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Jackpot Nation: Rambling and Gambling Across Our Landscape of Luck
By Richard Hoffer. 2007
Is this a great country or what?You can bet on the turn of the card or a roll of the…
dice, but also on the NFL, the NCAA, and which Olsen twin marries first. We bet $80 billion a year, the amount growing wildly as more and more people gain access to this huge American wheel of fortune. No longer quarantined in Las Vegas, gambling has become as local and convenient as our neighborhood cineplex. If there's not a casino around the corner, there's one on your laptop computer.In Jackpot Nation, Richard Hoffer takes us on a headlong tour, alternately horrifying and hilarious, across our landscape of luck. Whether he's trying to win a side of bacon in a Minnesota bar, hustling a paper sack filled with $100,000 in cash across Las Vegas parking lots, poring over expansion plans with a tribal chief in California, or visiting the New York prison cell of a retired bus salesman with a poor understanding of three-game parlays, Hoffer explores with wit and heart our national inclination—a cultural predisposition, even—to take a chance.Murder in Sin City: Death of a Casino Boss
By Jeff German. 2001
The reckless heir to the Horseshoe Club fortune, fifty-five-year-old Vegas casino boss Ted Binionlived the high life constantly teetering on…
the edge—surrounding himself with guns, heroin, cash, babes and mobsters. But it was a beautiful ex-stripper and her new lover who gave him the final, fatal push over the side. The gripping true story of the fall of a powerful man that culminated in the most publicized murder in Las Vegas history—an almost perfect crime undone by the unbelievable greed of its perpetrators—Jeff German's Murder in Sin City is a stunning account of human deterioration and depravity, a neon-tinged view of the poisonous rot that festers beneath the Vegas glitter. Now a Lifetime original movie, Sex and Lies in Sin City.Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World's Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler
By Jessica Speart. 2011
One of the world's most beautiful endangered species, butterflies are as lucrative as gorillas, pandas, and rhinos on the black…
market. In this cutthroat $200 million business, no one was more successful—or posed a greater ecological danger—than Yoshi Kojima, the kingpin of butterfly smugglers.In Winged Obsession, author Jessica Speart tells the riveting true story of rookie U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent Ed Newcomer's determined crusade to halt the career of a brazen and ingenious criminal with an almost supernatural sixth sense for survival. But the story doesn't end there. Speart chronicles her own attempts, while researching the book, to befriend Kojima before betraying him—unaware that the cagey smuggler had his own plans to make the writer a player in his illegal butterfly trade.Honor Thy Father
By Gay Talese. 2009
A classic masterwork newly updatedThe electrifying true story of the rise and fall of New York's notorious Bonanno crime familyOn…
New York's Park Avenue on a rainy Tuesday night in October 1964, the famous Mafia chieftain Joseph Bonanno was kidnapped by two mobsters and reported by the police as dead on the following morning. More than a year later, Bonanno mysteriously reappeared, setting off a bloody mob feud that came to be known as the “Banana War.”In this monumental work—packed with intimate details and brilliant reporting—bestselling author Gay Talese first brought to the American consciousness a world and a life previously known to only a few. No other book has done more to acquaint readers with the secrets, structure, wars, power plays, family lives, and fascinating, frightening personalities of the Mafia.Ben Thompson—author of Badass, creator of the epic website badassoftheweek.com, and the Internet’s foremost expert on badassitude—is back to enthrall…
lovers of skull-smashing, bone-crushing bad behavior with his latest compendium, Badass: The Birth of a Legend. Like its macho predecessor, Badass: The Birth of a Legend celebrates fearless berserkers of every stripe, male and female, but this time pulls them from the hoary pages of mythology, fantasy fiction, and the silver screen—from Zeus to Beowulf to Dirty Harry Callahan, the most merciless gods, monsters, heroes, villains, and mythical creatures ever envisioned. Forget your whiny Twilight vampires and werewolves, these badasses kick butt!The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird
By Joshua Hammer. 2020
A rollicking true-crime adventure about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs—and the wildlife detective determined to…
stop him.On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain&’s Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales. So begins a tale almost too bizarre to believe, following the parallel lives of a globe-trotting smuggler who spent two decades capturing endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions—and Detective Andy McWilliam of the United Kingdom&’s National Wildlife Crime Unit, who&’s hell bent on protecting the world&’s birds of prey. The Falcon Thief whisks readers from the volcanoes of Patagonia to Zimbabwe&’s Matobo National Park, and from the frigid tundra near the Arctic Circle to luxurious aviaries in the deserts of Dubai, all in pursuit of a man who is reckless, arrogant, and gripped by a destructive compulsion to make the most beautiful creatures in nature his own. It&’s a story that&’s part true-crime narrative, part epic adventure—and wholly unputdownable until the very last page.Written in Blood
By Mike Silverman, Tony Thompson. 2014
As one of the UK’s leading forensic scientists, Mike Silverman has helped to identify and convict dozens of murderers, rapists,…
armed robbers, burglars and muggers, thanks to the evidence they – or their victims – unwittingly left behind at the scenes of their crimes. Mike Silverman started his career in the days when fingerprints were still kept on card files and DNA profiling was just a pipe dream, so Written in Blood is more than just a casebook – it is also a definitive history of the development of forensic science over the course of the past thirty-five years.From collecting blood samples at gangland executions to investigating forensic science failings, including in the murders of Rachel Nickell and Damilola Taylor, Mike Silverman’s unique career provides a fascinating insight into the ways forensic science is used to help solve real-life crimes. Packed with genuine crime scene photographs and original sketches, Written in Blood is the ultimate insider’s account of the fascinating world of forensic science.Vintage Hairstyles: Simple Steps for Retro Hair with a Modern Twist
By Emma Sundh, Sarah Wing. 2015
From the finger waves of the romantic 1910s to the beehive of the rebellious 1960s, retro hair has made a…
comeback. Vintage Hairstyles presents all the tools, techniques, and step-by-step instructions needed to achieve eye-catching looks for every occasion. Trendsetters, hairstylists, and fashionistas will love creating elegant updos for special events or playful curls for everyday excursions. Featuring a history of beauty trends by the decades, a list of must-have hair products, and projects for making chic hair accessories, Vintage Hairstyles showcases classic beauty with a fresh twist.Wild Thing: The True Story of Britain's Rightful Guv'nor
By Bernard O'Mahoney, Lew Yates. 2007
Everybody in the unlicensed fight game knows that only one man has the honour of being titled 'Guv'nor' - and…
that man is Lew 'Wild Thing' Yates. Yates began boxing at the age of six, and as an adult he was ruthless in pursuit of his dream of becoming world heavyweight champion. But when his licence was revoked following an assault on a referee, he turned to unlicensed boxing.By day, Yates pounded punchbags and the streets in an effort to reach the peak of physical fitness as he prepared for his epic battle with Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw. At night, he pounded gangsters and drug dealers foolish enough to take him on in the nightclubs where he worked.Wild Thing documents how Yates rose to the top of his bloody profession. When it comes to his fighting ability, he doesn't need to boast, brag or exaggerate. With Lew Yates, what you see is what you hope you're never going to get. This is his remarkable story.Vanessa: A Portrait of Evil
By Wensley Clarkson. 2011
The compelling and disturbing true story of Vanessa George and the evil abuse she doled out upon the children of…
more than 300 families.As a nursery worker, wife and mother, she was a figure to place trust in. Yet her adulterous relationship and sick love triangle with Colin Blanchard and Angela Allen drew her into a dark world of violence and sexual abuse. To compete for Blanchard's attention she would do everything in her power to impress him, even if this meant committing unspeakable acts of sexual violence on children as young as two years old.What could have driven a mother to betray not only her daughters and loving husband, but the very families who entrusted her with their children? How could a seemingly caring women become engaged in a sordid and vile love triangle with a man and woman she had never met? Were there events in her own childhood that pushed her to commit these acts?True crime expert Wensley Clarkson pieces together the events surrounding the case as well as new investigative research to compile a fascinating yet disturbing account of a case which shocked a nation.We may never know the full extent of Vanessa George's cruelty, but the horror of her story will remain as a chilling memory for generations.When Kids Kill
By Jonathan Paul. 2003
Jonathan Paul goes behind the sensationalist headlines of 'child killers' to investigate why these crimes happen. He examines child homicide…
in today's violent, confusing world and contextualises it against the cruel unforgiving retribution of yesterday.Children are increasingly experimenting with drugs and committing offences, but there are those who commit the worst possible crimes: to end another person's life before their own could properly have begun. The cases are shocking but sometimes the path towards them is even more so. This is a fascinating exploration of disturbing events aimed at discovering what happens when childhood is trodden underfoot, and when and why kids kill.What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up
By Lauren Bravo. 2018
The perfect gift for the Spice Girls fan in your life!‘Lauren Bravo is one of my very favourite writers.’ Dolly…
Alderton'A joyous and energetic celebration of girlhood, friendship and pop culture. If you have ever sung into the lid of a can of Impulse body spray, you need to read this.' Daisy BuchananThe words 'girl power' conjure vivid memories of short skirts and platform boots. But it wasn't just about the look, it was about feminism. The Spice Girls gave a generation their first glimpse of the power of friendship, of staying true to yourself, of sheer bloody-mindedness. And the girl power generation went on to kick-start a new conversation around gender equality.We may have grown up asking What Would the Spice Girls Do?, but their particular brand of feminism is as relevant today as it was twenty years ago – we still need that fun and fearlessness, we still need accessible and all-embracing equality… we still need a zig-a-zig-ah.‘The Spice Girls’ arrival on the pop scene marked the gateway to a modern form of feminism, all dressed up as a riotously good time.’ StylistAs featured in Elle magazine's Best Feminist Gift BooksWhat Would Beyoncé Do?!
By Luisa Omielan. 2016
You know when you find yourself approaching thirty and your dreams are broken? You've got a temping career going nowhere,…
a student debt that’s mounting and you've just had to move back into your mum’s house.Then to top it all off, you get absolutely annihilated with heartbreak because of an ex, who is just ‘not ready’ but then manages to be ready, a week later, with someone else. And it is here, at your lowest point, that one of your best friends decides to remind you that you are the same age as Beyoncé.FML.Luisa Omielan is a stand-up comedian who turned her life around after she answered the mantra every person needs in their life: What Would Beyoncé Do?!Hilariously funny, wonderfully uplifting and brutally honest, Luisa's memoir shows us all that there is no situation in which Bey can’t save the day.Wayne Barker: The Extraordinary Story of a Bare-Knuckle Boxer
By Bernard O'Mahoney. 2013
From Salford to St Louis, former professional boxer Wayne Barker fought every man who ever challenged him. In this brutally…
honest account of his eventful life, Wayne recounts how his parents left him in the care of the travelling community, where he learned to fight and journeyed throughout Britain and Ireland to take on opponents for cash.After being charged with attempting to murder a child killer, Wayne fled to America, where he found work in the gymnasiums of New York sparring with the likes of world champion Wilfred Benítez. His ability in the ring was noticed by promoter Bobby Gleason, whose gym had been graced by legendary boxers such as Jake LaMotta. Gleason set up a fight in Caracas between Wayne and former super middleweight world champion Fulgencio Obelmejias ('Fully Obel').Wayne’s past eventually caught up with him and he was deported to Britain, where he served time in prison. He returned to the streets to earn a living from bare-knuckle fighting, before becoming a trainer and running a gym. Cancer claimed his life in 2012.There's a war on against the BBC. It is under threat as never before. And if we lose it, we…
won't get it back.The BBC is our most important cultural institution, our best-value entertainment provider, and the global face of Britain. It's our most trusted news source in a world of divisive disinformation. But it is facing relentless attacks by powerful commercial and political enemies, including deep funding cuts - much deeper than most people realise - with imminent further cuts threatened. This book busts the myths about the BBC and shows us how we can save it, before it's too late.Wannabe in my Gang?: From the Krays to the Essex Boys
By Bernard O'Mahoney. 2004
Kray gang boss Tony Lambrianou, who served a life sentence for the brutal murder of Jack 'the Hat' McVitie, has…
threatened to kill Bernard O'Mahoney 'by smashing a hammer through his head'. 'Dodgy' Dave Courtney, who claims to have murdered two gangland rivals, tried 'to put him out of his misery' and 'the most dangerous man in the country', John 'Gaffer' Rollinson, has vowed to kill him 'when he finds him'.But O'Mahoney, one-time friend of the notorious Kray Brothers and former key member of the Essex Boys gang, isn't concerned about any of these threats, because he knows the truth about the wannabe gangsters who have built their 'reputations' on fantasy gleaned from Hollywood movies and 'true' crime books written by their heroes. Wannabe in my Gang? is a story that spans two decades and involves some of the most infamous names and crimes in British history. It gives a unique insight into the Kray brothers' firm, revealing that its public image is far from the truth. Also uncovered is what happened to the remaining members of the Essex Boys firm following the death of Esctasy victim Leah Betts and the murder of three of its leaders, who were found dead in their blood-spattered Range Rover one winter's evening. For the first time ever, O'Mahoney will expose the gangland myths that have made legends of those who claim to be responsible for mayhem and murder. He reveals the sordid secret of one of Britain's most infamous gangsters and tells the truth about the imposters who make a living selling stories and writing books about events that have never even happened. Wannabe in my Gang? is the book that many in the underworld never wanted the public to read. A crime exposé of the highest order, it is shocking, revelatory and gripping from beginning to end.Unseen: My Journey
By Reggie Yates. 2017
From Grange Hill to Top of the Pops, Reggie Yates has been on camera nearly all of his life, but…
it’s as a documentary filmmaker – and a pretty fearless one at that – where he has truly been making his mark, investigating everything from gun crime in Chicago, to life as a refugee in Iraq.In his first book, Unseen, Reggie takes us behind the scenes on his journey from TV host to documentary storyteller. Using some of the key moments and extreme circumstances he has found himself in, Reggie examines what he has learned about the world, and himself as a person.Beginning as a brief exploration of Reggie’s relationship with the camera and life growing up on screen, Unseen explores the journey Reggie has taken in the documentary world. Initially resistant to documentary making, Reggie was convinced his point of view as a young black working class man with a history in music, children’s TV and entertainment would not make his films remotely credible. Through conflict and challenges on screen, the understanding gained from the very thing once seen as a weakness would become his strength on camera, as the eye of the everyman and voice of the audience. Unseen unpicks the stories behind the fascinating characters and situations Reggie encounters across a series of films, as well as chronicling the personal growth through each testing shoot for Yates himself.THE TRUE CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR AND 18-WEEK SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER'One of the most fascinating books I…
have read in a long time. Engrossing, a haunting page-turner. A book I could not put down' The Times, BOOKS OF THE YEAR__________Meet the forensic pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd.He solves the mysteries of unexplained or sudden death.He has performed over 23,000 autopsies, including some of the most high-profile cases of recent times; the Hungerford Massacre, the Princess Diana inquiry, and 9/11. He has faced serial killers, natural disaster, 'perfect murders' and freak accidents.His evidence has put killers behind bars, freed the innocent, and turned open-and-shut cases on their heads. Yet all this has come at a huge personal cost. Unnatural Causes tells the story of not only the cases and bodies that have haunted him the most, but also how to live a life steeped in death. Thoughtful, revealing, chilling and always unputdownable, if you liked All That Remains, War Doctor and This is Going to Hurt you'll love this. **Pre-order Dr Richard Shepherd's new book THE SEVEN AGES OF DEATH now**__________'Gripping, grimly fascinating, and I suspect I'll read it at least twice' Evening Standard'A deeply mesmerising memoir of forensic pathology. Human and fascinating' Nigella Lawson 'An absolutely brilliant book. I really recommend it, I don't often say that but it's fascinating' Jeremy Vine, BBC Radio 2'Puts the reader at his elbow as he wields the scalpel' Guardian 'Fascinating, gruesome yet engrossing' Richard and Judy, Daily Express'Fascinating, insightful, candid, compassionate' ObserverUnlocked: An Irish Prison Officer’s Story
By David McDonald, Mick Clifford. 2022
The Number One Bestseller______________For over thirty years, David McDonald worked in Ireland's biggest prisons. This is his story.As a young…
officer, McDonald got a baptism of fire in Mountjoy. In 1989 it was a chaotic, pungent and overcrowded place, and the approach to keeping order was primitive.Returning to his hometown two years later, he entered Portlaoise Prison, which - due to the presence of IRA and other subversive prisoners - was then the most secure prison in Europe. McDonald was amazed to discover the power of these subversives within the prison. Portlaoise, and later the new Midlands Prison, were also where Ireland's emerging class of serious gangsters were housed. McDonald dealt with notorious household names like John Gilligan, Christy Kinahan, Brian Meehan, Dessie O'Hare and, more recently, killers like Graham Dwyer, in his average working day.McDonald shares vivid accounts of the constant war of attrition between prisoners and prison authorities over the smuggling of contraband like drugs and phones. His work in a specialist security unit trying to stop this trafficking sometimes brought him into conflict with his bosses. He also questioned aspects of an often brutal and under-resourced system. Ultimately, concerns about poor handling of key issues led to him becoming a whistle-blower.In Unlocked, McDonald brilliantly describes the boredom, the constant tension and flashpoints of extreme violence, and the moments of comedy, tragedy and surprising humanity that are part and parcel of working in prisons. Written with the help of award-winning journalist and author, Mick Clifford, it is a jaw-dropping and authentic account of life in the toughest of workplaces._____________'An extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the hidden world of Irish prisoners . . . fascinating' Brendan O'Connor'Cracking' Matt CooperUnlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey - The instant Sunday Times bestseller
By Her Honour Wendy Joseph. 2022
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 2023'Wendy Joseph's gripping account of the law at…
work reads like a cliffhanger.' Sunday Times'Absolutely superb. 5 stars for sheer readability alone. Her Honour entertains as she educates us about murder, about the law and about how we human beings are shaped as we create the culture we live with.' PHILIPPA PERRY, author of THE BOOK YOU WISH YOUR PARENTS HAD READ___________________________________________________________________________________'Every day in the UK lives are suddenly, brutally, wickedly taken away. Victims are shot or stabbed. Less often they are strangled or suffocated or beaten to death. Rarely they are poisoned, pushed off high buildings, drowned or set alight. Then there are the many who are killed by dangerous drivers, or corporate gross negligence. There are a lot of ways you can kill someone. I know because I've seen most of them at close quarters.'High-profile murder cases all too often grab our attention in dramatic media headlines - for every unlawful death tells a story. But, unlike most of us, a judge doesn't get to turn the page and move on. Nor does the defendant, or the family of the victim, nor the many other people who populate the court room.And yet, each of us has a vested interest in what happens there. And while most people have only the sketchiest idea of what happens inside a Crown Court, any one of us could end up in the witness-box or even in the dock.With breath-taking skill and deep compassion, the author describes how cases unfold and illustrates exactly what it's like to be a murder trial judge and a witness to human good and bad. Sometimes very bad.The fracture lines that run through our society are becoming harder and harder to ignore. From a unique vantage point, the author warns that we do so at our peril._____________________________________________________________________________________________'The most exceptional book I have read in a long time.' CLARE MACKINTOSH'A very rare gem. written with authority, humility and compassion. Compellingly clever and sharply honest.' PROFESSOR DAME SUE BLACK, author of ALL THAT REMAINS'Riveting, thought-provoking, and very, very entertaining. I loved it.' RODDY DOYLE'Will make you question all the fundamentals that you've come to take for granted about offenders, the crimes that they commit - especially murder - and the punishment they deserve. A page turner that will leave you wanting to know more.' EMERITUS PROFESSOR DAVID WILSON, author of MY LIFE WITH MURDERERSThe instant Sunday Times bestseller, March 2023