Bøger af Jerry Bledsoe

In 1960, at age 18, future bestselling author Jerry Bledsoe (Bitter Blood & The Angel Doll) told an Army recruiter that he wanted to be an artist. This was his lucky day, the recruiter informed him. The Army had the best art school in the world. But after being sworn in, Bledsoe was pulled aside by a major and informed that no Army art school existed. He was being assigned instead to Information School. Although Bledsoe, who had flunked high school English for failure to write book reports and term papers, had no idea what this unexpected decision entailed, it would set the direction for the rest of his life. Bledsoe limits this warm, deeply personal and often humorous memoir to the turbulent '60s, which he began as a psychological warfare writer in the early stages of the Vietnam War. His Army experiences led him to become a newspaper reporter and columnist, thrusting him into the major stories of the decade and leading him to meet and write about hundreds of remarkable and engaging people, including a relatively unknown musician named Jimi Hendrix who was opening for the Monkees, comedy legend Brother Dave Gardner, and civil rights leader Ben Elton Cox. From moments of true Catch-22 absurdities in the Army to historic events of the civil rights movement, Do-Good Boy gives its readers an insider's view as a young author discovers his calling during a pivotal era.

In this ';true story that reads like a novel,' the #1 New York Timesbestselling author reveals the facts behind a notorious Southern murder case (Library Journal). When North Carolina farmer Stuart Taylor died after a sudden illness, his forty-six-year-old fiancee, Velma Barfield, was overcome with grief. Taylor's family grieved with heruntil the autopsy revealed traces of arsenic poisoning. Turned over to the authorities by her own son, Velma stunned her family with more revelations. This wasn't the first time she had committed cold-blooded murder, and she would eventually be tried by the ';world's deadliest prosecutor' and sentenced to death. This book probes Velma's stark descent into madness, her prescription drug addiction, and her effort to turn her life around through Christianity. From her harrowing childhood to the crimes that incited a national debate over the death penalty, to the final moments of her execution, Velma Barfield's life of crime and punishment, revenge and redemption, this is crime reporting at its most gripping and profound. ';A painfully intimate, moving story about the life and death of the only woman executed in the U.S. between 19621998... With graceful writing and thorough reporting, it makes the reader look hard at something dark and sad in the human soul... Breathes new life into the true crime genre.' The News & Observer ';Undertakes to answer the questions about the justice system and the motives that drive women to kill.' The Washington Post Book World ';An extraordinary piece of writing... The most chilling description of a legal execution that we are ever likely to get.' Citizen-Times ';Taut and engrossing on the nature of justice and the death penalty as well as on guilt and responsibility.' Booklist

The New York Timesbestselling author of Bitter Blood weaves ';a powerful account' of greed that led to an unspeakable crime (The New York Times Book Review). As they slept in their North Carolina home, wealthy Lieth Von Stein and his wife Bonnie suffered a vicious assault with a knife and a baseball bat. Bonnie barely survived. Lieth did not. The crime seemed totally baffling until police followed a trail that led to the charming stepson, Chris Pritchard, and his brilliant, drug-using, Dungeons and Dragonsplaying friends at North Carolina State University. ';Haunting... Addictive, chilling and a masterpiece of reportage,' Blood Games is the true story of depraved young minds and a son's gruesome greed turned to horrifyingly tragedy (Patricia Cornwell). Jerry Bledsoe masterfully reconstructs the bloody crime and its aftermath as he takes us into the secret twisted hearts of three young murderers. ';Mr. Bledsoe goes straight to the bigger issues.' The New York Times Book Review ';In Mr. Bledsoe's hands, a mega-load of inert facts becomes a human story of hurricane force.' The News & Observer ';Devastating... A brilliant account.' Publishers Weekly

New York Timesbestselling author: ';In the art of true-crime reportage, Jerry Bledsoe is the best in the country... Before He Wakes has the suspense of a novel' (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Barbara Stager was known as a devoted mother, loving wife, and dedicated church leader in her Durham, North Carolina, community. When she ';accidentally' shot her husband, popular high school coach, Russ, the police were inclined to believe heruntil they learned that ten years earlier, her first husband had died in a strangely similar way. Sgt. Rick Buchanan's relentless investigation into Stager's life revealed a stunning vortex of compulsive lying, obsessive spending, and sexual promiscuity. With every new discovery, more of Barbara's impeccable image unraveled. But the greatest shocka damning piece of evidence Russ Stager left behindrevealed the nightmare truth about Barbara. With ';the fine-toothed-comb reporting of [an] ace crime journalist,' this book takes us deep into a spellbinding case of double life, lethal lust, and almost perfect murder (Kirkus Reviews). ';A shocking and well-written portrait of a dangerous woman.' The New York Times ';Mesmerizing.' Ann Rule, New York Timesbestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me ';This account of manipulation, compulsive spending, lying, promiscuity, and murder is made even more chilling by the fact that appearances are often deceiving.' Library Journal ';A profile of evil... Fascinating.' The Baltimore Sun ';Jerry Bledsoe is the master of true crime, the conclusion to what Truman Capote began.... Another stunning success.' Patricia Cornwell, New York Timesbestselling author of Chaos