End of Watch: Utahs Murdered Police Officers by Robert Kirby

Hands down, best book ever written. I think that everyone should read it at least once.
The book chronicles the stories of police officers who were murdered in the line of duty. Murdered. Not accidents. The stories are from 1858 (If I recall correctly) to 2003 when the book was published.
How Mr. Kirby writes these stories is with respect and honor to the officers themselves, but he doesn't cover up what went wrong. He tells it just as it happened. When reading the stories, you can tell where they might have messed up. Policies in the 1800's and early/mid 1900's were lacking. There wasn't much training to go through, and alot of this stuff had to be learned on the job, by experience. Thankfully, nowadays, officers are required to go through POST, (Peace Officers Standards and Training) before they are ever put out on the street. Then they have a one year probationary period where theres even more training.
Kirby talks a little bit about his background as a Police Officer, but you dont learn too much. I dont think he was all that happy with it, but that's just the impression I got.
Many of the stories are heartbreaking and they are a terrible thing. I wish we could completely wipe out Police Officer deaths, but it's just not possible. Wherever anyone serves, whether it's in the military, law enforcement, firefighters, or even occasionally security, there will always be the possibility of being injured, attacked or even killed. When most people see a cop, they automatically assume they are bad people with a badge who have something to prove. That's not true. They are people with family, homes, and outside lives and interests. They are not just a badge and a gun. They are people. And they are very important. Not many can do the job they do and for as long as they do. They get my respect and support always.
Awesome book. Read it. Love it. Talk about it. I for one will go buy the book and read it again.
To Mr. Kirby: My review doesn't do your book justice, (I am terrible when it comes to saying what I really want to), but you get my thanks in writing such a moving book. I am sad it took me so long to find it at my library though. Cant wait to order it and read it again. Thank you.

-Eagle Feather

Jumped, Fell, or Pushed? by Steven A Koelher and Pete Moore (Readers Digest)

This book is an amazing compilation of techniques used to solves murders and other criminal activities. It's chapters cover everything from how they trail a killer, to fingerprints and genetic material, to bullets and poisons. At the end of the chapters, it has case studies that give you a real life application of what the chapter talked about. It has case studies on Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, Snowtown murders in Australia, and many, many others. I liked reading the case studies and learning the real-life applications. It's a good book to read, and also a good reference book. (Not as a killer, mind you. As a student of criminology.)
Have a wonderful day!

Murder in the name of Honor by Rana Husseini

Now, I want to make it very clear: If you read this review, then you decide that they are evil, horrible people, then you are not invited back to this blog. I am reviewing this book to bring to light the small percentage of these crimes and what is being done about it. I do not want to start a fight about this, I do not want to come across as a "feminist" or "racist", although I do believe women need more equal rights, in every country. I picked up the book because it was about something I had heard very little about, and surprisingly, not many in the US have ever heard of it. (I almost didn't review this one at all because of the possible problems it would cause to those who are arrogant, ignorant jerks.)

This book is about a Jordanian journalist who got assigned to write about a so called "honour killing" that had happened. When she did this, she discovered that these "honour killings" happen quite frequently and always, always involve the killing of a woman by her male relatives hand. They always involve the girl "shaming" the males family name by either talking to another man, going out without a headscarf, not being a virgin, or even having an unknown phone number on their cell phones. If they have a cell phone.
Rana goes on to discover that it is perfectly legal in Jordan to kill your female relative if they have shamed you, and most only get six months imprisonment where they are treated as heros.
Rana started to see what she could do to change it and the rest of the book shows that process. As of the publishing of the book, she is still working on getting the laws fixed so women have equal rights as men. (By the way, if they kill their husbands for any reason, even to get away from the abuse, they are often imprisoned for life or they are killed. Hows that for fairness?)
I think this is a great book, and it shows how things actually are in Jordan and what's being done to change it. It doesn't only happen in Jordan either. It happens in Afghanistan, Iran, even Europe and the USA. I hope she gets the laws, and the cultural beliefs about this, changed. But it needs to be done within the system, not from the outside. She gets my support in her venture.

A few more books for you.

Here's a short review of them:

Weird US and Weird US: The ODDessy Continues

Two books by Mark Moran and Mark Scuerman take you on a tour of some of the oddest, and most interesting, places in the United States. Catagories include: Haunted Places, Strange People, Odd Festivals, etc. There are listings of Gateways to Hell, there's stories on Midgets, and a THING in a freezer. (No one knows what the THING is, but everyone has to stop and see it.) They have other books like Weird California, Weird New Jersey, and Weird Ohio. You will have to check your local book store for more listings.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

This book written by Stephen R. Covey details the seven habits one must develop and have to open up their potential, reach their goals, and become effective people of society. There is alot of good stuff in that book, but I am more of a creative person, and this book was written for a more logical brain. Which brings me to my next review....

Life Tuneups

This book was written by world-renowned speaker and founder of Lobella International, Loren Slocum. This book, written specifically for women, helps you rediscover your true self, find your passion, and follow your heart to live the best life you can. It's full of exercises you can do to help you discover who you are inside. It's a wonderful book, and I recommend this book for all women in everyones life!

I have more books I am reading, and I cant wait to review them for you!
Happy Adventures!

The Daily Coyote by Shreve Stockton

I just finished this book and I must say it's wonderful!
It's the story of a girl who, on a whim, moves to the middle of nowhere in Wyoming after driving through on her Vespa on her way to New York from California. She meets a cowboy named Mike while he and his friend are feeding the cattle, and soon she moves into a half-finished cabin on his property.
Mike finds her a coyote pup and gives it to her as a gift. She raises this coyote, all the while discovering a completely different way of life from the one she knew in New York, and discovering who she really is.
I love this book. It's a great lesson for everyone on going where your heart takes you. It's got pictures throughout the book of the coyote, and a few landscape pictures of Wyoming.
I recommend this book and also recommend that you visit Shreve's website: http://www.dailycoyote.net/

Happy Adventures!

Public Enemies by John Walsh

Another wonderful book that takes you into the world of America's Most Wanted and the criminals they help capture.
One thing that I absolutely love about John's books and AMW is that they tell the story of the victims and not just the killer. When I read these stories, I feel like I get to know the families that the killer has affected and honestly, that's not a view that you get very often.
I recommend this book completely. Just read it. Go. It's awesome.

All Pets Go To Heaven by Sylvia Browne

Now, before you go criticizing my reading and reviewing of a Sylvia Browne book, let me say that I really like the woman. She's amazing and, although I have no proof, I'd like to think that she's the real deal. Some ideas are a little out there, but for the most part, I like her.
Now onto the book:
Let me tell you what has been going on during the months of April and May. Two days before Easter, my Grandma fell and a week later she passed away. She passed away on April 9, 2010. My Baby Girl, Rikki, a border collie/german shepherd mix, had to be put down on May 8, 2010, the day before Mother's Day. Kuma, our 1 1/2 year old purebred Akita, passed at 3 in the morning due to complications from bloat. That's the reason I picked up this book. Some of the stories are very inspiring and some are very sad. I nearly cried when I read some of them, but I resisted. After all, I was at work.
If you have recently, or not recently, lost a beloved pet, then I recommend this book. It's a wonderful book and there are many other books by Sylvia Browne that I would recommend you read as well.
Enjoy!