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poorashleu's review against another edition
4.0
This book makes me rage for the parents and in shock that the police could do this.
karieh13's review against another edition
3.0
I had to read this book without my husband seeing it…he told me once that he was so affected by the TV movie “Adam” that he had nightmares about it when he was a child. I, too, have certain images from that movie burned into my mind, and I haven’t seen it for 28 years. There was something about that case, that boy, that movie that changed everything. The book “Bringing Adam Home” includes it right there on the cover, “The Abduction that Changed America”.
“In July 2001 the Miami Herald ran a pair of lengthy articles by staff writer Daniel de Vise concerning the case, concurrent with the twentieth anniversary of Adam’s disappearance. The first focused on the impact of the case on the nation’s attitudes, rewriting laws and redefining relationships between adults and children. Many tragic child murders had faded from the public consciousness, de Vise wrote, “but Adam Walsh’s endures.”
So I couldn’t help but read this book, but it wasn’t what I expected. I guess I haven’t heard any of the updates on the Adam Walsh case – but I thought that the book would have more of a traditional true crime format – providing background on those involved, then the details of the crime, then the events that eventually led to the conclusion. And I suppose it does, in a way, but the book doesn’t keep much up its sleeve even from page 6.
It was an interesting, if completely heartbreaking, look at a criminally negligent police investigation, as well as a look back at how things used to be in the times before Amber alerts and national databases. It was stunning to me how a police department, a few officers in particular, refused to even try to solve a case that had the whole country watching. So much information came their way, right after the abduction and after years had passed, but almost none of it was followed up on. I kept shaking my head at how many years passed with no communication with the Walsh family. There is so much I could write about the maddening lack of pursuit of answers, yet that would be a spoiler of epic proportions.
This is a tale that needs to be told, a follow-up to the tragic ending of a little boy’s life, a story of the answers that it took a family decades to get.
But because it is also a story of how things were in our country and how things will never be again, I wanted more. I wanted a more detailed look at how the perceptions of our children’s safety have been forever altered, at how parenting has changed dramatically, at how the headlines and Internet and cable news now seems 24/7 abduction and murder.
“Among the myriad, unkillable pieces of spam that circulate through the Ethernet is one that invites readers of a certain age to “remember when.” Popular songs once had melodies, we are reminded, and stores were once closed on Sundays, and “underwear” meant exactly that. But there are more poignant notes on the list, including an invocation of those innocent summer days when kids blew past a banging screen door with a shouted promise to be “home by dark,” and who ever worried about that? Today, of course, such carelessness upon the part of parents is unthinkable, if not vaguely criminal in itself. Perhaps, once upon a time, only worried about their kids when they took them to the beach or to the pool, or hiking up some steep path. Now vigilance begins at birth, if not before, and for most the worry never ends.”
I am of that certain age. I was a child only slightly older than Adam Walsh – I had those summer nights and the carefree days. And then his life was taken, as was the innocence of our country.
(This is a connection that I’d never made before, and I read about in Lenore Skenazy’s book Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry. An AMAZING book, I recommend it to all parents.)
I certainly don’t mean to suggest that the story of how so many of our daily lives were changed is a more important one that the story of the Walsh family. My heart broke for them then and still does today. The fact that they were able to find the strength not only to stay together, but to have more children and be some of the strongest advocates of children ever, amazes me to no end.
Adam Walsh’s abduction gave my husband nightmares after he watched the movie about it as a child. “Bringing Adam Home” gave me nightmares as I assimilated some of the scenes into dreams about my children. The facts of the horrors inflicted on that sunny faced little boy and his family are a nightmare no one hopes will ever play out again.
But like the Walsh family has done, I hope that eventually our country will make some good of the bad. That we will find the strength to have hope again and trust – so that our children can have safe, and yet still carefree summer days. That we don’t let the darkness win.
“In July 2001 the Miami Herald ran a pair of lengthy articles by staff writer Daniel de Vise concerning the case, concurrent with the twentieth anniversary of Adam’s disappearance. The first focused on the impact of the case on the nation’s attitudes, rewriting laws and redefining relationships between adults and children. Many tragic child murders had faded from the public consciousness, de Vise wrote, “but Adam Walsh’s endures.”
So I couldn’t help but read this book, but it wasn’t what I expected. I guess I haven’t heard any of the updates on the Adam Walsh case – but I thought that the book would have more of a traditional true crime format – providing background on those involved, then the details of the crime, then the events that eventually led to the conclusion. And I suppose it does, in a way, but the book doesn’t keep much up its sleeve even from page 6.
It was an interesting, if completely heartbreaking, look at a criminally negligent police investigation, as well as a look back at how things used to be in the times before Amber alerts and national databases. It was stunning to me how a police department, a few officers in particular, refused to even try to solve a case that had the whole country watching. So much information came their way, right after the abduction and after years had passed, but almost none of it was followed up on. I kept shaking my head at how many years passed with no communication with the Walsh family. There is so much I could write about the maddening lack of pursuit of answers, yet that would be a spoiler of epic proportions.
This is a tale that needs to be told, a follow-up to the tragic ending of a little boy’s life, a story of the answers that it took a family decades to get.
But because it is also a story of how things were in our country and how things will never be again, I wanted more. I wanted a more detailed look at how the perceptions of our children’s safety have been forever altered, at how parenting has changed dramatically, at how the headlines and Internet and cable news now seems 24/7 abduction and murder.
“Among the myriad, unkillable pieces of spam that circulate through the Ethernet is one that invites readers of a certain age to “remember when.” Popular songs once had melodies, we are reminded, and stores were once closed on Sundays, and “underwear” meant exactly that. But there are more poignant notes on the list, including an invocation of those innocent summer days when kids blew past a banging screen door with a shouted promise to be “home by dark,” and who ever worried about that? Today, of course, such carelessness upon the part of parents is unthinkable, if not vaguely criminal in itself. Perhaps, once upon a time, only worried about their kids when they took them to the beach or to the pool, or hiking up some steep path. Now vigilance begins at birth, if not before, and for most the worry never ends.”
I am of that certain age. I was a child only slightly older than Adam Walsh – I had those summer nights and the carefree days. And then his life was taken, as was the innocence of our country.
(This is a connection that I’d never made before, and I read about in Lenore Skenazy’s book Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry. An AMAZING book, I recommend it to all parents.)
I certainly don’t mean to suggest that the story of how so many of our daily lives were changed is a more important one that the story of the Walsh family. My heart broke for them then and still does today. The fact that they were able to find the strength not only to stay together, but to have more children and be some of the strongest advocates of children ever, amazes me to no end.
Adam Walsh’s abduction gave my husband nightmares after he watched the movie about it as a child. “Bringing Adam Home” gave me nightmares as I assimilated some of the scenes into dreams about my children. The facts of the horrors inflicted on that sunny faced little boy and his family are a nightmare no one hopes will ever play out again.
But like the Walsh family has done, I hope that eventually our country will make some good of the bad. That we will find the strength to have hope again and trust – so that our children can have safe, and yet still carefree summer days. That we don’t let the darkness win.
tiffanysbookshelf96's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely shocking! I wanted to pull my hair out as i read this story in disbelief. It was written beautifully and i loved that it painted the picture of that time as to give you more of an understanding. Im glad they found peace in the end.
bookchew's review against another edition
3.0
Though unduly repetitive, this is a well written account that does exactly what it sets out to do: to show how the Adam Walsh story changed the way America deals with kidnappings, both legally and sociologically. The majority of the book focuses on how the case was maddeningly mishandled for decades, but provides a positive message throughout: that in the face of evil, indifference, and incompetence, goodness, tenacity, and integrity are often just as present and just as powerful.
amaceachern's review against another edition
3.0
tells the sad tale of a lost child but also adds a political look at the lack of the police investigation for the case
tonton2612's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
alisarae's review against another edition
This book tells the story of the Adam Walsh (whose father hosts America's Most Wanted) murder investigation in a way that is easy to follow and keep track of all the details. The active investigation spanned nearly 3 decades, and many different people were involved during that time.
I do think that Ottis Toole was responsible for Walsh's murder, but I don't think that the "smoking gun" that led to his posthumous conviction is a damning piece of evidence. I think the Walsh family wanted to be done with the case and saw what they wanted in the photo. I don't fault anyone for this; I would have wanted closure too.
That said, there are some very interesting alternate theories online, and I want to read more about them.
I do think that Ottis Toole was responsible for Walsh's murder, but I don't think that the "smoking gun" that led to his posthumous conviction is a damning piece of evidence. I think the Walsh family wanted to be done with the case and saw what they wanted in the photo. I don't fault anyone for this; I would have wanted closure too.
That said, there are some very interesting alternate theories online, and I want to read more about them.