John D. Luerssen discovered a new band called U2 in the early ‘80s just like a lot of us did: through word of mouth. And like many of us early adopters, he’s been a fan ever since. Culled from books, magazine articles, interviews and his own research, his U2 FAQis an exhaustive collection of nearly anything and everything you want to know about “the biggest band in the world.”
Predictably, it begins with the requisite biographical tidbits regarding each band member (all five of them … and how they became four). We learn about Bono’s strained relationship with his father, Adam Clayton’s penchant for being a prankster, and the group’s struggle with balancing spirituality with their desire to be rock stars. Luerssen details how Bono met Alison Stewart and the start of their 30-year, monogamous (yeah, right) relationship.
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These are not made up:
“My first Oval Office decision was to replace the desk chair — a bizarre contraption that vibrated when plugged in — with something more practical.”
“After dinner, we decided to watch a movie. We decided on MEET THE PARENTS.”
“I turned to a beautiful friend of Mother and Dad’s and asked a boozy question: ‘So, what is sex like after fifity?’”
“The wingtip was helicoptering toward me. I ducked. The guy had a pretty lively arm. A split second later, he threw another one. This one wasn’t flying as fast. I flicked my head slightly and it drifted over me. I wish I had caught the damn thing.”
“We lived in a tiny apartment and shared a bathroom with – depending on whom you ask — either one or two prostitutes.”
—Ken Davis
Buy it at Amazon.
When I see the back cover of a book boasting that it includes maps (with an exclamation point at that), I usually make a mad dash from the history section or ask myself how the hell I ended up in a college textbook store. Colin Wilson’s EVIL: SPINE-TINGLING TRUE STORIES OF MURDER AND MAYHEM would fit right in next to the other snoozers with the 900 Dewey Decimal classification.
Vignettes of the world’s most notorious killers are presented in chronological order, from the assassination of Julius Caesar through The Beltway Snipers. Profiles on serial killers and a handful of cold cases are tucked into the back.
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As a general rule, true crime books have titles that are a bit over-the-top. Kathryn Casey’s A DESCENT INTO HELL: THE TRUE STORY OF AN ALTAR BOY, A CHEERLEADER, AND A TWISTED TEXAS MURDER is no exception, but it does detail the downward climb into the dark world of drug use by two promising youths.
Jennifer Cave was a bright, energetic cheerleader with a scholarship to study business. Colton Pitonyak was a former altar boy with a private Catholic school education and the unconditional support of his well-to-do family. Jennifer and Colton crossed paths at the University of Texas when they both fell into the drug scene and struck up a platonic friendship.
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The good folks over at the U.S. Department of Justice will tell you that female murder victims are most likely to meet their demise at the hands of a husband or boyfriend than by a stranger. Because of this, police usually focus their attention first to the male intimates of female victims.
Perhaps no one knows this better than the 20 men profiled in F. Lee Bailey’s WHEN THE HUSBAND IS THE SUSPECT. The case studies are presented chronologically, from Dr. Sam Sheppard, who was charged with murdering his wife in 1954, to John Mason, who was put through the media wringer when his “runaway bride” briefly disappeared in April 2005.
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