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- Mea Culpa
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- Prelude to Destruction
- Confession of a Murderer: Told in One Night
- Q Is for Quarry (A Kinsey Millhone Mystery) [AUDIOBOOK]
- Fury [AUDIOBOOK]
- D Is for Deadbeat [AUDIOBOOK]
Average customer rating:
- Compelling, compelling
- Self-Serving
- What's one man's demise is another's redemption...or is it?
- Brilliantly done, but unsettling
- True Story??
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True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa CD
Michael Finkel
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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ASIN: 0060586524
Release Date: 2005-05-24 |
Amazon.com
In True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa, disgraced New York Times writer Michael Finkel recounts the story of the murderer who assumed his identity and examines the reasons for his own fall from journalistic grace, in a memoir that is gripping, perceptive, and bizarre. In 2002, Finkel, a rising star at the Times, was fired for fabricating a character in a story about child laborers in Africa. Just as the story of his downfall was about to become public, he learned that a man named Christian Longo, arrested in Mexico for the murder of his wife and three small children in Oregon, had been living under an assumed identity: Michael Finkel of The New York Times. Sensing a story--and an opportunity for redemption--Finkel contacted Longo, initiating a relationship that would grow increasingly complex over the course of Longo's trial and conviction.
Finkel makes no excuses for his actions. Nor does he deny his own narcissism--a narcissism that allowed him to rationalize his own lies as surely as Longo rationalized his crimes. Ultimately, Finkel says, his year with Longo taught him "how a person's life could spiral completely out of control; how one could get lost in a haze of dishonesty; and how these things could have dire consequences." The lesson, Finkel need not add, applies as much to the disgraced writer as it does to the killer. --Erica C. Barnett
Book Description
In the haunting tradition of Joe McGinniss's
Fatal Vision and Mikal Gilmore's
Shot in the Heart,
True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa weaves a spellbinding tale of murder, love, and deceit with a deeply personal inquiry into the slippery nature of truth.
The story begins in February of 2002, when a reporter in Oregon contacts
New York Times Magazine writer Michael Finkel with a startling piece of news. A young, highly intelligent man named Christian Longo, on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for killing his entire family, has recently been captured in Mexico, where he'd taken on a new identity -- Michael Finkel of the
New York Times.
The next day, on page A-3 of the
Times, comes another bit of troubling news: a note, written by the paper's editors, explaining that Finkel has falsified parts of an investigative article and has been fired. This unlikely confluence sets the stage for a bizarre and intense relationship. After Longo's arrest, the only journalist the accused murderer will speak with is the real Michael Finkel. And as the months until Longo's trial tick away, the two men talk for dozens of hours on the telephone, meet in the jailhouse visiting room, and exchange nearly a thousand pages of handwritten letters.
With Longo insisting he can prove his innocence, Finkel strives to uncover what really happened to Longo's family, and his quest becomes less a reporting job than a psychological cat-and-mouse game -- sometimes redemptively honest, other times slyly manipulative. Finkel's pursuit pays off only at the end, when Longo, after a lifetime of deception, finally says what he wouldn't even admit in court -- the whole, true story. Or so it seems.
Download Description
"
In the haunting tradition of Joe McGinniss's
Fatal Vision and Mikal Gilmore's
Shot in the Heart,
True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa weaves a spellbinding tale of murder, love, and deceit with a deeply personal inquiry into the slippery nature of truth.
The story begins in February of 2002, when a reporter in Oregon contacts
New York Times Magazine writer Michael Finkel with a startling piece of news. A young, highly intelligent man named Christian Longo, on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for killing his entire family, has recently been captured in Mexico, where he'd taken on a new identity -- Michael Finkel of the
New York Times.
The next day, on page A-3 of the
Times, comes another bit of troubling news: a note, written by the paper's editors, explaining that Finkel has falsified parts of an investigative article and has been fired. This unlikely confluence sets the stage for a bizarre and intense relationship. After Longo's arrest, the only journalist the accused murderer will speak with is the real Michael Finkel. And as the months until Longo's trial tick away, the two men talk for dozens of hours on the telephone, meet in the jailhouse visiting room, and exchange nearly a thousand pages of handwritten letters.
With Longo insisting he can prove his innocence, Finkel strives to uncover what really happened to Longo's family, and his quest becomes less a reporting job than a psychological cat-and-mouse game -- sometimes redemptively honest, other times slyly manipulative. Finkel's pursuit pays off only at the end, when Longo, after a lifetime of deception, finally says what he wouldn't even admit in court -- the whole, true story. Or so it seems.
"
Customer Reviews:
Compelling, compelling.......2007-03-18
Back in December 2001, a heinous act occured along the Oregon coast that would forever alter the lives of the people involved with it. Christian Longo, newly relocated to the area a few months back, savagely took the lives of the people closest to him, and then fled the country. The shock and horror of the crimes reverberated strongly through the community and the state. While in Mexico, Longo assumed the identity of disgraced NY Times reporter Michael Finkel. Thus, this unusual pairing of these two men was born, and the end result, this quite unusual recounting of the Longo murders in "True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa".
Michael Finkel was once top of his game, reporting on serious stories with serious implications. However, due to frabrications made in an "child slavery" story, he quickly fell from grace, retreating to his life in Montana. No sooner than that happened, his phone rang, and a reporter calling from the Oregonian fills him in on the Longo story. Having nothing better to do with his time, Finkel contacts the now-captured Longo, who responds, creating a very strange, symbiotic relationship during the time Longo was awaiting trial for the murders.
This whole book is quite amazing. From Finkel's complete, honest confession to his fabrications, to the letters that Longo writes to him, the story is quite the page turner. Finkel's writing style is uncluttered and easy to read. He builds his story well, from the introduction to the final, horrifying conclusion. Finkel's honesty is compelling; he cuts himself no slack for his fabrication. You must forgive him for his mistakes, and hopefully, he'll find himself back to writing.
This story is chilling, in so many aspects. Longo, a merciless killer, sits on Oregon's death row, living with his crimes. You wonder how he does, but after reading Finkel's book, which provides an unusual insight into the distorted mind of a killer, more light is shed on this subject. In short, it's a great read.
Self-Serving.......2006-11-10
This book is about a murderer's theft of the author's identity to help him escape police apprehension. The author makes much of this fact,seeing himself as a victim, but an account I read of the actual murders has no mention of the author, nor does it need any for the purpose of telling its story.
Nor is the author a very sympathetic character, having announced at the beginning of the book that he has been fired for fictionalizing a news story for the New York Times. (a practice becoming more and more popular, it seems)
My main complaint, however, is that the book is just not that interesting unless you're fascinated by the inner workings of a journalist's mind.
What's one man's demise is another's redemption...or is it?.......2006-06-02
Michael Finkel wrote this book in an effort to alter the popular opinion that he is a dishonest reporter who falsified his articles. He wrote with one objective in mind - to emerge as a talented author and honest human being. But was he able to do so? It's up to the readers to decide.
What's the book about? As it turned out, a serial murderer used Mr. Finkel's identity to hide from the law. Luckily, the FBI did their job and caught the man. And when Mr. Finkel found out that his identity has been compromised for nearly a month, he saw an opportunity to use the story as a stepping stone toward redemption, toward purification of his own public character.
The book is written well, but having read it, I wouldn't recommend it. For one thing, it does little to reveal something new about the character of the murderer. It simply affirms the man's deceitful nature. And I could care less about Finkel's correspondence with the murderer. There were times when I felt like I was reading a gnostic gospel- an account of lies between two corrupt men = the dishonest journalist and the two-faced murderer - what a pair.
If anyone is interested in the story, the Internet is a perfect source about Longo's biography. Use it, don't waste your time with the book.
- by Simon Cleveland
Brilliantly done, but unsettling.......2006-01-30
I found this fascinating. I stayed up until two o'clock in the morning to finish it. It is a true crime story written in a clear, elegant style. Every sentence is polished, and every sentence is planned and placed in exactly the right place. There is no obvious striving for effect, no lurid prose, no fancy writing. Michael Finkel employs what George Orwell once called the invisible style. The writing is so unobtrusive, so deliberate in not calling attention to itself that what the reader experiences is the story itself, pure and simple.
Or stories. The book is like a film or a commercial novel in that there is a main plot and a subplot. The main plot is the story of Christian Longo who murdered his wife and three children and then ran to Mexico where he pretended to be Michael Finkel, ace reporter for the New York Times. This was a startling coincidence because Finkel had just been fired from the Times for falsifying a story about cocoa plantation "slaves" in West Africa. He was disgraced and fallen from the pinnacle of journalistic prestige. That is the subplot. Both stories are interwoven together in a masterful way. And the sequence of events is presented in a dramatic--not a strictly chronological--way so that the tension is maintained and the reader is led to eagerly turn the pages.
The overall story began when Finkel found out about Chris Longo impersonating him. Struck with the coincidence, he felt compelled to know more about Longo and why the accused murderer took on his name. He contacted Longo and worked hard to establish rapport and a friendship. His motive was to get as much information from Longo as he could in order to write a book. The book would fuse the story of his disgrace with that of a man who had murdered his family. The thread that ties the stories together is not just the initial coincidence but an obsession with honesty that haunted both men and the obvious lack of honesty that they both practiced. Both Finkel and Longo strove again and again to come completely clean about what they had done and what they were doing while using each other under the guise of friendship. Longo used Finkel as somebody to talk to (he had been isolated from the other prisoners and had almost no contact with anyone other than his lawyers) and as a sounding board for his defensive strategy. Finkel used Longo as a source for a story that would restart his career. As Finkel makes vivid, both men were more than a little desperate.
At one point Finkel gives part of the voluminous correspondence he had with Longo to three shrinks. They conclude that Longo has a narcissistic personality. He may indeed be narcissistic, but more to the point, Longo is a psychopath. He has all the classic features: a charming personality; a behavioral record of lies and thefts and murders; a grotesque sense of ultimately caring about nobody but himself; and finally an ability to be completely without remorse and able to party after his crimes, as he did in Mexico.
Ironically, I think it is Finkel who has at least a touch of the narcissistic personality. We can see this in his tendency toward an exaggerated sense of his own importance, first in imagining that the world would be all that interested in his story (ah, but he made the world interested by his skillful writing) and in this from page 267 (he's talking to Longo's lawyers who want ideas for Longo's defense): He writes, "I felt, at that moment, as though Longo's life was in my hands--that if I said the right thing, he'd be spared the death penalty." We can also see this in the tremendous amount of energy Finkel put into researching and writing this book. He desperately wanted to regain his reputation and to be regarded again as a top flight journalist.
Both men are caught in a moral confusion about lies and honesty, Longo because he's a psychopath who doesn't understand how people can be so upset about lying since it would seen to be the natural thing to do if it might benefit you (sociopaths learn at an early age that they are supposed to be remorseful about lying, and that it's bad, but they never really appreciate why, and so they are fascinated with the dynamics); Finkel because as he freely admits has told many lies in his life including the lies that ended his career at the New York Times. Neither has apparently thought much about Emerson's "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Neither seems to understand that it is not so much the absolute consistency of what you say as it is your motive for what you say and especially how what you say affects others. That is what counts. Most people know this. Furthermore everybody lies at one time or another, but not when bearing witness and not when the lives of other people might be adversely affected.
I think what fascinated Finkel about Longo was that he could see in him a caricature of himself; and as long as he could imagine that Longo might not be guilty or as long as he didn't look too closely at the murders, that was tolerable. However after sitting through the trial and hearing Longo's grotesque self-serving lies about the murders and the horrific details, Finkel had to psychologically distance himself from his would-be, partial alter-ego. And rightly so since there is something terribly unsettling about their symbiotic relationship.
But in the final analysis I say good for Michael Finkel. This is an outstanding work, a fine addition to a genre I like to call "participatory journalism." What Finkel learned about himself from this chancy venture is possibly as important as what this book has done for his career and for his self-esteem.
True Story??.......2006-01-02
Never having heard before of either Chris Longo or Mike Finkel, I assumed that the title of this book was intentionally misleading. I was then fascinated by the story and the skill with which it is told (and, I thought, created from whole cloth). I concluded temporarily that the author has the most fertile imagination I'd ever encountered. Imagine my disappointment now that I've learned that what I thought was creative fiction is actually true!
Average customer rating:
- Gripping
- Beautifully crafted - a gripping story!
- FIVE STARS
- Wonderful
- Wonderful
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Mea Culpa
Catherine Seeley
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1401079466 |
Book Description
An old classmate's appearance on a television crime show finds a group of former nuns suddenly drawn back into each other's lives because they once shared convent life with her. Tracked down by a private investigator and no longer under the restraints of convent silence and secrecy, each woman shares from her long ago past in the convent with this woman. Unwittingly, what each reveals to the investigator begins to uncover a heinous crime, threatens to visit scandal on a diocese, lures an elderly Superior to consider suicide, and now imperils the life of each former nun.
Customer Reviews:
Gripping.......2003-07-15
I could not put Mea Culpa down. Tightly written, the story grips the reader from first to last. This is inspired story telling.
Beautifully crafted - a gripping story!.......2003-06-29
Full of light and shade, tensions and contrasts, imaginative, arresting, eloquent and authentic. Catherine Seeley has really hit the button here and has told this tragic story with the deftness of a professional story-teller. It is exceptionally well-written and very exciting - a superb first novel every reader can sink into and enjoy. Further work from this talented author is eagerly anticipated with confidence and excitement!!
FIVE STARS.......2003-06-23
Well paced, entertaining and a thouroughly enjoyable mystery ! I made myself put the book down so I could savor the story. It's a definite re-read.
Wonderful.......2003-06-15
Mea Culpa will keep you riveted until the very last page. The characters' lifelong friendship and devotion to one another is heartwarming and entertaining and the antagonist's demons are alarming and disturbing. When the two clash, you will not want to put the book down. Bravo!
Wonderful.......2003-06-15
Mea Culpa will keep you riveted until the very last page. The characters' lifelong friendship and devotion to one another is heartwarming and entertaining and the antagonist's demons are alarming and disturbing. When the two clash, you will not want to put the book down. Bravo!
Average customer rating:
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Mea-Culpa, Vol. 8: Nude Photography
Luc Thibault
Manufacturer: Mea-Culpa
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM
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ASIN: 0973671564 |
Product Description
Mea-Culpa vol.8, contains more than 2000 erotic photographs. You will find on the CD-ROM all the photographs presented in the original galleries on the Mea-Culpa website plus new photos never seen before. CDs are compatible with both Macintosh and Windows and can also be viewed on recent DVD players. Mea-Culpa, a Montreal website of nude photographs, was born on the Web in March 1999. The company gave itself the challenge to propose imaginary nude qualities which stands out from what one usually finds on the Internet. The concept of Mea-Culpa is that of the girl next door. The muses are not professional models, they are all young women of eighteen years and over from Quebec who answer to an ad placed in a cultural magazine. Nude photography site or site of charm, the originality of Mea-Culpa also lies in the code of ethics it gave itself to represent feminine nudity. The photographer always guards himself of being too directive; never the body of the woman is shown in a degrading or vulgar way.
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Mea Culpa: A Sociology of Apology and Reconciliation
Nicholas Tavuchis
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0804722234 |
Book Description
Drawing upon the insights of several disciplines, this work focuses on the structural and experiential dynamics of interpersonal and collective apologetic discourse as means of tempering antagonisms and resolving conflicts in contemporary Western society.
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Mea-Culpa.com: Nude Photography | Photographies de nus, Vol. 3
Luc Thibault
Manufacturer: Mea-culpa.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM
ASIN: 0973671513 |
Book Description
You will find on the CD-ROM all the photographs presented in the original galleries on the Mea-Culpa website plus new photos never seen before. CDs are compatible with both Macintosh and Windows and can also be viewed on recent DVD players.
Mea-Culpa, a Montreal website of nude photographs, was born on the Web in March 1999. The company gave itself the challenge to propose imaginary nude qualities which stands out from what one usually finds on the Internet. The concept of Mea-Culpa is that of the girl next door. The muses are not professional models, they are all young women of eighteen years and over from Quebec who answer to an ad placed in a cultural magazine.
Nude photography site or site of charm, the originality of Mea-Culpa also lies in the code of ethics it gave itself to represent feminine nudity. The photographer always guards himself of being too directive; never the body of the woman is shown in a degrading or vulgar way.
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When a Pope Asks Forgiveness: The Mea Culpa's of Pope John Paul II
Luigi Accattoli
Manufacturer: Pauline Books & Media
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 081988295X |
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Media mea culpas are overkill. (Editor's Notebook).(media coverage of media scandals): An article from: San Diego Business Journal
John Hollon
Manufacturer: CBJ, L.P.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008DULYE
Release Date: 2005-07-31 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from San Diego Business Journal, published by CBJ, L.P. on July 14, 2003. The length of the article is 844 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Media mea culpas are overkill. (Editor's Notebook).(media coverage of media scandals)
Author: John Hollon
Publication:
San Diego Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 14, 2003
Publisher: CBJ, L.P.
Volume: 24
Issue: 28
Page: 34(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa: even famous columnists can make the occasional error.(No Myths Allowed): An article from: Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture
Eric Bogatin
Manufacturer: UP Media Group, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B00082LIHO
Release Date: 2005-07-31 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture, published by UP Media Group, Inc. on May 1, 2004. The length of the article is 760 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa: even famous columnists can make the occasional error.(No Myths Allowed)
Author: Eric Bogatin
Publication:
Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2004
Publisher: UP Media Group, Inc.
Volume: 21
Issue: 5
Page: 20(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Broker scandal spurs three more guilty pleas: Marsh managing director, two AIG employees bring Spitzer total to nine mea culpas.(Jailbirds Mount): An article ... & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management
Daniel Hays
Manufacturer: The National Underwriter Company
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ASIN: B000973SY4
Release Date: 2006-07-14 |
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This digital document is an article from National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, published by The National Underwriter Company on February 21, 2005. The length of the article is 455 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Broker scandal spurs three more guilty pleas: Marsh managing director, two AIG employees bring Spitzer total to nine mea culpas.(Jailbirds Mount)
Author: Daniel Hays
Publication:
National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 21, 2005
Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
Volume: 109
Issue: 7
Page: 8(1)
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