Review - Canterbury Tales Cafe

[Daveo]

Capote by Gerald Clarke.....

Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the man who authored In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's, as well as with nearly everyone who knew him, this absorbing, definitive biography follows Truman Capote from his eccentric childhood in Alabama to the heights of New York society.

Featuring many photographs, this book also candidly recounts a gifted and celebrated writer's descent into the life of alcohol and drugs that would ultimately consume his bulldog spirit and staggering talent - but not before he'd hobnob with the likes of Grace Paley and Lee Radziwill, feud outrageously with Gore Vidal and Jacqueline Susann, and stage at New York's Plaza hotel the sensational Black and White Ball.

[Daveo]

Race To Dakar by Charley Boorman..

 

https://g.page/CanterburyTalesGuesthouseBooksho?share

 

In 2004 Charley Boorman completed his astonishing round-the-world bike trip with his friend, Ewan McGregor. The journey left him exhausted, exhilarated and hungry for a new challenge. And what greater challenge than the Dakar rally? Beginning in Lisbon and ending in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, the rally covers 15,000 kilometres of treacherous terrain, and is widely regarded as the most dangerous race on earth. With his team-mates Simon Pavey and Matt Hall, Charley faced extreme temperatures, rode through shifting sands and stinging winds, and faced breakdowns miles from civilization. Charley recounts his extraordinary adventures through Portugal, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea and Senegal. He also follows the stories of other riders - an eccentric, dedicated band of professionals and rookies who all dream of one thing: reaching the finishing line. Race to Dakar is the thrilling account of a race that has captured the imagination of millions.

[Daveo]

[Daveo]

[Daveo]

Crisis & Ultimatum by Frank Gardner..

(Luke Carlton #1)

Introducing Luke Carlton - ex-Special Boat Service commando, and now under contract to MI6 for some of its most dangerous missions. Sent into the steaming Colombian Jungle to investigate the murder of a British intelligence officer, Luke finds himself caught up in the coils of a plot that has terrifying international dimensions. Hunted down, captured, tortured and on the run from one of South America's most powerful and ruthless drugs cartels and its psychotic leader thirsting for revenge, Luke is in a life or death race against time to prevent a disaster on a truly terrifying scale: London is the target, the weapon is diabolical and the means of delivery is ingenious. Drawing on his years of experience reporting on security matters, CRISIS is Frank Gardner’s debut novel. Combining insider knowledge, up-to-the-minute hardware, fly on the wall insights with heart-in-mouth excitement, CRISIS boasts an irresistible, visceral frisson of authenticity: smart, fast-paced and furiously entertaining, here is a thriller for the 21st century.

 

Ultimatum - Deep within a Cave system at a military complex south-east of Tehran, hidden from the prying eyes of Western satellites, scientists are working round-the-clock on a banned device. Acting on the orders of a renegade cell within the ultra-conservative Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, their intention is to propel Iran into the elite club of nuclear-armed nations – and seal its domination of the Middle East.

Britain’s intelligence agencies know something is up. They have someone on the inside ready to hand over information but first he must get out of Iran. Crossing the mountainous border into Armenia, he was due to rendezvous with MI6 agent Luke Carlton at a remote, snowbound monastery. But the mission goes bloodily wrong. Luke needs to be extracted. And fast.

On the back foot after that fiasco, MI6 is presented with an opportunity to recruit someone with unique access to the leader of the IRGC hardliners.

And Luke is chosen to reel them in. Going into Iran undercover is dangerous enough, but then a senior British government minister on an official visit is kidnapped, his close protection officer killed and Britain is presented with a terrifying ultimatum. With the clock ticking, Luke Carlton races to head off a catastrophic confrontation in the Gulf . .

[Daveo]

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow..

In this account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move, and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.

All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance they could not explain - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood to Washington and beyond.

This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability, and silence victims of abuse. And it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement. Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook our culture.

[Daveo]

The Bangkok Connection..

by Ron Chepesiuk..

Leslie “Ike” Atkinson is one of U.S. history’s most original gangsters. According to law enforcement sources, he and his gang smuggled, by conservative estimates, 1,000 pounds of heroin annually from Bangkok, Thailand, to U.S. military bases during their period of operation from 1968 to 1975. The Bangkok Connection: Trafficking Heroin from Asia to the USA chronicles the story of Atkinson, a charismatic former U.S. army master sergeant, career smuggler, card shark and doting family man whom law enforcement agencies code-named Sergeant Smack. Sergeant Smack’s criminal activities sparked the creation of a special DEA unit code-named Centac 9, which conducted an intensive three-year investigation across three continents. Sergeant Smack was elusive, but the discovery of his palm print on a kilo of heroin finally took him down.

[Daveo]

Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano..

A groundbreaking major bestseller in Italy, Gomorrah is Roberto Saviano's gripping nonfiction account of the decline of Naples under the rule of the Camorra, an organized crime network with a large international reach and stakes in construction, high fashion, illicit drugs, and toxic-waste disposal. Known by insiders as "the System," the Camorra affects cities and villages along the Neapolitan coast, and is the deciding factor in why Campania, for instance, has the highest murder rate in all of Europe and whycancer levels there have skyrocketed in recent years. Saviano tells of huge cargoes of Chinese goods that are shipped to Naples and then quickly distributed unchecked across Europe. He investigates the Camorra's control of thousands of Chinese factories contracted to manufacture fashion goods, legally and illegally, for distribution around the world, and relates the chilling details of how the abusive handling of toxic waste is causing devastating pollution not only for Naples but also China and Somalia.

In pursuit of his subject, Saviano worked as an assistant at a Chinese textile manufacturer, a waiter at a Camorra wedding, and on a construction site. A native of the region, he recalls seeing his first murder at the age of fourteen, and how his own father, a doctor, suffered a brutal beating for trying to aid an eighteen-year-old victim who had been left for dead in the street. Gomorrah is a bold and important work of investigative writing that holds global significance, one heroic young man's impassioned story of a place under the rule of a murderous organization.

[Daveo]

CRIME

[Daveo]

This central Pattaya apartment available - 4,000 per month plus water and electric.

[Daveo]

This room 3,000 baht per month plus water (250 baht monthly) and electric per the meter outside the room can be checked yourself

[semi-retired member]

On 24/08/2020 at 22:49, Daveo said:

CRIME

Dave, that book on Cannibalism, shouldn't it be in the Cookery-section instead ?  

All the Best from a deserted Chiang Mai, and thanks for another good visit last month, hope to be back before the yearend !

[Daveo]

Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal

by Karen Connelly 

"Painfully bored" with school, 17-year-old Karen Connelly set off for rural Thailand to spend one year as an exchange student. This is her intensely honest account of living in a beautiful but sometimes infuriating culture."I already look forward to reading Touch the Dragon again--and again."--Timothy Findley

[Daveo]

A Farang Strikes Back

BY LOUIS ANSCHEL

A Farang Strikes Back David meets the love of his life in a massage parlour in Pattaya. He leaves everything behind and moves to Thailand to live with his girl friend forever. Cracks appear in their relationship when the masseuse asks for more and more money.

One day David discovers that his girl friend not only left him but totally ripped him off as well. The farang’s revenge is cruel…

[Daveo]

Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare

BY PHILIP SHORT

Philip Short observed Pol Pot at close quarters during the one and only official visit Pol ever made abroad, to China in 1975. He was struck by Pol Pot's charm and charisma, yet, soon after, the leader would emerge as the architect of one of the most radical and ruthless experiments in social engineering ever undertaken.

His egalitarian Utopia released a reign of terror that would result in one in every five Cambodians - more than a million people - perishing in the killing fields of from hunger. Why did it happen? How did an idealistic dream of justice and prosperity mutate into one of humanity's worst nightmares? To answer these questions, Short traveled through Cambodia, interviewing former Khmer Rouge leaders and sifting through previously closed archives around the world. Key figures, including Khlen Samphan and Ieng Sary, Pol Pot's brother-in-law and foreign minister, speak here for the first time. Philip Short's masterly narrative reveals how Pol Pot engineered his country's desolation, fashioning the definitive portrait of the man who headed one of the most enigmatic and terrifying regimes of modern times.

[Daveo]

These Loom's available now at 350 per night or 5,000 per month plus water (250 baht per month) electric via the meter outside the room - can be checked by you.

[Daveo]

Hun Sen: Strongman of Cambodia

BY HARISH C. MEHTA & JULIE B. MEHTA..

"Hun Sen: Strongman of Cambodia," examined the past and present personal, military, and political life of Hun Sen. Written very simply, this book says a lot with few words. The writing style made this a quick, yet informative read to the contemporary Cambodian neophyte.

Because of the tender tone towards Hun Sen, a reader will contemplate the relationship (if any) that existed between the husband-and-wife authors and the subject of this biography. The Mehtas claim that during several hours of personal interviews with Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rainy that Sen never once asked to preview what the author would write about him in his biography before publication.

I doubt this is true unless, 1. the author and Hun Sen made an agreement and/or 2. They were and still are, close friends and associates. There is a sense of "buddy," in this book. There is not necessarily anything wrong with this if the authors would make note of it.

Hun Sen is an intelligent individual who attained sensitive, sophisticated, and important posts within the government at a young age and in ascended quickly in a short period of time. (We should be cognizant of the fact that there isn't a lot of competition when almost everyone else was murdered by the organization he served in, the Khmer Rouge.}

Previous to his political career Sen commanded Khmer Rouge military men, where he was spotted early on as a capable, intelligent, and pragmatic individual. This said, Hun Sen claims to be ignorant of the more than 1 million men, women, and children, who had their heads bashed in by wooden clubs and metal bars, by the organization he had dedicated and risked his life for.

As for his political career:

The commonly held perception that Sen was a "puppet" of the Vietnamese can be considered by some to be an over-simplified and inaccurate generalization. The authors did note the necessity of Vietnamese logistical support and aid in order for Sen to move to remove the Pol Pot regime.

Many of the individuals and organizations involved in recent and present Cambodian politics are described in this book: UNTAC, FUNCINPEC, BLDP, and the CPP (Cambodian People's Party). Hun Sen was and is shrewd and effectively utilizes a divide and conquer political strategy.

As for the extremely rare and parsimonious sprinklings of negativity toward Sen, at least there is some generic listing of accusations and complaints directed toward Sen by his domestic and international critics and adversaries. But the criticism by the author toward Sen never went deep enough to be considered a truly objective piece of work.

Interestingly, the author failed to mention Hun Sen's wife and her body guards pouring 5 liters of acid on a young women's head, disfiguring her for life. Reason: he was cheating on her.

"Aid" Organizations:

As more NGOs workers have flooded into Cambodia bringing their nihilistic lifestyles, millions of dollars in the name of "aid" and "help," the rate of poverty has INCREASED in Cambodia. So we must therefore ask, "where is the money going?"

You fill in the blanks.

NGOs and the UN are more exploitive than they are useful, as is the Cambodian government. Put these two together, and you have a society that will always be the runt of the pack. A society that will always be behind in almost every conceivable category imaginable.

Sad, but true.

This said, this is a book worthy of reading if you keep in mind of its slant.

A Cambo newbie can learn more about contemporary Cambodian politics and its players, the different factions, idiosyncrasies, and recent history of Cambodia.

[Daveo]

Terrify No More: Young Girls Held Captive and the Daring Undercover Operation to Win Their Freedom by Gary Haugen & Gregg Hunter..

“If you’re tired of living an anemic life and you want to live courageously, get this book. Terrify No More is a suspenseful read that will introduce you to the new heroes of the faith - people who are willing to take risks to bring hope and freedom to those who need it most.”

“…Producer Richard Greenberg showed me some truly alarming videotape he’d obtained from a human rights group called the International Justice Mission… That tape would trigger one of the most extensive international searches I’d ever been involved with as a Dateline Correspondent.”

“Now we have a gripping, close-up account of how IJM carries out its mission in Cambodia.  Gary Haugen’s book should awaken many to what goes on in the 21st century slave trade.”

Out of shocking depravity emerges a story of hope.

In a small village outside Phnom Penh, children as young as five are bought and sold as sex slaves. Day after day their abuse continues, and their hope slips away.

In Terrify No More an international team of investigators goes undercover to infiltrate this ring of brothels and gather evidence needed to free these girls.

Meanwhile, skilled legal minds race the clock, working at the highest levels of U.S. and foreign governments to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Headed up by former U.N. war-crimes investigator, Gary Haugen, the team perseveres against impossible obstacles - police corruption, death threats, and mission-thwarting tip-offs - in a mission focused on bringing freedom to the victims.

[Daveo]

Stop the Ride, I Want Off

by Dave Courtney...

This autobiography has made London's most infamous celebrity gangster - the inspiration for the character Big Chris, played by Vinny Jones, in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - an international star.

Read about Dave Courtney's shady and amoral past, his time in jail, the violent encounters that put him there, and why he has decided it's time to get out of the crime business.

Meet machete-wielding Chinese waiters, unlicensed boxing promoters and debt collectors. See Dave bitten, beaten, stabbed and shot; and learn that prison didn't do anything except to make him determined always to be better at not getting caught.

[Daveo]

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle..

Known and loved by generation after generation, this shrewd amateur detective, with faithful Watson by his side, has earned his place in our national life and social history.

Now, this handsome omnibus edition stands as a lasting tribute to the indestructible sleuth and his famous creator.

Find this and many more in our Classic section @ Canterbury Tales bookshop Pattaya...

[Daveo]

The Critic

(The Enzo Files #2)

by  Peter May 

Gil Petty, the worlds number one wine critic, went missing during a tasting tour of the little-known wine region of Gaillac. Four years ago, his body was discovered strung up on a cross in the vineyards of southwest France.

[Daveo]

Endangered Relations by Chris Lyttleton..

HIV and AIDS are having a profound impact on contemporary life in Thailand, generating complex issues with far-reaching implications for both the Thai people and on a global level.

AIDS has become an increasingly prominent symbol of modernity in Thailand, yet ways of dealing with AIDS and HIV draw on time-honoured understandings of fate and misfortune, disease and contagion, gender and pollution.

Endangered Relations provides a crucial analysis of how public health has attempted to control the threat of HIV infection, and how this has combined with local understandings of identity and sexuality; it sets in place a broad range of personal and social responses to the ongoing epidemic.

An illuminating study of the way in which Thai social relations, and in particular Thai sexualities, shape the history of HIV and AIDS in Thailand, Endangered Relations offers a unique perspective on the complicated ways that disease is negotiated in cultural, political, and human terms.

— at 

Canterbury Tales Cafe, Guesthouse, Bookshop/book exchange - Pattaya.

[Daveo]

Tough Talk: True Stories of East London Hard Men by Millie Murray..

Millie Murray retells the stories of three East End men - Arthur White, Steve Johnson and Ian McDowall - who left behind their lives of crime and violence as nightclub bouncers, illegal debt collectors and drug addicts, when they encountered God and had their lives transformed. Arthur White - World Champion Powerlifter, successful businessman, happy family man. Suddenly, Arthur's life spirals out of control. Cocaine, steroids and an affair change everything. He loses his business, family - everything. Death seems the only way out. What changed him? Steve Johnson - Steve's normal quota of alcohol was 100 pints a week! A bouncer who knew every pub in east London, Steve's days were filled with violence and aggression. His life was out of control. Would alcoholism, a gunshot or a knife end it? What changed him? Ian McDowall - Body building was Ian's life - that and becoming No.1. Being a doorman, debt collector and drug dealer kept Ian supplied with illegal steroids. His marriage was on the rocks - life for Ian was a cesspool of lies, deceit and violence. What changed him?

[Daveo]

 

Welcome to Hell: One Man's Fight for Life Inside the Bangkok Hilton

 

BY COLIN MARTIN

Written from his cell and smuggled out page by page, Colin Martin’s autobiography chronicles an innocent man’s struggle to survive inside one of the world’s most dangerous prisons.

After being swindled out of a fortune, Colin was let down by the hopelessly corrupt Thai police.

Forced to rely upon his own resources, he tracked down the man who conned him and, drawn into a fight, he accidentally killed that man’s bodyguard.

Colin was arrested, denied a fair trial, convicted of murder and thrown into prison, where he remained for 8 years. Honest and often disturbing, but told with a surprising humour, Welcome to Hell is the remarkable story of how Colin was denied justice again and again.

[Daveo]

The Breathing Method

by Stephen King

There is a strange club in New York where men tell each other stories. The years pass but no one looks any older. One night a doctor tells the story of a young woman who gives birth to a baby in the most horrible way! Evil psychic powers, obsession and the supernatural in the most ordinary, everyday places. A spine-chiller from the master of horror.