Location : Cleveland, OH
You may recall a time when you would leave
your house with a shout of "I'll be home before dark" and your
parents wouldn't give you another thought until dinner time. The only time
your parents would be cognizant of your whereabouts would be at the beach
or the pool. Nowadays, such behavior would be highly suspect if not criminal.
Starting at birth, today's children are closely watched and monitored by
their parents. The shift in parental attitudes, protectiveness, and healthy
wariness concerning strangers can be traced to one event: the abduction
and murder of six year-old Adam Walsh on July 27, 1981. Adam's death spurred
his mother and father, Revé and John Walsh to raise awareness of the problem
of missing children. Because of their efforts, there was the passage of
the Missing Children Act of 1982, creation of the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children in 1984, the national AMBER Alert program, and,
among other things, faces of missing children on milk cartons. It also
put John Walsh on television every week as host of America's Most Wanted,
the longest running show on FOX Television. Was anyone ever held accountable
for the abduction and murder of Adam? That is the basis for Les Standiford's
book, Bringing
Adam Home: The Abduction that Changed America.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: In the Beginning
Chapter 2: Blood of the Lamb
Chapter 3: World of Hurt
Chapter 4: Through the Boneyard
Chapter 5: As Evil Does
Chapter 6: Thunder from Heaven
Cast of Characters
On July 27, 1981, Revé Walsh and her son, Adam, went to a Sears Department store close to their home in Hollywood, Florida. Leaving her son by a video game, Revé went in search of a lamp, which was on sale. Returning to the video game a short time later, she discovered that her boy was missing. Store announcements, canvassing of the immediate area, and using the local police, she was unable to locate her son. A frantic search revealed no sign of the boy. The police used every available resource to track the boy, including the use of Miami Police Detective Sergeant Joe Matthews, an expert investigator and one of the most respected polygraph technicians in America. It wasn't until Adam's head was found, floating in a canal, that the worst was suspected. While the Hollywood police had their share of suspects, none were ever charged with the crime. It wasn't until an offhand comment was made to John Walsh that he and his wife engaged Joe Matthews, himself the co-author of the book, to reexamine the police files and to determine who was responsible for the crime. Justice would not be served for twenty-seven years.
It is very evident from the start of Bringing Adam Home, who is responsible for Adam Walsh's abduction and murder. That knowledge does nothing to lessen the anger, frustration, horror, or suspense in Les Standiford's book. Growing up on a steady diet of police dramas on television, where the perpetrator is caught within the sixty minute allotment, it will come as a shock to many that normal police work is not always so tidy. Further, some investigations, Adam's specifically, It may come as a shock that some departments are focused more on covering their tracks than on performing their jobs objectively. Personalities, egos, territorial disputes all contributed to the long delay in announcing the perpetrator of the heinous crime against Adam. The name of Adam's kidnapper and killer may not be one known to a majority of people, it will once you are introduced to him and follow the narrative. Bringing Adam Home is a top notch book, though not all of it flows well. That is more a statement on the police procedural than on Standiford's prose.
Standiford is able to increase the suspense and delay the horror, an amazing feat. One example springs to mind: the discovery of some incriminating photographs. Matthews, no stranger to the evil men inflict on others, is shocked at what he has seen. He elicits the same reactions from others, after he shares his discovery. It isn't until later that Standiford shares the contents of the discovery with the reader, building the suspense and then revealing the horror. It is an extremely effective technique.Bringing Adam Home is a great remembrance for Adam Walsh, his parents, and those who tirelessly worked to see justice prevail. It is also a heartbreaking, stark reminder of how one event changed the attitudes and perspectives of all parents.
Disclosure:
Obtained from: Amazon Vine
Payment: Free
Technorati tag: book review Adam Walsh Les Standiford
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: In the Beginning
Chapter 2: Blood of the Lamb
Chapter 3: World of Hurt
Chapter 4: Through the Boneyard
Chapter 5: As Evil Does
Chapter 6: Thunder from Heaven
Cast of Characters
On July 27, 1981, Revé Walsh and her son, Adam, went to a Sears Department store close to their home in Hollywood, Florida. Leaving her son by a video game, Revé went in search of a lamp, which was on sale. Returning to the video game a short time later, she discovered that her boy was missing. Store announcements, canvassing of the immediate area, and using the local police, she was unable to locate her son. A frantic search revealed no sign of the boy. The police used every available resource to track the boy, including the use of Miami Police Detective Sergeant Joe Matthews, an expert investigator and one of the most respected polygraph technicians in America. It wasn't until Adam's head was found, floating in a canal, that the worst was suspected. While the Hollywood police had their share of suspects, none were ever charged with the crime. It wasn't until an offhand comment was made to John Walsh that he and his wife engaged Joe Matthews, himself the co-author of the book, to reexamine the police files and to determine who was responsible for the crime. Justice would not be served for twenty-seven years.
It is very evident from the start of Bringing Adam Home, who is responsible for Adam Walsh's abduction and murder. That knowledge does nothing to lessen the anger, frustration, horror, or suspense in Les Standiford's book. Growing up on a steady diet of police dramas on television, where the perpetrator is caught within the sixty minute allotment, it will come as a shock to many that normal police work is not always so tidy. Further, some investigations, Adam's specifically, It may come as a shock that some departments are focused more on covering their tracks than on performing their jobs objectively. Personalities, egos, territorial disputes all contributed to the long delay in announcing the perpetrator of the heinous crime against Adam. The name of Adam's kidnapper and killer may not be one known to a majority of people, it will once you are introduced to him and follow the narrative. Bringing Adam Home is a top notch book, though not all of it flows well. That is more a statement on the police procedural than on Standiford's prose.
Standiford is able to increase the suspense and delay the horror, an amazing feat. One example springs to mind: the discovery of some incriminating photographs. Matthews, no stranger to the evil men inflict on others, is shocked at what he has seen. He elicits the same reactions from others, after he shares his discovery. It isn't until later that Standiford shares the contents of the discovery with the reader, building the suspense and then revealing the horror. It is an extremely effective technique.Bringing Adam Home is a great remembrance for Adam Walsh, his parents, and those who tirelessly worked to see justice prevail. It is also a heartbreaking, stark reminder of how one event changed the attitudes and perspectives of all parents.
Disclosure:
Obtained from: Amazon Vine
Payment: Free
Technorati tag: book review Adam Walsh Les Standiford
Comment posted by Laurie Hannus02/19/2011 04:47:28 PM
Great review...I am going to read this next. I read "Columbine" because of your review and suggestion. Real eye openers.
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