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Summary: Compellingly told workaday life of assassins
Review: This book proves that professional assassins can be as fascinating as legitimate law officers. A veteran Interpol cleaner, Bannon describes in detail what could be called his greatest hits. He reveals the workaday life of assassins, who are nothing like the images presented in novels and especially in film. In addition to so many murders, Bannon was involved in all facets of tracking kidnappers and child pornographers and explains how they function and think. So many people have come forward to affirm the validity of Bannon's book and child pornography that its hard to grasp that there are still those who deny it. To read this book is to know its true.I have always been fascinated by the characters that appear in true crime stories so this book is enjoyable. 90% of the book is an explanation from 20 years ago of how children are kidnapped and sold and Interpol's assassination squads. Very compellingly told and a lot can be gathered psychologically about Bannon because he reveals so much about himself.
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Summary: A humble look back
Review: Bannon reflects on the mosaic of his life with his brand of honesty, humility, and humor. It's all here. His childhood and early years as a missionary; going to prison; his life in Asia and Europe; meeting and working with officers across the world; the years of moral unease; his attempt to overcome his past and the profound, life-saving spiritual awakening that pulled him through; and his deep devotion to his daughter. Here, in his own words, Bannon sets the record straight, looking unsparingly at his own turbulent past. Also, woven throughout this compelling memoir are the friendships of a lifetime with fellow officers. Bannon answers to many names; he's David to childhood friends and family, Damien to his lover, and Race to colleagues and friends. Race gets plenty of ink here, from the early days as a missionary -to his current status as a darling of the conspiracy theorists and libertarians. But it's the private man who's most compelling and surprisingly complex. Bannon writes candidly of his shortcomings as a father, addresses his spirituality without sounding maudlin, and displays genuine humility at his choices and very little bitterness at his abuse at the hands of Interpol. A more accurate subtitle might be "The Agent Who Sought Redemption," since this volume covers some of Bannon's spiritual trials, but a life so chock full of oddments (he once recited Korean poetry in a bar) and renegade stands (he wrote the first Interpol expose only to suffer ridicule by those who haven't read his book) easily merits a close look. Organized around the key events and places where he divided his time -South Korea, Brussels, and America, as well as his travels -the book stays grounded in the present, mixing reflections on his career with a running chronicle of an ongoing spiritual crisis. This approach minimizes the as-told-to blahs that plague many an autobiography and highlights Bannon's wry humor and introspection. Bannon keeps the pace lively until the end. A pungent, substantive autobiography.
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Summary: Rare Glimpse Into Interpol
Review: A rare and unique glimpse into Interpol, and, in particular, into the secret work undertaken to combat human trafficking. A thoroughly absorbing read for both the aficionado and the layman. Interpol has been the subject of many investigations by the US Dept. of Justice and the European Council and here Bannon reveals in his personal account some of the reasons that the secretive organization has been suspect. True crime readers will immediately recognize the highly-detailed specifics woven seamlessly into the story and glossary that clearly could have only come from an insider. Garnished with his efforts to deal with the moral dilemma of his actions (and glazed perhaps by the need to protect those who still serve), Bannon's memoir deserves a careful reading and is a dish true crime connoisseurs will savor.
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Summary: Literate Thriller
Review: Major Bannon's book is a nail-biting thriller and a revealing expose of the inner workings of Interpol. More importantly, it is a literate revelation of a man's painful role in fighting international crime in the only way he knew. Bannon has carefully crafted a story that is legitimate in every detail and is told in an exciting style that keeps the pages turning. Not since John le Carre and John D. MacDonald has there been such a literate anti-hero and not since Truman Capote and Ann Rule has non-fiction been so well told. It's easy to miss that Bannon is a great storyteller because his art never once inhibits the book, which flies along at such a riveting pace that it will leave the reader breathless at such unsung heroism and heartsick at the cruelty of life. Bannon's relationships are detailed with tact and honest candor. He uses well-known cliches as a method to quickly involve us in characters; then he subverts these stereotypes to reveal the depth of the real people he met. Bannon's literate craftsmanship allows us to experience his first impression; then we discover with him that that cliches, like first impressions, are only sketches of the deeper person within. This is particularly true of his boss, Commissioner Defferre, who is revealed as a complex man burdened with a mission and a relationship with the author that is heartfelt and complicated. Bannon shares much of the dark, caustic humor shared by his colleagues in moments of stress or rest. What may seem like a corny joke to the reader is actually revealed as darkly clever and refreshingly honest when understood in the context of the horrors surrounding the people in the book. The shallow and less witty who fancy themselves literate and require that every pun has three meanings will never comprehend the lives of these great men and women whose honesty and humor kept them sane in the face of such tragedy. Descriptions and dialogue do much more than simply propel the thrilling action of Major Bannon's life. The book is filled with the sights and sounds of the places he worked. There are so many cultural and artistic bits of information woven into the story that it's easy to miss them. Korean poetry, American television, Belgian comic books, performance art, folk tales, and fascinating descriptions of what it felt like to eat and walk in these wonderfully different places. When we travel with him to a country or city, whether a castle or temple, park or graveyard, Major Bannon crafts in the history of the place and it's importance not only to the story but also to the people who lived there. It is the people that make this book so unforgettable. Bannon's greatest gift is the way he blends dialogue into the action. We have a real sense of what it was like to be with these interesting people and to feel, as they so often did, the comfortingly human need to say unrelated absurdities or acidic truths at the most inappropriate times. They were faced with the unthinkable and, through Bannon's descriptions and recreation of dialogue, we understand the truth of evil and the overwhelming power of goodness in the hearts of men and women who fight it.
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Summary: Can't be too careful!
Review: If you have children, read this book. Most of us can't go do the things David did. However, each and everyone of us can start at home and always be aware of where our childen are all the time. I've read many books on this subject, of people abusing childen, most being technical or from the victims side. David's book allowed me to live a little vicariously through the pages. Needless to say, I would not hesitate to avenge my childrens abuse/death in any number or ways described in the book, as I too have been trained in a varity of meathods. However, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Parents, know where your children are and know who is watching them when you are not. Do not expect your public servants to help you. They can't and/or won't.
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Summary: BANNON TELLS IT STRAIGHT
Review: My partner and me, we met Bannon in 1998 with that Wonderland business. We figured we'd read the book. It was good and meaty. Bannon tells it pretty straight. I don't know about my stomach being all that big like he says in Chapter 23, but we figured maybe we had seen it all until that kid. These guys, they take kids right off the street, okay? So Bannon calls it evil and maybe he's right. We knew he wasn't no translator and he sure as hell wasn't no cop but when he took down that room we thought maybe some kind of CIA or something. Didn't surprise us when we read about the Interpol thing. Some reviewer says this book is implausible, like he knows what we see everyday on the job? Bannon was down here in the crud with us in 98 so give him credit.
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Summary: How much can one person endure?
Review: We listen to George Noory's Coast to Coast on the radio at work. Dr. Bannon's interview was compelling, intelligent, tremendously sad and humble. How can anyone listen to this man and not know that every word is true? After reading the book I know that he sacrificed so much happiness to protect innocent children. I have read the book twice. It's that kind of book. Dr. Bannon hardly ever describes himself in anything but self-effacing terms and he is so candid about his faults and the pain that he caused and that he himself endured. The action keeps you into the book until the very end, but it is his amazing spirit through it all that makes it stay with you.
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Summary: Great but disturbing
Review: As a father of two daughters I am glad that this type of information is getting ouot there. He keeps the writing tight even thought the subject matter is hard to deal with sometimes. It does leave you wondering how anyone can do this and still go on with a normal life. But I recommend this book. I would really like to see some of the missions in this book have their own time in publication.
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Summary: Simply riveting!
Review: Like some of the other reviewers, I consumed this book in about two sittings. Dr. Bannon's narrative is tight, fast moving and draws the reader into a shady world most of us would rather not know about. There seems to be some controversy as to whether or not this book is a work of non-fiction. I would obviously have no way of knowing the answer to this. However, I have no trouble believing that international traffic in child exploitation is a big business, that most members of the international law enforcement community are rightly outraged by it, and that a covert "carve-out" organization could be quietly created and run within a legitimate law enforcement agency to deal with this problem. In fact, I did not find anything in Dr. Bannon's book implausible. An excellent read...I wish him success with the book!
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Summary: wlkngstk
Review: Good job Mon. Found book fullfilling and my sentiments. Where do I sign up?
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