2002, I didn't realize just how it would change my life. It altered my perception of reality forever and I am 60 years old. Mr. Bowden has made a compelling case for the failure of the War on Drugs. In heartbreaking detail he summarizes the story of a family in El Paso who suffered greatly as a result of their child being murdered by another child. But the background to the War on Drugs is as byzantine, complicated and murderous as it gets. Its as if the average U. S. citizen lives in a completely alternate universe where this issue is concerned. It also explains why millions of illegal immigrants cross our borders every decade. Five years after reading this book, I am still affected by it every day. May I suggest Sibel Edmond's gag order case and the MadCowMorningNews as another place to go to understand the nexus between terrorism and drug trafficking, greed and money laundering. Great book--though a complicated read at times---images of the desert are beautifully described.
Another Reason to Kill the Immigration Bill.......2007-06-27
Charles Bowden has written a well documented story of a span of time in the drug history of the U.S./Mexico border. Certain drug cartels intertwine and are involved with the same several families for years. Thousands of people are put into bondage, murdered or disappeared with little or no trace of them ever again. Many Mexican politicians, even a president or two, are involved with the drug scene and with stealing and removing to other countries, the wealth of Mexico. One murder, which is never solved conclusively, has enormous impact on the life of one DEA officer and on the survival of his extended family. It's a raw picture of one of the reasons to not allow wholesale amnesty of illegal aliens.
BEST BOOK I'VE READ IN 20 YEARS!.......2006-10-18
This book is brilliant! Only gifted readers will be comfortable reading it though because it is an incredible read! THE TRUTH WILL AMAZE YOU if you are clever enough to hang onto the pages as you turn them!
I admire Mr. Bowden so much because this book is based on 7 1/2 years of research and detective work. The detective work starts with one individual and spirals into a nonfictional mystery of global proportions leading the reader to a place where their reality of what being a U.S. citizen means is forever changed.
THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR EVERY CITIZEN IN THE UNITED STATES!! EVERY PARENT SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!
"Saying NO to Drugs"... isn't working folks!! THE WAR ON DRUGS is a BLOG to keep the average American from reading books such as this!
Our leaders are making sure the drug problem won't go away . THIS IS A PROFOUND BOOK ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND THE ERASING OF OUR DEMOCRACY.
Thank you Mr. Bowden for having the courage to write it!
A soap opera of the drug war.......2006-07-23
Though I tried my best, I could not stumble through this poorly written soap opera of a book. Bowden jumps from place to place and time to time trying, I think, to create an air of mystery or intrigue. He fails and creates instead the literary equivalent of your crazy aunt telling an alcohol induced tale of her youth at the yearly Christmas party.
He intersperses his confusing narrative with piles upon piles of facts, without bothering to source them or relate them in any way to the story line, or to stick to a single tense. His endless repetitions of the deeds of Amado Carillo make the man more boring every time. Bowden wails on and on where a brief description would have sufficed.
There are many other books which deal with the history (Spillane's 'Cocaine') the social aspects (Massing's 'The Fix') or the racial problems (Blakeslee's 'Tulia') of cocaine and, no doubt, hundreds of interesting books about the border. Bowden's is not among these. For a captivating and informative examination of cocaine, read Dominic Streatfield's 'Cocaine.' His writing is clear, interesting and funny. He includes interviews with a number of important players in the field (Gary Webb, the Ochoa brothers...) and very interesting facts.
Bowden creates a sickening mire of useless facts, mysticism and bad writing that's not worth the effort of opening.
Book Description
Did Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid die in a Bolivian shootout in 1908? Or did the gentlemen outlaws survive to return to the United States and a new day, as some old-timers, relatives, and historians contend? Lawyer-turned-writer Anne Meadows sets out to solve the mystery of what really happened to them. Accompanied by her husband, historian Dan Buck, she tracks the outlaws and the enigmatic Etta Place through South America, where they fled in 1901. In Digging Up Butch and Sundance, Meadows and Buck rove the pampas of Argentina, deserts of Chile, and sierras of Bolivia; pore over faded newspapers and musty documents; exhume skeletons with the aid of forensic anthropologist Clyde Snow; and unearth eyewitness accounts of Butch and Sundance’s final holdup and the Bolivian shootout.
While filling in the blanks in the Wild Bunch saga, Meadows explores the nature of truth and discovers how myths are made. This revised edition draws on newly discovered letters by the bandits and interviews by the Argentine police who investigated their activities. It also includes fresh information about William T. Phillips, who claimed to be Butch Cassidy.
Customer Reviews:
Digging up the truth.......2002-11-20
Digging Up Butch and Sundance is as engrossing as any fictional detective story, thanks to Anne Meadows' exceptional writing style and dogged pursuit of the facts. She brings to life the men behind the myth, and deals with a wealth of confusing and conflicting accounts with clarity and intelligence, spicing her story with numerous fascinating details about her and her husband's countless trips to South America in search of the truth. While her final answers may not have solved the mystery of the outlaws' fate with 100% certainty, she has done more than anyone else to come to a solution, which is certain to satisfy all but the most of skeptical of critics. May be the most complete (and accurate) book about their final days, and is likely to remain so. Highly recommended.
An awesome information source about Butch and Sundance!.......2002-08-09
We loved the Butch and Sundance we saw on the screen. Their humor, looks and everything else. But sadly, we gained not quite enough information on the two except their robbing career, loves and their escape to Bolivia.(Ha!)
So, for those of you who want to know more about the two outlaws, I strongly suggest Anne Meadows book, DIGGING UP BUTCH AND SUNDANCE.
I am not quite done with the book yet. It's a big read. But from what I have read so far, I have learned a lot about the two. Anne Meadows takes us to a home and other places where Cassidy and the Kid were said to have stayed and visited. She gives us detailed information about their lives, robberies and even room to doubt about their final fight. There has been speculation about whether or not they died in the last battle in Bolivia and whether that battle even occured. I haven't reached that far in the book yet, but I like it so far and encourage anyone who is interested to read DIGGING UP BUTCH AND SUNDANCE.
Anne Meadows did an excellent job in writing this book. Don't pass it up!
History Brought Alive.......2002-05-04
Meadows, an exceptionally skillful writer, takes you along on a fascinating adventure to uncover the remains of two of the old west's most colorful outlaws. You feel you are right there at the side of the author and her husband every step of the way as they try to solve the mystery of the famous outlaw pair's last days. It's a trip well worth the taking. Highly recommended.
On the trail of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.......1998-06-16
I must admit that in my mind the myths around Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid were all tied up with the 1969 movie starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. I had a vague idea that the characters were based on real people, but I wasn't very curious about them. Then I ran across this book. I meant to give it a desultory glance, but I got hooked by the charming George Leroy Parker aka Butch Cassidy and his hothead partner, Harry Longabaugh aka the Sundance Kid. I found myself peering at the photographs and thinking, "They were real!" I was particularly entranced with the mysterious Etta Place (if that was actually her name). This is a very entertaining account of obsessive sleuthing. The author and her husband even went to Bolivia and witnessed the digging up of remains of an outlaw purported to be Sundance. Ms. Meadows reaches no definite conclusions, and that's just fine with me. Perhaps if we knew exactly what happened to them, they wouldn't be so intriguing.
Customer Reviews:
FANTASTIC!!.......2005-07-09
Was an excellent book! It portrays the stories of a NYPD officer that honestly describes life 'trying' to protect the Ghetto in the roughest neighborhood within East New York (Brooklyn). It is a must have for all the individuals interested in true police stories. It is a short and sweet type of book that will have you wanting more. Out of all the cop books that I have read, this one is number one on my list. Poss shows the truth behind police work in the NYPD. Crime has gone down in the 75th Precinct, East New York, but this book shows how bad it can get in there. He displays the politics of the NYPD and why cops act the way they do when they are dispatched to calls. This is a must have book.
Best Book about being a NYC Cop!.......2002-03-25
I have alot of first hand experince with this subject matter and can tell you that this book will give a reader the best idea of what working on the NYPD is like. I read the book in one sitting it was that good. I don't normaly read cop books, but I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what they do. The author pulls no punches when he describes the job and he lays out the nature of the beast in an unheroic and truthful manner. The book is the best education a person can get on being a NYC cop without actually having to wear the uniform. Joe Poss and Henry Schlesinger have really put together an exceptional book. Well done! A review from one of the finest.
I have learned a lot about police work and really liked it.......2001-05-12
The best non-fiction book about police work!
Average customer rating:
|
Adventures in Criminal Justice
George W. Dowdall
Manufacturer: Pine Forge Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0761986065 |
Average customer rating:
|
Adventures in Criminology
Sir Radzinowicz
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Social Scientists & Psychologists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Sociologists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Penology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0415198755 |
Book Description
Sir Leon Radzinowicz is one of the key figures in the development of criminology in the twentieth century. This account of the development of criminology intertwines his personal narrative as a criminologist with the progression of criminology itself.
Average customer rating:
|
"Crimes and Criminals": "The Adventures of T.V. JOE"
James W. Metcalf
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Women
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1418428531 |
Books:
- Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America
- Being Geniuses Together, 1920-1930
- Bird Songs
- Charles Dickens Four Complete Novels (Great Expectations, Hard Times, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities)
- Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character
- Cloudy Jewel (Grace Livingston Hill #84)
- Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?
- Cross
- Darwin's Radio
- Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Hell and High Water: Global Warming--the Solution and the Politics--and What We Should Do
- Zen Shorts
- Secret Missions, The Story of an Intelligence Officer
- Skateboarding, Space and the City: Architecture and the Body
- The Mcdougall Program: 12 Days to Dynamic Health
- West Side Story
- Walk With Y'Shua Through the Jewish Year
- Inside Secrets to Finding a Career in Technology
- San Francisco Job Source- The Only Source You Need to Land the Job of Your Choice in Northern Califo
- The Portable Thoreau
Papillon
Papillon (P.S.)
The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom
Papillon
As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
