Best crime & criminal biographies according to redditors
We found 600 Reddit comments discussing the best crime & criminal biographies. We ranked the 221 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 600 Reddit comments discussing the best crime & criminal biographies. We ranked the 221 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
That's a true story, in case any of you are calling bullshit. In fact, there was a whole book based on it. I don't recommend it.
It might be outdated. Time reporter Adam Pitluk published this one in 2007, and it makes a good case this guy is a genuine shithead who happened to be involved in one of the larger miscarriages of justice in recent history:
http://www.amazon.com/Damned-Eternity-Story-Caused-Flood/dp/0306815273
There's a sequel, for what it's worth. The Driver survives in the book.
https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/061536263X
Get the PDF and flip to the page where he talks about the NBA rigged the 2002 WCF because they wanted it to go to game 7. Print that out and eat that.
Well, we hit the 10000 limit. Reserving this comment for the misc. section.
FREE TIME/FUN/MISC.
The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security
The Art of War
Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won't Tell You about the Internet
How to Disappear: Erase Your Digital Footprint, Leave False Trails, and Vanish without a Trace
The Best of 2600: A Hacker Odyssey
Super Crunchers: Why Thinking-by-Numbers Is the New Way to Be Smart
Casting the Net: From ARPANET to INTERNET and Beyond thanks sjhill
A Quarter Century of UNIX thanks sjhill
A Reading List For the Self-Taught Computer Scientist thanks zinver
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk thanks segamix
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable thanks AgonistAgent
Snow Crash thanks AgonistAgent
Cryptonomicon thanks Mirple
> Vincent Bugliosi
According to Manson, His Life and Times (I think the best overall book on Manson), Bugliosi was so hated by his co-workers that when he ran for office in LA County they went to the press and offered to give them negative stories about him.
Since some of you might not have seen it, I'm posting it here. I compiled a list of off-season read/watch list of hockey related media. Anyone have suggestions I may have missed?
Movies
| |
:---|:---
SlapShot|A failing ice hockey team finds success using constant fighting and violence during games
Goon|Labeled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.
Youngblood|A skilled young hockey prospect hoping to attract the attention of professional scouts is pressured to show that he can fight if challenged during his stay in a Canadian minor hockey town.
The Mighty Ducks Trilogy|A self-centered lawyer is sentenced to community service coaching a rag tag youth hockey team. In the second movie, leads them to the World Junior Goodwill Games. And in the third movie, the gang heads to a cake-eater private school and a different, tougher coach.
Mystery, Alaska|This comedy is about the residents of a small town who get over-excited when their hockey team gets chosen to host a televised event
Miracle|Miracle tells the true story of Herb Brooks (Russell), the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Russian squad.
Breakaway|An Indian-Canadian hockey player struggles against traditional family values and discrimination from mainstream hockey players.
TV & Documentaries
| |
:---|:---
24/7| The road to the Winter Classic details the trials and tribulations of 2 teams each season as they head into the Winter Classic. First Season: Caps/Pens. Second Season: Flyers/Rangers
Pond Hockey|Pond Hockey examines the changing culture of sports through insightful interviews with hockey stars, experts, journalists and local rink rats alike. More than just a celebration of a beloved game, Pond Hockey searches the open ice for the true meaning of sport.
The Last Gladiators|In ice hockey, no one is tougher than the "goon". Those players have one mission: to protect the star players at any price.
Hockey: A People's History|The history of the sport of ice hockey and its impact on the founding country of Canada.
30 fo 30: A King's Ransom|Story of the Gretzky trade from Oilers to the Kings.
Books
| | |
:---|:---|:---
The Game|Ken Dryden|Ken Dryden, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, is recognized as one of the greatest goalies ever to play the game. More than that, he is one of hockey's most intelligent and insightful commentators. In The Game, Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans.
The Boys of Winter|Wayne Coffey|They were the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered what Sports Illustrated called the greatest sports moment of the twentieth century. Their “Miracle on Ice” has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable.
J.R.|Jeremy Roenick|Jeremy Roenick, one of the premier hockey players of his generation and one of the greatest American stars the NHL has ever known, shares his life story in this frank and unflinching autobiography.
Crossing the Line|Derek Sanderson|The autobiography of one of hockey’s first rebels and a beloved member of the “Big Bad Bruins,” this book shares how Derek Sanderson’s ferocious style helped lead the team to two Stanley Cup victories in the early 1970s.
Playing With Fire|Theo Fleury|Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL player, and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home.
Jonesy: Put Your Head Down and Skate|Kieth Jones|Jonsey is the story of Keith s career in the league as well as all of the interesting stories he accumulated over the course of his career, playing with some of the leagues best players in the last 15 years, including Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Mark Recchi and Eric Lindros. Forward by Ray Bourque.
Blood Feud|Adrian Dater|Blood Feud is a rollicking story of a fierce, and often violent, rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche.
Tough Guy|Bob Probert|Documenting his notorious career with the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, Bob Probert details in this autobiography how he racked up points, penalty minutes, and bar bills, establishing himself as one of the most feared enforcers in the history of the NHL.
Journeyman|Sean Pronger|The many triumphs (and even more numerous defeats) of a guy who's seen just about everything in the game of hockey while playing for 11 teams in 16 years.
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber|Julian Rubenstein|The true story of a bank robbing backup goalie in Hungary who becomes a folk hero right after the fall of communism.
Breakaway|Tal Pinchevsky|The stories of the first players to defect and/or get work visas to play in the NHL from Czechoslovakia and the USSR.
Breakaway|Andrew Conte|A detailed, fascinating account of Penguins rise from bankruptcy to Stanley Cup champion that takes you inside the board rooms as well as the players dressing rooms.
Artificial Ice|David Whitson, Richard Gruneau|Artificial Ice explores how hockey has moved from popular pastime to commercial entertainment product, and one struggling to maintain its stature in the North American entertainment market.
The Instigator|Jonathon Gatehouse|Two decades of lockouts, soaring ticket prices, and on-ice tinkering have convinced many hard-core fans that the NHL’s long-time commissioner Gary Bettman is the devil in disguise, but this book examines his motivations, peels back his often prickly demeanor, and explains how he manages to lead, confound, and keep order.
Orr: My Story|Bobby Orr|Bobby Orr is often referred to as the greatest ever to play the game of hockey. From 1966 through the mid-seventies, he could change a game just by stepping on the ice. No defenseman had ever played the way he did, or received so many trophies, or set so many records, several of which still stand today. Now he tells of his inspirations, his motivations, and what drove him to become one of the greats. Avalable October 15
Bundy also took pleasure in vicariously "investigating his crimes" through an avatar that he made up to two writers who came to interview him in prison. This person was ostensibly the "real killer" and he would give in depth analysis as to what he was feeling as he committed the crimes and explain why he engaged in certain patterns of behavior.
Though he never inserted himself into the discussion, it was obvious that Bundy took great pleasure in recounting the crimes. He just couldn't get over how clever he thought he was.
Here's the resulting book about it:
www.amazon.com/Ted-Bundy-Conversations-Hugh-Aynesworth/dp/1928704174
He also volunteered his "expertise" in investigating the "Green River Killer" Gary Ridgway...
He also ended up spending several years in prison. Interestingly enough, it wasn't just because of the stolen rocks, but actually because of some notebooks that he was accused of taking as well (he claims the notebooks were not in the safe he stole).
http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0385533926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318088847&sr=8-1
"A Stranger Beside Me" by Ann Rule.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Beside-Me-Ann-Rule/dp/1416559590
I can't believe I spent twenty minutes to track this down.
The change to Wikipedia was made in an anonymous edit last May, so I figured, okay, this story is not going to pan out.
The change had an actual citation, though: Schechter (2003). The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World's Most Terrifying Murderers. Ballantine Books. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-345-46566-5.
I checked it on Amazon, and did the Look Inside thing for Locusta. It was actually verbatim from the book, page 130, so it could have been removed for copyright reasons. The source of this specially-trained giraffe story in the book is one "Michael Newton," "crime maven," who appears to have written a number of books of crime anecdotes.
Edit: Michael Newton's profession must be noted.
I enjoyed Kingpin by Kevin Poulson it provided an excellent overview of the carder markets.
Not that I want a sequel but there is a sequel to the book
I guess Bundy would be a bit of an extreme example, but reading about him wouldn't hurt. I read a book about Bundy called Ted Bundy : Conversations with a Killer and you really get a good look inside the head of a sociopath.
http://www.amazon.com/Ted-Bundy-Conversations-Hugh-Aynesworth/dp/1928704174/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408804663&sr=8-1&keywords=Ted+Bundy%3A+Conversations+with+a+Killer
Bind, Torture, Kill by a few of the reporters who covered the BTK case as it happened in Wichita, Kansas and had some unique insight in to the investigation.
I had this happen a couple of times to me in one year. I found out later that it likely originated with Target when they got hacked a few years ago and then the other was from a Wendy’s POS terminal when it came out that all of them in the area in which we lived were discovered to have malware installed which skimmed customer numbers.
I actually read a book about credit card hackers called Kingpin.
https://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground/dp/0307588696
It’s a really interesting read and it makes you realize that basically, if you ever use your card, there is a chance it will get stolen at some point.
So your advice is definitely sound. Just check every month at least. I would also turn on transaction notifications. That’s how I caught what was happening both times. I set the limit to $5 so basically any transaction except for buying a candy bar or something alerts me. Good way to keep an eye on things.
The Stranger Beside Me is a classic.
Seconded. Just remember, if your adversary is sophisticated enough, and they get their hands on your computer while it's running, they could potentially retrieve the TrueCrypt key from your memory--that's how the government busted Iceman.
His life has been recounted in a novel. A very good read. Recommended.
http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/061536263X
I bought it for my Kindle a few months back, and my opinion of the league was changed quite a bit after reading.
As for the specific text about the event, I'd have to look through the book later today.
> I’m gonna go back and look at it and definitely contact somebody to see what’s going on there.
https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/061536263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525757892&sr=8-1&keywords=tim+donaghy+personal+foul
A few graphic novels:
A couple more books that are on my wish list, though i haven't read them yet, are:
Meanwhile, a Time reporter wrote a book claiming the guy is innocent.
Consider the convicted guy's idiotic criminal history, and the sheer idiocy of boasting to numerous people that he committed the crime. He obviously saw such a crime as boast-worthy, which then raises the question of whether he boasted about a natural levee break in order to take credit and raise his profile among his idiot friends. That, coupled with the experts saying it was a natural levee break, provides me reasonable doubt.
I just finished reading the book Manson. What a horrific chain of events that lead to her life being cut short. The book gets pretty graphic about how the night played out and it has stuck with me and it blows my mind how these seemingly ordinary people would be able to do something so insane.
It is a pretty good book if anyone is interested in learning more.
Sources:
John Douglas - Mindhunter. Some of his other books talk about Bundy too, but I can't remember which ones - sorry.
Robert Keppel with Stephen G. Michaud - Terrible Secrets
Keppel was the original detective that was assigned to the Bundy case. Bundy asked him to meet him once he knew he was going to be executed and a lot of the book talks about that meeting.
Check our Stephen G. Michaud's other books too. He helped co-write a number of books on Bundy with a few FBI profilers. The one contains transcripts of Michaud's interviews with Bundy.
You can also read the transcripts of Bill Hagmaier's interviews online.
Read Kingpin https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground-ebook/dp/B004IK8Q2M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1518731360&sr=8-4&keywords=kingpin
As well as being a great book for anyone interested in cyber security, the main guy (definitely a greyhat at the time) does this, and the fallout is one of the major factors that screws him up and sends him blackhat.
This reminded me of this book http://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground/dp/0307588696
It is a fact that the FBI have breached VPN's and used them as honeypots. Even acting as vpn providers. They can do that without breaking the law.
I can recommend this book for more info: http://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground/dp/0307588688
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber is lesser known, but a fun, brisk read. It doesn't reach the level of HS or ICB, and it's about a more amusing case, not murders. The central criminal is just too likeable to not root for, he was a pelt smuggler before he was a robbery. The writing is above average for true crime.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_Ambrus
https://www.amazon.com/Ballad-Whiskey-Robber-Transylvanian-Moonlighting/dp/0316010731
Chaos : Charles Manson, The CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties has just come out this year and confirmed absolutely that the Helter Skelter motive was a lie. Tom O'neill has done some amazing research and genuinely delivered on publishing information not before seen. https://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Charles-Manson-History-Sixties/dp/0316477559
Another enlightening read on a much misrepresented case is The Life and Time of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn whose extensive research also proved that much of what is 'known' about Manson was not true https://www.amazon.com/Manson-Life-Times-Charles/dp/1451645171
The Family by Ed Sanders is also considered by many to be an alternative to Helter Skelter and essential reading on the Manson case https://www.amazon.com/Family-Ed-Sanders/dp/1560253967
The prison biography of Tex Watson who actually committed the murders is available to read free online https://www.aboundinglove.org/main/images/bookPDFs/Will_You_Die_For_Mesmall.pdf
Not sure how much time you have for your project or what kind of info you are planning to include, but these 2 books are classic, great resources for understanding Ted himself as well as his murders and victims.
The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule
The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History - Kevin M Sullivan
Ahhh yes!!! Mindhunter: Inside the FBI elite serial crime unit.
This guy is one of the 1st FBI'S profilers.He narrates his experiences and interviews with serial killers.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501191969/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_yx4zCbQECQJ5K
Try 'Final Truth: Autobiography of a serial killer' by Wilton Earle and Peewee Gaskins. It's a very disturbing read. Very graphic. Very, very graphic.
There's some debate about the veracity of the claims by Gaskins as he seems to be claiming killings that he couldn't have committed, but what is clear is that he is a serial killer and a depraved motherfucker.
Other books worth reading are (in no particular order):
10 Rillington Place by Ludovic Kennedy (John Reginald Halliday Christie)
Evil Beyond Belief by Wensley Clarkson (Dr Harold Shipman)
Beyond Belief by Emlyn Williams (Ian Brady and Moira Hindley)
Killing for Company by Brian Masters (Denis Neilsen)
The Murder of Childhood by Ray Wyre and Tim Tate (Robert Black)
Interested in reading the famous Art of War by Sun Tzu? Don't!
The text is mostly useless junk, and what's salient can be summarized as follows:
There, I just saved you a couple of tedious evenings! Please reward with upvotes!
> But MegasBasilius, what if I do want to read the text?
Then purchase this edition.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Final-Truth-Autobiography-Mass-Murderer/dp/0963242202
There you go. When you read it give me a lend of it after you 😂😂 Seriously twisted.
Excellent, thank you.
I highly recommend The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule, if you haven't read it already.
Here's some recommendations for everyone:
James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet series and Underworld USA trilogy. Gritty, intense historical fiction based in LA in the 50s-60s and then Underworld USA is 60s-70s based all over the world but deals with JFK assasination, Vietnam, the mob in vegas and a ton of other shit. Really good stuff if you're into any of that stuff.
Another one I've been reading is The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule about Ted Bundy and the author's relationship with him before and after the killings. Really good read. Also Green River, Running Red about the Green River Killer is great too if you're interested in true crime/serial killers. And Mindhunter which they based the Netflix show off of is also a good read if you're into all this shit like I am.
Love having this thread here tho.
Not sure if you are into security tech but some of my favorites....
Also thought I'd include some that I have purchased but not finished yet in case you'd be interested.
Malignant narcissistic sociopaths have no conscience even for those who love them and they are masters of lying and manipulation. Moonves is a predator no matter how you slice it.
If Chen has any conscience herself, she'll be seeing a top notch lawyer soon and make him pay for it. Any woman should.
If you've never read Ann Rule's book about Bundy and how she worked alongside him, you should:
https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Beside-Me-Ann-Rule/dp/1416559590
Books
| | |
:---|:---|:---
The Game|Ken Dryden|Ken Dryden, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, is recognized as one of the greatest goalies ever to play the game. More than that, he is one of hockey's most intelligent and insightful commentators. In The Game, Dryden captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans.
The Boys of Winter|Wayne Coffey|They were the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, a blue-collar bunch led by an unconventional coach, and they engineered what Sports Illustrated called the greatest sports moment of the twentieth century. Their “Miracle on Ice” has become a national fairy tale, but the real Cinderella story is even more remarkable.
J.R.|Jeremy Roenick|Jeremy Roenick, one of the premier hockey players of his generation and one of the greatest American stars the NHL has ever known, shares his life story in this frank and unflinching autobiography.
Crossing the Line|Derek Sanderson|The autobiography of one of hockey’s first rebels and a beloved member of the “Big Bad Bruins,” this book shares how Derek Sanderson’s ferocious style helped lead the team to two Stanley Cup victories in the early 1970s.
Playing With Fire|Theo Fleury|Theo Fleury takes us behind the bench during his glorious days as an NHL player, and talks about growing up devastatingly poor and in chaos at home.
Jonesy: Put Your Head Down and Skate|Kieth Jones|Jonsey is the story of Keith s career in the league as well as all of the interesting stories he accumulated over the course of his career, playing with some of the leagues best players in the last 15 years, including Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Mark Recchi and Eric Lindros. Forward by Ray Bourque.
Blood Feud|Adrian Dater|Blood Feud is a rollicking story of a fierce, and often violent, rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche.
Tough Guy|Bob Probert|Documenting his notorious career with the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks, Bob Probert details in this autobiography how he racked up points, penalty minutes, and bar bills, establishing himself as one of the most feared enforcers in the history of the NHL.
Journeyman|Sean Pronger|The many triumphs (and even more numerous defeats) of a guy who's seen just about everything in the game of hockey while playing for 11 teams in 16 years.
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber|Julian Rubenstein|The true story of a bank robbing backup goalie in Hungary who becomes a folk hero right after the fall of communism.
Breakaway|Tal Pinchevsky|The stories of the first players to defect and/or get work visas to play in the NHL from Czechoslovakia and the USSR.
Breakaway|Andrew Conte|A detailed, fascinating account of Penguins rise from bankruptcy to Stanley Cup champion that takes you inside the board rooms as well as the players dressing rooms.
Artificial Ice|David Whitson, Richard Gruneau|Artificial Ice explores how hockey has moved from popular pastime to commercial entertainment product, and one struggling to maintain its stature in the North American entertainment market.
Orr: My Story|Bobby Orr|Bobby Orr is often referred to as the greatest ever to play the game of hockey. From 1966 through the mid-seventies, he could change a game just by stepping on the ice. No defenseman had ever played the way he did, or received so many trophies, or set so many records, several of which still stand today. Now he tells of his inspirations, his motivations, and what drove him to become one of the greats. Avalable October 15
There's a book all about it, by the guy that wrote "The Social Network."
http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0385533926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334516371&sr=8-1
It's not a bad read.
My reading recommendations include, mainly, a lot of textbooks! Unlike a lot of the true crime novels, I've found that criminal psychology, criminology, victimology, forensics and other academic textbooks and research journals are generally far less sensationalistic than the true crime novels tend to be. here are some of the ones that I highly recommend.
Serial Murderers and Their Victims by Eric W Hinkley is a fantastic resource for the latest studies concerning serial murder, focusing on both the perpetrators and their victims. Now in its seventh iteration, this text has some of the most up to date statistics on serial killers in the US and worldwide.
Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters by Peter Vronsky is another similarly great book full of real life case studies of serial and spree killers and delves into the motives behind such aberrant behavior.
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers by Michael Newton has entries on hundreds of convicted serial killers.
The Serial Killer Files: The Who, What, Where, How, and Why of the World's Most Terrifying Murderers by Harold Schechter undoubtedly possesses a sensational bent, but I can't deny that the book is certainly thrilling to read in a morbid way, and I think any fan of true crime will like it very much.
Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters by Peter Vronsky explores the rare phenomenon of female serial killers.
Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives by Ressler, Burgess and Douglas is an important and easily-read psychological textbook on the sexual impulses that lead to violence.
Sexual Murder: Catathymic and Compulsive Homicides by Louis B Schlesinger is a similar book by a prominent forensic psychologist.
Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives, Second Edition: Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations by Vernon J Geberth is a manual for law enforcement professionals investigating sexually-motivated homicides by a renowned former-detective. The images and case studies are directly from the author's archive of case files. I will warn readers that some of the content in this book is highly disturbing, even for I, a person with an interest in the psychology of serial killers. All in all, a fascinating book for those who can stomach it.
Agreed. Also, reading suggestion for the OP:
https://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground/dp/0307588696
I'd no idea how rare it was, I just found it on Amazon for $122.93 new. I bought mine at Adams in USC for less than $20 in '98 I think... I want to say I gave it away when my oldest son started learning to read, I was afraid he may have read it and never slept again.
The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312938845/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_e19CxbYY6ZX4W
It's so good!
What most consider the original is actually titled:
More recently, there have been several excellent titles. My suggestion is stick to non fiction as it will truly scare the yell out of you.
Almost everything by Bruce
I can recommend more but these are good starting points. Fiction is fun but for pure terror, grasping what these authors are revealing is the key.
My favorite drink is whatever alcoholic beverage I can get my hands around on a big ass cruise ship.
American Kingpin, the story of Ross Ulbricht (better known as Dread Pirate Roberts) and how he built and crashed the online drug market known as The Silk Road, is out and on my amazon wishlist. Hint hint. Just kidding, I'll probably buy it myself for lounge-reading on the boat.
Sex on the Moon
Its a good read but the tldr is he did it because he thought that it was a waste that the rocks were just sitting hidden in a vault, and that no one would miss them if he took them. But mostly for the thrill of it, he was an excommunicated Mormon. And the how, is NASA security is horrible once you work there, he pretty much walked in and wheeled the safe out of the lab.
Check out Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground. It doesn't have the social media aspect, but still a great real life hacker story. Also, Exploding the Phone: The Untold Story of the Teenagers and Outlaws who Hacked Ma Bell is very good as well. I will also second the Mitnick book.
I really like true crime as a genre.
The Stranger Beside Me is pretty fascinating. The author, Ann Rule, worked alongside Ted Bundy while he was volunteering at a suicide hotline. Then she got assigned coincidentally to write a story on his murders, before anyone knew who it was. She is also a great writer.
If you already like true crime and are into something a bit more niche and loaded with culture war, John Safrans Murder in Missisippi I really loved. I think the subtitle: The True Story of How I Met a White Supremacist, Befriended His Black Killer and Wrote this Book, will give you a good idea of if you'll like the subject matter.
I think I'm starting to get sick - sore throat, congested head, stuffed up nose - and I'm freaking out because I don't want to be sick on vacation.
I ordered American Kingpin on Amazon for some cruise/beach reading - did any of you follow the story of Ross Ulbricht/"Dread Pirate Roberts" and The Silk Road drug marketplace? I ordered a few times from there years ago when it was still operational. I find it fascinating. Can't wait to read it.
So it's officially been two months since I've tapered, and two months since I had my period. You would think that I would be stable on my sub dose by now, but I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms at night again. I posted on a suboxone taper facebook group asking if anyone had ever done a medically-assisted rapid detox and linked to the website online. I swear, people on facebook are so dumb. They assumed I meant the Waismann Method, or that I was talking about a rapid taper. One person told me to take the money and go on vacation, because tapering "isn't so hard" - if I could punch someone, I would. I feel like I'm being belittled and it's really frustrating.
Though I find Ann Rule a bit hit-and-miss for me on whether I like her books, I did enjoy Too Late to Say Goodbye.
Oh, also Devil's Knot about the West Memphis Three.
And Bind, Torture, Kill which I find disturbingly fascinating, especially how he ultimately got caught decades later.
Kingpin
Ghost in the Wires
The Art of Deception
For further reading, here’s the book: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0307741346
Ref's hold grudges against certain players. As you can see, Joey Crawford was also a ref in this game. I am not sure if this game was AFTER a time when Joey Crawford ejected Duncan for laughing on the bench. If so, I'm pretty sure J.C. and that other ref talked pre-game and had a 'target' on Duncan this whole game.
Source: Tim Donagy's Book
There is nothing - I repeat nothing - more morbid than Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins' autobiography. He was one of America's most sadistic and prolific serial killers, so to have a record of his life and killings like this, in his own words, is quite something. He is a sick fuck.
I thin he is referring to the "The final truth" (http://www.amazon.com/Final-Truth-Autobiography-Serial-Killer/dp/0963242202) I read this one when i was about 16, pretty messed up some of the things he did.
Not with, but on. There's actually a book about:
http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0385533926
I have this edition: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081331951X/
I've very happy with it - the book is broken into two chunks. The second is the complete english translation of the text. This bit is "The Art of War" as written by Sun Tzu. The first chunk is a long historical context that leads up to the life of Sun Tzu and gives the political and military climate of the time, as well as timelines/troop movements of several of the battles Sun Tzu participated in. I thought this part was incredibly interesting for it's own sake, though if you're just looking for the bare text, then this becomes merely fluff. Both chunks are well and thoroughly footnoted both for references and tangential information.
Overall, it was a very solid buy, and if you're at all remotely interested in the China in which this text was written as opposed to just the bare text, I would definitely get it.
>Am I missing something?
I suspect there may be a reference or two to the plot in the book the series is based off of that might sneak in here or there.
I haven't read the book, although I do have it. It came out originally in the 1990s, so it's a bit dated, but I got the newest version and I'm going to try to get through it because I'm curious if that might be the case.
I absolutely believe he could be responsible for the amount of murders her claimed. Unlike the two braggarts Otis Tooleand Henry Lee Lucas (who confessed to everything with no proof) PeeWee showed the cops his makeshift graveyard with 9-11 victims. His "coastal kills" are absolutely believable. I mean, this man killed someone with an improvised explosive device while he was on Death Row.Final Truth recounts all of his sadistic torturing, murdering and canabalism of mostly drifters and hitchikers over several years. The true scope of his brutality and the suffering to which he subjected his victims is the stuff of nightmares.
A bit off topic...I just finished reading an advance copy of Kingpin written by Kevin - one of the best written 'hacker' books i've read in a long time (good amount of technical detail). Anyway, give it a read when it comes out. He's really come a long way in establishing himself as a legitimate author IMO.
http://www.amazon.com/Final-Truth-Autobiography-Serial-Killer/dp/0963242202
Enjoy.
My Dark Places by James Elroy:
https://www.amazon.com/My-Dark-Places-James-Ellroy/dp/0679762051/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1468280554&sr=1-1&keywords=my+dark+places
Not a mystery but fantastic crime writing:
https://www.amazon.com/Manson-Life-Times-Charles/dp/1451645171
Journeyman by Sean Pronger Very amusing, even to my non-hockey fan mother. Interesting due not only who his little brother is, but rarely do the guys who bounce in and out of the minor leagues get a platform to tell the story.
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubenstein The true story of a bank robbing backup goalie in Hungary who becomes a folk hero right after the fall of communism.
Breakaway by Tal Pinchevsky The stories of the first players to defect and/or get work visas to play in the NHL from Czechoslovakia and the USSR.
Fiction or non-fiction?
Fiction: Special Assignments (also published as The Jack of Spades and The Decorator) by Boris Akunin does this well in the second tale (the stories are distinct but interrelated). By the same author, The Coronation does a section from the antagonist's perspective. It could also be a good choice for a book club, as it's a nod to Conan Doyle and paralells a classic Holmes story.
For non-fiction, anything by John Douglas (the original profiler. Many characters on FBI-type TV shows have been based off him). Also Riverman by Robert D. Keppel, which contains conversations with Ted Bundy about the possible motives of the Green River Killer. True crime writer Ann Rule wrote The Stranger Beside Me about her relationship with Ted Bundy.
While none of the non-fiction books are from the serial killer's perspective, they all offer insight into what makes these people tick.
Dis!
I LOVE finding old books/items! Then it's on to super cringe when you remembered them being awesome, and they're just not as awesome as an adult. :P
A mental mind fuck can be nice !
> I'll also watch Game Change because I haven't watched it yet.
I'll look at both sides and see what my opinion becomes after.
> Thank you for all the info! Gives me something to do today :p
Thank you!
>No I haven't. But what I've heard of people actually meeting her, they say she is really nice and will talk to people, instead of ignoring
I have never met Bill Clinton, but I know several people who have--they say he is amazing in person--warm, kind, with a charisma or charm like none they have ever seen.
What everyone says is something along the lines of "he makes you feel like you're the only person in the world, and he cares about you".
Sarah has that kind of aura or charisma too, for some people.
Ted Bundy was also "really nice".
https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Beside-Me-Ann-Rule/dp/1416559590
With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America.
Nice guy though!
https://www.amazon.com/Manson-Life-Times-Charles/dp/1451645171
Kingpin:
https://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground-ebook/dp/B004IK8Q2M#nav-subnav
Look at the product screenshots. Written for Windows 95 using a JET database with VB4 and Access as a backend is my guess.
What a convoluted nightmare of a UI.
Then again, People still use Aloha terminals. Some of those were key to the largest set of credit breaches in history (looking at you, Pizza Schmizza, who had their terminals on the internet and magstripe captures on-disk, as well as plenty of other vendors who did same). They still don't seem to have fixed their shit, even though a fairly high-profile book covered it years ago.
You might question the information side of things - "aw, screw you, internet guy" - as irrelevant. It is irrelevant only until it's your restaurant in the news or in a book. Then you're fucked. This is a serious concern for owners, or should be. Bad technology will screw the best of businesses if you let it. And if you're found to be out of PCI compliance, imagine running your place without being able to run Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, etc. because your contract was severed by your DPS. When even Diner's Club won't keep you, you're done - a cash-only restaurant and bar? Good luck, unless you're a dive or a kitchy place that relies on that kind of trick. Whoops.
Second for "The Iceman"!
I consume everything by audiobook/audible. You will find them all on audible.
the Silk Road one is more accurately 'American Kingpin'.
You should read The Stranger Beside Me.
He has a book entitled “Final Truth” in which he claims he used to drive up and down the South Carolina coast picking up hitchhikers and submerged the bodies in the swamps of that area. I’d highly recommend it. Possible classic case of claiming a body count far higher than the actual. He’s quite an interesting study. Beyond his heinous acts that we do have evidence of his upbringing provides some insight on the psyche of a serial murderer. Thank you so much for your response Mr. Olshaker, you made my day!
https://www.amazon.com/Final-Truth-Autobiography-Serial-Killer/dp/0963242202
I love the Mindhunter TV series, but you should really read the book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker, for the best telling of Kemper's story. I was an English teacher and I gave away at least half a dozen copies of that book to high school Seniors that were interested in forensics or law enforcement. It's a great read.
Ahh ok, this is the book: Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground - this guy was Max 'Vision' Butler and he had his flat searched as part of the investigation into the HL2 source code hack. It is a really great book by the way and definitely worth the read.
BTK
That's literally true! I'll see if I can find a link about it
Edit: OK, so I couldn't find any respectable organisations reporting on it, and all the reporting I did find is basically just repeating the stuff here and here anyway. There's a more readable account here, but it's far too long.
Unfortunately the bloggers who found the story did a piss-poor job of documenting it: some of the tweets they relied on have disappeared, and apparently nobody bothered to record some livestream. So I'd consider the specific claim of $5,000 a month to be unverified. Plus, "sit-in" seems a little bit formal for what happened: near as I can tell, some protestors/organisers/activists didn't get paid, and went to this fellow's office en masse to complain. (And being young, they tweeted about it.)
Still, the moral of the story: play with snakes and you might get bit.
(It always amuses me to see people who are surprised that the shady crook they've been dealing with turns out to be a thief as well. Or when people assume that a murderer wouldn't also be a liar.)
The ice man is pretty interesting.
A lot of the book was written from first hand knowledge. The author actually talked to Richard kuklinski. The story starts from when he was a child. You get to see the progression all the way up to when he was caught. Really fascinating stuff.
The Parker novels by Richard Stark are awesome totally badass (and short!) novels about a professional heist man. They are a bit more hard boiled than White Collar, but they are just ridiculously awesome. The first one is The Hunter but the best is The Score
And here are a couple of non-fiction heist books that I HAVEN'T read but that I think look interesting: Stealing Rembrants and Sex on the Moon
Yes, it's fairly common. Other examples are Altered Carbon, Bird box, and Mind Hunter.
And this is a great companion piece (I read it after The Girls, but reading it before would be just as good).
It's a full-blown Manson biography, beginning with his parents' lives. It is fucking fascinating and more focused on the culture of the times, rather than the crimes themselves (unlike Helter Skelter).
the guy had been in and out of jail quite a few times so. He had a book written about him. I plan on checking it out.
http://www.amazon.com/Damned-Eternity-Story-Caused-Flood/dp/0306815273
Relevant book about James Scott's life and trial
John Dies at the End by David Wong
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein <- This one I actually got shushed on the subway for laughing too hard while reading it.
Edit: Links
"Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA" - By Tim Donaghy
https://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/061536263X
You should check this out. http://www.amazon.com/The-Ice-Man-Confessions-Contract/dp/0312938845
It's a pretty awesome read.
These reviews are pretty compelling regarding his innocence:
http://www.amazon.com/Damned-Eternity-Story-Caused-Flood/product-reviews/0306815273/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&amp;showViewpoints=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591848148/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=caseyneistat-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=1591848148&amp;linkId=58f5246e11d8d0cd9a21dd55c2e07a1d
It was in the description of the source video as well.
I just read this for my True Crime book club. Very Dollop-esque:
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts
Rubinstein, Julian
I just read the book "The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Hitman" http://amzn.to/13QoSec
because I had stumbled on this documentary http://youtu.be/Tv4c3flhSaU and I have to say, Richard Kuklinski is one of the scariest people I have seen on film.
Here is a book that has hockey in it but is so much more.
There's actually a book on this
https://www.amazon.com/Damned-Eternity-Story-Caused-Flood/dp/0306815273
The Ice Man is awesome.
This guy killed a lot of people. He started in his teens and was eventually hired by the mafia. The crazy part is how cold/indifferent he was to killing, yet he had a wife and two daughters.
This is a great read.
> I believe the IRS agent who discovered Ross had to use his LE credentials to get archived data.
There's literally a book about how Ross got caught. https://www.amazon.com/American-Kingpin-Criminal-Mastermind-Behind/dp/1591848148
>
> Alpha maybe a different story. The email header is probably fake news,
I have it on good authority that it was not fake news.
> but Cases was a nerd and posted tons of shit online. He probably slipped up somewhere else.
The documents I read said they also identified him by tracing his bitcoin withdrawls through a mixer. As they did with HumboldtFarms (among other ways). Same type of thing happened here: /r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/72ws9e/legal_papers_exposing_how_one_moderator_of_some/
Have you read this?
https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Man-Confessions-Contract-Killer/dp/0312938845
No. He didn't sprinkle them on the bed, he put the sealed moon rocks under the mattress, then had sex on top of the bed.
http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0307741346/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1371998388&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=sex+on+the+moon
You sure it was YA? Sounds like it could be either a bio of Kevin Poulsen or Kevin Mitnick
Ever read this? It has very little to do with Ted Bundy actually working at a suicide hotline but it's a damn good read.
Good question actually... or would you just be doubling up on Kingpin?
He works for the Department of Defense. From my understanding, he's doing some sort of DCIS work (don't really know what that means). Honestly, I think he's a repo-man. Everything he's ever told me about his job usually involves getting some sort of stolen government property back ( http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0385533926 this book really pissed him off because he personally worked that case).
I read Kingpin: How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground a few months back which is all about that stuff. Really good read.
We have 'The Serial Killer Files' in the master bathroom.
Link on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Serial-Killer-Files-Terrifying/dp/0345465660/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=1H6K1QVB94YD1K99V8MS
> you have to have your email registered here for it to be legit, and i never register anything
I was just using Reddit as an example. Here is my main point: there may be 30 clever ways to cross reference exactly who you are IN THE FUTURE at some point when the government links up all their databases and runs some AI on it.
Every time somebody says "it's perfect, I'll never be caught" it sets off warning bells. Since your cell phone knows who you are and talks with cell towers in your area at every point in time, if you cross reference your location (from the cell phone) with your laptop's IP address every time you post to reddit from a laptop, it narrows down the choices. Then you browse other websites, or check your email, and you leave a little trail. Understand me: YOU ARE TOTALLY SAFE TODAY, the question is whether this will be true in 5 years?
If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend "American Kingpin" which is the story of catching the Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht. Ross kept saying over and over again "you can't catch me, the dark web can't be tracked and Bitcoin can't be traced". He is now in jail for the rest of his life, so he was wrong. :-) One of the ways they caught Ross was because he posted several times to different forums (under the name "Altoid" - not his real identity) referring to Bitcoin and Silk Road very very early on, YEARS before they had any interest and caught him. But the forums kept the history around (like reddit) and when it came time, the data was there for the FBI to track him down.
Ross BECAME super careful later, when Silk Road took off. He encrypted his laptop and never used a user name twice - but that history when it didn't seem to be a big deal yet is what got him caught.
Everything you could ever want to know and more.
Author Ann Rule was a volunteer alongside him, and she wrote a really interesting book about it (if you're interested): The Stranger Beside Me
Don't look at me, I read about it in a book called The Serial Killer Files
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345465660/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_pQiEzbJTXB558
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ROKXSI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1
I just finished this the other day.
I might suggest going a different way. In order to get into the mind of a serial killer, it might be helpful to first understand some of the psychology behind the fascination. This book gives an excellent overview of not only why we as people get very interested in serial murder, but also dives into a lot of other areas that would be essential in authoring a story, in my opinion. I write as well and was glad to have discovered this book. You also might want to check out Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer, as this book offers a unique look not only into Bundy's mind, but also into the essence of serial murder in general.
I recommend reading Kingpin
Mä luulin että kapu on pidätetty aikoja sitten jo, ainakin alkuperäinen. Juuri luin Tälläisen kirjan silkkitien perustajasta, tykkäsin.
Hijacking my comment to let everyone know about a new subreddit we've launched. r/RedditCrimeCommunity is a hub for all the case specific subs and a forum for high quality self posts on crime. I'd love it if you'd join me there and help us build it.
---
Mark has been verified by the mods and we've added a Verified flair.
Here's a link to his Amazon Author page
The new book, The Killer Across the Table on Amazon
Mindhunter on Amazon
Edit: The AMA is now concluded. Thanks again to everyone who came to the thread and either asked a question or lurked and read.
I hope you guys got as much out of this as I did. Thank you again to u/Mark_Olshaker for agreeing to do this. I've extended an open invitation to him to join us in the future if he so chooses.
Edit2:
Archive of the AMA - Archive.is
Archive of the AMA - Archive.org
Max “Vision” Butler is an example I use for training classes.
He was a FBI informant, told the FBI about government systems being vulnerable to an exploit that had just been made public. I mean every government system including military, they ignored him, so he created a patch and remediated the issue in thousands of government servers himself... BUT, he also left himself backdoors in his code, which is a running theme with him. He didn’t have the worst intentions, but he did some shady stuff.
Kingpin, How One Hacker Took Over The Billion Dollar Cybercrime Underground by Kevin Paulson
Edit - The book itself is more about his crime ring after he goes to prison for what I mentioned. He does do federal prison time, finds it tough to get work after, and meets a guy who has the idea for a crime ring. I actually think the above story would be more interesting for a school report.
> the Referees are able to swing a game one way or another?
There is a book I read called personal foul. It is regarding NBA, not NFL. Still, it is likely happening across all sports on all levels. I think at the higher level it, unfortunately, involves players and coaches too. It is inevitable.
It wouldn't be farfetched for the NFL, due to declining income, so resort to even more gambling to bring in more money.
This is the one that I have, the large page number for such a short book is a result of all the work the author did to put The Art of War itself into its correct historical context.
http://www.amazon.com/Art-War-History-Warfare/dp/081331951X/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1419351680&amp;sr=8-10
Someone likely got a hold of your card data. This can happen in several ways. Thieves put "skimmers" on ATMs for just this purpose, or it could be from a waitress that has a hand-held skimmer, who swipes each card she handles when the customer is out of sight. If your card has the sideways wifi-looking symbol on the back, it broadcasts its information wirelessly as well. This information can be zapped out of the air with relative ease. Certain phones that have NFC chips and/or the appropriate technology (nothing special), can download an app that sniffs CC info of cards that are within 6 inches or so of it (better technology can go further; while the theoretical limit for this technology on cards was supposed to be like 36 inches at Best, I saw a DefCON presentation where they were able to read card info from like a quarter mile with homemade equipment). All of this aside, it is Also extremely likely that your CC info was purchased online, from someone who hacked into a (usually) small mom/pops type place that is incorrectly handling CC info (it is technically illegal for them to store/maintain this info, at least unencrypted I know it is.... but it still happens a lot... usually when people use some "small business starter pro!!" software they don't know how to use).
Lastly, I'd like to point out that if I had to guess, the owner of that store is in on this ring of thieves. That, or the thief made a copy of your card and went there, a place where they don't really pay attention. The thief would want to make a clone of your card and do a test purchase before selling it, or before trying it at a large establishment (or simply taking the time to make his fake look Real, which costs him like 30$ of materials etc if he wants one that can pass inspection) (mind you the Tools/Machines costs 100s and 1000s of dollars... just once he's already got those, I'm averaging between 20-30$ of materials (metallic paint, hologram, other ink, etc, etc)).
Source: Read and recommend this book for you to read. Kingpin
I highly, highly recommend a hilarious book, The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber, based on the true story of a Hungarian bank robber just after the fall of communism. It wonderfully captures life in Central Europe at that time. And this scene could have been taken straight from the book. One of the funniest books I've ever read, and even more remarkable because it's all true: http://www.amazon.com/Ballad-Whiskey-Robber-Transylvanian-Moonlighting/dp/0316010731
straight out of The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber
Read up. https://www.amazon.com/American-Kingpin-Criminal-Mastermind-Behind/dp/1591848148
> "Ghost in the Wires" by Kevin Mitnick
Yes, fantastic book. I actually contracted Kevin (and his firm) to pen test my payment device, as much for the knowledge as for the celebrity tickles it sent up my spine.
Also I would recommend Kingpin
Hmm. True crime isn't often known for being well written. But check out Public Enemies by Bryan Burroughs, Columbine by Dave Cullen, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, and of course, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. T.J. English has written some supposedly good stuff, and (being from Boston) I can recommend some good books on Whitey Bulger, including Brutal, Black Mass and Rat Bastards.
If you're looking for stuff on actual murderers, it's going to be a little harder. Most of that stuff is crap. I guess the old standbys are Helter Skelter, The Stranger Beside Me, and BTK.
i wish I still had my copy it's worth $100. Here's Amazon reviews if you don't believe me. Again, nothing in this subreddit can compare to what he did.
https://www.amazon.com/Final-Truth-Autobiography-Serial-Killer/dp/0963242202/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1483103397&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=final+truth#customerReviews
Ice Man - book about Richard Kuklinski, mafia hit man.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ice-Man-Confessions-Contract/dp/0312938845/ref=la_B001H6QXF2_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1342847845&amp;sr=1-1
Yes, anyone who believes otherwise should read this
Some were stolen so as to have sex on the moon. http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0307741346/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1342509583&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=sex+on+the+moon
http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/061536263X
If you're wondering if The Driver survives, then it should be known that the sequel (book) just came out on April 3rd.
Driven by James Sallis
Only Living Witness
The Stranger Beside Me
This one https://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground/dp/0307588696
The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber. By Julian Rubinstein
DESCRIPTION: Elmore Leonard meets Franz Kafka in the wild, improbably true story of the legendary outlaw of Budapest. Attila Ambrus was a gentleman thief, a sort of Cary Grant--if only Grant came from Transylvania, was a terrible professional hockey goalkeeper, and preferred women in leopard-skin hot pants. During the 1990s, while playing for the biggest hockey team in Budapest, Ambrus took up bank robbery to make ends meet. Arrayed against him was perhaps the most incompetent team of crime investigators the Eastern Bloc had ever seen: a robbery chief who had learned how to be a detective by watching dubbed Columbo episodes; a forensics man who wore top hat and tails on the job; and a driver so inept he was known only by a Hungarian word that translates to Mound of Ass-Head. BALLAD OF THE WHISKEY ROBBER is the completely bizarre and hysterical story of the crime spree that made a nobody into a somebody, and told a forlorn nation that sometimes the brightest stars come from the blackest holes. Like The Professor and the Madman and The Orchid Thief, Julian Rubinsteins bizarre crime story is so odd and so wicked that it is completely irresistible.
There is a sequel. It's by the same author and called Driven(warning: spoilers in Amazon review). It was released earlier this year and is being developed as a sequel.
With only my phone on me, I'm just going to list out some of the non-fiction I've enjoyed on my commute recently.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory - Caitlin Doughty Great reading for the morbidly inclined.
Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film - Patton Oswalt I would only recommend this book for true cinema fans. It's enjoyable if you get the references and are also a procrastinating creative.
God'll Cut You Down: The Tangled Tale of a White Supremacist, a Black Hustler, a Murder, and How I Lost a Year in Mississippi - John Safran sort of reminds me of Jon Ronson. Good true crime, fish out of water stuff.
Yes Please - Amy Poehler Great advice, hilarious. Get it on audiobook.
Carsick - John Waters John waters being John Waters.
Manson - Jeff Guinn A super fascinating breakdown of the 1960s, and the environment that held Manson is much is a biography. I'm really excited to read his new book his writing about Jim Jones and the 1970's.
Currently on Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon, very excited about it.
Read this book, the NBA has been corrupt for years, the ref could accurately predict the outcome of a game based only on the knowledge of who the refs were going to be:
http://www.amazon.com/Personal-Foul-First-Person-Account-Scandal/dp/061536263X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368591468&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=nba+referee+book
There is actually a book written by a former TIME reporter in this man's defense. Its called Damned to Eternity: The Story of the Man Who They Said Caused the Flood.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0306815273?pc_redir=1405231807&amp;robot_redir=1
Yes, it's improving, but it's not all fixed yet, hence the two frauds on my accounts within the past year. One was an actual duplicated card, complete with CCV number and magnetic stripe.
A great book on how bad things have been, up until chip cards finally started getting market acceptance, is Kingpin, about a hacker who stole thousands of credit cards, mostly from stored data. Vendors often are not in legal compliance. Restaurants were especially bad.
Debit cards didn't escape either; one year banks absorbed $2 billion in debit card fraud. They'd introduced a secret PIN in the magnetic stripe, to fend off phishing attacks, and then just didn't bother checking it.
In terms of security, crypto on a hardware wallet is light years beyond anything in mainstream finance. Even our exchanges have better security than they do; my online stock broker and my credit union offer no 2FA at all.
I'm actually currently reading a book about his story called Sex on the moon.
http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Moon-Amazing-Audacious-History/dp/0385533926
https://www.amazon.com/Driven-James-Sallis/dp/1464200114
here is the sequel, it takes place years after the first
I don't use Dropbox and do not intend to disparage Dropbox by stating a recent book about hackers and those who hound them seems to indicate Dropbox is not as secure as some my think. Your mileage may vary.
The Ice Man - Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer
https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Man-Confessions-Contract-Killer/dp/0312938845
Its horrible! Read the book instead, so much better; http://www.amazon.com/The-Ice-Man-Confessions-Contract/dp/0312938845
>You have literally no evidence to back this up
There's an entire book written by a former referee that did prison time for betting on games. He gives specific examples page after page.
http://www.amazon.com/Kingpin-Hacker-Billion-Dollar-Cybercrime-Underground/dp/0307588696
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/magazine/14Hacker-t.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0