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HomeShop at BookSurgeReligionBibleCriticism, InterpretationGeneralMy Life In Crime: A Moderate Look at Crooks |
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 Excellent; Couldn't Put It Down Dec 14, 2009
I thoroughly enjoyed this book; couldn't put it down.
It is the kind of nonfiction I find irresistible; a glimpse into worlds outside my own life experience, described by a writer who is articulate, ironic, succinct, ingenuous. His dry humor strikes the reader unawares. In many places, I laughed aloud.
This book is neither a bloodless treatise, nor soapbox-speechmaking.
Mr. Cavanaugh, a former federal parole officer, relates real-life experiences which provide insight into American law enforcement and the penal system. He creates reasonable empathy with the characters ("crooks") who populated his world; the world of crimes and their aftermaths. It is a place most people prefer to overlook.
The stories of felons and their crimes are presented straightforwardly, without embellishment. The reader is invited to reach his own conclusions -- and is not dragged kicking & screaming toward the author's. This skilled storyteller simply opens the door and invites the reader in.
This book has made "crooks" real to me in a way that they may not have been, in the past. I've read quite a few books about crime through the years -- everything from Ann Rule, to Bugliosi, to John Douglas. I love crime TV; but the writers there could (and should) take a few reality-lessons from Will Cavanaugh.
His "My Life in Crime" is a down-to-earth, first-person account by one who has been there and knows. The simplicity and humility of his approach to the subject was so unusual that it makes every aspect of this book memorable.
I sincerely recommend it.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Crooks can be slightly twisted Oct 05, 2009
As I picked up this book I was a little concerned I'd be embarking on the post retirement navel gazing drivel that is much of memoir. But Cavanaugh quickly puts that impression to rest and I was quickly carried away by the stories and the characters that made his career as a federal parole officer.
The people he writes about are most interesting characters--and aspiring fiction writers will find a goldmine of story ideas in what happened to these characters,in real life.
I almost cried reading about the 10-year-old Native American boy forced to live in Southern California who longed so much to return to his South Dakota reservation that he regularly ran away from home to LAX airport. The desperation of the hardworking Mormon woman who committed one simple, almost justifiable crime, and lost everything, was gut wrenching. Every story left me wanting to know more-the sign of great stories.
Cavanaugh's voice is clear and his commentary on the federal criminal justice system is just enough-he gets his points across and his personal philosophy is evident without being overbearing.
I was struck by similarities between the stories and experiences of Cavanaugh's real life crooks and the stories and experiences and characters of my favorite writer, Jim Harrison.
Finally, I recently read a story in the local newspaper of a young couple from southern California who confessed to intense and profitable shoplifting across state lines on the Dr. Phil show recently. They're now under arrest. I imagined Cavanaugh writing up their pre-sentence reports for a federal judge, and how he might describe them in a future edition of "My Life in Crime."
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Truly a moderate look at crooks-with humor May 31, 2009
I was fortunate to stumble accross this book at a local shop that had just had mr cavanaugh sign copies apparently he lives in my neck of the woods. The book is worth a read it is humourous and has excellent stories in it and gets the point accross that we should treat crooks like humans its better for everyone. I wish we had more POs like Mr Cavanaugh around.
Funny and Sad Jan 26, 2009
So far I am enjoying reading this book. And I think it makes it that much better when you know who the author is. It is just how I would picture him to be.
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