Donald A. DavisReseñas

This is the story of the fighter mission that changed World War II.
It is the true story of the man behind Pearl Harbor---Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto---and the courageous young American fliers who flew the million-to-one suicide mission that shot him down.
Yamamoto was a cigar-smoking, poker-playing, English-speaking, Harvard-educated expert on America, and that intimate knowledge served him well as architect of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For the next sixteen months, this military genius, beloved by the Japanese people, lived up to his prediction that he would run wild in the Pacific Ocean. He was unable, however, to deal the fatal blow needed to knock America out of the war, and the shaken United States began its march to victory on the bloody island of Guadalcanal. ...

What Steve Thomas has written is less case-specific and more sour grapes than the true crime expose I had hoped for. If you're someone who follows the case, listens to the podcasts, watches the specials, and are looking for some plausible theory to what happened to JonBenet, you might be interested in this behind-the-scenes look at a complicated, if not botched, investigation.

Steve Thomas pulls together the minutia and presents a logical conclusion that sadly never had its day in court.

The Ramseys are portrayed as non-compliant and evasive, handled by a crack team of top lawyers who protected their clients from prosecution by way of lingering silence and arranged meetings with ground rules that stymied the detective's ability to perhaps properly question them.

Hundreds of pages are dedicated to all the ways lawyers, the DAs office, and specialists brought in went wrong in this investigation. Too much shared information. A refusal to call the Ramseys "suspects" for a myriad of reasons, none of which were because their role in JonBenet's death was implausible. The inability to convene a grand jury that would indict. The proverbial "trial by media."

I don't blame the detective for being angry and frustrated, but what he's done is to vent on the page ad nauseum. His book isn't as much about the case as it is slinging mud at all the folks who didn't subscribe to his theory. Whether he's right or wrong, it's the tunnel vision and vitriol that makes me wonder if he was more supported in his pursuit of the Ramseys, if there would have been a different outcome. Would Patsy have been indicted? Would it have been wrongly so?

I admit, his theory is one of the best I've read, but what he doesn't have an explanation for is the where and how of the murder. A short fuse temper does not a murderer make. Does that mean she didn't do it? No. There's enough circumstantial evidence to give one pause, but probably not enough to support "beyond a reasonable doubt." I think that's the problem with this case and the reason it'll never be solved. A shame, really, because there should be justice for JonBenet. While there were highlights in this book, it wasn't what I would call a page-turner. Respect to this detective for his hard work on the case. I just wish he had a different angle for his book.

Incredible book that goes through the life of Jeffrey Dahmer and his victims. This is not a play by play of police procedures. This book tells a definitive story with lots of background information. Well researched and easy to follow.
I would recommend this book to those interested in true crime/serial killers.

There is something compelling about reading a true-crime story from one's home town. I was in Boulder for my first year in college the year JonBenet died, though thankfully I was too immersed in trying to pass my 2nd semester physics class to worry much about following this case when it started. Almost 20 years later I finally read a whole book on this murder drama, and having read lots of crime genre novels recently, I was amazed at how little the investigation into JonBenet's murder followed basic murder investigation procedures. The crime scene was never secured, the primary witnesses/suspects were never really required to answer questions that seem obviously vital to the case, and rather than discovering who killed the girl, this case opened up Boulder's dysfunctional and inexperienced crime investigation and prosecution systems to ridicule and international scrutiny.
I was really not impressed with the author's attitude towards Boulder and Boulder's local culture, and in his attitude I could see a glimmer of what is now making police so dangerous to the people they are meant to serve and protect. Most of the time Boulder's kinder, gentler police culture worked to support a creative, safe environment that resembles some European towns far more than it resembles most of the US. But, considering how unprofessional and inefficient this system turned out to be when faced with a major murder investigation, I can see why Thomas was so frustrated with Boulder's police and criminal justice system.
Having read this book, I have my own theory (doesn't everyone?) as to who killed JonBenet- I suspect that her brother Burke caused her head injury and maybe some of her strangulation injuries as well, and that the rest was their mother's attempts at covering up the crime and protecting the boy. If that is what happened I can understand easily why the parents would refuse to really help with the investigation, and why the crime scene was so badly contaminated and compromised by JonBenet's family. I doubt that enough clear evidence exists now to prove that I'm wrong, though.
In any case, I enjoyed this book more than I expected to, even with Thomas's unpleasant attitude towards Boulder.

America’s Secret Submarine, by Lee Vyborny and Don Davis, tells the compelling story of NR-1, a very secret, very small nuclear powered submarine. The boat was never given a typical name, and although it did not carry weapons like its larger sisters, the missions conducted by the submarine and its fearless crew were vitally important. A few of these are unclassified now, but the majority of what the crew of NR-1 accomplished have not, and perhaps never will be made public.

The diminutive submarine was the brain child of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the father of America’s nuclear powered navy, and although the costs associated with the boat seemed out of control at best, he saw the value in the concept and bullied, begged and pushed through his dream.

After reading America’s Secret Submarine, the reader can’t help but wonder, if these are the operations we are allowed to know about, with all of their dangers and risks, what on earth took place that we may never know?
NR-1 is gone now, although her sail and a few other of her parts are now on display at the Submarine Force Library and Museum in Groton, Connecticut. Hopefully at some point in the future, more of this tiny boat’s exploits will be revealed, but with what little we know already, the men who operated NR-1 are clearly heroes.

www.daniellittle.com

This is a book about a war more than a biography of an individual, war books are boring. Civil war books and books about Stonewall Jackson's participation in it, are dozens. Although he was a masterful tactician, this book illustrates that with multiple battles--boring! It takes a map to keep up. As the book points out, there is little known about his childhood. Then, the author spends about a half hour talking about his time at the US Military Academy, Spanish American war and another half hour talking about his professorship at VMI. Good discussions, all. When Davis dives into the civil war, the book was only 25% finished. I knew that it would be a long slog to the end--5 hours or so. Davis doesn't apply the lessons learned earlier to his civil war service, very well; this book did little to contribute to my knowledge of the man. There was a bit of analysis at the end. The reader can skip over about five hours, right to that. While he was among the greatest tacticians the USA has ever seen, let us not forget, Thomas Jackson was a traitor to his country.

Steve Thomas is one angry man. When reading the page after page of his litany, the reader understands his thoughts and feelings.

On Christmas night in 1996, six year old Jon Benet Ramsey was murdered. If we believe Thomas' clearly outlined reasons why he knows the parents were involved, then we also know that she died from a severe blunt force injury to the skull, and was strangled simply to ensure that she was really dead.

Clear evidence supported his beliefs that in a fit of rage, Patsy Ramsey smashed her daughter's head, placed the tiny body in a far away room in the basement and then, using part of the paint brush in her art bag, made a garrote and strangled her small, innocent little girl.

Before the Ramsey's left hurriedly in their private jet Christmas Day, the body was discovered by her father, John Ramsey and his friend Fleet White.

Eventually, when Fleet White confronted John Ramsey regarding his lack of being forthright and working with the DA and the investigators, he then became a suspect, thrown to the investigators by John Ramsey. Often, the list of suspects given to the DA office were their "best friends." While betraying friends who came to their aid, they wrote glowing, loving notes to the very same people.

There are a host of reasons why the author believes Pat Ramsey killed her child, then wrote a rambling ransom note, and staged the crime scene to make it look as though an intruder entered and killed Jon Benet.

Citing the fact that there was a spider web on the window the Ramsey's claimed the intruder could have entered. The spider web would have been broken upon entry if there was an outside intruder. The window was broken by John Ramsey prior to the abduction and never repaired. In addition the leaves and debris were in place with no footprints. The intruder would have had to be in the house for a long time in order to murder Jon Benet, place her body in a hard-to find room, place a blanket over her, and take time to write a three page note, using a felt pen and then placing it back in the original container.

The tablet used for the ransom note only contained Patsy's handwriting and that of the detective who examined it. In addition, hand writing analysis experts believed beyond a reasonable doubt that it was Patsy who wrote the note. Phrases used mirrored the pattern of her speech process.

The Ransey's story switched periodically. Pat Ramsey greeted the police on Christmas Day wearing the outfit she wore the night before. The lab would find fibers from Patsey's jacket on the tape used to seal Jon Benet's mouth.

The fingerprints on the far away door contained Patsy's fingerprints. But, most telling was the fact that before they left Christmas Day, the had hired a slick team to help do damage control. While the Ramsey's showed tears, throughout the investigation, they refused to help police and key detectives other than to repeatedly deny their involvement.

On the night of Jon Benet's death, the parents claimed they never heard an movement or sounds. Given the fact that it was a spiral staircase that the murderer would have had to climb and go down in the dark, it would have been a nightmare to accomplish this feat.

When asked if they checked on their son to make sure he was still in the house, the Ramsey's store noted they had not. This indeed is rather strange behavior of parents. Normally, parents would rapidly check to ensure their other child/childred were safe. Also, stating that their son Burke was asleep when they made the 911 call, enhanced sound of the 911 tape showed that Burke was awake and spoke in the background as Patsy spoke to the 911 dispatcher.

Who ever did the murder had to know 7,000 square foot house inside and out, including the fact that the light switch in the room where Jon Benet was deposited and found, was located behind the door in a not so obvious place.

Most horrific was the fact that the examination of her six year old body indicated past and present repeated bruising and swelling.

The author is angry because he wanted to proceed with the evidence, while the DA in Boulder Colorado helped the Ramseys by disclosing all information the detectives had gained. In addition, the DA had a history of plea bargaining and was exceedingly liberal in his decisions.

The DA's team were called "Team Ramsey" by the detectives because they coddled the Ramsey's and helped them rather than adhere to rules of conduct. There were repeated leaks to the press which could be directly linked to the DA's office. Thus, the Ramsey's lawyers had full disclosure and nothing was hidden regarding the mounting evidence that was discovered leading to the fact that Pat Ramsey killed the child and John Ramsey decided to cover it up.

In the end, no one was found guilty. A little six year old girl was brutally murdered and her body violated. She lies in the ground in a cemetery wearing her tiara and showy dress from the competitions her mother insisted she become a part of since she was four.

It has been so long since I read this book. I do think it was an interesting read cause I remember quite a lot of it and normally that is not the case.

on Sunday, November 13, 2005 I wrote about this book:

I did read just a bit. I had to stop cause when I read about the 14 year old boy Konerak, who ran away with Dahmer following him, and the police believing Dahmer'who said the boy was a gay drunk, the boy still had a pair of handcuff's on his wrist!!! and bringing the boy back to Dahmers apartment where he was slaughtered....
No this was to emotional for me.

on Saturday, September 22, 2007 I wrote further:


Well I did manage to read it. Very sad story and Jeffrey Dahmer is pictured so different when you compare it to The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer written by Brian Masters. I read both books at once.
Masters tries to see the human side of Dahmer where Davis pictures him as a monster.
Both books were very interesting.

Read this together with Barbara Davis book: Precious Angels and I did like that book better.

Someone said this author has no opinion but I did feel he thought Darlie was innocent, or unfairly treated. He even blamed the prosecution for being so good as one of the reasons for Darlie's punishment. And because the jury were conservatives. I googled for Darlie Routier and everywhere I looked I read the news (a few year ago) that Darlie was granted to do new DNA testing. It was on so many sites. Funny that it was very hard to find the results of that testing. Guess the family wasn't so pleased with the results cause I could not find it.

Interesting details, however it did drag in some parts. Definitely showed how the Milwaukee police department needed serious retraining! The book showed how Dahmer's attorneys tried to get him off on an Insanity plea-as is usually the case in such incidents.

JonBenet: Inside the Murder Investigation. Not sure what to say about this one. According to the book, the failures of this particular investigation are good examples of a) why inexperienced officers should not be allowed at murder scenes; b) why written policy of how to investigate doesn't matter if it isn't followed; c) that ineffective communication between officers and a DA office can tank a case; d) how important intuition is to investigation, but that it doesn't mean anything if there isn't evidence to make the case; and e) that politics can overcome investigations.

Like new hardcover, like new dust jacket½