Customer Reviews

The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption
This is an excellent book. I am familiar with many of the people and events in the book and I am very impressed with the writing ability of the authors to present the material in a clear concise and fair way. I was only sorry the book ended but I appreciate the updates on www.thesopranostate.com. A MUST READ!

Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure deserve a Pulitzer Prize for this fine piece of journalism. With NJ being a cesspool of corruption for over 35 years I am amazed the book is only an inch thick. I was expecting a the book to be the size of NY phone book, but then again the publisher probably edited many of the stories.

They should have called the book volume 1 because I am sure there will be thousands of pages to follow in the upcoming years. The big problem with the book is that people from out of state (lucky individuals) and people who are not up to date on NJ politics may pass this off as fiction.

It should be mandatory reading for every pupil in the United States. I give the book, Bob, and sandy an A+!! I could not put it down.

By the way, I am so disgusted with NJ that I will be moving to Delaware. Yes my friend, learn how to pump your own gas and go!! NJ is doomed!! Have a nice day

Absolutely the best nonfiction book I've read in several years!

"The Soprano State" reads like fiction and is must reading no matter where you live. Even if you're like me and live somewhere other than New Jersey, you'll find this book hilarious, incredulous and fascinating.

Ingle and McClure are crackerjack reporters who will take you on an unbelievable, wild ride.

A real page-turner, you won't want to put "The Soprano State" down.

For the average person living in New Jersey, this is a required book to read. Know who you are dealing with. This is a 5++ star book. Governor Corzine, in my opinion, is no better than those mentioned in the book. Even the legislatures are corrupted. After reading the book, you will wonder how can you clean up the State of New Jersey. One name in the book was a guy I graduated with from high school.

I know, this is a hot selling book, hard to find in any book stores. Get it here at Amazon.

The Soprano State is a book that any person that has paid so much as even one dollar in taxes MUST read. Even if you don't live in New Jersey, you should still read this book so that you can ensure that your state doesn't fall in the same liberal bottomless pit that New Jersey has. Hopefully as more people read this book, they will see what a scam the tax system is, and that the only thing that the money that is forcefully stolen from us everyday is used to do nothing but line some corrupt politician and his friends pockets in the name of being "being good for the people," or "helping people that can't help themselves."

Even if you live a continent away in Washington state, "The Soprano State" will amuse, educate and yes, horrify you. Authors Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure have put together an appalling catalog of the "worst of the worst" New Jersey politicians and public servants and their most outrageous shenanigans.
As the authors note, "why should such a wealth of lunacy and depravity" be enjoyed only by New Jersey? My personal favorite, in a chapter titled "All Aboard the Gravy Train," is an anecdote about how sometimes "the legislative gravy train delivers real gravy." In that case, New Jersey taxpayers coughed up $124,000 over three years to purchase 300 lunches each day the Legislature was in session to feed 80 members of the assembly, 40 senators _ and lobbyists. The lunches were trucked in from a well-connected restaurant 57 miles away!
¶ It's tempting for us outsiders to feel smug, but there's also a nagging worry: what if our politicians are just less obviously outrageous, and our reporters more lapdog and less pit bull?
¶ Beyond the entertainment value, this book is a cautionary tale, reminding us that citizens anywhere can be fleeced by those we elect.
¶

I live in New Jersey and have been frustrated for quite some time by our government. This book validates every feeling and hunch I've ever had about our corrupt government. So much corruption it's unbelievable! I'm shocked that more people haven't read this book or that it hasn't been more publicly acknowledged.

The reporters have done a terrific job over the last decade or two and this book is a summary of much of what happens behind the scenes in NJ politics. After having finished the book, I'm ready to move out of this god-awful state.

For everyone who wonders why Our taxes are so high and why they never have enough money to fix anything in this state.

A life-long resident of New Jersey, I knew about some of the goings on regarding the corruption in my own neck of the woods. I also remember some of the events brought up in the book concerning those higher up the ladder. But, wow, I had no idea how rampant this practice was statewide. Page after page, Ingle and McClure shows how the "culture" runs, who's involved, and what comes out of our pockets. It is simply disgraceful. If you're ready to open your eyes, start reading and be prepared.

This book should be required reading in every New Jersey high school. Maybe this state could be salvaged if a younger generation, not yet completely cynical or beaten down like their parents, became "mad as hell" and were mobilized to demand more of their elected officials. Of course, the vested interests who need an uninformed or disinterested electorate to continue their corrupt enterprises would never allow this book to become part of a curriculum.

Yes, this book is funny, entertaining and informative, but ultimately, as a New Jersey resident, it left me both disgusted at the breadth of the corruption and despairing for the future of the state.