Customer Reviews

The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As biographies of interesting people go, especially for a guy as colorful and gutsy as Bernard Kerrick, this book is disappointingly BORING.

The book is poorly written, with an over-emphasis on Kerrick's childhood and alcoholic/prostitute mother who was murdered after he was taken from her custody. The book becomes mildly engaging in the chapters where Kerrick takes over running Rykers Island and subsequently the NYPD, but the book waits far too long before bringing us up to modern events.

Another strong criticism is Kerrick's persistance in constantly singling out NYPD officers by name and carrying on about how great they are, what heroes, their sacrifices etc. Yes, fine, we get it. They are heroes. But this book is about YOUR life. Its as if he promised like 200 drinking buddies to include their names in his book and didn't want to reneg. Also, the butt kissing to Guliani teeters a bit on the excessive. Yes, Guliani is a grat man and kissing his butt is OK-just do it on your own time Bernie.

Caution: This book contains a lot of coarse and vulgar language and subjects. The purpose seems to be to provide honest texture about Mr. Kerik's life, rather than to provide shock value. Unless such things are very offensive to you, you will probably be able to look past them to the underlying story.

I delayed reading this book because the publicity about it was somewhat misleading to me. I thought that the book would simply capture the story of another outstanding police leader. Fine, but I don't normally think of police leaders as ranking among the great leaders. Was I ever wrong! I wish I had read this book when it first came out. I intend to read it again . . . and again!

I found this book to be one of the most inspiring and moving autobiographies that I have ever read. Mr. Kerik is the real life version of the sort of dedicated crime fighter that the movies love to create out of their imaginations. His story makes even The French Connection pale for me.

"You will read about true everyday heroes." That statement is profoundly true about this book. First, Mr. Kerik is clearly such a hero. Second, he has also worked with a lot of heroes and describes a lot of them. Third, as a leader, Mr. Kerik also takes great pleasure in finding and honoring heroes. Those three perspectives permeate every page.

The book has three primary story lines. The main one is how a tough kid who dropped out of high school found his way to become the 40th Police Commissioner of New York City. A secondary one is his search for his roots, which reveal some pretty daunting facts that he handles very well. The third one is added at the end, which is to describe the events of September 11th from the perspective of trying to direct the police response from the scene near the World Trade Center. Any one of these story lines would have made this an outstanding book.

Mr. Kerik's character has many unusual qualities. Although he is a person with little formal education, he is very interested in learning and applying new and better ways of doing things. With his talent, he could have made a lot of money doing things other than being a New York City police officer. But he wanted the challenge the job brings. Some of the roles he has taken on (such as running Rikers Island) would have been too much for almost anyone else. Yet he could look past the problems to focus on the important values of treating those who work and are imprisoned there with dignity, safety, humanity and fairness. In addition, he has lots of courage. He played undercover roles in the drug trade that could have cost him his life on almost any day. Perhaps the most appealing of his qualities is that he doesn't see any of this as being very special, and goes out of his way to point out others who did more.

Although it would be a joy to share with you all of the things I found remarkable about Mr. Kerik in this book, you'll enjoy discovering them for yourself by reading his words more than if I interpret them for you.

Where do you have a passion to do the right thing? Are you pursuing that passion? If not, how could you?

Turn loose all of your creativity and energy to accomplish something important . . . for all of us . . . and for yourself!

Bernard Kerik is no ordinary man. Bernard Kerik is a man of extraordinary courage, character, determination, and integrity who has committed his life to fighting the world's injustices. He is a man with a mission and his task, at times, seems almost an endless impossibility. From a Times Square beat cop and an undercover police officer buying drugs in Harlem, to righting the wrongs of Rikers Island, Kerik is truly a man whose shoes would be very difficult, if not impossible, to fill.

The book is well written and mind absorbing from start to finish. One important message readers can take from this book is having the courage to stand up for what one beleives in and the fortitude to stand up for those who are not able to stand up for themselves. This is a tremendous book written by a man of exceptional honour and valor. The book is deserving of far more than a five-star rating; it deserves all the stars in the universe.

By now (December 12, 2004) we've learned a few facts about self-promoting blowhard BERNARD KERIK. How marvelous that "The Lost Son" has already been optioned for development as a major motion picture - it has the potential to become the funniest biopic since "Mommie Dearest." I do hope the screenwriter will include a role for JENNIFER LOPEZ as the illegal domestic worker (J-Lo was great in "Maid in Manhattan") and wouldn't MARGARET CHO be wonderful as Bernie's abandoned Korean daughter?

I would have rated in 5 stars for the quality of the story, but now that I know the majority of it has elements of untruth, it gets one star, and only because I can't rate it any lower. He also left out a lot of things, like at least one marriage. How do you forget THAT?

Based on the things that came out later, he probably should have been IN Riker's Island, not running it. He sounds like someone who gets promoted because nobody likes them and there isn't enough on them to get them fired.

You can tell by the reviews that only friends of the former commish bought this book. Although it is interesting, the man in this book doesn't exist. Sufficed to say...many of us know better. This is Kerik viewed through his own eyes. Not the eyes of others. I thought Bo Dietl's book was the ultimate in self worship...I was wrong. If you're in the market for purely laughable fiction this is the book for you.

GIVEN KERIK'S REPORTED MOB TIES, AMORALITY AND CASHING IN ON THE 9/11 TRAGEDY, IT'S NO SURPRISE TO READ THIS CON JOB PIECE OF FICTION. HIS GHOSTWRITER IS PROBABLY A FICTION WRITER BECAUSE ALTHOUGH IT IS WELL WRITTEN, THE STORY IS A FRAUD. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN SAUDI ARABIA? HE STALKED AND TERRORIZED WOMEN ACCORDING TO THE WASHINGTON POST. WHY DIDN'T MR. LAW ENFORCEMENT WHO CLAIMED TO BE SO HIGHLY SKILLED THAT HE COULD TRACK DOWN THE BIGGEST DRUG LORDS IN THE WORLD...TRACK DOWN HIS OWN INFANT DAUGHTER --THE ONE HE ABANDONED? HOW ABOUT THE TRUTH? HE IS A CON MAN, ABANDONED HIS OWN CHILD, IS EGOMANIACAL AND IS NOTHING MORE THAN A THUG. HE WRITES ABOUT SOME TEACHER IN SCHOOL WHO TOLD HIM HE WOULD NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING. GUESS WHAT? HE WAS RIGHT. BERNARD KERIK IS JUST WHAT THAT TEACHER SAID HE'D BE. A BIG ZERO.

On the plus side we do get a look into the workings of the NYPD which I found fascinating. But Kerik is a shameless self promoter. I was almost embarrassed to read some of his self praise. Of course his story is perfect for an American audience -- we love someone who achieves much more then his background would predict. But we would also like our heroes to be a bit humble while they achieve so much. Some of the writing is uneven, especially the storyline of his mother. Since he has so little data on his mother, its difficult for him to generate a very engaging story there. If you like police stories and can find this book on deep discount you'll be pleased with it.

This book is a fascinating tale of police work, police politics, bravado in the face of danger, and most importantly, using the difficult situations that life throws your way to become an inspirational and productive adult.
I'm not really sure what made me pick this book up.My sister suggested it after seeing Mr. Kerik on T.V. so I went to Amazon and purchased it, it did look interesting.
It reads as if Mr. Kerik is sitting in your living room, telling you the story. I remember seeing him on T.V. after the September 11th tragedy, standing next to the mayor. We really don't know what goes in other people's lives,what makes them tick,and how life's expereiences have led that person to where he or she is today. Well, in this book, Mr. Kerik tries to explain and it is an amazing life story.
I am anxious to know what happens to him now, and I'm even worried about New York, "The World's City" without him at the helm.
So, read this book,and pass it on or buy one for a friend. It is inspiring, interesting, exciting,sad and hopeful.

The book starts off slow, as it begins with a description by the author of his early life. But nonetheless, it is still very detailed and interesting. It begins to pick up as he talks about his life in the army and afterwards. His war stories are compelling and usually very funny. With everything he has done in his career, you realize that he was just meant to be a cop all along. It's a shame that he has pled guilty to the charges against him, given all of the good that he has done. However, politicians, businessmen, actors and singers have done far worse than what he did and gotten away with it. I wish him well and thank him for his service.