Rating: 
Summary: No black and white, just shades of grey...
Review: I don't know that I've ever been so moved reading a book. It begins with a look at the Mormon world in which the Gilmores' mother grew up, and the somewhat murky past of the older father - both backgrounds laced with violence, physical and of the emotions - going on to relate the tragic unfolding of events for the whole family. It is written throughout with grace and exquisite sensitivity: Mikal Gilmore does not fail to notice a softened tone or a distressed look and, by his acute observations, bares some of the multiple strands of humanity and brutality and goodness and "evil" impulses in all around him (and himself). If one reads this book and still clings to a black/white view of human behaviour, then I give up hope. A powerful, deeply touching read.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable...
Review: I read this book about five years ago, and it's still with me.It's difficult to find hope in Mikal Gilmore's story of his family's history of violence, which includes his brother Gary's execution by a Utah firing squad in 1977. So scarred was Mikal when he wrote the book that he had decided that not having children of his own was the only way to be sure that that he himself would not perpetrate the same violence against another generation. It's a tragic story, and a very American one...
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book for ALL readers
Review: I read this book last year as a freshman in high school and it remains one of the best books that I have ever read. The story is exciting and interesting and once I started, I couldn't put it down. I would recommend it to everyone, especially teenagers. It is not often that teachers choose books for their students to read that the students really enjoy. All of my classmates that chose to read this book enjoyed it. If you are looking for a genuinely enjoyable book, no matter who you are, try this one. You'll definately be satisfied with it.
Rating:
Summary: A Chilling,compelling story that can't be put down!
Review: It took many years for writer Mikal Gilmore,youngest brother of Gary Gilmore,to decide to tell the story of the Gilmore family.Grappling with haunting ghosts of his past to try to dig deep to unravel the mystery of the crimes within his family,starting with his father,brothers Gaylen,& Gary;he tells a compelling story,that makes the reader hunger for more.
The book starts out with Mikal delving into the history of the Mormon religion to illustrate some points about his Mother's background,& the practice of blood atonement being the ultimate forgiveness of sins.The rest of the book is a chronicle of lives of his family members beginning with his mother's roots & upbringing,her meeting Frank Gilmore Sr.,& the events that unfurled during their marriage & as their boys came to be: Frank Jr.,Gary,Gaylen,& Mikal.It's a haunting story of crime,family violence,distance,& Mikal's eventual coming to terms with his roots.
A good majority of the story is about Mikal's brother Gary.Eleven years senior from Mikal,hence the distanced relationship as Gary spent many years in a reform school for boys,& lengthy periods in jail,before his release in April 1976.It was the summer of 1976 that Gary came unglued - following the breakup of his girlfriend Nicole, in a killing spree,on two subsequent nights that took the lives of two young Mormon men.Gary was captured the next day,& sentenced in October of that year to the death penalty which he refused all appeals for & lobbied for the expediency of the sentence,following a 16 year moratorium of the death penalty which was reinstated that year.
Mikal opens a pandoras box as he goes back to that time to talk about the murders,& his visits with Gary on death row.
This book was beautifully written,sensitive,& compelling.It was difficult for me to put it down.It explained a great deal about how a negative, violent family environment can play a role in criminal behaviour.Gary once called himself 'The Eternal Recidivist',& after reading about some of the goings on in that house,it was easy to see how he & his brother Gaylen got mixed up in criminal activity,especially with a criminal father.
After reading 'The Executioner's Song' by Norman Mailer,the chronicle of the events of the summer of 1976 to the execution of Gilmore in 1977,I thought this book was a good follow up & a must read.Mikal also extolts the virtues of Mailers book & recommend it as reading,as the book was a factual non judgemental account of his brother.
I give this book 2 thumbs up & highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best true crime books you will ever read
Review: Mikal Gilmore survived his family, and what an incredible tale he has to tell about it. The writing is exquisite-you feel like you are there with him, seeing the events as they take place. It must have taken a great deal of personal strength on the authors part to be able to delve so deeply into one's family's history, you feel the dysfunction with him. A great book that you will be reading whenever you have a chance.
Rating:
Summary: Classical tragedy unfolds in an American Morman family
Review: Mikal Gilmore's painstaking research into his family history, and his elegant, poetic and unpretentious writing style contribute to the power of this family biography. I have assigned this book to graduate seminars on violence, and it provokes different levels of discussion and analysis. Various theories of the origins of crime and antisocial personality disorder are reflected in some of the details of Gary Gilmore's life: parental psychopathology, child abuse, marital violence,
paternal criminal history and antisocial behavior. Genes and family environment rendered terrible violence in later generations - in Gary and his brother, and, possibly, in Gary's offspring - and, yet, this is also a story of resilience. The author himself, despite his own personal struggles and anguish,
grew up to be an exceptional writer and author. Further testimony to the strange and haunting fact that an unusually high proportion of writers come from tragic families (see Redfield-Jamison). This book will make any reader think more deeply about the origins of violent crime, and the impact of abuse on the developing spirit of a child.
Rating:
Summary: The Difficult Business of Siblings
Review: Mr. Gilmore's book is an aching history of siblings growing up in an abusive household. He explores complex and painful bartering of abused children's lives: children trading against each other for a little bit of peace or shelter, then he traces how that economy plays out in their adult lives. This is a book that is far outside the normal boundaries of my reading habits. To describe this book to others, one must resort to words like "true crime" or mention that Gilmore wrote for Rolling Stone and therefore this book is okay for the hip literati to read. These words do such a disservice to Mr. Gilmore's work. He has written a painful biography of himself and his family, from which all of us who are siblings can and should learn, and it is an important book for people trying to make sense of violent family history. It is a transformative book in the best sense: you are not the same person after this book -- he has changed you.
Rating:
Summary: Brave, deep, true, heartbreaking
Review: My title says it all. One of the great memoirs I've ever read, and I've read hundreds. I, too, like "All Over But The Shoutin'" by Rick Bragg, but Gilmore writes so magnificently that it feels wrong to compare him with anyone else. This book stands alone. I wept, again and again.
Rating:
Summary: shot in the heart
Review: One gets the feeling this writer wrote it because he had to--in order to heal himself. This is the way these things ought to be written. The best, by a talented writer as well as true survivor of a hellish childhood. Get it.
Rating:
Summary: Where did it all go wrong?
Review: One of the most moving books that I have ever read. The heart rendering story describing his family life that relates the quite normal family events that somehow ends up at a very tragic end. It does not dwell on what is right or wrong, no sense of enhancing the drama, it simply tells a family's story in a way that you cannot but feel for the humility of the author
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