Joseph Bruno's Blog, page 26
September 21, 2014
September 20, 2014
Joe Bruno’s review of Bill O’Reilly’s book “Pinheads and Patriots.”
Joseph Bruno’s review:
“This book is a #1 New York Times Best Seller for a reason.
I’ve read several of the previous books by Bill O’Reilly including: The No Spin Zone, Who’s Looking Out For You, The O’Reilly Factor For Kids (I’m still a kid at heart), Culture Warrior and A Bold Fresh Piece Of Humanity. I even read O’Reilly’s only novel — Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder. And I watch the O’Reilly Factor almost every weekday night, either at 8pm, or the repeat showing at 11pm.
So you could say I like the guy a little bit. O’Reilly is a lot like me; a right of middle person, not influenced by the pinheads who populate the far left, or the far right ends of the political spectrum. Certainly he’s not as far right as the man whose show follows his, Sean Hannity, who never gives the Democrats, or liberals even one tiny accolade, no matter how exemplary their actions may be.
In his No Spin Zone, O’Reilly tells it like it is, and woe to his guest who doesn’t answer the question he asks and goes off on a tangent, or inane talking point. I had drill sergeants in boot camp less intimidating than O’Reilly when he’s hot. Just ask Barney Frank, who O’Reilly filleted from throat to sternum, then down his flabby back.
Every evening, O’Reilly ends his show with a segment called Pinheads and Patriots. Some nights a person who had been a Pinhead in the past, now does something that elevates them to Patriot status. And vice versa.
O’Reilly begins “Pinheads and Patriots” with the definition of a pinhead by A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. “Pinhead – a simple fellow, a fool. So small a head contain but few brains.”
Then he follows with the Urban Dictionary’s version. “One who lacks the intelligence of the ‘normal’ sector of the human population; one who cannot handle the most mundane tasks due to lack of common sense and intelligence.”
Then he names names.
Patriot — The late Tony Snow, who was a Fox News anchor, then later chief spokesman for the Bush White House. Snow died after a two-year battle with cancer. O’Reilly wrote, “Tony Snow is the bravest man I ever met.” He explains why.
Pinhead — Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, who O’Reilly lambastes under the heading “The Cowardly Lion.” Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services committee, more than anyone else was responsible for the present mortgage crisis. Frank oversaw the disaster of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and even said months before the collapse that things were fine and dandy with those two mortgage giants. Yet when he appeared on the O’Reilly Factor, Frank refused to accept even one iota of blame. He said he was a “victim of economic chaos.” Pinhead for sure.
Since President Obama is on the cover facing O’Reilly, you’d think O’Reilly had him lined up for Pinhead-dom. Not true. O’Reilly points out several instances where Obama was a true Patriot. He cites the time at a Town Hall meeting on Father’s Day, when Obama said to men who father children and leave them: “Just because your father wasn’t there for you, that’s not an excuse for you to be absent, also – it is all the more reason for you to be present. You have an obligation to break the cycle and learn from those mistakes, and to rise up where your own fathers fell short and to do better than they did with your own children.”
Truly the words of a Patriot.
Before the Presidential election, Obama shunned any interview with Fox News, except with one person — Bill O’Reilly. In “Pinheads and Patriots,” O’Reilly gives us the complete transcript of his interview with Obama, which lasted about 30 minutes. Then at intervals, he explains how things Obama said in the interview either panned out, or didn’t pan out for the President. He also takes Obama to task for not admitting he was wrong about the surge in Iraq. Obama admits in the interview that the surge worked, but stops short of giving then President Bush any credit at all.
The back and forth went like this:
Obama: What I have said is – I have already said it’s (the surge) has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.
O’Reilly: Right, so why can’t you just say, “I was wrong about the surge?”
Obama hems and haws, but never once did he say “I was wrong.” And as we have found out in the 21 months of his Presidency, he may be incapable of saying he was wrong about anything, except maybe about the White Sox winning the World Series.
One of the best chapters in the book is entitled, “My All-Time Favorite P& Ps.” Without me giving away who’s-who and what’s-what, O’Reilly gives his opinion on, amongst others, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, U.S. Grant, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Robert Kennedy, both Bush’s, Cesar Chavez. John Edwards, Madonna, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and George Soros. Some of his conclusions may surprise you.
On O’Reilly’s website, the book sells for $27.95, but he throws in a nifty “Pinheads and Patriots” tote bag. I got mine at Amazon.com for less than 16 bucks, and because I have Amazon Prime, I got free shipping (but no tote bag).
“Pinheads and Patriots” is must reading for any O’Reilly fan. And even people who are not too crazy about O’Reilly, should enjoy reading this even-handed book too.
Unless you’re a Pinhead. Then there’s nothing I can do for you anyway.”
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/137876857?utm_medium=email&utm_source=rating
September 19, 2014
Another 5-Star Review for Joe Bruno’s “Murder and Mayhem in the Big Apple – From the Black Hand to Murder Incorporated.”
*****
5.0 out of 5 stars!!
Great Book,
September 18, 2014
By Kim Buck
Verified Purchase
This review is from: Murder and Mayhem in the Big Apple – From the Black Hand to Murder Incorporated (Kindle Edition)
“I really enjoy the stories that Mr. Bruno writes about you always learn something new. If you like Mobster books, then this is a book for you. Or if you just like to read as I do then you might like this book as well. Thank you Mr. Bruno.”
Product information:
When it comes to murder and mayhem, there has never been a more fertile backdrop than the mean streets of New York City.
Whether it was murder for profit, or a contract hit ordered by mob bosses, or maybe just a simple hit because the killer didn’t like the victim’s face (this happens more often than you think), there have been more dead bodies deposited in the gutters of New York City than on the streets of any other city in the world. This is in addition to the thousands of murder victims whose bodies “did a Houdini”; or in other words – disappeared.
Most people enjoy reading about a gruesome murder – the bloodier the better. Besides the casual civilian reveling in the miseries of others, certain killers also enjoy reading about their achievements in the press. Other killers couldn’t care less about the notoriety, but instead view the publicity as a method of convincing potential victims if they don’t cough up the cash requested, or do the right thing in other matters; their mutilated bodies might wind up on the front page of the newspapers, too.
Then there is the psyche of the killer himself. Usually, the killer’s first hit makes little psychological impact on him. He doesn’t enjoy it too much, but he figures if this is to be his business of choice, he had better get used to the blood and gore, or slide into another line of work.
However, certain killers enjoy the act of killing so much, they have no qualms about carving up some poor soul’s throat and torso (or maybe both), then celebrating the hit by devouring a rare roast beef sandwich, minutes after slicing his victim into the hereafter.
In highlighting the most prolific killers in the history of New York City if not the world, this book starts with the bloody Black Hand and then pitches forward a decade later to the Boys from Brownsville, who morphed into the greatest death machine in the history of America: Murder Incorporated, better known as Murder Inc.
So fire up your Kindle, pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage, and enjoy the most vicious killers ever to prowl the streets of New York City.
However – a word of caution. While reading, stay away from rare roast beef sandwiches, dripping in blood.
They might not go down too well.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008G0J77S?tag=stijnb-20
September 16, 2014
Joe Bruno has 19 of the top 100 ranked Kindle ebooks in the category “Best Sellers in Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs.”
“New York City’s Five Points: The Most Dangerous and Decadent Neighborhood Ever!” is ranked highest at #3.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6361568011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_5_last#1
Best Selling Author Joe Bruno’s Internet Interview
15MondaySep 2014
Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized
Name – Joe Bruno
Age –Ancient
Where are you from?
The Lower East Side of Manhattan – NY City
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc -
Transfiguration Grammar School. Cardinal Hayes High School, Hunter College. Vietnam Veteran. The Mean Streets of New York City.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news? –
My new book “Mob Rats – Gangsters Who Squeal – Volume 2 – The Cleveland Canaries” is on pre-order and is already ranked #1 on Amazon.com in the categories “Hot New Releases – Best Sellers in Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs,” and #1 in “Hot New Releases – Best Sellers in Organized Crime True Accounts.”
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
The mid-1960s. I started with grocery lists.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In 1976, when I cashed my first writing check.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Money.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Think Mickey Spillane – nonfiction, not fiction. I write for people who have a little trouble reading.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
My first book, early 1980s, was “Mulberry Street,” which is where I grew up in New York City’s Little Italy.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, stay away from the mob, or they’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
All of it is realistic. It’s where I lived for 48 years.
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
This could get me in trouble, but all my fiction books – four of them – are based on people I knew and events I’ve either seen or taken part in. And I’m still alive. I think.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Lawrence Block’s “Telling Lies for Fun and Profit.”
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Lawrence Block.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
“The Mysterious Affair at Styles” – Agatha Christie.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Not really, I like the old-timers like Steven King and Dean Koontz.
Fiona: What are your current projects?
More “Mob Rats” books. Four books on Mob Rats already published, and more to come. There’s never a shortage of mob rats.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
When I’m drunk, I usually use a lamppost to support me.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
It has been for the past 40 years.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
No. I wouldn’t change a thing in any of my 25 books.
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated.
I was too small to play professional basketball, but I wasn’t too short too to be a writer.
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
“Mob Rats – Gangsters Who Squeal – Volume 3.”
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Getting out of bed in the morning. Once I’m up and about, the words flow like pressured water from a fireman’s hose.
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Lawrence Block. No one writes a better story, and those who do write better than Larry, are all dead.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Yes. I travel every day from my bedroom to my office, which is in the adjoining bedroom.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
I now use Alchemy Covers. I formerly used Nitro Covers.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Sitting down in front of my computer. The rest is child’s play
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned never to be a Mob Rat. The life expectancy is too short.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write what you want, not what somebody else wants, or just to make money. Unless you’re broke, then write for the money.
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Yes, hurry up and buy my books. My supply of Cognac is getting low.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
No, but it was probably something by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?
Reading. Watching sports on TV, and most importantly, breathing.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Boardwalk Empire. Ray Donovan. The Sopranos. 24. Mad Men. The Blacklist. The Knick.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Red and Green, especially the green in hundred dollar bills.
And I love all Doo Wop music. I sang for many years in several New York City Doo Wop groups. Got hit my many tomatoes, and a few raw eggs. They tasted okay, but I’d rather have them cooked.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I’d be an attorney like my daughter.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
Joe Bruno on the Mob – http://joebrunoonthemob.wordpress.com/
Joe Bruno
Amazon Best Selling Author of 25 crime fiction and nonfiction books, including:
“Mobsters, Gangs, Crooks, and Other Creeps – Volumes 1 – 5″
Mobsters, Gangs, Crooks and Other Creeps-Volume 1 – New York City
http://authorsinterviews.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/here-is-my-interview-with-joe-bruno/
New York City’s Five Points: The Most Dangerous and Decadent Neighborhood Ever!” is not ranked #1 on Amazon.com in “Hot New Releases Organized Crime,” and #3 in “Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs.”
“
To snatch your copy, click the link below.
Product Information:
The Five Points is personal to me. In 1914, my mother was born at 104 Bayard Street, the youngest of 12 children. I grew up around the corner at 134 White Street, corner of Baxter. During my youth, the area was called Little Italy. But at the time of my mother’s birth, it was still called the Five Points
The term the “Five Points” was derived in the early part of the Nineteenth Century because its Ground Zero was a five-point intersection formed by Orange Street (now Baxter Street), Cross Street (First Park and now Mosco Street – Frank Mosco was my Little League coach), Anthony Street (Now Worth), Little Water Street (which no longer exists), and Mulberry Street.
In the early-1800s, the Five Points neighborhood bounded by Centre Street on the west, and the Bowery/Chatham Square on the east. Canal Street was the northern border and Park Row – the southern border. The boarders of the Sixth Ward have since lengthened on the north side, going as far as Houston Street.
Across the street from the front entrance to my tenement building and close enough to touch with three or four leaping bounds, was the ominous-looking city prison called the Tombs. The dark and dreary structure was the third incarnation of this monstrosity; the first two being located one block to the west on Centre Street. The Tombs played an integral part of the Five Points sordid history. Hundreds of dastardly individuals were hung at the Tombs, and hundreds of thousands more had the Tombs as their mailing address, some permanently.
In 1896, at the prodding of journalist Jacob Riis, the hideous Mulberry Bend was demolished by the city, and Columbus Park was built in its stead. Before then, the Five Points was predominantly Irish, and it is estimated that 10,000 – 15,000 people, mostly Irish, lived in horrendous squalor in the four square blocks that comprised “The Bend.” When The Bend’s buildings were razed, the Irish were displaced. Most moved north to Hell’s Kitchen, the area bounded by 42nd Street and 59th Streets, and 7th to 12th Avenues.
After the demolition of Mulberry Bend, the Five Points became the domain of Italian Immigrants sprinkled with a few hundred Chinese, who claimed parts of Mott, Pell, and Doyers Streets as their turf. In fact, over the first two decades of the Twentieth Century, the Five Points district evolved into two intertwining neighborhoods: Little Italy and Chinatown.
It wasn’t until the mid-1920s that the term “Five Points” started to fade from the vocabulary of the area’s residents. In fact, as a child growing up, when I spoke to my aunts and uncles, the term “Five Points” came up quite often and never in favorable terms.
Most remnants of the original Five Points have long been gone. But the names of its former inhabitants still flicker across the lips of many New Yorkers, never in a flattering context.
In this book, the history of the Five Points is detailed in alphabetical order; not in chronological order, which I found overlapped to such a degree to make it unwieldy.
So, fire up your Kindle and read about some of the most distasteful creatures ever to roam the face of the earth. They all inhabited my old Five Points neighborhood in times gone by.
New York City's Five Points: The Most Dangerous and Decadent Neighborhood Ever!
September 15, 2014
Here is my interview with Joe Bruno
15MondaySep 2014
Pos...
15MondaySep 2014
Posted by fionamcvie1964 in Uncategorized
Name – Joe Bruno
Age –Ancient
Where are you from?
The Lower East Side of Manhattan – NY City
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc -
Transfiguration Grammar School. Cardinal Hayes High School, Hunter College. Vietnam Veteran. The Mean Streets of New York City.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news? –
My new book “Mob Rats – Gangsters Who Squeal – Volume 2 – The Cleveland Canaries” is on pre-order and is already ranked #1 on Amazon.com in the categories “Hot New Releases – Best Sellers in Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs,” and #1 in “Hot New Releases – Best Sellers in Organized Crime True Accounts.”
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
The mid-1960s. I started with grocery lists.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
In 1976, when I cashed my first writing check.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Money.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Think Mickey Spillane – nonfiction, not fiction. I write for people who have a little trouble reading.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
My first book, early 1980s, was “Mulberry Street,” which is where I grew up in New York City’s Little Italy.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, stay away from the mob, or they’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
All of it is realistic. It’s where I lived for 48 years.
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
This could get me in trouble, but all my fiction books – four of them – are based on people I knew and events I’ve either seen or taken part in. And I’m still alive. I think.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most?
Lawrence Block’s “Telling Lies for Fun and Profit.”
Fiona: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Lawrence Block.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
“The Mysterious Affair at Styles” – Agatha Christie.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Not really, I like the old-timers like Steven King and Dean Koontz.
Fiona: What are your current projects?
More “Mob Rats” books. Four books on Mob Rats already published, and more to come. There’s never a shortage of mob rats.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
When I’m drunk, I usually use a lamppost to support me.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
It has been for the past 40 years.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
No. I wouldn’t change a thing in any of my 25 books.
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated.
I was too small to play professional basketball, but I wasn’t too short too to be a writer.
Fiona: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
“Mob Rats – Gangsters Who Squeal – Volume 3.”
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Getting out of bed in the morning. Once I’m up and about, the words flow like pressured water from a fireman’s hose.
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Lawrence Block. No one writes a better story, and those who do write better than Larry, are all dead.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Yes. I travel every day from my bedroom to my office, which is in the adjoining bedroom.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
I now use Alchemy Covers. I formerly used Nitro Covers.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Sitting down in front of my computer. The rest is child’s play
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
I learned never to be a Mob Rat. The life expectancy is too short.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Write what you want, not what somebody else wants, or just to make money. Unless you’re broke, then write for the money.
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Yes, hurry up and buy my books. My supply of Cognac is getting low.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
No, but it was probably something by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?
Reading. Watching sports on TV, and most importantly, breathing.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Boardwalk Empire. Ray Donovan. The Sopranos. 24. Mad Men. The Blacklist. The Knick.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Red and Green, especially the green in hundred dollar bills.
And I love all Doo Wop music. I sang for many years in several New York City Doo Wop groups. Got hit my many tomatoes, and a few raw eggs. They tasted okay, but I’d rather have them cooked.
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
I’d be an attorney like my daughter.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
Joe Bruno on the Mob – http://joebrunoonthemob.wordpress.com/
Joe Bruno
Amazon Best Selling Author of 25 crime fiction and nonfiction books, including:
“Mobsters, Gangs, Crooks, and Other Creeps – Volumes 1 – 5″
http://authorsinterviews.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/here-is-my-interview-with-joe-bruno/
Amazon Best Selling author Joe Bruno has 8 out of the top 15 top ranked book on Amazon.com in the category “Best Sellers in Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs.”
“Whitey Bulger – The Biggest Rat” is ranked highest at #6.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/6361568011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kstore_1_5_last
September 14, 2014
Best Selling author Joe Bruno has the top three and five out of the first six top ranked books on Amazon.com in the category “Hot New Releases in Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs.”
“Mob Rats – Gangsters Who Squeal – Volume 2 – The Cleveland Canaries,” which is on pre-order only, is ranked highest at #1.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/digital-text/6361568011/ref=zg_bs_tab_t_bsnr
September 13, 2014
Joe Bruno’s “Mob Rats – Gangsters Who Squeal – Volume 2 – The Cleveland Canaries” is not released yet; it’s on pre-order with Amazon.com. Yet it’s ranked # 1 on Amazon in “Hot New Releases in Law Enforcement Biographies & Memoirs,” and # 6 on Amazon.com i
So, for you authors out there, it pays to put your books on pre-order status, while doing the final edit.
