Mafia Boss Sam Giancana: The Rise and Fall of a Chicago Mobster


Susan McNicoll - 2015
    Born in 1908, in The Patch, Chicago, Giancana joined the Forty-Two gang of lawless juvenile punks in 1921 and quickly proved himself as a skilled 'wheel man' (or getaway driver), extortionist and vicious killer. Called up to the ranks of the Outfit, he reputedly held talks with the CIA about assassinating Fidel Castro, shared a girlfriend with John F. Kennedy and had friends in high places, including Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Marilyn Monroe and, some say, the Kennedys, although he fell out with them.The story of Sam Giancana will overturn many of your beliefs about America during the Kennedy era. If you want to know Giancana's role in the brother's deaths, and more of the intrigue surrounding that of Marilyn Monroe, this book will fill you in on the murky lives of many shady characters who really ruled the day, both in Chicago and elsewhere.

Air Crashes and Miracle Landings: 85 CASES - How and Why


Christopher Bartlett - 2018
    Air Crashes and Miracle landings is a great resource for every pilot who wants a clear summary of the Whats, Hows and Whys behind the key aviation accidents. This book should be part of Human Factors and Crew Resource Management training." Richard de Crespigny--captain of Qantas QF32 Now has eighty-five accounts, some short, some long, with hard-hitting analyses, ranging from the disappearance of Amelia Earhart to that of Malaysian Airlines MH370, not forgetting AF447 where many human factors in addition to technical ones were responsible. Each chapter covers a specific type of incident in chronological order showing the evolution of accidents over time, and how many should never happen again because of advances in technology. Covering so many incidents, it provides background facts and insights for professionals and aficionados of the Air Accident Investigations/MAYDAY TV series, amongst others Lessons from these incidents made flying so safe today.

WE ALL FALL DOWN: THE TRUE STORY OF THE 9/11 SURFER


Pasquale Buzzelli - 2012
    He spoke to his pregnant wife on the telephone before he began his evacuation after the South Tower fell. Sensing something ominous, Pasquale crouched down and huddled into a corner of the stairwell as the 110-story tower came crashing down around him. He survived the tower collapse and woke up in the open air hours later on The Pile, a stack of debris seven stories high. The firemen who rescued Pasquale shared his remarkable story of survival with the media, as did others who cared for him that day. His story became a myth, an urban legend, and an enigma that gave rise to much speculation. Here he tells his story in captivating detail of falling and "surfing' the collapse of the North Tower.Visit www.911surfer.com for more details.

The Ragged Stranger: The Hero, The Hobo, And The Crime That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago


Harold Schechter - 2019
    Guns are drawn, and in the ensuing hail of bullets, only the husband walks away. However, police soon find out, that what seems to be a robbery gone wrong is anything but. The Case of the Ragged Stranger, as the tabloids dubbed it, is a tale of deceit, betrayal, and depravity, a stranger-than-fiction mystery story whose shocking solution riveted the nation and made it one of the most sensational crimes of the Jazz Age.

Crushed: An Amazing True Story of Determination and Survival


Kathryn Mann - 2013
    Crushed and left with broken ribs, a punctured lung, and compression fractures in his chest, spine, and pelvis, Bob pushed his arms forward, dug his fingers into the freezing mud and dragged his mostly paralyzed body forward. Saturated to the skin in freezing rain, far from help, and with the night fast approaching, Bob refused to give up.This includes photographs, documentation, and inspirational verses.This amazing true story was featured on the It's a Miracle series hosted by Richard Thomas. It aired on PAX Television as Chain Reaction in 1999.

Why Not Kill Her: A Juror's Perspective: The Jodi Arias Death Penalty Retrial


Paul A. Sanders Jr. - 2015
    The killer went to great lengths to cover up her crime including sending his grandmother flowers, going to the memorial service, driving by the victim’s house and calling the lead investigator, Detective Esteban Flores. This incident took place in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona. It would be five years before this case of capital murder would be put in front of a jury to decide the fate of Jodi Arias although the fate of Travis Alexander had been set in stone. Was she a cold, calculating murderess or was she a victim of extreme domestic violence at the hands of an abusive boyfriend? The first jury was left to decide in 2013. It was the most watched trial of the century. The jury decided that Jodi Arias was guilty of first-degree murder with cruel and heinous circumstances which qualified her for the death penalty. The jury could not reach a decision in the penalty phase and justice was delayed. A new jury, drawn from a pool of four hundred people, was drawn for the highly anticipated retrial of Jodi Arias. On October 21, 2014, a jury of nineteen was given the responsibility of deciding whether Jodi Arias should live or die for her crime. So began a retrial that would last almost five months with Juan Martinez and Detective Flores representing the State of Arizona and the return of Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott speaking to the defense of the convicted killer. The journey will walk the reader through the meticulous actions of the courtroom and extend to an appellate court, a municipal court and a day in the in the original courthouse in phoenix, Arizona. The trial speaks toward the long arm of the law and the implications of decisions made daily. With the help of former jurors of the Jodi Arias death penalty retrial, the reader will step into the jury box when Jodi Arias was on the witness stand and reach a climax when the reader accompanies the jury foreman into the deliberation room as the jury decides the fate of the defendant. “The lambs to the law were now executors of the law. It was humbling, intimidating and powerful at the same time. It was also the time that the jurors’ souls would be tested for truths and experiences that would mark many discussions in the deliberation room. The jury would remember Travis Alexander and what was done to him.” Why Not Kill her is the suspenseful follow-up to the authors first book, Brain Damage: A Juror’s Tale, the true story of being a death penalty juror on the case of Marissa DeVault and the brutal killing of Dale Harrell. The third revised edition is now available in honor of Dale Harrell. Take a journey into the life of Travis Alexander and a search for truth and justice. Somehow, Lady Justice will wield her sword and the end of a seven year saga would be realized but in no way that anyone could have anticipated. Special thanks to True Crime Radio, Trial Talk Live, the Trial Diaries, FOX 10, ABC, NBC and CBS. The author would also like to thank those who supported this work on Go Fund Me with extra recognition to the administrators and fans of Juan Martinez Prosecutor Support Page, The State vs. Jodi Arias, Joey Jackson Fan Page, Justice For Travis, Justice 4 Dale, Justice For Travis Alexander and His Family, Court Chatter, Beth Karas on Crime, Gavel geeks, Trial Watchers, The House That Travis Built, Understanding The Travesties of Unexpected Murder Trials and For The Love of Travis. This work could not have happened without your support! Why Not Kill Her is dedicated to Travis Alexander, his family and all those whom he touched in his short life.

In the Shadow of Majdanek. Hiding in Full Sight . : A Holocaust Survival Story


Irene R. Skolnick - 2017
    This is what mother decided would be our best chance at survival. This was not an easy undertaking. To blend into the Polish community it was essential not to look Jewish; not to sound Jewish; to know a fair amount about Catholicism; and be able to think on your feet when unexpected events occurred. Above all one needed to be lucky. With counterfeit documents we changed our name and moved to Lublin, the site of Majdanek, the second largest concentration camp in Poland. At that time I was five years old and my brother was seven. We had to learn new names and to never reveal our past. No sooner we got settled that members of my father’s family descended on us seeking shelter. In a small, primitive house we hid up to eight members of my father’s family.

Salem Witch Trials: A History from Beginning to End


Hourly History - 2021
    During the bitter winter of 1692/93, a group of Puritan young women in the colonial town of Salem, Massachusetts, accused more than two hundred of their neighbors and fellow townspeople of using witchcraft to injure and torment them. This was an incredibly serious allegation that led to sensational court proceedings and ended with the execution of nineteen people. Since then, it has been the subject of many works of literature and other entertainment. Uncover this dark story which is still shrouded in mystery to this day.Discover a plethora of topics such asThe Puritans of the MayflowerThe Accusations BeginMass Hysteria in SalemThe First ExecutionsCorey’s Death by PressingThe Legacy of Witchcraft in SalemAnd much more!

Alaska Man: A Memoir of Growing Up and Living in the Wilds of Alaska


George Davis - 2017
    He survives this perilous wheel of fortune, and thrives in the face of danger! I would like to add to why my book is important, is that we are true authentic Alaskans that live life off of the grid and that we have been entrepreneurs, making our living off of the land and sea. We are wilderness and off the grid consultants if that is important. On our website we have a variety of things we consult on from sport fishing, hunting, adventures, lodges/outfitters, developing or improving remote properties, and much more.

Smoking Cigarettes, Eating Glass: A Psychologist's Memoir (SFWP Literary Awards)


Annita Perez Sawyer - 2015
    In 1960, as a suicidal teenager, Sawyer was institutionalized, misdiagnosed, and suffered through 89 electroshock treatments before being transfered, labeled as “unimproved.” The damage done has haunted her life. Discharged in 1966, after finally receiving proper psychiatric care, Sawyer kept her past secret and moved on to graduate from Yale University, raise two children, and become a respected psychotherapist. That is, until 2001, when she reviewed her hospital records and began to remember a broken childhood and the even more broken mental health system of the 1950s and 1960s, Revisiting scenes from her childhood and assembling the pieces of a lost puzzle, her autobiography is a cautionary tale of careless psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, both 50 years ago and today. It is an informative story about understanding PTSD and making emotional sense of events that can lead a soul to darkness. Most of all, it’s a story of perseverance: pain, acceptance, healing, hope, and success. Hers is a unique voice for this generation, shedding light on an often misunderstood illness.

Churchill and the Avoidable War: Could World War II Have Been Prevented?


Richard M. Langworth - 2015
    Churchill, 1948: World War II was the defining event of our age—the climactic clash between liberty and tyranny. It led to revolutions, the demise of empires, a protracted Cold War, and religious strife still not ended. Yet Churchill maintained that it was all avoidable. Here is a transformative view of Churchill’s theories, prescriptions, actions, and the degree to which he pursued them in the decade before the war. It shows that he was both right and wrong: right that Hitler could have been stopped; wrong that he did all he could to stop him. It is based on what really happened—evidence that has been “hiding in public” for many years, thoroughly referenced in Churchill’s words and those of his contemporaries. Richard M. Langworth began his Churchill work in 1968 when he organized the Churchill Study Unit, which later became the Churchill Centre. He served as its president and board chairman and was editor of its journal Finest Hour from 1982 to 2014. In November 2014, he was appointed senior fellow for Hillsdale College’s Churchill Project. Mr. Langworth published the first American edition of Churchill’s India, is the author of A Connoisseur’s Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, and is the editor of Churchill by Himself, The Definitive Wit of Winston Churchill, The Patriot’s Churchill, All Will Be Well: Good Advice from Winston Churchill, and Churchill in His Own Words. His next book is Winston Churchill, Urban Myths and Reality. In 1998, Richard Langworth was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by HM The Queen “for services to Anglo-American understanding and the memory of Sir Winston Churchill.”

Mosquito Point Road: Monroe County Murder & Mayhem


Michael Benson - 2020
    There’s Killer of the Cloth, The Baby in the Convent, Mosquito Point Road, Death of a First Baseman, The Blue Gardenia, and Pure/Evil. Three of the killers are female.

The Taking of MH370


Jeff Wise - 2019
     ""It’s an astonishing performance. Wise goes through every piece of evidence, every report, every word and comes to the conclusion that investigators were deliberately and brilliantly misled by whoever took over the plane to look in the wrong place. Read this stunning piece of investigative journalism and see if he convinces you." -- John Podhoretz, Commentary magazine. Five years after a state-of-the-art Boeing 777 vanished into the night over the South China Sea, renowned science and aviation author Jeff Wise offers a compelling and detailed account of what happened that night and in the months and years that followed. In his follow-up to "The Plane That Wasn't There," named the Best Kindle Single of 2015, Wise walks readers through the many developments that have taken place in the meantime and explains why despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars and searching an area of seabed the size of Great Britain, authorities were unable to locate the plane's wreckage. Officials and independent experts were stunned by their failure, but Wise predicted it four years ago. Here he distills the fruits of exhaustive research and arrives at a conclusion that upends our understanding of what humans are capable of, both technologically and morally. Jeff Wise is a science journalist specializing in aviation and psychology. A licensed pilot of gliders and light airplanes, he has also written for New York, the New York Times, Time, Businessweek, Esquire, Popular Mechanics, and many others. He is also the author of Extreme Fear: The Science of Your Mind in Danger. A native of Massachusetts, he lives outside New York City with his wife and two sons.

Call Sign Dracula: My Tour with the Black Scarves April 1969 to March 1970


Joe Fair - 2014
    It is a genuine, firsthand account of a one-year tour that shows how a soldier grew and matured from an awkward, bewildered, inexperienced, eighteen year-old country “bumpkin” from Kentucky, to a tough, battle hardened, fighting soldier. You will laugh, cry and stand in awe at the true life experiences shared in this memoir. The awfulness of battle, fear beyond description, the sorrow and anguish of losing friends, extreme weariness, the dealing with the scalding sun, torrential rain, cold, heat, humidity, insects and the daily effort just to maintain sanity were struggles faced virtually every day. And yet, there were the good times. There was the coming together to laugh, joke, and share stories from home. There was the warmth and compassion shown by men to each other in such an unreal environment. You will see where color, race or where you were from had no bearing on the tight-knit group of young men that was formed from the necessity to survive. What a “bunch” they were! ... then the return to home and all the adjustments and struggles to once again fit into a world that was now strange and uncomfortable. "Call Sign Dracula" is an excellent and genuine memoir of an infantry soldier in the Vietnam War.

Olive Oatman: Explore The Mysterious Story of Captivity and Tragedy from Beginning to End


Brent Schulte - 2019
    She is the girl with the blue tattoo.The story behind the distinctive tattoo is the stuff of legends. Some believed it was placed on her face during her captivity, following the brutal murders of her family members and the kidnapping of her and her sister. Others believe it was placed on her after her return.Rumors swelled. Her tattoo became a symbol of Native barbarianism and the triumph of American goodness, but like many stories of that era, the truth is far more complicated.This short book details the murders, her captivity, the aftermath, and her baffling return to her captors. Unravel the mystery of the woman who would become famous for all the wrong reasons and discover what her life story says about cultural identity, the power of resiliency, and what happens when fact and fiction bend and twist to muddy the waters.Read on to find out the truth!