I read this book after hearing that George Clooney was making a film adaptation of it. I hope to all powers that be that the movie is better than the book. This "unauthorized autobiography" (which, granted, is a cute gimmick) is just so meandering. Barris recycles parts of his book "Confessions" here, when detailing his background in television, and how he got his start. The CIA origin story is contrived (so much so that it will be changed in the film) and you just don't buy the bit over time.

Never once is it explained how a man could have the background or the skills to do the job that he does in the book. In one backstory in the book Barris has to have a group of black friends help him beat down a man who is ruining one of his television shows. Yet this is the same man who is capable of going out on missions and killing Latin American revolutionaries by himself in broad daylight?

There is no tension, drama, or conflict that is presented throughout the story. You aren't brought into a new world, or even experiencing anything new about the CIA when reading. An episode of 'ALIAS' is better than this! (Although that's no slam on Alias) Barris' character makes no arc or change about himself through the book, and doesn't even recognize one.

And to top if off, he does a stupid B-Movie "whodunnit" storyline in the book by making one of the lead characters in the book a "mole" for the opposition. But watch out! It's not who you think it is! That person is just trying to throw you off.

Give me a break. Read Christopher Moore if you want some good reality based screwball hijinks!

The best thing about confessions of a dangerous mind was the way in which Barris conducted his relationships. whether it was his dodgy cia links, or his many marriages, all his relationships seemed to be a vehicle to further his career, as opposed to real love felt relationships. While this love was what he craved, every action he did served to ostracize him more.

His experience as a host on "The Gong Show", "That's not my Shoe" and "Mrs. Pickering's Slappy Happy Show" showed his appreciation for the absurd and enjoyment to get a laugh out of people. the news that dana gould is playing him in a movie is perfect. what a match.

Several years ago, all I knew about Chuck Barris was that he was the host of TV's "The Gong Show." But when my best friend's father--a true connoisseur of biographies, auto- or otherwise--sort of off-handedly mentioned this book to me, I was intrigued. And when I polished "Dangerous Minds" off in about two sittings, I was entertained, delighted, and duly impressed. Did I believe that Barris was really a CIA operative? Well, stranger things have happened. But what really impressed me was the writing, by turns absurd and intense. I can still see in my mind's eye the images conjured up by the TV studio finale. But for me, few (if any) other written scenes have topped the prelude to Barris's first mission, when he dreams of a hit gone madly awry and comments about it to his control the next morning. The control's reply is as beautiful as it is calm: "We all had that dream."

Although I like that I'm one of only a few people who've actually read this book, it's high time it receives its due. Then again, as good as it is, I don't suppose it could really become too popular. If you catch my meaning.

This is a great book to read about a number of Barris's projects, and I recommend it for just that. This is not a book that will get you started. Excellent book, excellent content, and a must buy if you are a Barris fan. Not a how to.

I used this book to give me ideas for a demolition derby car that I was getting ready to paint. This book gave me lots of ideas and creative insight.

Hector Perez knew that Felipe and Tito Gomez would come to kill him for the silver mine title and map. He made a deal with the renegade, Sean Flanagan. For fifty percent of the Perez Brother's General Store, Sean would protect his family, especially his daughter Marisa.

Hector was killed, shot while he slept. Sean managed to kill Felipe and Tito before they escaped. Carmen, Marisa's aunt, began making arrangements to have Marisa married off. Marisa rebelled because she wanted to provide for Chico, the insane man-child Hector had taken care of and she had become close friends with. Carmen wanted Chico gone. So Marisa conned Sean into marriage.

Baldomar Gomez also knew of the silver mine. He wanted Marisa and the mine as his own. If that meant killing Sean, that was no problem.

**** The only thing I did not understand in the book was that when Sean took Marisa out of the river, she cursed him in Spanish and he knew exactly what words she said. Yet for the rest of the book, he did not understand Spanish. Other than that, the book was very excellent. Marisa's lies kept digging her in deeper and deeper trouble. Of course, Sean was not likeable to me at first, but as he changed I began to change my mind. I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish this one. Great story! ****

This is the first book I have reviewed since purchasing books ...for over 4 years and I was so disappointed with this book, that I felt moved to warn others not to waste their time or money on this book. The plot in the beginning was interesting, but it quickly became boring and at the end very predictable. Yes, I knew the murderer long before I finished the book. I had the impression the author had read some of Judith Smith-LevinÂ's books and decided I can do this also. I am sorry, but one has to get up rather early to stand a chance against Miss Smith-Levin.

Jackie Jones is a wonderful addition to the "private eye" genre. She is a smart, sassy yet sensitive African American woman who quit the Detroit P.D. to strike out on her own. In this novel, she is requested to work on behalf of her ex-husband. As one would suspect, this case is fraught with many dangers and twists. Concurrently, she is involved in an interracial relationship with an active Detroit police officer. This aspect of the story is handled extremely well and realistically. There are two flaws with this book in my opinion: the killer's identity is readily apparent far too early in the book and the justification for their actions a bit too simplistic for my taste. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book very much and hope that we read more about Jackie Jones, Private Investigator!!

Meet today's newest female mystery mystery vixen, Jackie Jones. Jackie is a 35 year old African American private detective living in Detroit,Michigan. Like many private investigators, Jackie is not rich and day to day living can sometimes be a struggle.

Jackie's daily life consists of trying to keep her PI agency afloat and working hard at her interracial romance with White homicide detective Sam Taylor. Life is going along as normal for her until her ex-husband, District Attorney Frank Jones, suddenly steps back into her life.

Frank suspects that his second wife Candi is cheating on him and he thinks that Jackie can get to the bottom of things for him. But as Jackie begins to work the case, she sees that she may have bitten off more than she can chew when bodies start to appear all over the place.

Deadly Secrets In The Motor City is the perfect mystery with sex and drama thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by author R.Barri Flowers. On the RAW scale this book is a 5.

Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks

The Sex Slave Murders chronicles the crime spree of Gerald and Charlene Gallego. The couple is often referred to as America's first husband and wife serial killers. Flowers does an excellent job of laying out the troubled backgrounds of Gerald and Charlene, leading up to their eventual meeting, marriage, and killing spree. Charlene served as bait, luring young women, and then Gerald would attempt to live out his "sex slave" fantasy with the victims and ultimately kill them.

One of the strongest assets of the book is the attention given to the victims. Instead of just listing names and dates, Flowers takes time to outline what the victims and their lives were like. As a result, the reader will get to know the victims, thus, the true impact of the Gallego crimes is better felt and understood.

Although this book is non-fiction, it reads more like a novel. While Gerald's "sex slave" fantasy was central to the crimes the couple committed, the author does not exploit the fantasy by focusing on the nature of the heinous sexual acts. Instead the book explores the reasons behind the crime and the reasons why Charlene Gallego was a willing assistant in the crimes. Most importantly, the book highlights the lives that were cut short or forever changed as a result of the crimes committed by the Gallegos. While there were a few times in the book that I felt it jumped around and others where it was a bit repetitive, this book was excellent overall. R. Barri Flowers has done a tremendous job, and if you are looking for a true crime read this book should not be missed.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay

The Sex Slave Murders is a riveting tale of the murderous married couple, Gerald & Charlene Gallego. I was able to read this book in a few hours and was intrigued from the very start. I found it hard to put the book down once started! I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy a true crime thriller!

As an avid fan of true crime and mystery books, I found The Sex Slave Murders by R. Barri Flowers to be amongst the top books I've read in each category. Certainly as a true crime tale, they don't get any scarier and the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction. It involves a murderous couple, Gerald and Charlene Gallego, who meet in California, then become involved in sex slave fantasies and serial murder.

I found myself hooked from the first page that talked about Gerald Gallego's father being a twice convicted murderer, who was executed -- implying a "bad seed" in his killer son. With Charlene, they may have fancied themselves some sort of modern day Clyde and Bonnie. In fact, I saw them only as brutal killers, whose murder spree took ten innocent lives before they were brought down.

The courtoom drama that turned the two killers gainst each other was riveting!

For any true crime fans who want a real page turner and a case unlike any other out there from start to finish, I greatly recommend The Sex Slave Murders!

I also read Flowers' mystery novels, Damning Evidence and When Night Falls. They were also great. I can't wait till his next true crime book comes out!

When I discovered Chuck Barris actually had books in print, I decided to find and read one. A great fan of the Gong Show, I thought Chuck was the greatest until I read this rubbish. This meandering description of his association with the CIA is an insult to his fans. We don't want to read a fictitious account - we want the facts - and we got few if any. This book was a joke - Chuck, it seems, was trying to make a joke of the establishment, but instead his fans suffer, reading an empty novel. If Chuck wants to write fiction, then let him - but don't pawn this off as true(!), because it's not true! On the other side of the coin, I still enjoy the Gong Show - it was (and still is) FUN!! I bought this book to see what Chuck was really like, but this book told me he likes to play mind-games too.

The guy above didn't read this book....he doesn't even mention the CIA in it.
Game Show King was a quick, enjoyable, funny read. I picked it up on a whim and loved it. Chuck's witty, flowing style makes this book read like a group of short stories with a common theme. The stories of the old days in TV are funny, bawdy and enjoyable and leave you wanting more.
If you enjoyed his shows, pick up the book, it is worth the read.

This book was hysterical, it was passed around the office and a good read was had by all. You have to remember that Chuck Barris didn't find a cure for cancer, he created some of the funniest television moments. That being said the book merrily moves along recounting antics from his early days as well as his life in St. Tropez. Lighten up, sit back and enjoy the book.

I thought it was a waste of money. I thought it was going to be about the 72 names of G/D in the Torah but it lost validity when they started to call the hebrew names of G/D from "The New Testament". The works of the so called apostles would have been written in Aramaic not Hebrew. Then they try to include the Jesus of Nazareth figure in as part of the divine names of G/D. Another example of how unenlighted Gentiles are trying to make a fast buck at other people's expense.

I'll keep this short: It is a good and useful book. (Christians: Beware of any review of Christian books written by people who are not Christians. They are entitled to their opinion but they cannot possibly be objective.)

INTIMATE MOMENTS WITH THE HEBREW NAMES OF GOD is an excellent source for learning and/or expanding one's knowledge about the descriptions of God. Especially useful is the key to pronounication, the scripture reference, and the Hebrew characters for each name given. Personally, I am currently using this book as a companion to the bible study written by Kay Arthur which also concerns different names of God. The authors' commentary on each word reads like a individual praise of worship. I recommend this book as one to keep by the nightstand--read a name a day.

Anticipating an objective account of a serious social issue, I found instead in _Runaway kids and teenage prostitution_ a curious mix of scientific research, media sensationalism, and conservative Christian moralizing. The cautious reader must diligently check the "facts" reported in this work against their sources as listed in the extensive endnotes. While some of the book is grounded in solid social science research, its weakness is that it juxtaposes this with pseudo-science and claims made by the Christian right. Far too many of Mr. Flowers' child prostitution "experts" are journalists concerned more about appealing to a mass market than conducting objective research. A thorough critique of this approach is provided by Dr. Philip Jenkins in his book, _Moral panic: Changing concepts of the child molester in modern America_ (1998, Yale University Press).

This is a very pressing social problem in the US, which receives little attention. One explanation is that we have decided that some people in our society are expendable. I thought that the book dealt fairly with the issue, with a good mix of facts, interviews, and our moral obligation as a society to protect our children. Don't let the Canadian comrade's review scare you away. Read the book and decide for yourself. The least it will do is bring to the forefront, a problem that typically receives a back burner in our collective psyche.

This book is a fair representation of showing someone the basics of top chopping. It shows the initial start and finish of their projects but does not show enough of the steps in between to even begin to learn how to do one yourself. It is a good book, however, as far as the variety of projects they show and showing you what you are about to get yourself into as far as difficulty of a project.

Buy this book if you have deep pockets and will indeed open your own bank. But again, if you have that kind of money, chances are that you are already familiar with the nuts-n-bolts of the banking industry, in which case the book will not be of much use. In my opinion this book would be most useful for the banking industry analysts...