Customer Reviews

Tears of Rage

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a loyal fan of "America's Most Wanted" and a person who cares about children, I had to read this book. I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive about the contents when I first picked it up. I had heard about the Adam Walsh case prior to reading about it, so I knew how terrible his abduction and murder was. For this reason, I was afraid that I might come across some details that would be so graphic that I'd get discouraged. It's kind of like knowing about an incident that is so bad that you almost do not want the details. But John Walsh's book was informative, compassionate, and just plain well-written. It was not overly gory or negative. In fact, I had a hard time putting this book down. In this book, John Walsh was not merely an author recounting the events of a true and terrible crime. He was a human; a caring, grieving, and determined father who was pouring his heart out to you. Strange as this may sound, I felt his presence in the room when I was reading it. It was as though he was actually sitting across from me, talking to me. He told me his heartwrenching, yet inspiring story. His story held my full attention. Hearing about what happened to Adam and the terrible injustice that John and his wife faced brought tears to my eyes. It angered me. And it changed my outlook on life. I developed a whole new way of thinking. I learned that though I may not have always thought so, crime can happen to me. I do need to be aware. I learned that even though I deeply sympathize with the Walsh family, I will never truly know of their pain and other feelings because I have never actually walked in their shoes. It is only when you are a parent and your worst nightmare has come true that you can truly understand those feelings of anguish. Their story reminded me that we never know what we really have until it is gone. That's why it is important to be thankful for what you have. The Walsh family seems to really be trying to emphasize that: If you have children, realize that you hold a bond for each other that cannot be duplicated. Love those children with all your heart. Accept each of them as they are. Teach them as much about the world as you can. Give them everything you've got. And be careful. Be aware. Because you might wake up early one morning, and like John Walsh, kiss your child good-bye, go off to work (or somewhere else), and never see him or her again. Or like Adam's mother, you may go out with your child to do an errand and discover that your day has taken a terrible, unexpected twist. I will continue to watch "America's Most Wanted" until the show ends for good. I will also continue to pray at night for the security and safety of our children. I have started John Walsh's second book, "No Mercy". Though I have yet to finish it, reading it always leaves me on the edge of my seat! The Walsh family's caring and dedicated efforts are indeed an inspiration. Their work is making a difference in the lives of many. And I know in my heart that some day the Walsh's 3 children (1 daughter and 2 sons, all born after Adam's death)will follow in their parents' footsteps. They will succeed, and stand up for their beliefs. They will always be appreciated. And because they were raised in such a loving environment, they will find only happiness, courage, and strength. They will make wise choices. And have a world of wisdom and inspiration to share with their children and grandchildren. Each day they will be able to thank their wonderful parents- who started it all.

This book truly amazed me. I read it because I was bored over the Summer (I'm 13), and I picked it up because I saw a kid on hte cover. "the kid" turned out to be six-year-old Adam Walsh, a murdered child in 1981. Mr. Walsh amazed me with his style of writing, it captured me in and I felt as if it was 1981 and I was re-living the Walsh case even though I wasn't alive to actually live it in the first place.

It's nice to know someone used his grief for good, instead of taking it out on the rest of his family or someone else, or killing himself. John Walsh fought for other children's rights as his son's case remained unsolved, when most people would dwell on the case related to him.

It's also scary to know that that beautiful boy would be murdered...What about me and my loud, middle-school friends? If someone could snatch a sweet littel boy what would they do with kids wild?

I've read this book three times, and each time I get more emotional at the emotions John portrays as he begins to realize what has happened to him and Rieve', and especially to Adam.

I'm not really a fan of John Walsh (I've probably only watched America's Most Wanted 5 times in it's entire run), but when I was stuck on a 12 hour trip with nothing to read but this book, it was pretty hard to pass up. I think I made the right decision in picking it up because it really is a good read.

While this book does in fact tell about John Walsh, it's much more than that. The first couple of chapters are pretty average, telling about the life of John and his wife, about the things his son, Adam, would do, and everything else that describes the Walsh family.

"Book Two" goes into great detail how Adam was kidnapped, the long and exhausting search, and more. The book really does a good job in describing the unbearable pain that the Walsh family was feeling, and how the local police seemed to not show very much interest in the case.

The part of the book that I find most interesting/disturbing is after John starts hosting America's Most Wanted and we learn about some of the very sick individuals that AMW (thankfully) captured.

Overall, I think this is an excellent book and would recommend it to everyone, including those who aren't fans of John Walsh. This book really teaches you the value of life and how we can take so much for granted.

TEARS OF RAGE is the compelling story told by John Walsh of the trauma he and his wife Reve and family experienced when their 6-year-old Adam disappeared from a store. Walsh describes the agonizing days of the search for Adam; the torture of knowing Adam had been kidnapped and murdered; and the frustration of inept law enforcement agencies to coordinate their efforts. The reader is taken through the saga of the Walshs' struggles which finally led John Walsh to host the highly successful "America's Most Wanted." Few books have captured the intense emotion experienced by the family of a murdered child. Walsh pulls no punches. His raw honesty is refreshing. He attacks apathy and hypocrisy with ample justification: we cannot ignore the needs of helpless children. The reader is drawn into the realism of a world where evil co-exists with good, and anyone naive enough to ignore that fact may become a victim. He clearly shows that the efforts to work for the benefit of children and other victims has paid off and is continuing. Walsh is clearly a fighter who will not give up his battle to get murderers and other criminals off the streets. He urges support for victims' rights laws and support of various organizations that are helping victims. He advocates support for the proposed "The Crime Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment." The reader is left with the feeling that in spite of everything, good people can make a difference.

Most of us open the mailbox and barely glance through the junk and flyers that clutter our letters and bills. But sometimes a chilling picture stares back at you from the top of the mail stack. "Have You Seen Me?" It asks. And that alone is enough to make me stop in my tracks and stare right back. In those eyes there is no crime. There's no reason that something so horrible should happen to anyone. In this book, Tears of Rage, by John Walsh, there is little that compares to the horror and sadness of murder.

John Walsh and his wife Reve had a beautiful son, Adam. They were a happy family, and just as normal as can be. This book broke my heart as John described when his son Adam was abducted from a department store and murdered. No one should have to ever go through something like that, and it's really important to me that people, who are faced with that pain, show others what happened. It's like when you trip over a tree root or something. It's important that you tell the other kids in the playground what happened so that they won't overlook it too.

People nowadays are growing more and more careless, and books like this one are all it took for me to appreciate what I have and look at things more carefully. It not only made me sad, but it also enraged me. The police were described in this book in such a way that made me feel unsafe. They looked at the abduction of this little boy, and were hesitant to even lift a finger, leaving John and his family to do the dirty work. When someone's hurting, I think everyone should work together to solve the problem, instead of leaving the burden on that one person.

I suppose this book is not intended for younger readers, and even though I don't have kids or younger siblings, it is still heart wrenching to think of murder and loss. We're all human, and hearing other people's painful stories is always going to affect us. This is very different from the books I'd normally read, but I was inspired by a TV documentary on the Adam Walsh case, to read this book. If I had one thing to say to John Walsh, it would be "Good for you, John. Good for you." If he hadn't written such an honest and powerful book, I think a lot of us would be victims, because of carelessness. Additionally, John Walsh was invited to host America's Most Wanted, which helps locate more and more missing children every year.

In a nutshell, I highly recommend this book to anyone. You won't find a true story like this one anywhere else, so take advantage of it. I have to warn you that it's a very deep and moving story that you have to be prepared for. Some of the parts made me really emotional, so please remember that this is the true story of the murder of a child, and a father's coping. This book is real, and strong, but I'm really glad I read it. I give it five stars because it really hit me, and it is very well written in my opinion.

Tears of Rage is such a brilliant book. It is very touching, tragic, and even insightful. Not only did I truly enjoy it, but also I found it hard to put down. Such hard times for this fellow after the sadistic murder of his lovely child Adam. Yet he does not give up and he battles and battles for justice for Adam. It was not easy and the police unit were not very helpful and competent with handling his son's case. And it broke John's heart. But he never ran out of fuel to find justice for his beloved son. I admire that. I fully admire his heroic deeds in becoming the host of AMW and has been contributing immensely to snatching sick predators that cannot linger around in the world any longer and especially caring about missing children. If John Walsh have not audaciously fought for our safety, how much worser will the country be in right now? Thank you John Walsh. And I am glad that Adam Walsh bill was successful and was made into law recently.

John Walsh and Susan Schindehette have done an excellent job in bringing the nightmare of child abduction and lack of victim's rights into focus within the pages of this remarkable book.

From the moment I started reading, I was hooked and drug , sometimes unwillingly, into the reality that has been Mr. Walsh's life since his six-year-old son Adam was abducted and killed on July 27, 1981. The authors spare no details and I often found myself wondering how John Walsh was able to re-examine the past in such a way that I can only imagine was like pouring salt into a wound that can never heal.

The book reveals the extent that the Hollywood, Florida Police department bungled the Adam Walsh case, but even worse how this bungling occurs daily throughout the United States as victims of crimes continue to have little to no say in their own cases and investigations.

The graphic reality in this book may not sit well with all readers, but I guarantee that it is a necessar! y ingredient for opening the reader's eyes to the problems that existed and exist within our legal system.

The title Tears of Rage is an appropriate one for I found that the book started with tears and ended with rage, for both the Author(s) and the reader. Once you've opened the book and read the prologue, you'll find it very hard to put down.

The only negative thing I have to say about the book is that since finishing it, I haven't slept all that well, because I keep dreaming about being in a situation where I want to help some abducted kid, and I keep running into road blocks. Luckily for me it is just a nightmare, for Mr. Walsh and thousands of other parents it was and is reality.

This is a really good book and if you want to know what inspired John Walsh to become the man he is today, well then, this book explains everything. This book will take you inside his life and how hard it was to lose his son and rebuild his life knowing he had to take action against those who preyed on children and other victims as well. So, if you want to know what all he went through and how he got to where he is today, then this will tell everything. I couldn't put the book down because it told everything in plane honesty and was so capturing. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

Being a parent of a 5 year old, this book touched me and terrified me. It really delves into what a parent goes through after losing a child. It absolutely broke my heart to read what happened to that innocent little boy. It was easy to see by reading John Walsh's words how much he and his wife adored Adam and how devastated they were over his kidnapping and murder.

I didn't realize how much John and Reve have done for the familes of missing children. It angered me how hard it was for them to get things done. It's as if, according to some of the [people] Walsh came across, children aren't even people...yet they are the most important people in this world and must be protected.

Very well-written book, heartbreaking and hard to read, not to mention hard to put down. The night I finished reading it, I stood and watched my kids sleeping safe in their beds. I will never take that for granted again.

When I was thirteen years old, my mother showed me an article in the paper about a boy who told his mother he was going to play in the toy department at a store, and that was the last time she saw him. The police had just found his severed head in a canal.

This autobiographical story of John Walsh, and his murdered son Adam, is so tragic, and so heartbreaking to read. I have absolutely no idea how this man ever survived. Most people would have gone home and drunk themselves to death.

The true story is very well written. After he and his wife had found that their son had been murdered, he said that they had went home, but home was no longer home, it was just a building to keep your clothes.

There is nothing more that I can say about this book.