Organized Crime: The Unvarnished Truth About Government By: Thomas DiLorenzo

Great book by Mr. DiLorenzo.  I have read other books by this author and he has yet to publish something I did not find informative and/or educational. In "Organized Crime" he does not let me down.  

The book contains roughly 52 Chapters, of which take you about 10-15 minutes depending on your reading speed (with the help of my Kindle PaperWhite, I am able to see my reading speed)  These chapters are chock-full of information on how the government commits crimes against us.  Not your run of the mill crime such as stealing my newspaper or breaking an ordinance with loud music after 11:00PM.  No, these crimes are more pernicious and are veiled in government assistance.

This book is great for those who do not see this country through the prism of party.  Some of the more notable chapters were:

Chapter 27: Fascism, The new American system.   Chapter 36: Why the government is responsible for the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and 44: The truth about Sherman's anti-trust act.

This was a great book and I recommend it.

Hardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: Ludwig von Mises Institute (July 20, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1610162560
ISBN-13: 978-1610162562 

Jefferson the Virginian, Vol. 1 By: Dumas Malone

Volume 1 of 6.  An astounding feat by any standard.  This book is an exceptional history of Thomas Jefferson.  The level of detail regarding Jefferson's family and early life is better than anything I have read to date.  By no means do I have an exhaustive list of works on Jefferson so that comment can be taken at face value.

The book attempts to explain the many facets Jefferson's life as an architect, naturalist, jurist, political theorist, governor, philosopher, inventor, the list goes on and on.  Jefferson was a extremely learned man and was a voracious reader.  He served as Secretary of State under Washington, Vice President under Adams and finally becoming President in March of 1801.  Thomas Jefferson is certainly one of my favorite founding fathers.

This is truly a biography in all sense of the word.  It is not a watered down 300 page book.  The author gives you details into the life of the great man.  The book is written in the English of that period so it made the book that much more enjoyable.

The one criticism I have of the book, is that most of the information gained in this book appeared to be mostly positive.  Although I love Jefferson, I am sure there are things that were left out in an attempt to protect his name, I assume of course.

I can't wait to get started on Volume II

Hardcover: 484 pages
Publisher: University of Virginia Press (August 4, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0813923557
ISBN-13: 978-0813923550

50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

Useless little book.  These are things my 6 year old has already learned.  Maybe if you have been living under a rock, this book would be useful. If not...... not so much.

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 31, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1401602940
ISBN-13: 978-1401602949

The Politics of Freedom By: David Boaz

Great little book by David Boaz from the Cato Institute.  I have long been a fan of Boaz.  His views on many of today's hot topics may seem obtuse to some that continue to view things through an emotional prism.  However I have learned that if you remove emotion from the problem or question, you are left with nothing but the facts. Then you are equipped to make an "EDUCATED" decision based on fact and not emotions.

"The Politics of Freedom" is a collection of many years worth of essays by Mr. Boaz.  Boaz tackles many of the subjects that are considered taboo by many from 'Right to Life' to 'gun restriction' and everything in between.  His discussions are a lighter change from the heavy rhetorical and ideological views maintained by many hyper-partisans today.  

I am against political parties, however if I had to choose a party, it would be Libertarian although I consider myself [l]ibertarian.  Emphasis on the lowercase 'l'.  I really wish more people could read this book and other like it with an open mind, they won't though.


File Size: 927 KB
Print Length: 250 pages
Publisher: Cato Institute (February 25, 2008)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B005HITRMM

The Racketeer By: John Grisham

OK.  Now THIS is what I expected from a "John Grisham" book.  If you read my review of "The Litigators" by Grisham, you would know that I was not impressed with his work.  I will say that many people raved of his books.  I did not read "The Firm" but I did watch the movie and was, as many, surprised at the twists and turns of that story.  This was going to be the last chance I gave Grisham.  Man am I glad I did so.

This book, as apparently many others of Grisham, involve lawyers.  It is well written and to me, a page turner.  The book is essentially divided into two parts and in reality, three.  The first section deals with Malcom Bannister a former lawyer in a Federal Prison for racketeering charges.  He claims to be innocent.  He has served 5 years and  his wife has left him and subsequently re-married.  Malcom is the prison librarian and the unofficial adjunct attorney.  The prison is what is known as a "Federal Country Club" since there are no fences or barbed-wire.

A Federal judge is murdered and Malcolm sees a way he may be able to use this as a way out of prison.  Utilizing Rule 35 stating that a prisoner helping solve a crime committed outside can be given commuted sentence and even witness protection.  Malcolm is able to give the Feds a name of the murderer but ONLY after he is guaranteed release.

As always, nothing is as it seems and soon Grisham spins a web of intrigue that involves private jets, Caribbean islands, murder, lies, and twists.  The second section of the book is the one that builds the story up to the great reveal in the third section.

*** SPOILER ***
I will be honest, the first part of the book where Malcolm is released and is in witness protection was great.  Then the film-making part started and I said, "great, here we go with the anti-climactic garbage again".  Man was I pleasantly surprised. I love the fact that gold and not cash-money was involved as it gave it a more international allure.

It was a great book and I can't wait for it to be made into a movie.  I am already picturing the cast.  Denzel or Will Smith as Malcolm and Vivica A. Fox as Vanessa, Toby McGuire as Nattie.

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Doubleday; First Edition edition (October 23, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385535147
ISBN-13: 978-0385535144