Book picks similar to
Into the Blast - The True Story of D.B. Cooper by Skipp Porteous
non-fiction
crime
biography
must-read-a-definite-must-read
The Cartel: The Inside Story of Britain's Biggest Drugs Gang
Graham Johnson - 2012
Billions in sales. But, unlike Tesco or BP, few have heard of it. The Cartel is Britain’s biggest drugs organisation, a shadowy network stretching from the freezing, fog-banks of the Mersey to the glittering marinas of Marbella, from the coffee shops of Amsterdam to the trading floors of Canary Wharf. Run by godfathers as rich as Branson but kept in line by a new generation of teenage killers. Here is the inside story.
The Satin Man: Uncovering the Mystery of the Missing Beaumont Children
Alan Whiticker - 2013
Despite a large-scale police investigation and extensive media coverage, the case remains unsolved, bogged down by false leads and dead ends, an the Beaumont children were never seen again.In 2006, author Alan Whiticker, assisted by researcher Stuart Mullins, wrote the definitive account of the sibling's disappearance in Searching For The Beaumont Children. Since the publication of that book, fresh leads have been sceptically received, until one family in particular presented a remarkabl possibility - that their family patriarch, a man with a peculiar predilection for satin, might have been involved.This book, The Satin Man, is th result of the six years that followed, in which Whiticker and Mullins continued their hunt for th truth. It details everything uncovered about the new potential suspect, a man of wealth and position, and sheds incredible new light on this decades old mystery.
Ready To Fire: How India and I Survived the ISRO Spy Case
Nambi Narayanan - 2018
A police inspector's misadventure with a Maldivian woman results in a fabricated espionage case. A faction within a political party capitalises on the case to bring down a government. An intelligence agency obligingly plays into the hands of vested interests to slow down India's space programme. And a complex investigation finally proves the allegations untrue.In this riveting book, Isro scientist S Nambi Narayanan - who was falsely accused of espionage in ISRO spy case of the 1990s - and senior journalist Arun Ram meticulously unpick the ISRO spy case, revisit old material and discover new details to expose the international plot that delayed India's development of a cryogenic engine by at least a decade.It took four years for the CBI to exonerate Nambi, but his fight for justice to ensure action against the officers who faked the case and tortured him in custody continues.This book is as much a history of the early days of India's ambitious space programme as it is a record of one of the most sensational cases that enthralled the nation long before the era of online updates and 24-hour news cycles.
Murder, Lies, and Cover-Ups: Who Killed Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and Princess Diana?
David Gardner - 2018
We all famously recall where we were and what we were doing when JFK was assassinated, as well as the moments Elvis, Princess Diana, and Michael Jackson died. As for Marilyn Monroe, the candle flickered out long ago, but only now can the truth be told about how—and why—she died. After combing through thousands of recently declassified FBI files and interviewing key witnesses, crime analysts, and forensic experts during years of research, investigative writer David Gardner has unearthed new information that will transform the way we look at these iconic tragedies that have long fascinated and intrigued the general public. Legends: Murder, Lies, and Cover-Ups reveals that Elvis Presley died not as a self-obsessed caricature but as a genuine hero who may have signed his death warrant going undercover for the FBI; how Marilyn Monroe's secret affairs with JFK and his brother, Robert, left her in the crosshairs of a lethal conspiracy; why Princess Diana's death was no accident; who ordered President John F. Kennedy's assassination; and how on three occasions Michael Jackson “died” of painkiller drug overdoses in the months before his death. In the wake of new evidence and testimonies, Legends: Murder, Lies, and Cover-Ups provides many of the answers that have been elusive for so long, while explaining what it was about these enduring legends that made their legacies burn so bright.
Forever Young : The Life, Loves, and Enduring Faith of a Hollywood Legend ; The Authorized Biography of Loretta Young
Joan Wester Anderson - 2000
The real life and faith journey of Loretta Young -- her strong devotion to her Catholic faith and her passion for helping others in need.
Crime of the Century: The Lindbergh Kidnapping Hoax
Gregory Ahlgren - 1993
Seventy-two days later, the body was found in the woods next to a roadway, a short distance from Lindbergh's house, near Hopewell, New Jersey. In 1927, Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in his Spirit of St. Loius. By 1932, he was perhaps the most famous man alive. A great American hero, he was allowed to be the chief architect of the investigation into his son's kidnapping. He demanded that the body be cremated without an autopsy. This book traces the 2 and a half year investigation by the New Jersey State Police, headed by Colonel H Norman Schwarzkopf, and which led to the arrest, trial, conviction and execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. It challenges the effectiveness of the investigation, and the evidence advanced by the prosecution, which convicted Hauptmann.
The Galapagos Affair
John Treherne - 1983
The tales were of nudism, free love communes, stainless steel dentures - a latter-day Garden of Eden. But the truth was even stranger. Friedrich Ritter, an eccentric German intellectual, and his long-suffering companion Dora Strauch, were the first arrivals. Once established, they were soon joined by others. Most bizarre and dangerous was the self-styled Baroness Wagner-Bosquet. She ruled her three young male lovers with a riding crop, a pearl-handled revolver and insatiable sexual demands - terrorising other settlers. Her mysterious disappearance and the discovery of unidentified bodies on a nearby island perplexed the world. Now The Galapagos Affair unravels the whole incredible story.
John Christie of Rillington Place: Biography of a Serial Killer
Jonathan Oates - 2012
Much has been written about the Christie killings and the fate of Timothy Evans who was executed for murders Christie later confessed to the story still provokes strong feeling and speculation. However, most the books on the case have been compiled without the benefit of all the sources that are open to researchers, and they tend to focus on Evans in an attempt to clear him of guilt. In addition, many simply repeat what has been said before. Therefore, a painstaking, scholarly reassessment of the evidence - and of Christies life - is overdue, and that is what Jonathan Oates provides in this gripping biography of a serial killer.
The Lover Boy of Bahawalpur : How the Pulwama Case was Cracked
Rahul Pandita - 2021
Forty Indian soldiers are dead. But when the NIA probes the bombing they hit one dead end after another. Who were the actual masterminds of this audacious strike? It seemed impossible to find out. In this thrilling and deeply reported book, The award-winning author and journalist Rahul Pandita tells the story of how a team of extraordinary NIA sleuths cracks the case one jigsaw piece at a time. Against all odds, they manage to connect the dots between a seemingly routine troublemaker put in preventive detention at the time of the abrogation of article 370, a mobile phone full of lustful messages recovered after an encounter that killed a terrorist and the pulwama attack itself. The sinister roots of the strike, they would discover, are several decades deep and can be traced to one man – Masood Azhar – and the empire of terror he created in Kashmir. In this book we enter the terrifying world of radical Islamists and secret militant operations, of intelligence agencies and elite counterterrorism units. With never-before-published details about the Pulwama case, the resultant Balakot strike and the arcane world of terror groups, this is one of the most significant works on Kashmir and terrorism in recent times.
Elementary: The Explosive File On Scott Watson And The Disappearance Of Ben & Olivia: What Haven't They Told You?
Ian Wishart - 2016
The book that finally cracks the case. Ben Smart. Olivia Hope. Scott Watson. Unmissable. Undeniable. Unprecedented. Unexpected. Note from author: "This book contains quotes from original police witness statements. No two witnesses ever see the crime from exactly the same angle, so differences between statements are expected. Sometimes one statement can have a crucial detail that others have missed. That's why I included what appear to be 'repetitive' statements by a number of witnesses. So you can see the overall similarities and weight of evidence, but also any unique details. Sometimes witness statements are relevant to different parts of the story, so just as in a murder trial, readers may find a statement being referred to more than once.In a crime story, the devil can be in the detail. The statements are quoted in the authentic spelling of the witness - as important legal records they don't get 'proofed'. The court trial lasted 12 weeks and involved 30,000 pages of documents. I have distilled that down to 372 pages but it is still a complex story. Think of yourself as a juror, sifting the evidence."Previous books on this case have concentrated on picking apart the police version of events given in Court. That's a legalistic technique of creating 'doubt'. I ask a different question: Forget about the court case, do the original witness statements including ones never used in court show us what happened? The answer, I suggest, is "Yes", and you are about to find out for yourself..."
Bitter Harvest
Ann Rule - 1997
Debora Green and her husband, Dr. Michael Farrar. Trapped and burned to death in the flames were twelve-year-old Tim and his six-year-old sister Kelly. Lissa, ten, was barely able to leap to safety from the garage roof into the arms of her mother, who was standing outside the house. When Michael Farrar returned to the scene, he had lost more than his children and his home. His entire life was in ruins. The fire was the climactic event of Michael and Debora's lives. Until that summer, they seemed to have it all -- a happy marriage, successful medical practices, three bright and beautiful children. Then they went on a trip to Peru with their son. There, they met attractive, blonde Celeste Walker, whose husband, John was also a successful doctor. But after that trip, nothing was the same again for either couple, and all the dark hidden places in Debora and Michael's marriage bubbled to the surface in a series of almost unbelievable horrors. "Bitter Harvest" is the chronicle of this tragedy in the heartland of America, the true story of the disintegration of a marriage and its horrifying consequences. Rule takes us deep in the psyche of a killer whose behavior was so twisted and so evil that it defies belief. Gripping, powerful, and ultimately terrifying, "Bitter Harvest" is a vivid recreation of an unthinkable crime -- and a depiction of the unimagined depths of a darkness within the human spirit. Copyright © 1998 Ann Rule. All Rights Reserved Performance copyright 1998 by Simon & Schuster Inc. All Rights Reserved
Britain's Most Notorious Hangmen
Stephen Wade - 2009
Britain has always been a land of gallows, and every town had its hanging post and local 'turn off man.' First these men were criminals doing the work to save their own necks, and then later they were specialists in the trade of judicial killing. From the late Victorian period, the public hangman became a professional, and in the twentieth century the mechanics of hanging were streamlined as the executioners became adept at their craft. Britain's Most Notorious Hangmen tells the stories of the men who worked with their deadly skills at Tyburn tree or at the scaffolds in the prison yards across the country. Most were steeled to do the work by drink, and many suffered deeply from their despised profession. Here the reader will find the tale of the real Jack Ketch, the cases of neck-stretchers from the drunks like Curry and Askern, to the local workers of the ropes, Throttler Smith and the celebrated Billington and Pierrepoint dynasty. Along with some of the stories of famous killers such as William Palmer and James Bloomfield Rush, here are the bunglings, failures and desperate lives of the notorious hangmen, some who could entertain the vast crowds enjoying the show, and others who always faced the task as a terrible ordeal.
Professor and the Coed, The: Scandal and Murder at the Ohio State University (True Crime)
Mark Gribben - 2010
Local writer Mark Gribben reveals how Dr. James Howard Snook was captured and interrogated, including his gory confession of Theora Hix's death. During the trial, the details of the illicit love affair were so salacious that newspapers could only hint about what really led to the coed's murder and the professor's ultimate punishment. For the first time, read the full account of this astonishing story, from scandalous beginning to tragic end.
A Rip in Heaven
Jeanine Cummins - 2004
It was covered by Court TV and profiled on the Ricki Lake Show. Now, here is the intimate memoir of a shocking crime and its aftermath...one family's immediate and unforgettable story of what victims can suffer long after they should be safe.
Patrolling the Heart of the West: True Tales of a Nevada State Trooper
Steve Raabe - 2018
Alone in the remote Nevada desert, miles from any backup, Raabe was forced to contend with murderers, thieves, perverts, dope peddlers, and the occasional runaway train. While often tragic and terrifying, Raabe's true tales also abound with his signature wit and playful good cheer. Policing can be a deadly serious business, but for Raabe it also entailed buying a prisoner an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, or laughing along with some good old boys before booking them into jail, as you'll discover in Patrolling the Heart of the West. In our contentious and politicized era, when police officers are too often portrayed as either infallible superheroes or oppressive henchmen, Raabe's charming collection reminds us that cops are mostly just ordinary men and women who've chosen an extraordinary career. More praise for Patrolling the Heart of the West: "Patrolling the Heart of the West can easily be digested in short spurts, but it’s possible that when you start reading this book that it will be impossible to put down." --Sparks Tribune "Raabe's stories reflect “the good, the bad and the ugly” aspects of patrolling our highways. Patrolling the Heart of the West will bring a new appreciation for the unique role and responsibilities of state troopers, especially those who work in rural or remote areas." --G Paul Corbin, criminal justice professor and former chief of the Nevada Highway Patrol “Perhaps the most endearing police memoir yet written. As a son and brother of cops, I admire the humanity Raabe brings to each of these stories." --Jon Gosch, author of Deep Fire Rise “Patrolling the Heart of the West is a quick, entertaining and informative glimpse into an important, sometimes dangerous career spent in a little understood corner of the country.” --Ed Pearce, Senior Reporter, KOLO-TV Reno "Whether you have an interest in law enforcement, are a fan of all things Nevadan, or just want to enjoy a good book that you won’t want to put down once you start reading it, you’ll find Patrolling the Heart of the West to be a memorable read. Highly recommended." --Excerpt from Readers’ Favorite, review by Kimberlee J Benart "Patrolling the Heart of the West is a thoroughly entertaining and enlightening read. With a style reminiscent of the war stories exchanged during a law-enforcement family barbecue, Raabe's skill as a storyteller is evident as he imparts his wisdom and experience with a unique sense of humor, candor, and insightfulness." --Andy Brown, author of Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base "Raabe tells his experiences with excellent accuracy, grace and wit. I couldn’t put the book down!" --Colonel Michael Hood, Nevada Highway Patrol