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Review Date: 2/26/2009
"All The President's Men" tells the story of the investigation into the break-in at the Watergate Hotel/office complex which ultimately led to the only resignation of a U.S. president. Written by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward and made into a motion picture (starring Dustin Hoffman & Robert Redford), it chronicles their investigations for the Washington Post tracing the links from the break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters through "dirty tricks", "plumbers" and illegal slush funds from the "burglars" on up to the Oval Office. A must read especially when viewed in the historical context of Iran-Contra and other government cover ups.
Review Date: 3/6/2009
From the back cover:
The Final Days is the classic, behind-the-scenes account of Richard Nixon's dramatic last months as president. Moment by moment, Bernstein and Woodward portray the taut, post-Watergate White House as Nixon, his family, his staff, and many members of Congress strained desperately to prevent his inevitable resignation. This brilliant book reveals the ordeal of Nixon's fall from office -- one of the gravest crises in presidential history.
The most gripping image I remember from this book is that of members of Nixon's staff fearing he might try to remain in office (despite impeachment) by means of military force. As Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, he could have...
The Final Days is the classic, behind-the-scenes account of Richard Nixon's dramatic last months as president. Moment by moment, Bernstein and Woodward portray the taut, post-Watergate White House as Nixon, his family, his staff, and many members of Congress strained desperately to prevent his inevitable resignation. This brilliant book reveals the ordeal of Nixon's fall from office -- one of the gravest crises in presidential history.
The most gripping image I remember from this book is that of members of Nixon's staff fearing he might try to remain in office (despite impeachment) by means of military force. As Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, he could have...
Son of Sam: Based on the Authorized Transcription of the Tapes, Official Documents and Diaries of David Berkowitz
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
1
Author:
Book Type: Hardcover
1
Review Date: 9/20/2009
This first (and flawed) look at the .44 caliber killings during the "Summer of Sam" was not really worth the effort. While reading it, I found myself "drinking the Kool-Aid", so to speak: Berkowitz had a poor upbringing, he heard voices, he bought guns, he shot dogs, he set fires and then he shot & killed people - a deranged "lone nut". It's all so simple - after all, he confessed, right? Case closed!
Well, case not actually closed. According to some other reading I've done since reading this book, the case was reopened in the early 1980's and (I believe) still remains open. Mr. Klausner obfuscates much of the story; for example, glossing over real problems with the police sketches and conveniently not reproducing some of them. Those omitted just happen to bear no resemblance to Berkowitz whatsoever. There's a lot Mr. Klausner never mentions in his book: i.e., the "scrawling" on the walls of Berkowitz's apartment that Yonkers police acknowledge was done all at once shortly before his arrest, and the fact that the Carr's dog wasn't shot with a .44 caliber bullet (he does, however, imply that it was a .44). Also never mentioned is the fact that the real "Son of Sam" Carr, John Carr, who Berkowitz knew & associated with (and who was in New York at the time of several of the shootings and closely resembles one of the police sketches) was found dead within weeks of Berkowitz's arrest under suspicious circumstances.
Even before I found out much of the information Mr. Klausner omitted from his treatise (intentionally? unintentionally?), I wondered what the "diary pages" at the end of the book were reproduced for. They really had nothing to do with anything contained in the text - except (of course)to make Berkowitz look even nuttier.
Maury Terry's "The Ultimate Evil" is a much better book on the subject. While certainly not flawless either, Mr. Terry's (an investigative reporter) book does seem to be more thoroughly researched & goes into much greater detail.
P.S. - I also found a citation on the internet (http://www.altereddimensions.net/crime/SonOfSam.aspx)that Mr. Klausner has claimed ownership of all of Berkowitz's letters, even those which have appeared in print, which turned out to be false. How much else has Mr. Klausner claimed that is also false?
Well, case not actually closed. According to some other reading I've done since reading this book, the case was reopened in the early 1980's and (I believe) still remains open. Mr. Klausner obfuscates much of the story; for example, glossing over real problems with the police sketches and conveniently not reproducing some of them. Those omitted just happen to bear no resemblance to Berkowitz whatsoever. There's a lot Mr. Klausner never mentions in his book: i.e., the "scrawling" on the walls of Berkowitz's apartment that Yonkers police acknowledge was done all at once shortly before his arrest, and the fact that the Carr's dog wasn't shot with a .44 caliber bullet (he does, however, imply that it was a .44). Also never mentioned is the fact that the real "Son of Sam" Carr, John Carr, who Berkowitz knew & associated with (and who was in New York at the time of several of the shootings and closely resembles one of the police sketches) was found dead within weeks of Berkowitz's arrest under suspicious circumstances.
Even before I found out much of the information Mr. Klausner omitted from his treatise (intentionally? unintentionally?), I wondered what the "diary pages" at the end of the book were reproduced for. They really had nothing to do with anything contained in the text - except (of course)to make Berkowitz look even nuttier.
Maury Terry's "The Ultimate Evil" is a much better book on the subject. While certainly not flawless either, Mr. Terry's (an investigative reporter) book does seem to be more thoroughly researched & goes into much greater detail.
P.S. - I also found a citation on the internet (http://www.altereddimensions.net/crime/SonOfSam.aspx)that Mr. Klausner has claimed ownership of all of Berkowitz's letters, even those which have appeared in print, which turned out to be false. How much else has Mr. Klausner claimed that is also false?
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