Nevada Books

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the English language. The writing is amusing and flows well. It is informative and entertaining. If you don't buy it at least check it out at the library.

Here are a few sentences from a short article that appeared Nov 21, 2004 in the Washington (DC) Post BOOKWORLD. It was this article that made me interested in this book.

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In the 1950s Walter Van Tilburg Clark seemed on his way to becoming a major American writer, both a popular and a critical success. His first and third novels, "The Ox-Bow Incident" and "The Track of the Cat", were made into movies. And one of his short stories, "The Wind and the Snow of Winter," an elegy for freewheeling days on the Western frontier that still has few equals, was an immediate classic. ... Today Clark, who died in 1971, is at least in print: all three novels, along with "The Watchful Gods and Other Stories", the collection in which "The Wind and the Snow of Winter" appears. But he has become an in-crowd kind of writer, championed by a Stendhalian happy few, such as Wallace Stegner, and otherwise getting little attention.

The author had the advantage of actually meeting people who had had direct dealings with Siegel -- they are probably all gone by now, I am sure.

So, we find that this account provides almost all the information that we have available about the man. The work is seminal in the sense that later books almost all use it as a source; true or not, you will gain little additional knowledge from other sources.

The book contains some interesting photos. The house in which he was killed in 1947 is still there in Beverly Hills, and looks the same.

Life in the Old West was perilous and uncertain. There were fortunes to be made in the gold fields and in the enterprises that followed the gold rush. Yet law enforcement was not well-established, and stagecoach and train robbers could wipe out a fortune as quickly as it was made. The Wells, Fargo Company needed a way to protect the great sums of money its coaches were responsible for delivering. It hired James B. Hume, a California lawman, to take charge of its detective bureau in 1873.

James Hume was a different breed from the stereotypical western lawman who winked at civil rights and abused authority. He was just as concerned that an innocent man be kept out of jail as he was that he find the guilty man. And he had an impressive record of catching the guilty man, the most famous being Black Bart, the "Po8" stage coach robber.

Pioneering methods of criminal investigation which are now used widely, James Hume dug pellets out of a dead stage horse in order to do a ballistics test, and he tracked down Black Bart with the laundry mark from his handkerchief. Determined but patient, he logged an impressive number of solved cases.

This biography by Richard Dillon reads as smoothly as a novel. He used James Hume's own letters and diaries, which are in the Wells, Fargo Museum in San Francisco, for his research as very little had been written about Hume's life. He not only relates the fascinating events of Hume's public life but mines his personality as well and finds a heroic and likable figure.

In a time when we could use more heroes, I enjoyed reading about a real-life hero who contributed to the colorful past of the West and still maintained his integrity.

Nevada politics, for all the billions of dollars the state's economy produces, operates at a small-town level. Nearly all the players know each other, tasty gossip travels fast, and people do shocking things. This book chronicles a series of events most Nevadans would find unbelievable if the story weren't so thoroughly and undeniably documented.
Donald Dickerson's untangling of this labyrinthine conspiracy makes clear how two attorneys managed to convince the state's biggest newspaper that two justices of the Nevada Supreme Court--one the most liberal, the other the most conservative--plotted together to conceal the supposed improprieties of District Court Judge Whitehead, and traces how a few well-placed lies--no matter how improbable on their face--snowballed and crushed the careers of three distinguished jurists. The stunning aspect of the story is the way in which state leaders such as the Attorney General, other justices and the Governor, who knew the truth had their own sins to conceal; some of them stood aside and allowed injustice to prevail; some eagerly and criminally joined the conspiracy--or may even have begun it.
Nevada is a small state, and its legal community is tiny. Since the conspiracy ran from 1993 throught 1996, most of the characters involved are alive, and the guilty and those who declined to speak up still live in that community with the victims.
If Dickerson's strength is his clarity in leading us through the labyrinth, his weakness is in allowing his anger to overheat his prose, though his anger is more than justified.
Dickerson wisely included in the book a CD, packed with the actual documents in the case. Anyone who doubts this incredible story can view the documents and read the testimony. The most astonishing document is the transcript of the testimony of a law partner of the married attorneys who launched the conspiracy by leaking documents apparently faxed to them from the Attorney General's office. The partner's testimony about the atmosphere in her law firm as her partners feverishly telephoned, secretly met co-conspirators, leaked information, examined the results in the newspapers each day and eventually tried to erase phone and fax records in a panic, is more compelling than any John Grisham novel, suggesting this is a story Hollywood should examine.

Henningsen's work is an intriguing study of this overlooked era in Spanish history. He walks the reader from the beginnings of the witch trials (very similar in formation to the more popularly studied Salem witch trials) through the intercession by the Spanish Inquisition and to Antonio Salzar de Frias' posting of the Edicts of Grace. This is a book of political and theological intrigue and a mystery thrown in for good measure. While reading it, I kept wondering what was going to happen next even though this is a history text and not a novel, though there is more than enough information and a strong enough plot within the history to fashion a novel. If you are a lover of history (especially historical texts), this is one book that is difficult to put down. Even if you are not a lover of history texts, the "plot" of this study is one that will probably keep you hooked until then end.

This book is a fast read, probably even if the reader does not have a background in the history of the Apaches versus the US Military. Stockel's empathy for the plight of the Chiricahua Apache tribe rings true to me, especially in the last chapters that describe her participation in a puberty ceremonial on the Mescalero reservation in New Mexico and a celebration marking the 75th year of the end of captivity for the Ft Sill, Ok, Apache tribe. The author begins with an historical overview of the hostilities between the Apache tribes and the US government, focusing on what is known of women's role in the tribe and retelling the stories of Lozen, sister of Victorio and famous warrior and shaman in her own right, among others. She outlines Apache creation myths and how their belief system manifested itself in tribal customs and daily life.

The most compelling part of the book contains her interviews with four Apache women that took place around 1989. One of the women, Mildren Imach Cleghorn, was a Chiricahua Apache woman born into captivity at Ft Sill for the first four years of her life and whose family elected to stay in Oklahoma rather than be sent to the Mescalero reservation in New Mexico. The other three are no less compelling, but perhaps more revealing of the struggle of these women of Apache blood to live in the mainstream world and on the reservation, raise their children to survive in it, and still maintain and honor their ancient traditions.

After reading this book, which quotes extensively from Eve Ball, Dan Thrapp, Opler, Debo, and other chroniclers of Apache primary history, I think readers will be excited to learn more about the Apache people. Ms. Stockel is not complimentary toward certain New Mexican politicians and the US government's handling of this conquered people, which she readily admits in her preface. What shines through this book is the honoring of these women whose struggles in the face of near annihilation can inspire all of us.

"Prey" by Michael Crichton is a wonderful book. Even I, one who is usually strongly opposed to the Science-Fiction genre, found many things about this book that made me think, and many more that were just good. Maybe it was the romance, perhaps the incredibly performed suspense, or another element. The author definitely created a successful balance of technical terms and understandability, so even the least tech-savvy people can still understand the general "big picture" Michael is trying to communicate, while the same passage will be filled with brain food for anyone who understands it. This book is an edge-of-your-seat novel, full of romance, intrigue, and a colorful assortment of vocabulary. A highly recommended read, but be warned: once you start to read, it may be hard to stop!

worse than Jurassic Park. Stuck square in anonymity, this book would never have had more than a handful of reviews if not for the author. Attach a big enough name to anything that isn't awful and some people will love it.

Others have summarized it, you can read those reviews as well as you can this one, so I will save time and point out what is right and what is wrong.

First, the good. The characterization is better here than it is in most Michael Crichton novels. This is refreshing, although he still can't write an intelligent and dynamic female character to save a novel. Strangely. In any case, Jack Forman, our protagonist, is much more three dimensional than previous, and later, Crichton characters. It was too bad that it was really a one-time thing.

The bad. The ending was lame. Really lame. I saw it coming about halfway through the book. And it could have been so much better, too, which was even worse. Also, all of the characters except for Jack Forman are awful. Truly, jaw-droppingly bad. Many of them are retreads from other books by Crichton. As if his Word file says, "Insert ubiquitous fat, obnoxious, computer expert guy here."

The science in this one is also bad. No matter how you build nanotechnology, Escherichia coli cannot live in the desert. It is too dry, there is too much UV light, etc. At least this time, though, the people who he has villainized are merely a single company, and not an entire business, like lawyers or molecular biologists. It is more reasonable that a half-dozen people could fall into the mental traps that appear in this book than the entirety of an academic discipline, which is just awful.

Worth reading, but probably only once. Worth owning for Crichton fans, who will like it.

C

Harkius

Crichton mixes science fact with science fiction to create an irresistible book that keeps you up at night to finish reading the entire book. Character development is somewhat weak but the science facts woven into the fiction will pull you in and not let go until you have reached the end. It's one thrilling read!

This book is pretty good. Since anything "nano" is all the rage these days in science, this book was pretty much inevitable. A good read.

Well here it is 2008 and I bought this to read while on a flight to Cancun to work. The plot is basically terrible, the first part of the book reads like a General Hospital episode. The part of super manager fails unbelievably. Worse, I already had a better way to destroy the supposed villain at half the book's length than the ending. AVOID THIS BOOK! Anyone that has seen the movie, (yeah, I know I'm using a movie reference here) The Matrix knows that EMP will kill any computer type device unless it is hardened to MILSPEC (I'm thinking that Dude missed this movie....). So to kill nano machines that use electrical circuits? EMP! DUH! This book is dull and boring and not worth the cash I paid for it.

As some of the previous reviewers stated:
Jason Moss goes on and on about how great he is. He complains about his mother a lot - to me, she sounds like a typical mom of a teenager. The author sounds like a boy going through puberty.
The book SAYS it's about him going into the minds of these serial killers but it's more about the author. Personally, i don't care how great and smart the author is. i wanted to read about the actual journey and letters he wrote to these serial killers and more importantly - the letters the killers wrote to him. He puts in some of HIS full length letters TO the serial killers but only puts in SENTENCES or PARAGRAPHS of the serial killer's responses/letters. i didn't care what HE wrote, i wanna know what THEY wrote.
IF you can make it through the first half of the book (where it's ALL ABOUT JASON MOSS) the second half of the book is pretty great. i say IF you can make it because i wanted to give up on numerous occasions - my partner suggested i give up because i'd read then complain about the book. i can usually read a book this size in a day at the most - it took me four days bc i'd get so tired of the whiney boy writing it.
i read a lot of true crime, this is one of the most poorly written books i have ever read!

This is a quick read. Typical true-crime pulp style. Nothing spectacular about the writing, but the story is indeed unique.

There are a lot of problems with the morals the book is trying to sell though.

Not a bad beach book, but don't expect to learn a whole lot from it.

Jason Moss did indeed turn into Gacy's "last victim". He eventually shot himself. Sad ending.
~RIP Jason Moss~6/06/06~

but why did he choose that date? 6 6 6.
Strange man, yet still tragic.

This book is certainly not the worst True Crime book I have ever read. However, it presents with some obvious problems. It is NOT a journey into the mind of serial killer as much as a journey into the mind of the author. Much of the book is about the author himself and his own thoughts. While the book is organized and understandable, the style of writing is rather juvenile and lacking in depth. That said, the prison visits Mr. Moss had with Gacy were interesting and somewhat frightening; it is difficult to believe that prison guards were willing to leave the author alone with Gacy for periods of time long enough to constitue danger for the author. However, this is what happened. The last scheduled visit with Gacy truly scared the author and he never returned.

I knew the author of this book, having met him when he applied to be a Big Brother in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a True Crime fan, I did not find his interest in serial killers disturbing or exceptional. However, it is a bit odd that he found it necessary to correspond with so many of the high profile serial killers. During a routine "home visit" to his apartment as part of the Big Brother screening and application process, Mr. Moss showed me his album of response letters from many other serial killers, includig Charles Manson and Richard Ramirez. (I enjoy True Crime, but this was a bit too close for comfort for me.) If my recollections are correct, he did serve as a good Big Brother to a little boy who needed a male mentor. He did not present as narcissistic... although the tone of his book is self aggrandizing. However, perhaps Mr. Moss was less stable than he appeared at times. Another reviewer states the author took his own life. Somehow, this does not completely surprise me.

The author apparently had alot of spare time to mess with serial killers. All poor Jeff Dahmer needed was to be loved.

Too bad John Wayne Gacy didn't make soup out of the author.

The worst of all the books on serial killers I've read.

I wanted to use no stars, but, I had to choose one :(

McManus has written a deft, funny, and literate work that is hard to put down -
if you like poker, that is. For non-poker enthusiasts, or those unwilling to at least learn the basics of Texas Hold'Em, the many detailed descriptions of Bad Jim's amazing run at the WSOP will undermine the power of this terrific book.
McManus has many things going for him. He's an intelligent novelist who brings his keen observation to the worlds of poker, Las Vegas sleaze, and the murder trial of Ted Binion. He's also a fanatic poker player ( and a very good one, better than even he realized when he first landed in Vegas to cover the World Series ). He is well read in a variety of subjects, and thus the book has a Moby Dick feel, with Good Jim the writer making countless excursions into other areas and interests in his investigation of poker, sex, power, addiction, and art. Best of all, Good Jim has an ironic detachment about himself and his own weaknesses, and is not afraid to play the part of nebbish, though he is anything but one. Some of Good Jim's digressions don't really lead anywhere and slow the book down ( i.e., the pointless two pages on his former student, humorist David Sedaris ). And some of the digressions into psychology also bog down a bit. But these are compensated for by his quick, funny portraits of some of poker's great characters. All in all, a classic.

I still cant' believe the guy made it to the final table. What an incredible feat. He writes really well too. Great story, well written. Ah, the catch is, this is definitely a GUY book, whatever that mean.

An amazing book. Somehow the author is simply telling the story of how he played in the World Series of Poker but also weaves in all of the following:

- Murder
- Adultery
- The history of poker
- The history of cards
- The history of Las Vegas
- The mob
- What constitutes "cheating" on your wife?
- High ethics
- Discussions of game theory
- His own family tree

And just about everything else. All of it in brilliant prose that makes it fascinating.

At the same time he brings you to the poker table and you feel the tension of re-raising TJ Cloutier with the author. I felt sick a few times as the author described playing pocket jacks aggressively.

If you love poker or gambling or marriage or reading or life, read this book.

McManus has taken several plot lines of varying interest and wrapped them into one messy book. The real-time WSOP diary part of the book is outstanding--funny, gripping, and a great way to live out every small-time rounder's dream vicariously. It's well worth the price of the book. The rest of it... I wasn't nearly interested enough in McManus as a personality to enjoy the insights into his poker-playing youth, and the coverage of Ted Binion's weird life could have been cut without me missing it.

At half the length, this would have been a positively five star book.

For decades, I went to the World Series of Poker as a side-game player and a writer. Like so many, I played mostly and wrote a little. All the writers I met over those years just have to be jealous of James McManus. He played well and made the final table and the big bucks AND he wrote a best-seller about it. I am a poker writer, but I do not pretend to have a fourth of the skills of the eloquent Mr. McManus. He is the Dean of American Poker Writers. England has some fancy wordsmiths. This book is not just for poker players. It would make a great gift for anyone. McManus throws in the saga of Teddy Binion, to boot.
Johnny HughesTexas Poker Wisdom