Free Ebook Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, by Bill Mason

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Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, by Bill Mason

Free Ebook Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, by Bill Mason

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Review

"Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief is a compelling memoir that details a life of crime and a series of gutsy capers rivaling anything that Hollywood could dream up, exploits made all the more astonishing for having been pulled off single-handedly. Bill Mason, a self-described "ordinary guy" who ended up ripping off everyone from Truman Capote to Phyllis Diller to the Mob, insists he's on the straight and narrow now, but his story sure stole a good night's sleep from me. "—Les Standiford, author of Havana Run and Last Train to Paradise“I think this book's tremendous. As is always the case, real life, when properly described, is vastly more fascinating than fiction, and you need look no further for proof than Bill Mason's amazing story. "—Frank W. Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can and The Art of the Steal"Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief is the kind of book that drives crime-fiction writers like me up a wall: No one would ever believe these amazing, compelling stories of theft and deception if they weren't sitting on the nonfiction rack. Mason tells his life story with such flair and confidence that I felt like I was dangling from a twenty-story ledge right along with him. Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief is the ultimate kind of guilty pleasure, because even though you know it's so wrong, it feels so right."—Eric Garcia, author of Matchstick Men

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From the Inside Flap

The extraordinarily captivating memoir of the remarkable jewel thief who robbed the rich and the famous while maintaining an outwardly conventional life—an astonishing and completely true story, the like of which has never before been told . . . or lived.Bill Mason is arguably the greatest jewel thief who ever lived. During a thirty-year career he charmed his way into the inner circles of high society and stole more than $35 million worth of fabulous jewels from such celebrities as Robert Goulet, Armand Hammer, Phyllis Diller, Bob Hope, Truman Capote, Margaux Hemingway and Johnny Weissmuller—he even hit the Mafia. Along the way he seduced a high-profile Midwest socialite into leaving her prominent industrialist husband, nearly died after being shot during a robbery, tricked both Christie’s and Sotheby’s into fencing stolen goods for him and was a fugitive for five years and the object of a nationwide manhunt. Yet despite the best efforts of law enforcement authorities from several states as well as the federal government, he spent less than three years total in prison.Shadowy, elusive and intensely private, Mason has been the subject of many magazine and newspaper features, but no journalist has ever come close to knowing the facts. Now, in his own words and with no holds barred, he reveals everything, and the real story is far more incredible than any of the reporters, detectives or FBI agents who pursued Mason ever imagined. Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief, expertly co-written by bestselling author Lee Gruenfeld, is a unique true-crime confessional.From the Hardcover edition.

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Product details

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Villard; Reprint edition (April 12, 2005)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0375760717

ISBN-13: 978-0375760716

Product Dimensions:

5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

3.9 out of 5 stars

56 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#150,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

If you are fan of the books or the movies from Goodfellas and Catch Me If You Can, then you will definitely enjoy this book. Truth is always way more fascinating than fiction. The risks that Bil Mason took will astound you and the people he met, stole from and almost stole from will fascinate you even more. Pay close attention to the first word in the title. This is not a book about bragging, but rather an atonement for what he had done to his victims, their families and more importantly what he did to his family. You will also read great tidbits on home security and the judicial system. He tells a great story, but I enjoyed it more knowing that he was remorseful about what he had done and what he has and or is doing to atone for his bad choices. This will feel like a fast read in part because the author writes as if he is talking to you and too the point rather than at you in superfluous manner. It's been on the better books I've read this years. Enjoy to all those you decide if this subject is up your alley (hint: read the prologue before deciding to do further).

Personally I absolutely LOVED this book. I couldn't stop reading this personal account of being a jewel thief to the rich and famous during the "great golden age" of Hollywood. Despite the authors obvious embrace of his felonious activities, there is a tone of contrition that leaves you feeling like you are able to listening to a man who is proud of his exploits- however knows they were wrong.This book reads like a fast paced action movie. It makes me think of movies like "Entrapment" and "The Italian Job".I throughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read about a non law abiding citizen.

First hundred or so pages five stars the rest of the book 3 stars so that makes ita 4 star book .Larger than life better than any fiction novel , makes you root for the bad guy anddespise the police.Being a auto-bibliography Mason paints himself as bad but likable ,and the police asdumb, untruthful , bullies, and vindictive.I have read some auto-biographies of famous people and fifty or a hundred years latersomeone does extensive research and writes a biography about said person .The biography usually shows the flaws that the person in their auto - biographyoverlooked or never happened, I would guess that if someone saw fit to dothis years from now Masons version as a never hurt anyone only a little badwould be dispelled.His description of the police & the legal system of the time is right on. In myproductive years I rubbed elbows with lawyers , prosecutors , judgesand police from local to state level, . The time frameof his book there was notmuch oversight of police. and they could make ones life miserableif they chose to.This book was a reference book for "The Burglars Guide To The City"and did a good job of re-enforcing how architecture makes it easy for people likeMason to do what they did.A good read but how he tells it should not be taken as etched in stone truth.

I didn't know what to expect when I saw this book on BookBub, but it has an intriguing title and especially because it is a true story. I didn't expect it to be as well written as it was. I realized when I finished it and saw that there were two authors, Bill Mason himself and Lee Gruenfeld. Bill Mason is certainly a person with lots of interesting stories to tell and, in the end, really a good person. It was an exciting read.

Couldn't put this book down!! So well written. The detail made this book. I felt that I was right there with Bill and believe me, he had a lot more nerve doing what he did than I had reading about it. An incredible journey into the mind of an addicted master thief.

This book begins fantastically with a movie-like story of a jewel heist. But as the book goes along, it loses part of its forward push. Part of that is to be expected, it's a memoir not a work of fiction but what's missing from the story of BIll Mason's life as a jewel thief is impetus for all of his crimes. Even after he is caught, the lure of the big score persists. What keeps Mason pulling off jobs? The book doesn't go deep enough to give us a clue except to offer the idea that his thievery is a talent and skill that started very early in his life.The memoir about decades of stealing from celebrities, the wealthy and a mobster or two is full of unlocked doors, open safes and inattentive security guards. It all brings home the message that security devices are only as good as the people using them. It should be basic, if you spend the money to acquire something you should spend the money to protect it. But what happens is that people get complacent and lazy or they think it won't happen to them. Mason learned that a lot of times people who are in places that are supposed to be secure such as skyscrapers, gated communities and hotels are often not as careful as they perhaps should be because they are relying on external forces to keep them safe. That doesn't always work out well. Trust what you can control whether it's your door locks, your safe or your valuables hiding spot. Keep your fun trinkets in the jewelry box but find a better spot for the valuables.The book also gave some clues as to what happens to jewelry once it ends up in the hands of thieves. Certainly most people know about pawnshops and fences but what's interesting and also appalling is how quickly the jewels are broken down into their parts. The process is similar to what happens with some car thefts, the items are quickly dismantled, usable parts are dispersed and other parts are melted down. These days many larger diamonds are laser inscribed which will enable some of them to be traced but gold is easily melted and gone. Mason didn't always break down his pieces, some of them even passed through the major auction houses, stolen and intact. The insider details make this worth reading even if the story itself lags in places.

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Ebook Free Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts., by Brené Brown

Ebook Free Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts., by Brené Brown

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Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts., by Brené Brown

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Review

“With Dare to Lead, Brené brings decades of research to bear in a practical and insightful guide to courageous leadership. This book is a road map for anyone who wants to lead mindfully, live bravely, and dare to lead.”—Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook, founder, LeanIn.Org and OptionB.Org “Brené visited Pixar to talk with our filmmakers. Her message was important, as movies are best when they come from a place of vulnerability, when the people who make them encounter setbacks and are forced to overcome them, when they are willing to have their asses handed to them. It is easy to sit back and talk about the values of a safe and meaningful culture, but extraordinarily difficult to pull it off. You don’t achieve good culture without constant attention, without an environment of safety, courage, and vulnerability. These are hard skills, but they are teachable skills. Start with this book.”—Ed Catmull, president, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios “Whether you’re leading a movement or a start-up, if you’re trying to change an organizational culture or the world, Dare to Lead will challenge everything you think you know about brave leadership and give you honest, straightforward, actionable tools for choosing courage over comfort.”—Tarana Burke, senior director, Girls for Gender Equity, founder, the Me Too movement “We asked Brené to bring her work on courage and vulnerability to our Air Force base. This is a tough audience, many of them with significant combat experience. Within five minutes, you could have heard a pin drop. Brené cuts through the noise and speaks to what makes us human and makes the mission happen. Dare to Lead is about real leadership: tenacious, from the heart, and full of grit.”—Brigadier General Brook J. Leonard, United States Air Force “Brené is Google Empathy Lab’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. She has profoundly inspired our product leaders to design in and embrace vulnerability, rather than engineer it out. It’s a critical and transformative act to bring your alive, messy, wholehearted human self to work every day. Dare to Lead is the skillful and empowering Jedi training we have all been waiting for.”—Danielle Krettek, founder, Google Empathy Lab “Applying the principles from Dare to Lead to my work as a principal has transformed the way I show up with parents, students, and colleagues, and how I lead. Brené’s words, stories, and examples connect with our hearts and minds, and her actionable approach gives us the tools to be braver with our lives and our work.”—Kwabena Mensah, PhD, assistant superintendent, Fort Bend ISD, Principal of the Year, Katy ISD and Texas Alliance of Black School Educators“Brené truly gives it all away in Dare to Lead. Courage is a set of teachable skills, and she teaches us exactly how to build those muscles with research, stories, examples, and new language. The future belongs to brave leaders, and she’s written the ultimate playbook for daring leadership.”—Scott Harrison, founder and CEO, charity: water

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About the Author

BRENÉ BROWN, PhD, LMSW, is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Foundation-Brené Brown Endowed Chair at The Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the last two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and is the author of four #1 New York Times bestsellers: Braving the Wilderness, The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, and Rising Strong. Brené's TED talk, "The Power of Vulnerability," is one of the top five most viewed TED talks in the world with thirty-five million views. Brené lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Steve, and their children, Ellen and Charlie.

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Product details

Audio CD

Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (October 23, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1984844210

ISBN-13: 978-1984844217

Product Dimensions:

5.1 x 1.1 x 5.9 inches

Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.4 out of 5 stars

281 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#50,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Recommend that you dog-ear pages 70, 76, and 77. Brene Brown excels once again and goes further with her research and writing to describe behaviors and emotions that we've all felt. More importantly, she gives us constructive actions we can take to live and work more effectively and wholeheartedly.Page 70 sums up the journey her book will take you on should you chose to go. It reads, "Leaders must either invest a reasonable amount of time attending to fears and feelings, or squander an unreasonable amount of time trying to manage ineffective and unproductive behavior."Pages 76 and 77 give you sixteen specific examples of Armored Leadership and Daring Leadership. You'll recognize them immediately. And you will be able to call out the behaviors that are holding you back or propelling you forward. On subsequent pages she unpacks the examples so that we can put the words to work for ourselves and our colleagues.

If you have read her other books, there is no need to read this one. It is more of the same but slanted to the business audience around leadership. One of the most useless leadership book I have ever read. I note the first quote is from Sheryl Sandberg--I would bet she never read the book, just gave a quote. The book is well written and some decent stories but no different than any other business book that is filled with stories of different leaders. I would say this book will be liked by her fans, others will find it a waste.

I have loved Brene's previous books. She is a great writer and I appreciate how well rounded her ideas are. They are applicable in so many avenues of life.While I understand this book was about "daring" to lead, I was disappointed that this book had a narrow scope of management in slower paced environments (I work in a tech company - extending timelines, circling back, etc. are not luxuries I can use in my day to day). Additionally, I hoped this was going to focus on leading and not direct management, as leading comes in so many forms and not always in formal direct ways. Lastly, many of the ideas and stories shared were reused from other books and shaped into the theme of leadership.

I've followed Brene for years and love her work. But this book is a "stream of consciousness" walk through her past work. I was waiting for a new insight but found none after 275 pages. I'd love to get new insights in a more "crisp" format with some "takeaway" value.

This is a spectacular excursion into humane but effective leadership. In her brief bio, it states that Brene Brown has "spent past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy." Those are not the typical descriptions of bestselling business characteristics. In fact, this book could really be sub-titled,"How to be a better human being and apply your new 'muscles' to the business of leadership." What's fascinating is that the author calls herself a "research professor" with a social work doctorate, and her research has been extensive and varied, from military leaders to teachers. In this regard she has adopted the data-based techniques of Jim Collins, whose "Good to Great" has been the gold standard for many years. But her message is different in that it does not recommend "engineering" innovation, but rather relying on "rumbling with vulnerability," "living into one's values," and having the courage to make decisions even where the outcome may be uncomfortable and possibly a failure. Her idea that uncertainty can lead to the positive result of "unpredictable and uncontrollable connections" is applicable to parents and students and care-givers and workers of all stripes as well as c-suite leaders. Anyone who wants to take control of his or her life and understand the role of humility in human relationships will want to read this book. As she points out, it takes about the same length of time to read as a flight from Los Angeles to New York "with a small delay." Very much worth the time.

If you are a leader or aspire to be one, this book will speak to you on a very emotional level, particularly her chapter on “Armored Leadership.” As I read the sixteen examples of armored leadership and the contrasting daring leadership actions, I found myself evaluating my own experiences as a leader. There were points where I could say, “Yes, I nailed that one!” but too many times where my response was, “Yeah, I failed to realize what I was doing and fell right into the trap.”Her chapter on “Living into Your Values,” validates my conviction that values are at the very center of what we do as leaders. If we do not identify and act on our values, we will fail. Brown writes, “Daring leaders who live into their values are never silent about the hard things.” Living into our values means more than articulating our values; it means that we practice them. She explains that individuals do not have two sets of values--one personal and one professional. We have only one set of values that we are called to practice in all areas of our lives.This is a great book. Whatever your position is, whatever your responsibilities, please read this book and put its lessons into practice.

I love Brene Brown's books, but this one really put it all together. If we could lead from this place that she describes in this book, then we can change the world. And these are not just thoughts and ideas, but proven things that she has researched for many years! She provides great thoughts and suggestions here so that leaders can really take this research and put it into practice. I'm going to start practicing it myself and incorporate methods into my own life so that I can affect positive changes all around me. We all can make a greater impact than we realize. And you don't have to be a "leader" as far as managing large groups of people. We are all leaders and can affect change with anyone we come into contact.

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Ebook Free How to Train Your Dragon: How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse

Ebook Free How to Train Your Dragon: How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse

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#detail-bullets .content {

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}

Audible Audiobook

Listening Length: 3 hours and 19 minutes

Program Type: Audiobook

Version: Unabridged

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Audible.com Release Date: December 10, 2013

Language: English, English

ASIN: B00GU01B4I

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

THIS SERIES ISN'T WHAT YOU EXPECTI think it's safe to say that if you're reading this review, you've seen the How to Train Your Dragon movie. This book series is nothing like that movie. The movies follow a vastly different plot than the book series. I wanted to read about Toothless the fierce and lovable rare Night Fury dragon, but the books describe Toothless as a common tiny dragon (about the size of a house cat) who is actually rather stubborn and selfish. At first I didn't like that at all. By the time I got to the second book, I was really enjoying the books as they were written and not as I expected they should be.Contrary to what you believe, the Isle of Berk is not attacked by dragons constantly. The Vikings that live on Berk actually have dragon pets. In order to become a member of the tribe, you have to capture and train a dragon (typically by yelling at it very loudly). Hiccup has the unique ability to understand the dragon language and decides to talk to his dragon instead of yelling at it. The book series is a collection of Hiccup's memoirs.The series consists of 12 primary books and 5 supplemental books. I only read the 12 primary books:PROSPlot - Each book was had its own stand aloneplot. There was no overarching plot that carried itself from book to book. The plots were straightforward and adventurous. Being a middle grade series, they were somewhat predictable, but that didn't deter from my enjoyment. In fact, I feel like middle grade novels should be predictable so that young readers can develop the skills used to predict outcomes based on given context.Humor - These books were adorably funny. Between traditional slap-stick humor, funny quips between characters, and silly side narrative, I actually found myself laughing out loud (which is definitely something I don't do often enough). I think it's safe to say that any child who reads this book will find themselves laughing out loud, too.Narration - I don't mean the narrative of the series. I mean the actual narration. I listened to the audiobooks. In fact, the original reason I chose to listen to these books in the first place was because they were narrated by one of my all-time favorite actors - David Tennant (Doctor Who, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Jessica Jones). This series was an absolute delight to listen to. Mr. Tennant was an extremely immersive narrator. His character voices, enthusiasm, and interpretation of the text were wholly entertaining. His native Scottish accent definitely added to the immersion, as well.Concept - It's hard to read this book pretending you never saw the movies or TV show. I often felt that this series felt a little derivative, but of what? Of itself?! When you take a few steps back and look at this series, it's pretty obvious that it's a very original concept. Sure there are other books about a boy befriending a dragon to fight a threatening villain, but this series doesn't have that feel to it. This book is about a boy who needs to figure out that he can rule the tribe, but at the same time break away from the idea that Vikings are supposed to be cruel and intimidating. I've never read a light and fluffy book that takes place in Viking territory - you don't tend to think of "light and fluffy" when you think of Vikings. I loved the idea that all Vikings had pet dragons that they controlled using fear and aggression, but Hiccup allowed his dragon to choose whether or not he wanted to help (being a stubborn dragon didn't help, but in the end Toothless would help anyway). I feel like the main themes to take away from this book are bravery, kindness, and friendship.Modularity - Each book could have been read in any order. The author would remind you of any pertinent information you should have remembered from previous books. I believe that this is worth mentioning because any child can read any book and not feel lost or discouraged or overwhelmed. Since each book was episodic, they read as companion novels instead of serial novels. It's important to note that there are some installments that vaguely relied on events from the previous book, but it wouldn't have deterred me from reading it out of order (say if my library had a hold on one).CONSNormally I like to lay out Pros and Cons, but I struggled to find something that I didn't like with this book (obviously after I got over that they weren't like the movies). This series was a lot closer to a 4.5 star rating, but since I don't give half stars I left it at 4. The only reason I didn't give this series 5 stars is because even though this was a middle grade series, the situations the characters got themselves in (and out of) where convenient and scientifically unrealistic. While I feel that these are good thing for middle grade stories to have, it just wasn't something I always got on board with. There were quite a few times I found myself saying "Really?!" or "That's not how it works..." and even "The force of that impact would have killed him". I don't feel right holding that against the series because it's purely personal preference and quite possibly the result of me being ridiculous and jaded.OVERALLOnce I got over the fact that the movie strayed vastly from the book (the only things they had in common were names), I really enjoyed this series. It was funny and action packed. This is a fantastic series for young readers. Unfortunately, if you're looking for a novelization of the movie, I wouldn't read this series. There's actually a whole series of books based on the TV show (Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berk), which might be more up your alley if that's what you're looking for.The books were very fast reads. I found myself immediately starting the next book each time I finished with one. The great thing about fast reading middle grade books is the feeling of accomplishment that young readers will feel when they close the cover of their book and immediately reach for the next one. Nothing motivates young readers more than being able to see their accomplishments and feeling pride in achieving a goal.

The story is great. HOWEVER (and it's a big however) the Kindle version is not actually a Kindle file like you're probably used to getting when you purchase an e-book. Instead, this is much more like reading a PDF on your Kindle, with pictures of the pages of the book. This means it's a set size and you have to try to grow or shrink it like a picture instead of being able to use the text size buttons on your device. It makes a ridiculous reading experience and frankly, I'm amazed Amazon allowed a major publisher to hoodwink people like this with a so-called electronic version of their book. Cause it's crap.

My 6yo daughter is at that awkward stage(for me as her book buyer:), where the 'leveled readers' are too easy and short for her and I am struggling to figure out what books are too old or too young. Since she loved the movies based (loosely) on this series I thought we'd give it a try. After all, I knew she would eventually grow into them if they were too hard for now. Well they are PERFECT. The style is so engaging that even though she informed me she wouldn't be ready for chapter books until she is 7 (?!?!- kid logic), after reading the forward she was pulled right in. Nice big words and adjective and adverb laden sentences to really keep a kid's interest. One caveat- the humor does involve giving people meaner names than you want your 6 year old to call people, so a quick reminder chat about what is okay to call people in real life is a good preventative.The format is great too, it's a little larger than your 'standard' paperback and the paper is very soft and flexible, so it turns out to be easy for little hands to hold while reading it. There are cute drawings on a few pages and the font itself is large. (This also is nice for those older readers- Grandma forgot to bring a paperback on vacation and borrowed the first dragon book- it is much easier on her eyes than the standard book font.)

So, let me tell you about the Kindle version of this book. The book itself is WONDERFUL. But the kindle edition? Don't waste your money. Here I am, legally blind, in love with the HTTYD movies, and excited to read the books...Oh look, it's 1.99! PERFECT.Only, I open the kindle version...and the font is TINY. Tiny, tiny, TINY. I go to enlarge it...and there's no options? I go to highlight something - I can't. Here I am, in my thick-lensed glasses, and I can't read this on my brand new kindle. Are you kidding me?! Why even have it available on Kindle if you aren't going to include all of the option? So not only is that a waste of space on my kindle, its also a waste of my money and time. I don't know how anyone can read this without getting major eye strain and a migraine.Consider fixing your format and maybe I'll write a better review.

The How to Train Your Dragon series is fantastic! Wonderful for encouraging young boys to read, but enjoyable for the whole family. Of course, the books are better than the (Americanized) movie, but the audiobooks may be the best version of all. It's performed (not narrated) by David Tennant, who is absolutely amazing. Always, but especially here, where he's created dozens (hundreds?) of characters that come alive in your imagination.Especially recommended for those who enjoy British lit like Harry Potter, Roald Dahl or Terry Pratchett, but really for anyone who likes stories and storytelling.

Just the best series for little ones. David Tennant is the absolute best narrator and makes all the characters so lively. He makes your imagination come alive with all of the nuances he gives each character. And the writing by Cressida Cowell is impecable as well. We listened to all the books 3 years ago, and now we are doing it again. This time my kid is reading along in the books as we listen. He needed the visual with the auditory to understand some aspects of phonics better. I plan on doing the same thing in 3 years for my other child, and I know I will be just as enthralled then as I am now.

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Download The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer

Download The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer

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The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer

Download The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals, by Jane Mayer

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Review

“Deeply troubling, but splendidly executed.... Mayer does invaluable work locking these reports into a coherent narrative framework and sketching in vital connective details and insights.... Superb.”—Los Angeles Times“A gripping, meticulously researched, and deeply disturbing book that vindicates the observation of the great Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis that 'the greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.'” —Parameters (U.S. Army War College Quarterly)“Essential reading.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Gripping.... Chilling.... [A] vivid and comprehensive account.” —The New York Times “One of those rare books that should be read by every concerned American.” —Austin American-Statesman“Stunning.” —Slate “Powerful, brilliantly researched, and deeply unsettling.... Extraordinary and invaluable.” —The New York Times Book Review“Some of The Dark Side seems right out of “The Final Days,” minus Nixon's operatic boozing and weeping.... Nixon parallels take us only so far, however. The Dark Side is scarier than “The Final Days” because these final days aren't over yet and because the stakes are much higher.”—Frank Rich, The New York Times“In The Dark Side, Jane Mayer, a staff writer for the New Yorker, documents some of the ugliest allegations of wrongdoing charged against the Bush administration. To dismiss these as wild, anti-American ravings will not do. They are facts, which Mayer substantiates in persuasive detail, citing the testimony not of noted liberals like Noam Chomsky or Keith Olbermann but of military officers, intelligence professionals, "hard-line law-and-order stalwarts in the criminal justice system" and impeccably conservative Bush appointees who resisted the conspiracy from within the administration.” —The Washington Post Book World“Whatever it takes to get those bastards. The true nature of our Faustian bargain would not become clear until later, and maybe it needed a journalist as steely and tenacious as Jane Mayer to give us the full picture. The Dark Side is about how the war on terror became "a war on American ideals," and Mayer gives this story all the weight and sorrow it deserves. Many books get tagged with the word "essential"; hers actually is.” —Salon.com “In Jane Mayer's angry and important book The Dark Side, the tenacious New Yorker reporter takes us, step by step, through the process by which practices and methods we associate with tyrannies became official U.S. policy.”—Bloomberg“[In] The Dark Side, Jane Mayer's riveting and shocking new book, and not the least of the themes to emerge from it is that we've witnessed something new in American history: the imperial vice presidency.”—New York Observer“Essential reading for those who think they can stand the truth.”—Bob Herbert, New York Times“Like a good suspense novel…. Potent and disturbing stuff.”—San Diego Tribune

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About the Author

Jane Mayer is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three bestselling and critically acclaimed narrative nonfiction books. She co-authored Landslide: The Unmaking of the President, 1984–1988, with Doyle McManus, and Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas, with Jill Abramson, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her book The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals, for which she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, was named one of The New York Times’s Top 10 Books of the Year and won the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize, the Goldsmith Book Prize, the Edward Weintal Prize, the Ridenhour Prize, the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. It was also a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. For her reporting at The New Yorker,Mayer has been awarded the John Chancellor Award, the George Polk Award, the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, and the I. F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence presented by the Nieman Foundation at Harvard. Mayer lives in Washington, D.C.

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Product details

Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher: Anchor; Reprint edition (May 5, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0307456293

ISBN-13: 978-0307456298

Product Dimensions:

5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.6 out of 5 stars

260 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#284,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Jane Mayer is a phenominal investigative reporter. Her writing reads like a spy novel, it grabs you and doesn't let go. I had to read a portion of this book for a political science class and I couldn't put it down. Then I went and bought Dark Money because I enjoyed her writing so much. Read them both. The Dark Side for historical purposes and Dark Money because it is relevant to the current political climate. Ifyou want to know exactly who's money has infiltrated our democracy and to serve what purpose, it is all in there.

A book I bought because it looked interesting. I was right. After more than a few years, a critical examination of the Bush/Obama years of the prosecution on the War on Terror is a necessary step for this country.I found this boom absolutely riveting as it explores the march towards the War on Terror by the Bush administration and the major players known and not known at all. I typically don't like to read hatchet jobs by egos looking to play Monday morning quarterback and blame the primary movers for policy decisions in past administrations.Though there is certainly this element present here, this is one of the few books that really goes through the reaction to 9/11 and the direction the Bush Administration took to hell in terms of its intentions. By this I mean that many decisions were made that have enlarged the state, the security apparatus and tension between the executive and other branches of the federal government.A fascinating study and well-written. I think this is an incredibly interesting book for those interested in the interior policy decisions since 9/11 including the Gitmo reasoning, "torture" and the definitions thrown around, the Iraq efforts and the machinations of our new vast and unchecked security state. A very valuable book. Recommended.

Overall Assessment:To the extent we can take Mayer at her word, this is a disturbing and compelling read. The metaphor of the "dark side" is a rich one. While Dick Cheney intended the expression, during his famous interview, to signify America taking off the gloves to combat terrorists, it was an unintended (or perhaps subconscious) premonition of the ugly part of ourselves that can emerge when we are threatened. If you believe America is worth fighting for (and even after reading this I still think it is), reading this book will remind you of the why and the how of going about that fight. We must fight to preserver our values, not flout them in the name of a false sense of "security".Summary:Mayer portrays a gaggle of scofflaws, such as Dick Cheney's legal council David Addington and DOJ Office of Legal Counsel attorney John Yoo, essentially conducting national foreign, military, and legal policy like a group of unruly boys who have discovered their fathers' caches of guns and beer. Along with the rest of the "War Council", they routinely contrived Constitution- and treaty-skirting legalese to justify intensified aggression in the war on terror, circumvention of normal chains of communication and command, routine violation of accepted standards of military and legal conduct, and "enhanced interrogation" techniques including the well-discussed water boarding but numerous other barbarities as well. What you sense from reading the book is that these people genuinely thought they were cutting through the red tape of legal procedure to act in American interests, although Mayer `s language does not directly grant them the benefit of the doubt for this reasonable motive.What Mayer does hammer home is her view that these activities were not just illegal and immoral (many examples of innocents needlessly suffering at American hands turn the stomach), but were ultimately ineffective relative to traditional investigation and counterterrorism technique. It would be a more compelling dilemma if water boarding KSM actually accomplished anything, but it turns out it did *not* accomplish anything that was not already being achieved through routine investigation. Furthermore, false intel from terror suspects simply attempting to end their torment by telling interrogators what they wanted to hear led to numerous goose chases, including the war in Iraq. Its one thing to break the law to win; it's quite another when you break your own laws and hurt your own cause in the process.While some view the book as an anti-Bush/Cheney screed, many ideological conservatives--the type of people Mayer would otherwise be at odds with--come off as heroes for their willingness to oppose the Bush Administration's renegade approach and eventually restore order to American criminal procedure.In the end Mayer praises those who were willing to resist hysteria in the name of the rule of law, and reminds us of why America is supposed to be worth fighting for in the first place.Response to other reviewers:Whenever I like a book I always read the other side, so I went and checked all the one-star reviews. The best criticism was from someone who noted the reliance on some anonymous sources forces some skepticism. This is certainly true, but it's ironic when you consider that similar anonymity of sources prevailed during some of the very criminal/intelligence operations the book portrays. Another critic said that Mayer's portrayal of John Lind's extradition was flawed, but never specified how. In any event Mayer's key point about the Lind case was that Lind had a reasonable defense against charges of consciously acting against the United States. The critic did not challenge this central point and it makes me wonder if it's because he knows no such challenge is possible.Here was one odd criticism:"She [Mayer] attributes legislative power to Bush when almost every elementary student knows that Congress, not the president, makes the laws, and the president's duty is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed, If Bush's acts were as unconstitutional as she claims, Congress could have, but did not, refuse to pay for them."This is an argument?Mayer's entire point is that the Bush administration did *not* faithfully execute American law *or* abide by constitutional and international norms. Mayer clearly explains that Congressional resistance--whatever form it might have taken--was stifled precisely because no one wanted to look "soft on terror" in the post-911 context. If that is to Congress's shame so be it. But this does not in any way diminish the accuracy of Mayer's work.Here were some juicy ones:"Thank God for George Bush and Dick Cheney that protected us from these civilian killers. If it takes pouring water over their face to simulate drowning to save mine, or your family.........sign me up. Humiliation is not torture." "Do[sic] [Mayer] understand that under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, matters of national security would have to be disclosed to defendants during a criminal prosecution? Is that really wise and would it keep us safe?" "Ms. Mayer clearly represents that large group of liberals who prefer to be dead rather than even twist the pinky toe of a terrorist. Bush-haters will love this book . . . "And most poignantly:"In this book she takes a moral position that murderous people with evil intentions have more rights than the people they kill and that the men and women trying to defeat them are essentially evil. That sadly is just not true."All of these comments illustrate the very xenophobia and paranoia that got us into the moral and legal wreck that Mayer describes in her book.The first critic claimed to have "hated" the book when it is clear he did not read it. One of Mayer's key points is that water boarding and other violations of international law and military codes of conduct *hurt* our prospects in the war on terror by alienating allies and steeling the resolve of our enemies. Furthermore, the issue of "matters of national security" became a blanket protection against disclosure of misconduct. The Bush administration disrupted a generally noble (if of course imperfect) American tradition of humane treatment of enemy combatants that had served us well until the War Council decided they knew better and threw out two centuries of American tradition.What these critics also don't realize is that under the Bush administration, virtually *no one* was ever prosecuted for crimes--*precisely* because their interrogations would never withstand scrutiny in any reasonable court.And I *dare* the last negative reviewer to produce any quote that substantiates this slur that Mayer believes murderers have "more rights" than their victims. If this fat-mouthed critic had actually read the book, he would have known that what we learned to our horror was that numerous *innocent* people were caught up in this crazed witch hunt.Simply put, these abuses hurt innocent people, wasted our material and personnel resources, and made us no safer--and possibly less so.

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