Editorial: BookRix
Lock the doors and bolt the windows once again, it's time to countdown the one hundred deadliest British serial killers in history. What follows is a darkly fascinating parade of some of the worst and most frightening people ever to hail from Blighty...
You've read the shocking one-sided tale of international drug kingpin Owen Hanson in Rolling Stone, VICE, and the LA Times—but now he's ready to tell his side of the story. A surfer kid from Redondo Beach, California, Owen Hanson was still in his twenties when he found himself the leader of a multi-million-dollar criminal empire. What began as an attempt to fit in with the rich kids at the University of Southern California soon grew into gambling and loan sharking, which then opened the door to drug trafficking and money laundering. Hanson wasn't just involved in this stuff—he excelled at it. Living the fast-paced lifestyle of the rich and famous, Hanson felt he was finally making his father proud, never mind the questionable ethics and obvious danger of it all. But with the cartel, a serious drug-abuse problem, and the pursuit of the FBI all threatening to overtake him, it wouldn't be long before his lifestyle caught up with him. The California Kid follows Owen from his roots as a USC star athlete from a broken home, where his idolization of the rich and famous began, to his descent down a dangerous path where he would stop at nothing to earn the love and acceptance of his absent mother and the respect of his father. The story that follows is almost too wild to believe—but Owen bears the twenty-one-year sentence to prove it.Ver libro
"I have committed many acts of cruelty and had an incalculable number of men killed, never knowing whether what I did was right. But I am indifferent to what people think of me." - Genghis Khan A spine-chilling chronicle of dictators and their crimes against humanity, Tyrants introduces the most bloodthirsty madmen - and women - ever to wield power over their unfortunate fellow human beings. From Herod the Great, persecutor of the infant Jesus, to Adolf Hitler, mass murderer and instigator of the most devastating war the world has ever known, this book examines history's most infamous despots and tells in vivid detail the story of the lives they led, their ruthless climb to the top and the destruction and sorrow they left in their wake. Unflinching in its coverage, Tyrants is a gripping and compelling portrait of the darker side of politics and power, revealing the strange and grisly stories behind the world's most infamous autocrats.Ver libro
Beyond the Horizon: How Intelligence Limits Led to the Pearl Harbor Failure offers a compelling analysis of one of history's most infamous intelligence failures — the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Drawing on historical evidence and cognitive science, this thesis explores the systemic issues in U.S. intelligence operations leading up to the attack, including shortcomings in collection, analysis, and management. These failures were not solely the result of institutional flaws but were deeply rooted in human decision-making's inherent cognitive and behavioral limitations. The book highlights how intelligence professionals can learn from the past to anticipate and mitigate future threats by uncovering these constraints. Packed with insightful lessons and actionable recommendations, Beyond the Horizon is a vital resource for intelligence officers, policymakers, and historians. It emphasizes the importance of adapting to human limitations to protect against potential surprises.Ver libro
One woman's hilarious and fascinating quest to expose the truth behind fraudulent Twitter profiles: romance scammers beware, you have met your match! Online romance fraud is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. This is the story of one middle-aged woman in a cardigan determined to understand this growing phenomenon. No other woman has had so many online romances—from Keanu Reeves to Brad Pitt to Prince William—and Becky Holmes is a favorite among peacekeeping soldiers and oil rig workers who desperately need iTunes vouchers. By winding up scammers and investigating the truth behind their profiles, Becky shines a revealing, revolting, and hilarious light on a very shady corner of the internet. Featuring first-hand accounts of victims, examples of scripts used by fraudsters, a look into the psychology of fraud and of course plenty of Becky's hysterical interactions with scammers, this is a must-listen for anyone who needs a reminder that Keanu Reeves is NOT in love with them.Ver libro
In the depths of confinement, where the walls are more than just bricks and mortar but a constant reminder of lost opportunities, an unexpected force emerged: food. This story is not just about escape in the traditional sense, but about breaking free from the psychological and emotional prisons that can often be more suffocating than physical ones. It is a testament to the unyielding human spirit, its capacity for creativity and resilience even in the most stifling of conditions. Incarceration is a test of endurance. Every day is marked by repetition, isolation, and the stripping away of autonomy. It’s easy to feel like hope is a distant dream, slipping further away with each passing hour. But in the midst of despair, something remarkable happened—a plan was forged in the most unlikely of places: the prison kitchen. It was here, in a space designed to merely nourish the body, that a group of individuals came to realize the power of food as a vehicle for something greater: freedom. The idea didn’t start as a grand blueprint or a well-thought-out escape plan. It began with the simple, shared joy of creating something from limited ingredients, turning mundane meals into small acts of rebellion. The kitchen, a place that was simultaneously a site of routine and surveillance, became a sanctuary for ingenuity. It was a space where culinary skills, often honed outside the confines of prison walls, found new purpose in the service of something far more important than sustenance—it became the key to unlocking doors that seemed forever closed.Ver libro
In 2018, after nearly a decade's hiatus, the state of Tennessee began executing death row inmates, bucking national trends that showed the death penalty in decline. In less than two years, the state put seven men to death. It was an execution spree unlike any seen in Tennessee since the 1940s, only brought to a halt by a global pandemic. Award-winning journalist Steven Hale was the leading reporter on these executions, covering them both locally for the Nashville Scene alt-weekly and nationally for The Appeal. In Death Row Welcomes You, Hale traces the lives of condemned prisoners at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution—and the people who come to visit them. What brought them—the visitors and convicted murderers alike—to death row? The visitors are, for the most part, not activists—or at least they did not start out that way. Nor are they the sort of killer-obsessed death row groupies such settings sometimes attract. In fact, in most cases they are average people whose lives, not to mention their views on the death penalty, were turned upside down by a face-to-face meeting with a death row prisoner. Combining the fascinating topics of crime, death, and life inside prison, Hale writes with humanity, empathy, and insight earned by befriending death row prisoners . . . and standing witness to their final moments.Ver libro
