LEISURE Sunday Republican, April 29, 2007 BOOKS HOBBIES Author delivers true underworld tale "BLOOD VOLUME: Inside New York's Israeli Mafia" by Dave Copeland (Barricade Books, 288 pages, $24.95) By DIANE LEDERMAN niversity of MassachuU setts land cently stomping journalism alum to returned talk Dave grounds to to his students Cope- some re- old about his new book and he told them that sometimes finding a good story is "pure dumb luck." That's what it was for him and his first book "Blood Volume: Inside New York's Israeli Mafia." The book tells the story of Ron Gonen, a cocaine dealer, who gets pressured to join the Israeli Mafia by leader Johnny. Attias back in the 1980s. If he didn't join, he'd be dead. After getting arrested, Gonen made a deal with authorities to provide them with information. Copeland happened to be reading the job ads on Craigslist, a Web site that offers everything from concert tickets to dining room tables to job ads.
Copeland found a posting from a woman living in the witness protection program with her husband seeking a writer to tell their story. Copeland, who was a graduate student in the Goucher College master's program in creative nonfiction at the time, had coincidentally been thinking about writing about the witness protection program for his thesis. But with a narrative nonfiction program "you need real-life people in the program," he said. He didn't know anyone in the program. After some e-mail exchanges with ob sor necticut, at Wyss, The is the journalism University author of of profes- Rush: The Thrill of Collecting and the Hunt for the Big Score." The 320-page book detailing the Brimfield antiques shows is available through local book sellers or online at www.commonwealth editions.com Tomorrow Independent journalist Dangl will discuss his new book, Price of Fire: Resource Wars and cial Movements in Bolivia," at 7 at Food for Thought Books, 106 Pleasant Amherst.
a Marilyn Young, co-editor of and the Lessons of Vietnam, Or, Not to Learn from the Past," will cuss and sign copies of her book p.m. at The Odyssey Bookshop, Benjamin "The Sop.m. North "Iraq How disat 7 Vil- Bridge By BOBBY WOLFF Q. When you discover you have reneged, what are you supposed to do? A. You must not deliberately renege again to conceal your earlier mistake.
But neither are you obligated to say anything to the opponents. Just continue play and follow suit when you can. Q. In a recent match, in a relatively new partnership, I have 10, A-K-9-5-4-2, Q-7-5, K-8-3. The unopposed bidding started when I opened and rebid hearts, around a one-spade response from my partner.
Now he made a three-club call; I probed with three diamonds and heard him rebid three spades. What should I have done next? I raised to four spades and we went down one in five spades! A. I agree with your three-diamond call, which suggests no more than a doubleton small spade and not much in diamonds. The three-spade response suggests six or more decent spades with a hand not well suited for three no-trump. Now I would bid three no-trump with your cards, suggesting doubt about that contract, and only a singleton spade.
I'd raise spades with a singleton facecard, or jack-third of diamonds instead of the actual holding. Q. What is the best use for a redouble by fourth hand when there is an opening bid and an overcall, followed by a negative double? A. This sequence should just announce ownership of the deal 12-plus high-card points, say, or 10-plus facing a two-level overcall. There is a conventional they only wanted to hear about the "blood" meaning murder and the "volume" meaning big drug deals.
Hence, the title of the book. Copeland was raised in what he describes as a typical suburban life in Melrose. He was the only boy and had three older sisters. His parents encouraged him to go to college a and pursue anything he really wanted to do. Writing is what he really wanted.
"This is so foreign to me, so out of the movies," he said, of Gonen's life, "There's a million stories about cocaine dealers. There's a million sto-. ries about gangsters." But Gonen was a real person. "He's trying to be a good person," he wanted to stop deal- ing, Copeland said. But Copeland, as he wrote in the book's preface, was not out "to glorify Ron Gonen or the criminal life." Gonen still calls him, Copeland said, although Copeland has no idea where he's living now.
But Copeland said he really admires Gonen's enthusiasm. "I really appreciate his zest for the things we take for granted." Gonen is living a law-abiding life, he said and that, for him, is paycheck to paycheck. But at the same time Gonen realizes he is someone "who should have been in jail for a long time or been dead." Copeland's next book is about marathon running, written not for people who run them but for people curious about why marathoners do it, he said. "It's just as interesting, just as Something about what makes them tick is just fascinating to me." Copeland will return to the area for two scheduled appearances Saturday at Barnes Noble in Holyoke at 4 p.m. and May 19 at Barnes Noble in Hadley at 3 p.m.
sales will be donated to the Family Outreach at Amherst. Tickets are $10, $5 for seniors, and will be available at the door. Saturday Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC's Good Morning America, will visit Mount Holyoke College for a public discussion with Rochelle Calhoun, executive director of the college Alumnae Association, at 3 p.m. in the college's Chapin Auditorium. Roberts also will sign copies of her 8: new book, "From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By." Compiled by Diana Robinson.
Anyone wishing to have a listing published should send the information at least two weeks in advance to: Booking It, The Sunday Republican, P.O. Box 2350, Springfield, MA 01102-2350. Di- ana Robinson can be reached at Time to add Washington to state quarter collection By PETER M. REXFORD oins and currency are considered legal tender. That sounds pretty official.
However, considering some of the bizarre laws on the books, the difference between what's "legal" and simple common sense seems more appropriate. For instance, in Chicago, it's illegal to eat in a restaurant that's on fire. Makes sense to Maryland state law prohibits lions attending the theater, and in my state of Missouri it's illegal to carry uncaged bear down the' highway. In shalltown, Iowa, it is illegal for horses eat fire hydrants. What? Finally, in York, I'd be writing this from prison Stamp coin exchange.
F' said during a recent interview. What Gonen was telling him "was too good to be true." But after he started checking facts he realized that Gonen had underplayed what he had been involved in, not exaggerated. Copeland was given access to boxes of transcripts, notebooks and other documents so he could check facts and obtain dialogue to tell his story. When the police first arrested Gonen, they, too, didn't believe he had anything to give them. But that soon changed.
He had so much to tell them that eventually police just told him BOOKING YA Booklink Booksellers in Thornes Marketplace in Northampton will host a reading and discussion by Vijay Prashad, author of "The Darker Nations," at 6:30 p.m. I Cammie McGovern, author of "Eye Contact" and co-founder of Whole Children will offer a talk from 7 to 9 p.m. in Cole Assembly Room, Converse Hall, Amherst College. Her talk will be followed by a panel discussion. A portion of book cause there it's illegal for a man to appear in public with pants and shirt that don't match.
from home an Marto New be- Washington state has had a curious law that makes it illegal to pretend that one's parents are rich. That one might actually make a little sense. After all, Bill Gates, with a net worth of more than $50 billion, makes his home in Washington. I can see kids or somebody with mismatched shirts and pants wanting to claim to be his offspring. Perhaps by natural law Washington is far and away one of the most pristine and beautiful states in the nation.
A small slice of that is now visible on the newest circulating U.S. coin the 42nd release in the 50 State Quarters Series. Of course, the new quarter features the traditional image of George Washington on the front. That's not only dictated by law, it's especially appropriate considering the state is named after him and is the What people are reading Interviewed al Westfield Athenaeum Carol L. Cortis of Russell on "Blizzard" by L.
R. Lehman. (The book details the story of Huntington native Michael Dowling who lost his legs and an arm during a blizzard in the Dakotas in 1866 and went on to a successful career in business and politics.) "It was interesting. It shows no matter how many bad things happen to you, you can prosper." Steven A. Brochetti of Westfield on "Oracle Bones" by Peter Hessler "It's a nice explanation of modern China and the tumult they are going through." Winnie H.
Legere of Westfield on the "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls "It's a memoir. It shows how people can live through hard times and still be able to see things with a sense of humor. It's very well-written and amusing and bittersweet." BESTSELLERS HARDCOVER Last Weeks Fiction Week on list 1.1 HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE. by Mary Higgins Clark. 2.
NINETEEN MINUTES, by Jodi Picoult 2 6 3. FRESH DISASTERS, by Stuart Woods 4. THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST. 6 .2 by Mohsin Hamid 5. OBSESSION, by Jonathan Kellerman 4 3 6.
KINGDOM COME, Tim LoHaye and Jerry B. ....2 7. WHITE NIGHT, by Jim Butcher. 5 8. THE ALIBI MAN, by Tami Hoag 7 3 9.
SLEEPING WITH STRANGERS, by Eric Jerome Dickey 10. WHITETHORN WOODS, by Maeve Binchy Last Weeks Nonfiction Week on list 1. EINSTEIN, by Walter Isaacson 2. A LONG WAY GONE, by Ishmael Beah 9 3. PAULA DEEN: IT AIN'T ALL ABOUT THE COOKIN' by Paula Deen with Sherry Suib Cohen 4.
GRACE (EVENTUALLY), by Anne Lamott 3 ...4 5. INFIDEL, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. ..10 6. IN AN INSTANT, by Lee and Bob Woodruff. 6 7.
THE AUDACITY OF HOPE, by Barack Obama 7 ...26 8.1 FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK, by Nora Ephron. 8 37 9. HOW DOCTORS THINK, by Jerome Groopman 9. 10. KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL.
by Deborah Rodriguez with Kristin Ohlson Advice, How-to Weeks and Misc. on list 1. THE SECRET, by Rhonda Byrne. 14 2. EVERYDAY PASTA, by Giada De Larentis 3.
THE WEIGHT LOSS CURE 'THEY' DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT, by Kevin Trudeau. 4. YOU: ON A DIET 24 by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz et al.
5. WOMEN MONEY, by Suze Orman PAPERBACK Weeks Fiction on list 1. TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE, by Mary Higgins Clark. 2. 3.
THE GONE, ROAD, by by Jonathan Cormac Kellermon. McCarthy 3 4. AT RISK, by Patricia Comwell. 5. THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER, by Kim Edwards 43 Weeks Nonfiction on list 1.
THE MEASURE OF A MAN, by Sidney Poitier 12 2. EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Elizabeth Gilbert 12 3. THE GLASS CASTLE, by Jeannette Wolls 66 4. BLINK, by Malcolm Gladwell 2 5. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, by Joan Didion New York Times listings based on computer processed figures from 4,000 U.S.
bookstores i Dave Copeland, above, is the author of "Blood Volume: Inside New York's Israeli Mafia," which tells the story of Ron Gonen, right, a cocaine dealer who cooperated with authorities and is now in the witness protection program. Honey Tesman that provided clues to their involvement in organized crime, Copeland, who now lives in Burlington, got a phone call from Tesman's husband, Ron Gonen. "We talked four hours that day and four hours every day of that week." Copeland made it clear to Gonen he was a journalist and wasn't going to ghostwrite their story. It was going to be Copeland's book. The one stipulation for Copeland, though, was that Gonen hadn't killed anyone.
"If he had killed someone, I didn't want to be with him." "I doubted everything," Copeland lage Commons, South Hadley. Tuesday Food for Thought Books will hold a book release party at 7 p.m. for Laura Lovett's new book, "Conceiving the Future: Pronatalism, Reproduction and the Family in the United States, 1890-1938." Wednesday Local author Susanne Dunlap will be at Broadside Books, 247 Main Northampton, at 7 p.m. to sign copies of her new book, "Liszt's Kiss." Thursday a Anita Shreve will read from and sign copies of her new novel, "Body Surfing," at 7 p.m. at The Odyssey Bookshop.
meaning for this call, but I say it is more important to let partner know you have a good hand than to wait for some special holding in the overcalled suit. My hand was Q-3, A- 9-2, K-J-7-6-5-2, K-10. opened one diamond and the next hand bid two hearts. What should I do over a jump by my partner to four hearts? What sort of hand does this show? A. Unusual jumps are almost always splinters.
This sequence sets diamonds as trump, shows short hearts, and is a slam-try. Your hand is far too good to sign off in five diamonds. I might settle for an unstylish use of Blackwood. It is almost inconceivable that you are off the top spades, and even if you are, they may not lead the suit! Q. I know a couple of duplicate players who, when they deal, put the cards into four stacks, dealing left to right, right to left, and not as the cards were shuffled.
I have read that a deal is not valid if you do not deal the cards to all players clockwise and in order. I cannot find anything about what constitutes a legitimate deal and hope you have the answer. A. Law Six says that the cards be dealt in rotation, clockwise. It states that they MUST be dealt face down one card at a time into four hands of 13 cards each.
(From this I infer that the four stacks are not critical the cards must be dealt so as to produce four stacks, but perhaps they could be dealt into five piles and two get combined, as I see some people do.) If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at bobby wolffmindspring.com CAINGE The 1889 ON THE EVERGREEN STATE 2001 UNUM leaping towering Mt. Inscriptions State," "Washington" year Washington into the union The inclusion the coin is through parks, nine parks underscores State. Many being jeopardized ington's "dormant" Helens erupted, ic ton of ash stroying more timber. For the enough lumber Minted in phia, two-roll 1,000 coins are from the U.S. via the Web calling toll-free the coins are and bags, the mail orders as In lieu of that, pearing in cash and in mint face value.
Washington quarter is the 42nd in the state series. Later in 2007, coins for Idaho, Wyoming and Utah will be issued. only one named after any president. The real impact of Washington state is seen on the reverse. The coin showcases a King Salmon in a pristine river with Rainier in the background.
include: "The Evergreen and "1889" the was officially inducted as a state. of the state's moniker on more than fitting. A trip Washington's three national national forests or 100 state it being the Evergreen will recall a portion of that in 1980, when Washvolcano Mount St. spewing more than a cuband debris into the air, dethan 4 billion feet of record, that equates into to build 150,000 homes. both Denver and Philadelsets and bags of 100 or available for purchase Mint.
Orders can be placed at www.usmint.gov or by 1 (800) 872-6468. Because packaged in special rolls Mint charges a premium for well as a shipping charge. the coins will soon be apregisters, pocket change rolls at local banks at their A P'.
