Book picks similar to
Hero to Zero by Zach Fortier
non-fiction
true-crime
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nonfiction
Inferno: An Inquiry Into the Willingham Fire
J. Bennett Allen - 2011
To his last moment he proclaimed his innocence of the arson that claimed the lives of his children. While much has been written of the trial, conviction and execution of Willingham, Inferno is the first exploration of the possible causes of the fire that cost three children, and eventually, Willingham himself, their lives. Instead of him saving her, Amber would save her daddy. She would save him by awakening him with her screams and pleas, by telling him of the fire, by taking his place in bed, by breathing in the smoke that would have filled his lungs instead of hers.The fire, however, would not be denied. Disguised first as justice and then as a needle, it would consume her father just as surely as it had Amber and her infant sisters.While much has been written of the trial, conviction and execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, the discussion has been limited to whether or not the fire that killed his children was caused by arson. This is the first book to investigate other possible causes of the fire that claimed initially three, and eventually four lives.
3 a.m.
Nick Pirog - 2013
Henry Bins is awake for one. He wakes up each day at 3 a.m. then falls asleep at 4 a.m. Life is simple. Until he hears the woman scream. And sees the man leave the house across the street. But not just any man. The President of the United States.
Black Collar
Daniel Sullivan - 2013
That's why the American aristocracy had to take it away.MIT graduates Hart Galliston and Rockle Farnsworth are two weeks away from unveiling their revolutionary display technology when a deadly chance encounter pits them against Senator Martin Lancaster. Hart and Rockle seek vengeance by pursuing one of Martin's daughters, the infamous heiress Brielle Lancaster. However, all is not what it seems with Brielle. Soon she and her two siblings join Hart and Rockle on a quest far more dangerous than revenge. Hart and his friends are uncommon rebels: a computer engineer, a programmer, a socialite, a cable news anchor, and a street artist.Daniel Sullivan's Black Collar thrills with unpredictable twists and meaningful details, captivating as both a modern social commentary and a dark suspenseful read.This book is intended for mature audiences.
Beyond Obsession: The Shocking True Story of a Teenage Love Affair Turned Deadly
Richard Hammer - 1992
Joyce Aparo seemed to be the perfect single mother. She doted on her sixteen-year-old daughter, Karin, encouraging her musical ability and lavishing affection on her. But behind closed doors, Joyce was a terror. For thirteen years, she beat Karin savagely, kept her away from other children, and demeaned her relentlessly. When Karin met the troubled yet brilliant Dennis Coleman, the two fell head-over-heels into lustful infatuation. But Joyce disapproved—so she had to die. On August 5, 1987, Joyce’s body was found under a bridge near the Connecticut–Massachusetts border. She had been strangled, and was covered in bruises, with paper stuffed in her mouth and pantyhose knotted around her throat. The police investigation soon dragged her horrific treatment of Karin into the open, and the teenage lovers became the prime suspects. Dennis eventually confessed to the murder, testifying that Karin begged him to kill her mother. But Karin had a very different story to tell, claiming to have no knowledge of Dennis’s plans. Was she manipulating the police the same way she manipulated her former boyfriend, or was she an innocent victim? Based on meticulous research, court transcripts, and interviews with the survivors, Beyond Obsession is the definitive account of an American tragedy and the basis for a popular TV movie starring Victoria Principal and Emily Warfield.
Pirates: The Golden Age of Piracy: A History From Beginning to End (Buccaneer, Blackbeard, Grace o Malley, Henry Morgan)
Henry Freeman - 2016
Contemporary audiences who are safe from the pistols and cutlasses of the men who sailed the Caribbean, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans to prey upon ships and claim their cargo may find it hard to reconcile the perceived glamor of Captain Jack Sparrow with the authentic bloodlust and greed of the real pirates who killed without conscience, kidnapped innocent victims for ransom, and ravaged, bribed, and robbed their way into legend. Tragut Rais, Grace O’Malley, William Kidd, Blackbeard and their colleagues were dangerous adventurers who lived at a time when piracy was an economic enterprise which yielded both wealth and a hangman’s noose. Inside you will read about... ✓ When Pirates Owned the Seas✓ The Roots of Piracy✓ The Original Pirates of the Caribbean✓ The Pirate Round✓ Piracy after the Spanish War of Succession✓ The Pirates of the Barbary Coast✓ The Modern-Day PiratesMost pirates had a short life before they were captured and executed. A few lucky ones did die of natural causes, but they were rare. Nonetheless, those tales of swashbuckling adventure under the Jolly Roger continue to mesmerize us. Read more about the reality of the Golden Age of Piracy to find out whether or not Hollywood’s version can possibly compare with the truth.
The Other Pilot
Ed Baldwin - 2012
General Trusten Polk dies in an exploding F-16 in Denver, and within hours he's exposed as an impostor; a war hero politician controlled by others. Boyd finds another pilot from Polk's past is releasing secrets to the press.Congressman Roscoe Kelly is implicated in bank fraud and other politicians with ties to Polk duck and weave. The press smells blood and political corruption dominates the news cycle. Is The Other Pilot a patriot or a criminal? Where did all that money come from?Boyd races to find The Other Pilot, as signs point to a criminal mastermind with a lust for revenge.The spark to start civil war in America is on a ranch in west Texas. Boyd, his English teacher lover, flight surgeon pal, a vintage aircraft enthusiast with a P-51 Mustang, and a small town sheriff are the nation's last line of defense.
Lay Death at Her Door
Elizabeth Buhmann - 2013
In 1986, while Kate was a college student at Sweet Briar in western Virginia, she was raped and witnessed a murder. Kate’s eyewitness testimony convicts a man who’s released more than 20 years later based on DNA evidence. The development isn’t a complete surprise to Kate, who has lived with the knowledge that she perjured herself. Her life since the trial has been a disappointment, and her social life is limited by her possessive and creepy father, Pop, who keeps her on a tight leash. That constraint becomes even more difficult to bear when Kate, who works as a landscaper, falls for a gardener, Tony, and hopes she has found the love of her life. Things don’t go smoothly, and more blood is shed along the way to a jaw-dropping, but logical, climax that will make veteran mystery readers eager for more of Buhmann’s work. Big Al's Books & Pals 2014 Readers' Choice Awards: Mystery Nominee Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook’s eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker’s identity. She is lying. Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life.
The Inside Passage
Pendelton C. Wallace - 2014
The Inside Passage could be in today’s headlines. Ted Higuera, the son of Mexican immigrants, grew up in East LA. An unlikely football scholarship was his ticket out of the barrio. Chris Hardwick was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The two become college roommates and best friends for life. As a graduation present, Chris’ father offers the boys the use of his sailboat for a summer cruise up the Inside Passage. Chris brings his girlfriend, Meagan O’Donnell along for the cruise. Ted can’t stand Meagan; he thinks she’s just interested in Chris for his money. The three have a series of adventures until they stumble upon an al-Qaeda plot to blow up a cruise ship, then the clock starts ticking. The terrorist must eliminate the witnesses before they can report the plot to the authorities. Ted, Chris and Meagan must prevent the attack on the cruise ship with Chris’ father and his new bride aboard. But what can three unarmed kids to do prevent the terrorist assault?
Kidnapping My Daughter
Rachel Jensby - 2013
Kidnapping My Daughter is the true account of a mother who spent more than two years on the run, first from local and state authorities only, and then eventually from the FBI as well. As more and more children are faced with court-licensed abuse every day, Rachel Jensby hopes to be a voice among many; joining other mothers who are effecting change by finally finding the courage to come forward with their stories.Kidnapping My Daughter is an account of events leading up to, and all that transpired during, this family's life on the run.A second volume, titled Bringing Cheyenne Home, tells the story of what happened afterward - starting with the family's first day back in court and goes on to detail the tumultuous years afterward, including a peek into Cheyenne's life today. Bringing Cheyenne Home will be available soon on Amazon for Kindle.
To the Bridge
Nancy Rommelmann - 2018
Forty minutes later, rescuers found the body of four-year-old Eldon. Miraculously, his seven-year-old sister, Trinity, was saved. As the public cried out for blood, Amanda was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison.Embarking on a seven-year quest for the truth, Rommelmann traced the roots of Amanda’s fury and desperation through thousands of pages of records, withheld documents, meetings with lawyers and convicts, and interviews with friends and family who felt shocked, confused, and emotionally swindled by a woman whose entire life was now defined by an unspeakable crime. At the heart of that crime: a tempestuous marriage, a family on the fast track to self-destruction, and a myriad of secrets and lies as dark and turbulent as the Willamette River. “In To the Bridge, Nancy Rommelmann takes what many consider the most unforgivable of crimes—a mother set on murdering her own children—and delivers something thoughtful and provocative: a deeply reported, sensitively told, all-too-relevant tragedy of addiction and codependency, toxic masculinity, and capricious justice. You won’t be able to look away—nor should any of us.” —Robert Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery “How do you understand the not understandable and forgive the unforgivable? So asks one of the characters in this clear-eyed investigation into something we all turn away from. To the Bridge is a tour de force of both journalism and compassion, in the lineage of such masterpieces as In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song. Word by word, sentence by sentence, Rommelmann’s writing is that good. And so is her heart.” —Nick Flynn, PEN/Martha Albrand Award–winning author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City
The Garden on Sunset
Martin Turnbull - 2011
The lush grounds soon become a haven for Hollywood hopefuls to meet, drink, and revel through the night. George Cukor is in the pool, Tallulah Bankhead is at the bar, and Scott Fitzgerald is sneaking off to a bungalow with Sheilah Graham while Madame Alla Nazimova keeps watch behind her lace curtains.But the real story of the Garden of Allah begins with its first few residents, three kids on the brink of something big.Marcus Adler has a lot to prove after his father catches him and the police chief’s son with their pants down. He flees Pennsylvania for Hollywood with his mouth shut and his eyes open, and begins to write the lines all those starlets will say out loud. Can a smart, sensitive guy find his own voice in a town that’s just learning to talk?Kathryn Massey’s childhood was a grinding routine of auditions, but she couldn’t care less about being a movie star. When she takes off with her typewriter, determined to become a newspaper reporter, she finds that breaking into the boys’ club is tougher than breaking free of her bossy mother. To make it in this town, she’ll need some serious moxie.Gwendolyn Brick is a sweet Southern beauty who’s come a long way to try her luck on the big screen. She’s hoping the same succulent lips the guys want to kiss will land her more than a bit part on a casting couch. She’s going to need some help keeping everyone in line.Nobody gets a free pass in Hollywood, but a room at the Garden on Sunset can get your foot in the door.
Shot All to Hell: Bad Ass Outlaws, Gunfighters, and Law Men of the Old West
Nick Vulich - 2016
Who hasn’t heard of Jesse James, the Dalton Brothers, Black Bart, or Belle Starr? They are as much a part of American folklore as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. There’s something about the west that has brought out the best, and the worst in mankind. The funny thing is, a cult following has developed around many of these bandits, making them out to be something they weren’t. The legend that grew up around Joaquin Murrieta was that he was just a normal guy who moved from Mexico to California, and tried to strike it rich during the gold rush. What he discovered instead, was a big sign that read, “No Mexicans Allowed.” His supporters say, that because of the Foreign Claim Tax, he was forced off his land, and into a life of outlawry. And, then to support that claim, a whole legend has been built up, about how he stole from the rich, and shared his wealth with poor Mexican families. The only problem is the facts don’t support that interpretation. The same stories developed around Jesse James. Legend has it, Jesse only stole from rich bankers and railroad men, and the reason he could disappear into thin air after pulling a bank job or train robbery was because he shared the booty with poor Missouri families. As with Murrieta, that probably never happened. Jesse James was a thief. He stole money wherever he could get his hands on it. He robbed stagecoaches, banks, trains, and you-name-it. And, last, but not least, there’s Belle Starr, one of the most badass female robbers on record. Belle called her pistols her “babies,” and ruled an outlaw kingdom based out of her home in Indian Territory. She lived by the gun, and she died by the gun. The outlaw life was almost always portrayed as a glamorous life, filled with loose women, blazing guns, and saddlebags overflowing with gold, silver, and greenbacks. What a life! The only thing is, all the movies, books, and TV shows painted a distorted portrait of life in the old west. James Dodsworth lived the outlaw life for six weeks while riding as a spy with the Doolin-Dalton Gang. He said the gang was constantly on the move. They rarely spent more than one night in any one place. Dalton and Doolin, both worried they’d end up like Jesse James—shot in the back. At night, the gang always posted at least one man on watch duty. The rest of the gang slept with Winchesters by their sides, and pistols under their heads. Every one of them were ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. And, as for those saddlebags overflowing with riches, more often than not, they were like a Charlie Brown Halloween special—filled with rocks rather than gold. Sometimes the gang would cut off the wrong car during a train robbery, and end up riding away empty handed. Sometimes a posse would chase them off a little too soon, before they could grab their booty. Other times, it was slim pickings, and there was nothing to take. The first train job the Dalton Gang pulled went totally awry. The Express man got away before they could convince him to open the safe, and in their haste to rob the Atlantic Express the boys forgot to bring dynamite to blow the safe. Black Jack Ketchum, and his gang, made off with $100,000 in unsigned bank notes. Pearl Hart’s fame rests upon a single stage coach robbery that netted her under $500, and several years in the caboose after she was captured. The sad truth is most outlaws led a short life that ended, either at the end of a rope, or with a bullet in the brain.
American Warrior
James Snyder - 2004
America has a new president, named John F. Kennedy, and a new era the newspapers are calling the Dawn of Camelot. But for ten-year-old Paul Brett, dealing with an abusive father and the immigrant gangs roaming his slum neighborhood of China Slough, America is only a small, dead-end place he is struggling to survive.That is, until the night a mysterious stranger comes out of the darkness to his rescue, and initiates a journey—an unforgettable odyssey—beyond his wildest imagination.From his unlikely beginnings in a brutal California migrant camp, into the darkest underbelly of a distant and unpopular war, to his final and, perhaps, most deadly struggle for survival inside the bowels of a near-medieval military prison, American Warrior follows one young man's breathtaking and mesmerizing journey into hell.
The Ninth District
Douglas Dorow - 2011
FBI Special Agent Jack Miller, pulled into a high-profile case to mentor a new agent, finds himself in a clash with the toughest opponent of his career. The chase culminates in the bowels of the city, in the storm sewers and tunnels beneath The Ninth District Federal Reserve of Minneapolis.The Ninth District is approximately 74,600 words (300 pages) in length.
Patients I Will Never Forget
Sally Willard Burbank - 2014
Sally Burbank has seen everything---lunatics, criminals, hypochondriacs, and even a Cocker spaniel! By popular demand, she has penned a collection of humorous and inspiring true stories to forever capture these memorable encounters. The antics of a demented octogenarian and a dimwitted patient named "Bob" will leave you laughing out loud. Her disastrous attempts to combine medicine with motherhood will reveal a new side to ladies in lab coats. The inane ICD-10 codes and decisions of insurance companies will leave you shaking your head in disgust. Stir in a wheelchair-bound, legally blind dialysis patient who insists on serving others until her last dying breath, a comatose leukemia patient miraculously healed, and an unfortunate soul doomed to chopping onions forty-hours a week, and you are guaranteed to laugh, cry, and tell your friends about this amazing new book. Hilarious cartoons and quotations relevant to each story add icing to the cake, and make Patients I Will Never Forget a must-read for anyone who enjoyed All Creatures Great and Small.