Other books that might interest you

• 

  Inside Man - Life As An Irish...

  Philip Ray

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In 1977, Philip Bray joined the Irish prison service, working in Limerick Prison. At the time, prisons were places where pillows, blankets and even food were scarce. Most prisoners were illiterate and luxuries such as televisons and books were unheard of. Over the following thirty years, Philip bore witness to dramatic changes in the prison service.
  Inside Man is an account of life inside Ireland's first female high-security prison in Limerick – a place where wealthy Englishwoman-come-IRA-operative Rose Dugdale's pregnancy infamously went unnoticed and feuding gangland families shared cells with the 'Dublin Mafia', whose imprisonment fuelled a violent protest.
  An account of a career lived at the epicentre of Ireland's turbulent recent decades, Inside Man was the winner of The Tubridy Show / Gill True Story competition in May 2007, seeing off almost 2000 other entrants.

  Show book

• 

  Catastrophe - The Story of...

  Deborah Strober

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In this comprehensive account of Bernie Madoff's epic Ponzi scheme, Catastrophe exposes the real story behind the financial mastermind's upstanding façade—his confession, his family's involvement, and his unlikely rise and incredible crash. The book defines and explains the whole diabolical debacle, including how Madoff evaded SEC watchdogs and how his far-reaching crime pervaded the world. With first-hand accounts from his victims, the book peels back Madoff's persona layer by layer, revealing how he developed his elaborate deceit and how and why he targeted and scammed the world of Jewish philanthropy. Complete with the famous whistle-blower letter to the SEC, the Madoff company mission statement, SEC filings, and a list of victims—from housewives to household names—Catastrophe offers a complete look at the white-collar crime of the century, one that will leave readers astounded in disbelief.

  Show book

• 

  All Along the Watchtower -...

  William J. Craig

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The controversy around the case of a former Green Beret’s murder of his wife shows the lengths the government will go to to keep its secrets hidden. It was a dreary winter afternoon in Ayer, Massachusetts, a quintessential New England town, the type which is romanticized in Robert Frost’s poems. But on January 30, 1979, a woman’s scream was heard piercing the northeast tempest wind. In an unassuming apartment building on Washington Street, Elaine Tyree, a mother, wife, and US Army soldier, had her life brutally ripped from her. Her husband, William Tyree, a Special Forces soldier, was convicted of this heinous murder, which he has always vehemently denied. Some elements of this case seem to be chilling echoes of the Jeffrey MacDonald case, made famous in the book and film Fatal Vision. A military doctor and US Army Captain, MacDonald was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters but always maintained his innocence. As in the MacDonald case, the case against William Tyree raises questions as to whether the government and military suppressed evidence that could prove his innocence. The Tyree case sent a shockwave through the idyllic community of Ayer, the United States Army, and the judicial system of Massachusetts. This case provoked suspicions of judicial misconduct, government cover-up, clandestine Black Ops by the military, and various conspiracy theories ultimately implicating “Deep State” involvement. The events that took place that fateful day, the subsequent courtroom showdown, and the ongoing legal battles raise provocative questions that continue to revolve around this case to this day.

  Show book

• 

  Real or Fake - Studies in...

  Joe Nickell

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The man who is “the embodiment of the Mythbusters, Sherlock Holmes, and Richard Feynman” weeds out the treasures from the shams in artifact investigations (Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine). 
   
  Detailing how the pros determine whether an Abraham Lincoln signature is forged or if a photograph of Emily Dickinson is genuine, Nickell, a leader in forgery detection and forensic investigation, provides the essential tools necessary to identify counterfeits. In this general introduction to the principles of authentication, Nickell provides readers with step-by-step explanations of the science used to detect falsified documents, photographs, and other objects, illustrating methods used on hit shows such as Antiques Roadshow and History Detectives. 
   
  Including fascinating cases drawn from Nickell’s illustrious career, Real or Fake combines historical and scientific investigations to reveal reproductions and genuine objects. Nickell explains the warning signs of forgery, such as patching and unnatural pen lifts; chronicles the evolution of writing instruments, inks, and papers; shows readers how to date photographs, papers, and other materials; and traces the development of photographic processes since the mid-nineteenth century. Lavishly illustrated with examples of replicas and authentic objects inspected by Nickell, Real or Fake includes case studies of alleged artifacts including Jack the Ripper’s diary, a draft of the Gettysburg Address, notes by Charles Dickens, Jefferson Davis’s musket, and debris from the Titanic. 
   
  “An expert on antique ink and paper, and the forensic analysis of historic documents.” —The New Yorker 
   
  “Nickell advocates a multifaceted approach that looks at provenance, content, material composition, and scientific analysis.” —Maine Antique Digest

  Show book

• 

  Vinny Gorgeous - The Ugly Rise...

  Anthony M. DeStefano

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  A vain man of good looks, small means, and no family links to the mob, Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano steadily worked his way up to acting boss of the Bonanno crime family, becoming its leader when official boss Joseph Massino went to the clink in 2003. But at a time when the Mob was crawling with secret operatives and informants caving to government pressure to flip, Basciano obeyed the code of La Cosa Nostra. "I got faith in one guy," he told a group of mobsters during a secretly taped meeting. That man was Joseph Massino, head of the Bonanno borgata. But for all his loyalty, Basciano was still a hot-headed, cold-blooded killer, which led to his arrest. Then, in a remarkable betrayal that shook the Five Families to their foundation, Massino secretly cooperated with the FBI-the first official boss ever to roll over. As a result, Basciano faced the death penalty, but a federal jury, disturbed by the prosecution's use of criminal informants, reached a surprising verdict. Veteran crime author Anthony M. DeStefano tells the riveting story of the last true believer in the Mob's cult of brotherhood and how he was betrayed by the only man he ever trusted.

  Show book

• 

  Death Sentence - The True Story...

  Jerry Bledsoe

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In this “true story that reads like a novel,” the #1 New York Times–bestselling author reveals the facts behind a notorious Southern murder case (Library Journal).   When North Carolina farmer Stuart Taylor died after a sudden illness, his forty-six-year-old fiancée, Velma Barfield, was overcome with grief. Taylor’s family grieved with her—until the autopsy revealed traces of arsenic poisoning. Turned over to the authorities by her own son, Velma stunned her family with more revelations. This wasn’t the first time she had committed cold-blooded murder, and she would eventually be tried by the “world’s deadliest prosecutor” and sentenced to death.   This book probes Velma’s stark descent into madness, her prescription drug addiction, and her effort to turn her life around through Christianity. From her harrowing childhood to the crimes that incited a national debate over the death penalty, to the final moments of her execution, Velma Barfield’s life of crime and punishment, revenge and redemption, this is crime reporting at its most gripping and profound.   “A painfully intimate, moving story about the life and death of the only woman executed in the U.S. between 1962–1998 . . . With graceful writing and thorough reporting, it makes the reader look hard at something dark and sad in the human soul . . . Breathes new life into the true crime genre.” —The News & Observer   “Undertakes to answer the questions about the justice system and the motives that drive women to kill.” —The Washington Post Book World   “An extraordinary piece of writing . . . The most chilling description of a legal execution that we are ever likely to get.” —Citizen-Times   “Taut and engrossing on the nature of justice and the death penalty as well as on guilt and responsibility.” —Booklist

  Show book