Criminal Law Books

Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family

Joaquin "Jack" Garcia

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> True Accounts -> True Crime

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Petey Chops wasn't kicking up. And if he didn't start soon, he was going to get whacked." So begins Making Jack Falcone, the extraordinary true story of an undercover FBI agent's years-long investigation of the Gambinos, which resulted in a string of arrests that crippled the organized crime family.

But long before Joaquin "Jack" Garcia found himself wearing a wire with some of the Mafia's top capos, he was one of the FBI's unlikeliest recruits. A Cuban-born American, Jack graduated from Quantico standing six-foot-four and weighing 300 pounds -- not your typical G-man. Jack's stature soon proved an asset as the FBI looked to place agents undercover with drug smugglers, counterfeiters, and even killers. Jack became one of the few FBI agents dedicated solely to undercover work.

Using a series of carefully created aliases, Jack insinuated himself in the criminal world, from the Badlands of Philadelphia, where he was a gregarious money launderer, to the streets of Miami, where an undercover Garcia moved stolen and illicit goods and brought down dirty cops. Jack jumped at the opportunity to infiltrate the shadowy world of La Cosa Nostra, but how would the Cuban-American convince wiseguys that he was one of their own, a Sicilian capable of "earning his button" -- getting made in the Mafia? For the first time, the FBI created a special "mob school" for Jack, teaching him how to eat, talk, and think like a wiseguy. And it wasn't long before the freshly minted Jack Falcone found himself under the wing of one of the Gambinos' old school capos, Greg DePalma. DePalma, who cared for an ailing John Gotti in prison, introduced Falcone to his world of shakedowns, beatings, and envelopes of cash, never suspecting that one of his trusted crew members was a federal agent.

A page-turning account of the struggle between law enforcement and organized crime that will rank with such classic stories as Donnie Brasco, Serpico, and Wiseguy, Making Jack Falcone is an unforgettable trip into America's underworld through the eyes of a highly decorated FBI veteran.

Evidence Examples & Explanations, 6e (Examples & Explanations)

Best

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

great book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book is very helpful, especially because my professor recommended it. The explanations are clear and useful.

A great help! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

A really great book, it finally brought some clarity to evidence. But be prepared to spend some time reading this book, as it has fairly in-depth coverage. Even so, I found it a very valuable study tool.

What is does, it does well 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

There is not much to this book, which is probably caused by the fact that there is not much to an intro evidence course. If you are taking an Evidence course based on the Federal Rules, I am not sure that this book is a whole better than getting the Federal Rules and reading its comments. Then why I am rating this book at 4 stars, rather than lower? Because what this E&E book does, it does well.

Editorial Review:

A favorite among law students and professors alike, the Examples & Explanations series is ideal for studying, reviewing and testing your understanding through application of hypothetical examples. Authored by leading professors with extensive classroom experience, Examples & Explanations titles offer hypothetical questions in the subject area, complemented by detailed explanations that allow you to test your knowledge of the topic, and compare your own analysis.

Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang

William Queen

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Total reviews: 198 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1998, William Queen was a veteran law enforcement agent with a lifelong love of motorcycles and a lack of patience with paperwork. When a “confidential informant” made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, offering to take an agent inside the San Fernando chapter of the Mongols (the scourge of Southern California, and one of the most dangerous gangs in America), Queen jumped at the chance, not realizing that he was kicking-starting the most extensive undercover operation inside an outlaw motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement.

Nor did Queen suspect that he would penetrate the gang so successfully that he would become a fully “patched-in” member, eventually rising through their ranks to the office of treasurer, where he had unprecedented access to evidence of their criminal activity. After Queen spent twenty-eight months as “Billy St. John,” the bearded, beer-swilling, Harley-riding gang-banger, the truth of his identity became blurry, even to himself.

During his initial “prospecting” phase, Queen was at the mercy of crank-fueled criminal psychopaths who sought to have him test his mettle and prove his fealty by any means necessary, from selling (and doing) drugs, to arms trafficking, stealing motorcycles, driving getaway cars, and, in one shocking instance, stitching up the face of a Mongol “ol’ lady” after a particularly brutal beating at the hands of her boyfriend.

Yet despite the constant criminality of the gang, for whom planning cop killings and gang rapes were business as usual, Queen also came to see the genuine camaraderie they shared. When his lengthy undercover work totally isolated Queen from family, his friends, and ATF colleagues, the Mongols felt like the only family he had left. “I had no doubt these guys genuinely loved Billy St. John and would have laid down their lives for him. But they wouldn’t hesitate to murder Billy Queen.”

From Queen’s first sleight of hand with a line of methamphetamine in front of him and a knife at his throat, to the fearsome face-off with their decades-old enemy, the Hell’s Angels (a brawl that left three bikers dead), to the heartbreaking scene of a father ostracized at Parents’ Night because his deranged-outlaw appearance precluded any interaction with regular citizens, Under and Alone is a breathless, adrenaline-charged read that puts you on the street with some of the most dangerous men in America and with the law enforcement agents who risk everything to bring them in.


From the Hardcover edition.

Law in a Flash Evidence

Steven Emanuel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Gift! 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 22 people found this review helpful.

There is nothing more riveting than the law in a flash series - especially the Evidence flashcards. I remember Christmases past, sitting around the sparkling tree at the old cabin and laughing over the intricacies of hearsay with the whole family. Every time I see a stack of flashcards, I remember Grandpa's Rule 403 joke and smile.

Evidence, one card at a time 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Studying evidence can be intimidating. It is just an endless series of exceptions to the basic rule that anything relevant is admissible. And then exceptions to the exceptions. But the Law in a Flash series made it really manageable and easy to understand and remember in small pieces that are digestible even when your brain is mush.

Great for study, but not to be used alone 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Evidence, as one learns, is primarily "tribal knowledge" in that many of the rules are just something you need to learn the exceptions to, and they don't always make sense. These are great for learning evidence, but they should not be used as your only "question pack" because the cards provide points without a complex fact scenario. Siegel's and other books provide MBE and written-style questions that are more useful, but these are good for the basics. It is a shame they are not available for more topics. Be warned - many of these cards are duplicated in the "CrunchTime" book by the same company.

Editorial Review:

Ideal for reviewing legal topics point-by-point, these comprehensive Law in a Flash Card Sets contain succinct questions and provide precise answers on the flip side. Perfect for a portable, on-the-go review.

Boston's Gun Bible

Boston T. Party, Kenneth W. Royce

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Subjects -> Professional & Technical -> Engineering -> Materials -> Metallurgy

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 93 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent technical manual with some impractical advice 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book gives the best information about the technical specifications and advantages of different guns than any other I have ever seen. It also gives a lot of information regarding the law, your rights, and which states are gun-friendly. There are also substantial portions of the author's philosophy written about in the book. Kenneth Royce is truly an expert on the subject of guns, and this book has changed my way of thinking forever. The most valuable part of the book, I believe, is the section dealing with the advantages and disadvantages of various guns. He thoroughly exhausted that subject. I recommend this book for everyone, not just gun owners. If you are a gun owner, I guarantee that this book will have some information you can use. If you're planning on becoming a gun owner, this book will help you decide which gun to buy first. If you're not sure, I believe this book will convince you you need a gun. If you are anti-gun, this book may very well change your mind-- if not with its philosophy, then with its statistics.

In the title of my review, I mentioned that there is some impractical advice in the book. Mr. Royce strongly encourages everyone to devote a major portion of their life and money to purchasing and training with guns. While it's fine to talk about different training ranches and expensive guns, Royce goes so far as to imply that if you don't do this, you're a fool. In reference to people who say that they can't afford a multi-thousand dollar sniper rifle, he responds, "how much protection can you afford not to have? Save money in other areas so you have enough to purchase guns." He says basically the same thing about expensive gun training courses offered by Thunder Ranch and others. It's the arrogance of his statements which really bother me. I don't know how Royce makes a living (I doubt that much of his income comes from books), but normal people have families to feed, and simply cannot afford to buy a $6,000 Barrett because the USA is an expensive country and people with normal jobs don't make that much money. He also says that there are two kinds of people in an army: riflemen and cooks, and refers to those firearms owners who aren't expert riflemen as "cooks" (his criteria for graduating from "cook" status is in the book). Not everyone can be Carlos Hathcock. His attitude throughout the book brings the term "gun snob" to mind, and really put me off after I thought about it for a while. From reading this book, I'm sure Mr. Royce thinks very highly of himself.

Although his superior attitude offends me, most of his statistics about crime are hard to argue with, most of his philosophy makes sense, and I certainly can't knock the technical information contained in Boston's Gun Bible. Again, this is a must read. Buy this book NOW.

Editorial Review:

Foreword by Timothy J. Mullin, of ''Unintended Consequences.''

Since the 2002 edition, over 200 pages of various revisions have been included during the annual reprintings. Amazon sells only the latest version, which is currently the 2007 reprint.

Criminal Law Examples & Explanations, 4e (Examples & Explanations)

Singer; LaFond

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Almost Worthless 2 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book is not in the same league as other E&E books. It is not very clear, the charts are confusing and some parts of the book give downright wrong information. If you have a teacher who emphasizes the MPC, this book is a total waste. Otherwise, it's a total mess. Do NOT use this book to teach yourself the course because some of the information is wrong and unless you already know the material well enough to pick out the bad information, you will be screwing yourself. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Save your money! 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book provides a cursory overview of criminal law at best. If you're a fan of Glannon, don't get this book. You'll be disappointed. For example, while courts and scholars debate the effectiveness of distinguishing between general and specific intent crimes, it is probably something you're going to have to learn. This book gives it one page. Worse than that is that the authors literally spend more time saying that the distinction is worthless than they do on helping you understand the difference. In fact, they don't actually try to define either; they provides a couple of mere examples of each.

This is just an example of the problems with this book. Trust me, you'd be better off skimming a treatise.

Editorial Review:

A favorite among law students and professors alike, the Examples & Explanations series is ideal for studying, reviewing and testing your understanding through application of hypothetical examples. Authored by leading professors with extensive classroom experience, Examples & Explanations titles offer hypothetical questions in the subject area, complemented by detailed explanations that allow you to test your knowledge of the topic, and compare your own analysis.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private Investigating, 2nd Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to)

Steven Kerry Brown

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A "must have" book for novice Private Investigators 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I have finished reading this book, and here are my findings:

The book is very easy to read. In some portions, it is almost a page turner, and you could forget you're reading an instruction text. The information is presented clear and accurate, with enough personal stories to put the use of the techniques into context without becoming too "wordy" or redundant. The book does not extensively cover legal terminology or evidence collection and photography procedures (for that, I'd recommend "The Process of Investigation" by Sennewald and Tsukayama), but it does a great job of covering the basic techniques of Surveillance, Interviewing, Interrogation, Internet Database and Public Records Searchies and other Electronic Surveillance measuresOverall I would say that this book is a must read for anyone who is considering entering the field of Private Investigation.

Editorial Review:

The gumshoe go-to—revised and updated.

Easy-to-use and fantastically inclusive, this is the book on private investigation, whether you want to establish yourself as a professional or just use some of the tools of a P.I. for your own business. You’ll get the low-down on pre-employment research, tenant screening, adoption searches, safeguarding yourself from investigation, and much more.
—Completely revised with all-new chapters on skip tracing and due diligence searches
—Skills and techniques for average citizens, as well as professionals
—Includes the most useful—and little-known—databases

The FBI Career Guide: Inside Information on Getting Chosen for and Succeeding in One of the Toughest, Most Prestigious Jobs in the World

Joseph W. Koletar

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Overview for FBI Special Agent Applicants 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I've read several books on the FBI Special Agent career path, and this book is the most informative overall collection of data available. This is the only book I've read that details the specifics of an agent's career path and what to expect during various levels of an agent's career. It also provides excellent preparation for the two Phases of the agent application process, and I highly recommend this book to any person who is about to embark on the lengthy Special Agent application process.

Pithy and informative 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This was the best FBI book I've been able to get my hands on. In the book you will learn about all phases of the application process in detail. Also, you will learn which applicants are the most competitive and why. Pay grades and benefits are included and fully explained. There is also a nice section on the six month training period that takes place at Quantico, Virginia for those who are selected to join the FBI's ranks. The author describes what an average day might be like for a special agent.

The reason I did not rate this book as 5 stars is because the author really did not describe the different divisions and responsibilities of each task force within the FBI (at least not with much detail). For example, he barely mentions any SWAT components and does not mention the Hostage Rescue Team at all. It would have been nice for there to have been more information about what each individual unit does and how they go about getting it done. However, I would still strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn the basics about the FBI. They are covered very adequately in this book.

Editorial Review:

This ultimate insider's guide looks at every step of an FBI career, from the application process through training, from different types of assignments and career trajectories to nitty gritty issues like pay and benefits. Readers will also learn how the job might affect them and their families, how to climb the career ladder, and even prepare for life after the Bureau.

CrunchTime: Evidence (Crunch Time)

Steven Emanuel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Feeling reassured by having more books? 3 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

At six-hundred pages, your average overworked law student is not too keen on reading another 40 pages a night, especially with a full slate of classes. That being said, this book contains a "Casebook correlation chart," which helps you decide which part of the book to read in the approximate order of your own textbook. It covers: Green Nesson, "Evidence" (3rd Ed. 2000); Wellborn, "Cases & Mat..." (1st ed. 2000); Mueller & Kirkpatrick, "Evidence Under the Rules" (4th Ed. 2000), and Waltz & Park, "Evidence" (9th Ed. 1999).

I would suggest checking this out of your law library instead of buying it and reading the relevant parts of the "Capsule Summary" (79 pages) if you're pressed for time and you want a nuanced overview of Evidence.

The rest of the book is nicely outlined, but way too much information for the average to under-achieving student. However if you want it for clarification on certain rules, or just having it in your bookshelf would make you feel better about Evidence, you can get it so cheap that it can't hurt.

Editorial Review:

The most trusted name in law school outlines, Emanuel Law Outlines support your class preparation, provide reference for your outline creation, and supply a comprehensive breakdown of topic matter for your entire study process. Created by Steven Emanuel, these course outlines have been relied on by generations of law students. Each title includes both capsule and detailed versions of the critical issues and key topics you must know to master the course. Also included are exam questions with model answers, an alpha-list of cases, and a cross reference table of cases for all of the leading casebooks.

Understanding Criminal Law

Joshua Dressler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Clear Introduction for Anyone Interested in Criminal Law 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

For some reason it's very hard to find books on the law specifically directed toward non-lawyers. This is odd since the law is an important instutition which should be simple enough (and usually is) for anyone to understand it. Since there are so few popular books on the law, if you want to learn about the law these "Understanding" books are a good place to start. I don't have any formal education in the law, but I think that these books are sometimes used as study guides ( which is why student reviewers seem to refer to them as 'hornbooks' )for law school, but a formal student of the law would read the cases themselves.

This volume on the criminal law covers the basic principles of criminal law. The way intent is treated in crimes, defenses (insanity, self defense), mistakes (of law and of fact), and reviews some basic crimes in general terms including their development from the Common Law such as murder, conspiracy, attempt, theft etc... Most specific crimes are not covered (e.g. class B Felony and such things are codified by particular states and therefore are not covered in a book on the concepts of criminal law). The book does not cover subjects like when the police can search your car, such things are referred to as Criminal Procedure.

I found this book to be very interesting, and it would be accessible to anyone with an interest in the law.

Editorial Review:

This book deals exclusively with substantive criminal law, with primary attention given to the elements of individual criminal responsibility. It is authoritative, current, highly readable, and widely used at law schools throughout the nation. Coverage focuses on the basic elements of, and defenses to, specific crimes, such as homicide, rape, and theft, as well as group criminality and inchoate liability. The common law is emphasized, with extensive comparisons to the Model Penal Code and thoughtful examination of the underpinnings of the utilitarian philosophies of substantive criminal law. The text encourages students to consider the approach these philosophies would take to a particular matter under discussion, thus providing an excellent learning tool for gaining a firm understanding of how our criminal justice system works.