Nate HendleyReseñas

A murder of a young boy in 1950s Toronto convicted a young teen who was placed near the scene of the crime at the time of the murder. A case of mistaken identity and coercion by police? A few more murders of young innocent children occurred before the police caught the young offender. Well researched a half century later, using old newspapers, police files and interviews, the author wrote a detailed account that could be a great history lesson for youth today.

I quite enjoyed this true crime Canadian story. A fourteen year old boy gets accused of killing a young boy in Toronto in the 1950s. This tells the story of how that happened, why he 'confessed', and how the true killer (a sexual serial killer) was eventually caught. Lots of background information fleshes out this story, from life in 1950s Toronto, police methods, and what happened after a killer is caught. Research into why someone might confess to a crime they didn't commit was included. It makes me understand why our Young Offenders Act in Canada is still important and a case like this would have contributed to its coming into being. Treating teenagers as if they were adults really doesn't serve them well. The Boy on the Bicycle was well written and researched.

While true crime is a genre I don’t usually gravitate to, I was interested in reading this book given the location (Toronto, Ontario) the time period (the 1950s) and the young age of the accused (a mere 14 years old at the time the crime was committed). This case has a lot of unusual aspects to it and Hendley raises a lot of the same questions I was thinking about as I read along. What makes this case exceptional is that murders were very rare in 1950s Toronto – Hendley mentions annual murder rates in single digits – and sexual predators were virtually unheard of, and definitely not ones as young as Moffatt or child predator Peter Woodcock (3 years older than Moffatt), who would eventually confess to the killing of Wayne Mallette.

For me, this book does a great job pointing out the deficiencies in the investigation, the questionable tactics used by police (which lead Moffatt to confess to a crime he did not commit), and a startling insight into the medical institutions of the time period as Moffatt was shuffled through different rehabilitation facilities. Hendley does a great job explaining things like the morals and values of Torontonians of the era and the Canadian legal system in general.

Overall, a book I can definitely recommend for readers interested in true crime stories of this nature.

This is the story of Canada's youngest serial killer Peter Woodcock alias David Krueger who brought an innocent young boy for many months into prison and different rehabilitation facilities.

Ron Moffatt just wanted to escape the wrath of his parents for playing truant. So he hid out. The Toronto police, searching for a young boy his age and his description, found him and forced him into a confession. Even without being able riding a bike he was stamped as the 'Bicycle murder'.

The book tells a shocking story about a young psychopath and the uncapability both of the police als well as of medical institutions to cope with such cases in the late 1950s. And it asks even more to question confessions of (young) offenders as the only evidence in court.

I find it difficult reading biographies where there is so much grey area. When I read ' according to some sources ', I already know it is going to be a story that for whatever reason everybody has their own viewpoint, evidence, feelings.....on.

So this is a book that is pieced together from various people and often times their stories conflict or they told two different stories about the same topic.

You still don't get the full picture. In any case, it is clear to me it was a miserable life, just driving place to place, eating and sleeping in the car, hardly washing and killing 12 people along the way.

I received this book as an Early Reviewer.

If you live in North America, particularly Canada, this book will have a lot of information that you may find relevant.

I found the first third of the book (it's only about 120 pages long) hard going. It is filled with facts and figures that feel like they've been cobbled together from the various sources. There are lots of quotes, which is fine, but the more formal language of these report excepts contrasts sharply with the overly conversational tone of the author, jarringly so on occasion.

I didn't mind the facts and figures, I just felt they needed a darn good edit. And there was one place where I felt the statements the author made regarding some chemistry were just out and out wrong. It takes forty or so pages before there is any mention of anywhere other than the US or Canada. The rest of the world is given pretty cursory treatment. I would have preferred to see some more information from the other continents/countries to give some further perspective.

The latter half of the book picks up, it feels like his journalistic background allows him to be on more familiar territory. He interviews former addicts and counsellors. It is much easier to feel a connection with these people.

Overall, it feels more like an overly long magazine article than a well researched and edited book. I felt the author was not entirely dispassionate in his treatment of the subject. I would have preferred to see it treated more objectively. And there are a couple of howlers of typos (sigma, causally, Nate, if you feel the urge to search).

Rating as a piece of writing: 1.5 stars
Rating as a topic that people should have some awareness of: 4 stars

I am not sure what made me request this book, I am not a writer , although sometimes that seems appealing. At any rate, I do agree with the reviewer that said this book is written like speaking with a friend. Laying the foundation is a good reminder of what it takes to write. It is a good read, but I think may be too basic for some.

This feels like a somewhat dated book on freelance writing. Focusing on non-fiction the author talks about ways to get work and motivate yourself to write. I did not find this book helpful or motivational unfortunately.

This would have been a good resource for me if I were a non-fiction or freelance writer, but it didn't have much for someone who (like me) is writing fiction.

This book has a lot of information on crystal meth. Most of the examples are from North America and many of the interviews are over the phone or via email. Otherwise a good information source on the drug, prevention and addiction.½

Comprehensive overview of the history, actual situation and possible treatment of 'crystal meth' addiction. Very well documented with facts and figures, but also latched with personal stories of (sometimes former) addicts. A good overview, though obviously not a happy read.½

Shocking look at a horrible drug. Get your kids to read this book to see what really happens when you use drugs. With the popularity of "Breaking Bad" this is a strong counterpoint to the "real" culture of crystal meth and it's consequences to it's users. Harrowing!

This book appears to be intended as a source book for those who need to learn more about the what, how and why their loved ones are using this substance.
It does not appear that the book was meant to be read for entertainment but more for informational purposes.

"Great Source book for Loved Ones of Addicts"

I received an ebook copy of this book from the Early Reviewers Giveaway on LibraryThing dot com.

This was a quick read on a very eye-opening subject. Good reason to say no to drugs!

Nate Hendley is a free-lancer who produced a brief book of tips and resources for writers. His best advice is the prolific writer's mantra: butt in seat, fingers on keyboard--or--writers write. This book is written in a straight-forward style and is usefully organized. A beginning writer will find it a handy reference, because he distills information that is well known and tested, but there is little for the experienced writer. I gave it only two stars because I was hoping for something new. The advice he gives--while useful and appropriate--can be found on any writing site catering to beginners. If so much stuff wasn't already out there, I would give the book another star. But the fact remains, the book is essentially unnecessary.

I read an Early Reviewer ebook copy. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and not in consideration of a free book.

Crystal Death is a well-written account of a variety of topics relating to methamphetamine use and abuse, but I found it lacking in both human interest stories and primary sources. The majority of the book is written like a research paper reviewing existing methamphetamine literature - if you're looking for an overview it's a good resource, but if you're hoping for insight or survivor stories, you'll be disappointed.

Motivate to Create has worked for me. I was very interested in reading this book because I find that although I have a desire to achieve some specific goals, I find it hard to motivate myself to work every day on my goals. Reading this book is more like having a conversation with a friend, a friend who will tell you the good, bad, and the ugly about being a writer ...and if you still want to do it, a lot of great suggestions about how to be inspired and motivated.

Well the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” is true. You would think that a book titled, Motivate to Create: a guide for Writers would primarily be about finding motivation to lead to creativity. However the majority of the book is more about how to become a freelance writer. In all fairness the book description does describe it as a book on freelancing. So I am not sure why the motivation piece was included in the book.

Hendley starts off with an introduction to motivation. The chapter talks about the usual motivators such as money and fame. Chapter 2 goes even deeper as the author starts off talking about Maslow (A little psychology 101 refresher). Chapter 3 begins to explore what motivates writers. He talks about Items such as deadlines, promoting an agenda and the sheer joy of writing etc. He talks about motivators, but not until the last couple of chapters does he talk about steps to take to become motivated. Most of his ideas are nothing new in the area of motivation. As the book continues it turns more to a how to on getting into freelance writing. Great detail is given on how to contact editors and send in story queries. The author is also honest that freelancing is not an easy job. Only through dedication, discipline and a thick skin can one succeed. But then in the last couple of chapters he turns back to motivation as he presents ideas such as creative doodling (a lot like brainstorming), visualization and setting goals. One of his ideas is to scare yourself.

The book is a quick read; however, I found it lacking in substance. Hendley does give some good information on taking the beginning steps into freelancing (Majority of the resources cited are Canadian). However, he did not provide any real new information in the area of motivation.

If you are looking for something to help you find motivation as a writer you may want to seek out other sources. However, if you are looking to become a freelance writer this would be a place to start.

An enlightening read about the impact of a truly awful drug.Book included too many statisics for my liking. Not all necessary to make the point about the danger of the drug.

This doesn't feel like a book, more like a research paper (written by a Canadian - no, I don't know if the author is Canadian, but many of the references in the book are to Canadian resources) - it's even short enough that I suspect it was written as someone's thesis/dissertation, and not really intended for a general readership.

Does this make it bad? No, not really - it does look at the spread of Meth through North America from its beginnings to the late 2000's. There are even some "stories" from meth users as to how the drug affected their lives. I was not as smitten with this component of the story as I hoped to be because there weren't very many "interviews" and many of those were done by phone or email, for the most part - kinda lacksadasical research method if you ask me.

There are a couple of informational sections where the author provides a glossary of terms (this is in the middle of the book though and I think it should have been at the start or end, where glossaries usually are) and a list of resources interspersed throughout the book which would be helpful if you were reading this book to seek/offer help... I was reading it for educational purposes, not because I need help with an addiction, and thus think these resources should probably also have been put in an appendix, not into the body of the book.

Anyway, the only part of it that was of interest to a non-counselor/non-addict was the history of the drug's spread, the rest read like a self-help guide.

Being from the south where meth use is rampant, I was already aware of how serious this problem is. However, I didn't really learn any new information in this book. I really liked reading about the past users' stories, and I was hoping that those kinds of stories would be what this book was made up of, but it isn't. That doesn't detract from the seriousness of the meth problem though, and the facts and statistics that were contained in this book can be really helpful and informative for people who aren't as aware of meth, and the problems it brings with it. One thing in the book that I liked was finding out where I could go to find information on homes where meth cooking has occurred. It really brings light to places that I should avoid, and encourage my friends and family to avoid, in my community. On the flip side, it also makes me more aware that no neighborhood is immune or "too good" for meth. Good job on putting together a great resource for people who need more information on meth and it's effects on our friends, family, and communities.

Are you looking informative reference material? This would be a good book to look thru to see if it would meet your needs.

I knew that we had a bad drug problems . I would never have guess. I really relised how the meth problem and its scope of death and destruction. Not just the user but the makers.

I didn't think I would enjoy this book, but it was very well researched and thought out. It contains not only factual information about meth, arrests and users, but also contains information about meth in popular culture. Definitely a nice introduction book to anyone who wants to know more about meth. Easy to read. Quick book. Nice reference.

This book wasn't quite as compelling as I thought it would be. At the beginning it was quite interesting telling the stories of Thersea Baxter and David Parnell. It is totally eye opening to read their stories. Then it started talking statistics which got a little to repetative and I started to lose interest. There were more personal stories of meth use but none that had the impact of the first two. It would be a good book to read at high school level as a preventative.