Customer Reviews

Bad Guys: America's Most Wanted in Their Own Words

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It is a wonderful book! The words from the criminals is what we call "Right from the horse's mouth! Their words make your skin crawl!" A must read for crime story fans.

I realize that this collection of interviews wasn't designed as a whole that transcends the sum of its parts; however, more guidance of any kind was needed here. I'm not asking for a beautiful puzzle whose pieces fit together perfectly, but don't just give me a pile of pieces dumped on the floor carelessly. There was no flow to Bad Guys, and even the chapters don't do much to sort things out- everything is sort of clumped together under the heading of "CRIME," which is too huge a theme not to be subdivided. Creatively, very little was required of this author, and he could have spiced up what little original writing he actually added to this compilation.

Some of the tales are interesting, but the book plays like a series of quotes instead of a tapestry that tells something (incidentally, many of the quotes are quite funny or insightful). It was hard to sort out who was saying what, with almost no details provided about the speakers, who blended in seamlessly in absence of distinguishing characteristics. Not to mention that most of these career criminals had no shortage of offenses to talk about, to the point where there was no use in parsing out their stories into chapters organized by crime. As a result, you gain no more insight into the psychological profile of the murderer than you do of the card sharks.

It is galling how the (criminal) narrators feel they are resigned to their fates, and powerless to stop their lives of crime. Most often than not, it was boredom that drove them to their crimes. There is not a lot of enablement here, which is nice, but nor is there any penitence. There is a lot of self-righteousness on the part of the criminals, many of whom immersed themselves in their seedy worlds because it was easier than securing a lower-paying real job. Many spoiled rich kids got involved in crime to fuel drug habits, and because they weren't used to having to work for things. Many criminals felt that rich folks had it coming when they got robbed- as if possessing money through hard work were more of a crime than beating people to acquire financial gain. Many felt that society in general deserved to get plundered because the system was so vulnerable, and made it so easy for them to get away with their despicable acts.

In general, the only sorrow expressed was precisely due to the fact that these guys and gals got caught and are being interviewed from prison- instead of due to any moral clarity- and it is quite maddening to read.