Average customer rating:
- The Book Has Some Great Lines
- The Meaning Of Guilt
- A Treasure
- Moving Narrative about a Crime and it's aftermath
- EXCELLENT READ - SOME OF THE BEST IN THIS GENRA
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The Onion Field
Joseph Wambaugh
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Murder & Mayhem
| True Accounts
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
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The Onion Field
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Echoes in the Darkness
ASIN: 0440173507
Release Date: 1987-03-10 |
Book Description
This is the frighteningly true story of two young cops and two young robbers whose separate destinies fatally cross one march night in a bizarre execution in a deserted Los Angeles field.
Customer Reviews:
The Book Has Some Great Lines.......2007-06-19
This book has some great lines about prison. One has stayed in my mind ever since I read the book 25 years ago. Jimmy Smith: "Powell was a punk in the gym in Vacaville. They bent him over a workout bar and browned em."
The Meaning Of Guilt.......2006-10-27
The two cops didn't expect anything life-altering when they pulled over the car with the busted taillight in Hollywood that Saturday night in 1963. But that was what they got. Before the night was over, one officer was dead and the other would never be the same.
Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 true-crime account of the killing is perhaps his best-known and most celebrated work, made into a memorable movie and a kind of calling card for Wambaugh's critical yet sensitive way of writing about crime and police work. "The Onion Field" may be based on a true story, but it reads like a novel, much like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" would have had Capote been as interested in the crime itself as in the problem of capital punishment.
Like "In Cold Blood," you have one killer who is gay and unreasonably violent, another who is a hardened tag-along. Unlike "In Cold Blood," Wambaugh wastes little sympathy for either, especially as they and their attorneys work the system to preserve their lives while the surviving cop is left roasting on a spit, forced to relive the experience that night in the lonely onion field where his partner was killed as the rest of his life spirals out of control.
There are sections where "The Onion Field" is hard to put down and others where it lulls you to sleep. Wambaugh finds everything in this case too fascinating to keep to himself, whether it's a juror with a persecution complex or a defense attorney who objects to everything in hope of getting a mistrial. The first 50 pages may be the dullest in the book, as the "before" lives of several key participants are examined to great mundane length.
But once the two felons, Jimmy Lee Smith and Gregory Powell, find each other, Wambaugh is at his best tracing their brief partnership of crime. Powell styles himself a trenchcoat-wearing mastermind, but his idea of strategy is a getaway car with a burnt clutch so there is no chance of pulling away from a job too quickly. As the pair drive around aimlessly, Powell waving his gun around, Smith wondering when he might ditch his pal and steal the loot for himself, "The Onion Field" is on a par with Wambaugh's best comedy. Then they meet their destiny and the two lawmen, and the bad guys' stupidity is no longer funny.
The other element this book really nails is the story of the surviving detective. Already wrestling with huge survivor's guilt, he is forced to endure much departmental second-guessing about how he allowed the crooks to take him alive. In time, he becomes such a mess he starts to steal, as if willing his own disgrace. Naturally, this gets brought up in court by an opportunistic defense attorney, who labels him a sociopath.
"He doesn't know the meaning of guilt," the lawyer says, ironically enough given by this point of the story guilt's all the guy does know.
I've found other Wambaugh books more compelling, especially "The Blooding," which has many of the same themes (pathology, the strain of police work) but also a better story and sharper focus. "Onion Field" is a memorable book, though, something to shake the most jaded reader into thinking about how many different ways we can find ourselves on the wrong side of the law.
A Treasure.......2006-07-08
I read this book many years ago. Last week, while I was browsing through used books in a Goodwill Store, I came across a hardbound copy in pristine condition. It was selling for $2.00. Needless to say, without hesitation, I bought it. I found myself an absolute treasure. Without a doubt in my mind, this is easily the finest non-fiction story of crime and retribution I have ever read, gripping and haunting thoughout. Only one other non-fiction crime story comes close to it, and that is SWORDFISH by David McClintick. If this book can be purchased, do so without hesitation. Jay Wickramasinghe, Citrus Heights, California
Moving Narrative about a Crime and it's aftermath.......2006-03-25
This gripping narrative describes the 1963 kidnapping and murder of Los Angeles police officer Ian Campbell (1931-1963) and the crime's lengthy aftermath. Campbell and his partner Karl Hettinger were kidnapped at gunpoint one night by two hoods during a routine traffic stop, and then driven into the country where Campbell was shot dead in an Onion field. Hettinger managed to flee to safety, but was left with psychological trauma and a crushing sense of guilt over his partner's death. The author details the lives of the two killers, their lengthy trials and appeals, and the aftermath for the traumatized Hettinger, who was blamed by many for allowing the tragedy to occur. Readers learn not only about the crime and its lengthy aftermath, but also about the victimization of survivors, and about our imperfect system of justice.
Author Joseph Wambaugh modeled this book after IN COLD BLOOD, Truman Capote's superb look at the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family. Wambaugh didn't quite match Capote, but THE ONION FIELD makes excellent reading (it also became a pretty good movie). Readers might also like Wambaugh's THE BLOODING (about the first use of DNA testing) and ECHOES IN THE DARKNESS.
EXCELLENT READ - SOME OF THE BEST IN THIS GENRA.......2006-03-06
It has been some years since this one hit the shelves, but it is non the worse for wear. Actually, I have to agree with another reviewer in that I too, feel this is one of Wambaugh's best. A true sory, brought to light in a very readable story like format. It is rather unforgetable. The author does a very good job of not only telling us a story (Wambaugh is, after all, first and formost a great story teller), but gives us great insight into the thoughts and motivations of the killers. He gives us a wonderful profile of the oung officer who survived this horrible crime. I cannot in all truth say it is as good as "In Cold Blood," but it comes pretty close to the mark. Recommend this one highly.
Product Description
Cop's eye view of police brutality...courage...and compassion.
Average customer rating:
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The Onion Field
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000E7ZJPU |
Average customer rating:
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The Onion Field
Wambaugh
Manufacturer: A Dell Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GPVVPW |
Average customer rating:
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The Onion Field
Joseph Wambaugh
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RW8P6M |
Product Description
A frighteningly true story of two young cops and two young robbers that grows into an even more bizarre aftermath.
Average customer rating:
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The Onion Field
Joseph Wambaugh
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S8324U |
Book Description
Lovely, high born Willa Trent was an orphan, raised by a local, somewhat odd family in the country, who want nothing but the best for their girl. So when she drags the unconscious man she accidentally hit with a slingshot home, they arrange a hasty marriage and pack the couple off with best wishes. Armed with a groggy husband and a new future, Willa's pie-eyed optimism has no limits....until she discovers the secret, dangerous world of Nathaniel Stonewell, Earl of Reardon, a.k.a. "Lord Treason."Though Nathaniel is reviled by most of England for his devious plot against the Crown, he is, in reality, a member of an elite cadre of secret royal defenders on a daring undercover mission. He must keep his secrets at all cost, especially from Willa. And yet, he is enchanted....though he stubbornly refuses to surrender to his passion. Far better, he tells himself, to turn his back on love than risk everything for it. Luckily, his bride has other plans....
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Characters.......2007-04-11
This is the first book of the Royal Four a spinoff from the author's series the Liar's Club. Lord Nathanial Reardon, "Lord Treason", is the member of the Royal Four known as the Cobra. He let the ton believe he is a traitor to the crown to protect his mission to uncover a plot against his country. While in a small village chasing one of the real traitors, Nathanial is thrown from his horse after a hornets nest hit by Willa Trent's slingshot hits his horse. When he wakes up it is to find the young Miss has spent the entire night by his side and there is nothing to do but marry her. Of course, it isn't binding as a member of the ton must go through the reading of the banns or special license to marry. However, Nathanial is willing to do that. He can never have a real marriage and children anyway because they would be labeled as the family of a traitor. On their trip back to London, Nathanial finds he really likes Willa, she is intelligent and quite humorous and he is amused at her belief that she is a jinx to all her suitors. When Willa's attempts to bed her "husband" are refused, he reveals to her how the ton sees him as a traitor and that he will never allow the marriage to be real. Willa is outraged, she knows there is no way her husband is a traitor. Even after encountering the abuse the ton throws his way, she just becomes more and more in love with him every day. Before long, they are indeed romantically involved and when it becomes apparent that her husband is involved in something far more important than society's to-do's she is determined to reverse the ton's views on her husband.
I really enjoyed this story. It was never boring, always interesting and the characters are fun and believable. I also liked the way the author allowed Nathanial to show his emotions and his feelings for his family and how Willa grows to love him watching the emotional charades he goes through for the sake of country. Excellent start and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Nathaniel & Willa -most 'in love' couple ever.......2006-08-14
If I had to choose 1 heroine as the best out of all the romance novel heroines, it would be Willa Trent. She was an all-around perfect person. She was so open and unpretentious. I think Nathaniel and Willa were so much in love and so in tune to one another, more so than most romance couples.
Now, as wonderful as Nathaniel was, he would have to be my 2nd choice if I had to pick the best hero ever. (Sorry, but 1st place has to go to that hot hero Ian Hunter from A TOUCH OF VELVET, by KATHRYN BENDER.) He beats even Nathaniel hands down as far as bravery, great looks, wealth, fabulously hot love story, etc.
Back to this book. CELESTE BRADLEY is such a gifted writer! She never fails to write an interesting story that stays with you.
Bradley fans will love this one! Read the Liar's Club first though...........2006-04-10
(NOTE: I would recommend reading Celeste Bradley's Liar's Club books before this one b/c some of the supporting characters play an important role in this one, and the hero in this one plays important supporting roles in those as well.)
Ok, so Celeste Bradley novels aren't for everyone (I realized this when I notice only one or 2 of her books are stocked in B&N or not at all.) but I would recommend her at least ONCE (book 2 of the Liar's Club The Impostor is my favorite so far and on my DIK list). Her books are NOT easy breezy reads to just skim through - the plot and action is very rich and a very integral part of the novel - not just a setting for a romance.
Plot: Layered so well that it's easy to get sucked into it. The first 120 pages are about how the hero and heroine meet and they ride to his home while he's trying to spy on a villain. There are also two major plot twists near the 2nd half of the book that are related to the Liar's Club books, and I'd imagine that a reader couldn't fully appreciate them if they haven't read the Liar's books first....I was VERY excited when those twists happened, but I don't want to spoil it. I love spy romances like this for all the dangerous elements that add to the story - not just a heroine wondering, "oh, does he love me?" And I'll always declare that Celeste Bradley writes the BEST flashback scenes I've ever read in romances - I feel like I get transported back in time whereas with other novels reading a flashback scene can feel like the plot is stumbling blindly through the pages....
Characters: One thing I LOVE about Bradley's romances is that no two characters are the same - I distinctly remember the differences and personalities of EVERY character I've read in her books so far....Another thing - they don't ALWAYS get a long and live as one happy family - the way they intertwine reminds me of Kleypas' books only more clever - not all of the heroines are trusting friends right away when they first meet - and sure some of the heroes from previous books might be a bit jealous of the other heroes for certain reasons but not one of her characters is completely perfect and paragon w/ out a fault - they are VERY human and full of life and when I read about them I get totally drawn into her books. The heroine in this one seems a little scatter-brained but she's VERY smart with animals and biology. The hero (who has the spy alias "cobra") is told by the heroine that he is "just like a cobra" and at first he panics thinking that she's figured out his secret - but she explains to him that he's just sensitive and he'll puff-up if he's cornered but normally he just prefers a cool distance and he's rather harmless and reserved. I love the Great Aunt and the dress maid Lily that helps Willa prepare for Kitty's party - (I wish I had a "Lily" to help me with wardrobe!) Oh yeah - and all the villain's get their due punishment! :)
Final Grade: A very high B+ to a low A-
This one isn't on my Desert Island Keeper list but I keep all of Celeste Bradley's books anyway b/c of the smart writing and the rich plots and character development. If you enjoy Celeste Bradley's books or if you want a good regency spy romance - this one can't be missed!
an excellent couple.......2006-03-02
I love Celeste Bradley because of books like this - funny, spunky, lighthearted. It's also one of those rare books where the hero and heroine treat one another like equals. By the end of the book the mutual respect and trust that Willa and Nathaniel have for one another is...well, perfect. It's a dream relationship.
Also, I give her major props for using Linneaus as erotica here. Not only is it clever and fun, it's pretty sexy.
Willa is a wonderful heroine. She has *such* a personality - and she is so easy to love. Stubborn, brilliant, prolix, spontaneous, forthright, funny...so clearly drawn. And I was really fond of her looks: she's beautiful, definitely, but not drop dead gorgeous.
Nathaniel rather pales by comparison, although he's not half bad either.
The plot has a few holes in it, but I forgive them all. The only thing that snagged my experience of the read is that the book is so comedic that the sex felt kind of wrong. A sort of dramatic change of pace, as it were. And then it ends up on the cheesy side of things.
Love In the Face of Treachery........2005-10-19
In 1812, an innocent country girl used her slingshot to haul home a prospective bridegroom. Lo and behold, she finds herself hastily married to Lord Treason. Willa (not Kim) Trent has hooked one of the Royal Four: elite spies hwo answer only to King William the Conqueror. He needed secret defenders for an undercover mission and chose his own boyhood friends.
Nathaniel Stonewell didn't know what hit him, but he grew to like this bit of fate. Will's optimism rubs off on his cynicism and he finds himself enchanged after his initial grogginess, and thinks perhaps there can be a bright future after all. He can't be his own man, as the four glorified spies must keep their identities separate from their true roles for the sake of anonymity for this dangerous assignment. He must keep his absolute commitment full of secrets at all costs. Their intimate life is merely pretense.
Family, friends, even love could not interfere with the oath and their brotherhood with the King as they took on the names of ruthless predators:
Courageous as the Lion
Deadly as the Cobra
Vigilant as the Falcon
Clever as the Fox.
You must read this book to discover which Nathaniel stand for, and how love changed his plans. Deceit was his specialty, but nothing beats true love.
Celeste Bradley lives in Tennessee, after trying out seven other states, and is the author of the Liar's Club series, THE ROGUE, and FALLEN. A new one has just been released, SURRENDER TO A WICKED SPY. Her miter is romance in the Golden Age in England.
Average customer rating:
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To Wed a Scandalous Spy
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739449524 |
Product Description
3 "warm, witty, and wonderfully sexy books" - Teresa Medeiros, New York Times bestselling author
Book Description
The extraordinary saga of Mother Angelica, founder of the multimillion-dollar Eternal Word Television Network and “the most influential Catholic woman in America” according to Time magazine
In 1981, the year after Ted Turner founded CNN, a simple nun, using merely her entrepreneurial instincts and $200, launched what would become the world’s largest religious media empire in the garage of a Birmingham, Alabama, monastery. Under her guidance, the Eternal Word Television Network grew at a staggering pace, both in viewership and in influence, to where it now reaches over a hundred million viewers in hundreds of countries around the globe.
Born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, in 1923, Mother Angelica was abandoned by her father and raised in poverty by a mother who suffered from suicidal depressions. As a young woman, Rita developed severe abdominal pain that doctors dismissed as a “nervous condition,” but when she sought the prayers of a local mystic, her symptoms disappeared. Awakened to the power of prayer, she vowed to dedicate her life to God and became a cloistered nun, expecting to spend her life hidden from the world. But Rita’s faith soon compelled her to unlikely endeavors, from establishing a monastery in Alabama to starting the world’s first Catholic cable network. Relying solely on “God’s providence,” Mother Angelica built an empire without concern for budgets or fund-raising campaigns, achieving what even the highest levels of the Catholic Church had been unable to do.
Raymond Arroyo combines his journalist’s objectivity and eye for detail with more than five years of exclusive interviews with Mother Angelica. He traces Mother Angelica’s tortured rise to success and exposes for the first time the fierce opposition she faced, both inside and outside of her church. It is an inspiring story of survival and proof that one woman’s faith can move more than mountains.
Customer Reviews:
A living saint!.......2007-10-09
Thanks to a friend, who prompted me more than once to read it, I finished reading this story of a living saint. Did I say a living saint? I certainly did. The book made a deep impression on me.
More than anything else, this book reminds us of how real saints are. How perfectly human. And this realization is an incredible call for us to get back on track on our own and real path to sainthood!
Before reading it, I felt I knew a lot about Mother Angelica. We had EWTN whenever we have had satellite TV--which I admit it hasn't been many times or for very long. I liked her and admired her, and had loosely followed some of her life highlights, such as her miraculous walk on TV and her issues with cardinal Mahoney's pastoral letter.
And yet I closed the book feeling that I had met a wonderful friend, and that there is hope for me, and for anyone willing to attempt living a life of faith. It is this personal, the reading of this book. Or it can be anyway.
I want to read it again-- and this time I think I will grab it on audio, read by the author.
Mother Angelica saved me from the depths........2007-09-07
Seven years ago a very rare disease put me in bed for 6 months. I could not stand up on my own. I could walk with a cane once I got up on my feet. Mother Angelica via EWTN saved me from the depths of depression and helped me with my anger about being ill. This book tells her story about how she faced and overcame many illnesses and hardships. Yet, Mother Angelica always loves the people around her. Well written and an excellent read.
See what Trust in God can do in just one life..........2007-07-12
If you want to see what radical love of God can do in a life - this is the book to read. It does not matter if you are Catholic, Orthodox, or of any Christian denomination - this book is a road map of how to "work for God."
The book is written by someone who not only loves her, but acknowledges her faults - and just like all of us, she has many. This is a REAL living breathing human being who encounters the same difficulties we all face. The same emotions, hurts, fears, ailments. And yet, maybe it is because of all this that she could talk to anyone (rich man, poor man, beggar, thief) and help them to see that life is never hopeless.
You'll need to be careful though, one reading of this book will have you pondering a big question -- "Do I really trust God enough to find out his will, and do it?"
I highly, highly recommend this book.
Once you start you won't be able to stop!.......2007-07-04
I meant to listen to the audio CDs over weeks in my car during my commute. Over the first weekend I took all the CDs back into my home and listened to the rest of the book while painting a room. The wonderful thing about the audio is Raymond Arroyo's PERFECT imitation of Mother.
The book is so hopeful - even among the many physical and spiritual trials. Her faithfulness is stunning; it calls all of us to the same faithfulness.
Thank-you Mother.......2007-06-07
I really enjoyed this book and found Mother Angelica to be quite a complex and interesting person. I think Raymond Arroyo did a remarkable job in telling her story without getting in the way. Thank-you Mother Angelica for your passion and the fruits prove your source.. and Thank-you Raymond for a job well done!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Commonweal, published by Commonweal Foundation on November 18, 2005. The length of the article is 1383 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Anchorwoman.(Mother Angelica : The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles)(Book Review)
Author: Michael O. Garvey
Publication:
Commonweal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 18, 2005
Publisher: Commonweal Foundation
Volume: 132
Issue: 20
Page: 22(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Catholic Insight, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1519 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles.(book)(Book Review)
Author: Joan Tardif
Publication:
Catholic Insight (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 13
Issue: 10
Page: 44(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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