Tim Tate

After I watch movies based on historical events I'm often very interested in finding out more about the event, person or whatever it is about. Pride (www.imdb.com/title/tt3169706/) was no different and I was happy to find out a book had been published about it and decided to pick it up. I certainly wasn't disappointed by it, but it didn't add much to the story of the movie.

The book is chronological going from the background, through the actual events and in the end chapter even a small part show more about how LGSM was invited to lead the Pride parade in London after the movie was released and how LGSM wanted to lead together with trade unions which the Pride committee denied them. It is made up of interviews and discussions with the actual people involved together with the author's short exposition of the events covered. The interviews is from both the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), Lesbians Against Pit Closures (LAPC) and people from the mining community. It isn't in depth interviews with one person at a time, but rather several voices is heard for every part of the story.

I think the background part of the book, which cover both the background of the miners and that of the lesbian and gay communities and the hardships they all went through, is the one thing missing from the movie. Which is quite normal since a historical background is hard to convey in an appealing why in a movie. For the other parts it is small nuances which is the difference. Gethin probably didn't own the bookstore where they held there meetings, Joe/Bromley probably didn't exist but is rather a collage of different characters, the reception of LGSM into the mining community was not as tense as portrayed, etc. The one thing which the book adds some depth to in the actual events is the LAPC split off from LGSM. It is clear there certainly are differences of opinion on the split and whether it was good or not. In the movie the LAPC is a bit brushed of as comic relief and therefore I appreciated they got the chance to tell their side of split in the book. Their part of the history feels a bit short-changed in the book also though, although not as severely as in the movie.

The focus of the book is definitely on LGSM. Most of those interviewed in the book is from LGSM, then the miners community and the least amount of interviewees is from LAPC. Whether the difference in number of interviewees from LGSM and LAPC is a reflection of the number of people involved in the organizations and their respective impact I don't know (LGSM was clearly first and LAPC a splinter group though), but obviously the number of miners greatly exceeded those of LGSM and LAPC. And even while the lesbians and gays emphasize how the meeting with the mining community changed them, it is much easier to see how the lesbians and gays had an impact on the mining communities and the possibility to come out as a homosexual. A great example of that is Cliff who was part of the mining community who had hid his sexuality his whole life and suddenly his village is visited by a group of homosexual men and women. Hywel Francis, one of the interviewees from the mining community, recounts how Cliff was excited weeks in advance for LGSM's visits and how it was such a big thing for him. Which is not hard to imagine.

All in all it is a good, not amazing, book, but I recommend you watch the movie first. And if you are like me and want to know more about the characters and the history, do pick it up and hear the voices of those who where there. It is amazing the history which was in danger of being forgotten, as told in the final chapter of the book, now has gotten a new life through the movie and the book. And it certainly is a story worthy of remembrance. show less

I was born in 1999, and I'm 19 now as I write this review. When I was in my junior year of high school, I had to interview adults from different generations, and this is one question I asked: What was one pivotal historical event you remember? Robert Kennedy's death was never mentioned. So, I have to admit that prior to reading this book, I was very ignorant about what actually happened; the only thing I knew was the iconic train funeral. With that being said, this is not a book I would show more typically read, but I definitely don't regret picking it up.

I really loved the writing style, first and foremost. It simplified everything so that even I could understand it (aside one very technical-sounding section that flew a bit over my head). The scenes were written in a way that I felt like I could watch them in real time. It was meticulous and intense, and honestly reading this book made everything seem so unbelievable that I had to remind myself it was non-fiction.

More importantly, this book definitely seemed like a very credible investigation. Everything mentioned was cited, and the book was very thorough. It covered everything ranging from the murder itself to the investigation afterward (or the lack thereof), to speculation, to the social effect that this event had on the political atmosphere. One thing I was super excited to read about was the theory about the girl in the polka dot dress; this book labeled what was fact and what was just speculation, and it shed light on what has been lumped in with other conspiracy theories. Along with this, several extremely interesting topics that stood out to me were the accidental audio tape and Sirhan's odd behavior during questioning.

I also liked how Dr. Martin Luther King's death was mentioned, as it greatly contributed to how the writer's viewed RFK's assassination within the scope of history, not as an individual issue.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who's interested in reading about this moment in history. I actually went to a modern art museum a few months ago, and one exhibit had chronological pictures of RFK's train funeral; having seen slices of this historical event through both investigative and artistic lens has been very enlightening for me, and I strongly encourage others to do the same! show less

The art of the con operates on the simple premise that there’s a sucker born every minute. A successful conman can charm all four legs of a horse by simply telling people what they want to hear. If you enjoy the guilty pleasure of reading the true life stories of grafters and their ilk, then get your paws on The Ten Greatest Conmen written by a couple of Englishmen by the name of Roger Cook and Tim Tate whom—according to their bio—have spent at least thirty years exposing crooks, cons show more and villains.

These are the fascinating true stories of men with extremely wonky moral compasses.

Take for instance the story of a Frenchman who tried to sell the Eifel Tower for scrap metal, then there’s the semi-literate ex-car salesman who made a mint convincing people that he was an agent of the British secret service. My personal favorite is about the guy who sold to none other than press titan Rupert Murdoch, a pair of shoes supposedly last worn by Jimmy Hoffa.

Did you ever take one of the many ‘lose weight’ supplements that invade the airwaves these days? Remember TRIMit? How about Bai Lin Tea? That’s the story of a chap hailing from Australia’s Gold Coast who made a fortune out of the gullibility and insecurity of people from Australia, England and America. Incredibly this scumbag celebrated his 40th birthday at 10 Downing Street.

From offshore banking buccaneers to real estate salesmen selling land that only exist in their imagination, these are fascinating stories. But the thing that boggles the mind though is the fact that some of these guys kept getting away with it simply because, for some bizarre reason, most governments see a con as a ‘lesser crime’ or because the victims of these conmen were too ashamed to admit that they’ve got taken.

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while now, finished it in one sitting, and although the book is a good read, I got to say that it leans heavily on British slant, some slang—not too much, some inside jokes and whatnot. Overall the stories feel a bit dated as most took place in a pre-internet era, and they tend to be a bit convoluted especially the ones dealing with the banking industry, then again I’m not banker so…

My take -away? There’s a sucker born every minute indeed. show less

This is definitely a valuable companion piece to Wright's "Spycatcher".

I got my copy of "Spycatcher" as soon as I could when it hit the shelves here Australia - it is well worn and much read. So to say that I was eager to get my hands on Tate's book with its updated (and newly released) documentation pertaining to the court case to prevent the publication of "Spycatcher" would be an understatement.

It is a meticulously researched and documented account of the "Spycatcher" court case, of its show more author, Peter Wright, and of the UK governments attempts to keep the long hidden secrets of the British secret service, long hidden still. As mentioned, recently released archived documents have supplemented this work, meaning that much written directly after the original case, has been fleshed out and given context, and in some instances, superseded (and not to the detriment of the original authors).

Tate compared the UK government's attempts to silence Wright to Lewis Carroll's "Hunting of the Snark" - a pointless and uniquely British farce! And this sums things up quite well.

This book, in addition to refreshing my memory of the case (causing me more than once to glance at my copy of "Spycatcher" on my bookshelves) and also reminded me that the counsel for the defence (ie: Malcolm Turnbull) later wrote a book on the trial, titled "The Spycatcher Trial", and rose to become Australia's 29th Prime Minister.

This is definitely one for those interested in the history of the British secret service and of the "Spycatcher" case. One I will be adding to my own library. show less