Customer Reviews

Points of Origin: Playing With Fire

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'Points of Origin...playing with fire' is a chilling insight into the psyche of a serial arsonist. What makes this book different is the fact that it was written by former fire captain and highly revered arson investigator John L. Orr now serving four consecutive life sentences for the deaths of four people who died in one of the many fires he was convicted of starting.

NOTE: Neither John Orr nor his family will profit from the sale of 'Points of Origin...playing with fire'. A restitution fund has been set up with the State of California Board of Control through the Attorney General's Office and a portion of the proceeds is being deposited into that account.

Many, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the attorney general's office, Los Angeles and Glendale Police Departments and members of various local fire departments, believe that this fiction novel was a 'roadmap' to John Orr's crimes. The two main fictional characters, Phil Langtry, an arson investigator and Aaron Stiles, a serial arsonist who also happens to be a firefighter, closely parallels the "two faces" of John Leonard Orr.
Points of Origin...playing with fire is most assuredly the companion book to Joseph Wambaugh's Fire Lover and a must read...

This book was written by a convicted firebug, who was a fire inspector for the Glendale, California, Fire Department. The manuscript was found in his belongings after he was apprehended, during a search of his home, on a search warrant.

The story was on the A&E Channel, describing many of the fires he set. Some were in buildings, and in one, children died. Not a paragon of virtue. Although the book is supposed to be fiction, it is patterned after actual facts as only he knew the details. He often astounded members of his department with his deductions on how the fires started; but he was not brilliant. He had first hand knowledge.

The proceeds of the sale go to remuneration of the damages his victims suffered, as is common on books by criminals. A book by Joseph Wambaugh is a good companion to this one, if you want to look into a sick mind.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

John Leonard Orr is/was a classic example of an arsonist. This guy is/was a power hungry individual, who had a little mans complex for many years. He'd do ANYTHING for attention. Due to his short comings in life he went through numerous marriages, friendships and relationships. I've read the actual manuscript seized during the search warrant of his Eagle Rock home. It matches almost line for line what occurred at fires that were started in Glendale and some that were many miles away from where he lived. Coincidence?????? I think not.....
I KNOW he committed more arson fires he was never charged with nor convicted of.......I know of one other individual that he convicted for arson fires that he (Orr) committed. I would not give Orr the satisfaction of buying nor reading this "ficticious" piece. The Wambaugh book, which I have read, is a better read even though it is based solely on court testimony and other documents.

As can be understood from the Joseph Wambaugh book "Fire Lover," this book is essentially a journal of the pyromaniac and murderer, John Orr. It includes a arsonist act of a large hardware store that killed a toddler and his grandmother. As the former book discusses, this was the actual event of Los Angeles fire that left a boy, grandmother, and others dead. The author, John Orr, is the culprit. I read the Wambaugh book, but I have not read the convicted killer's book. I have no intention of giving him the satisfaction of buying the book. I hope that he reads this review. I would like for him to know that while I am not a proponent of the death penalty, I do believe that he is one who would deserve it.