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William Bastone
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The Smoking Gun: A Dossier of Secret, Surprising, and Salacious Documents Paperback – September 20, 2001

by William Bastone (Author), Daniel Green (Author), Barbara Glauber (Author)
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From the creators of the Web site thesmokinggun.com comes an entertaining selection of previously unpublished documents-including FBI files, morgue and police reports, and court transcripts-that shed new light on some of the most bizarre and scandalous news stories of recent history, Ted Kaczynski's requests for a sex change and Burt Reynolds debts to toupee companies. Original. 40,000 first printing.
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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Little, Brown and Company
  4. Publication date
    September 20, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    8.5 x 0.75 x 11 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0316611107
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0316611107
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company; First Edition (September 20, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316611107
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316611107
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.75 x 11 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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William Bastone

William Bastone

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
11 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Eric P. Rodawig
5.0 out of 5 stars A wealth of information!
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2001
Verified Purchase
Do you remember a while back when FOX ran "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?" And do you remember that a week or so later, it was revealed that Rick Rockwell had a restraining order put on him? Well, the people at The Smoking Gun found it out, and told the country about it.
On their popular website, ..., court documents, letters written to government officials, FBI files, government studies, and many other official papers can be found. Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, they range from people complaining about 'obscene' license plates to Martha Stewart's alleged assault, to what happens when you explode a nuclear weapon in the vicinity of aluminum cans.
This book, their first, is filled with things in the archives of their website, and is a very interesting read. If you've ever been curious about what our government or celebreties are up to, you will love this book!
5 people found this helpful
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Jason N. Mical
4.0 out of 5 stars A Gallery of the Weird
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2001
If there's that one person on your Christmas list for whom it's impossible to buy a gift - say, your conspiracy-theorist, rubber-necking, fascinated-by-the-strange kind of friend - the search for the perfect present may be over. The Smoking Gun, a website dedicated to bringing people actual copies of government documents about celebrities and normal people involved in a variety of strange situations, released a "best-of" book, The Smoking Gun: A Dossier of Secret, Surprising, and Salacious Documents from the Files of the Smoking Gun. Chock-full of all kinds of dirt, human stupidity, and general hilariousness, this is exactly the book for the person who has "everything."
Want to know the details of Marilyn Monroe's autopsy? What about Martha Stewart's attempt to run down a gardener who refused to take her advice? The police report of the first officer on the scene of Kurt Cobain's suicide? President Nixon's background check from when he was thinking of joining the FBI? Tim Allen's sobriety test from 1997? The details of every attempt Dennis Rodman made to force himself on a woman? It's all here, in its original black-and-white glory, ready for your perusal.
Like a train wreck, you just can't tear your eyes away from The Smoking Gun's insane offering of all that makes our species better than the monkeys - or so we think, anyway. It's amazing, sick, and fascinating all at the same time. And, you've got the stocking stuffer for the person who has it all - because, chances are, they don't have Mike Tyson's arrest report. Just don't stay up all night reading it yourself.
25 people found this helpful
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Mangy Fox
5.0 out of 5 stars outrageous!
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2001
Sorry to gush but I absolutely loved this book. The smoking gun gives you the inside skinny on all sorts of things you didn't even know you wanted to know about. It's a book that is made up of documents: arrest reports on the famous, infamous and simply bizarre, contracts, memos, all sorts of stuff. I laughed out loud and my jaw dropped several times. A very fun read.
9 people found this helpful
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Gary Griffiths
2.0 out of 5 stars Tedium and Boredom: Now Available in Handy Book Form!
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2002
Verified Purchase
In case [URL} is not sufficient, you can now get an additional dose in convenient paperback! The premise is enticing enough: secret, surprising and salacious documents - a veritable treasure chest of dirt, sleaze, and slime! Who could resist the temptation? But, if the reviews of other readers are the basis, I may be alone in finding "The Smoking Gun" boring and tedious. About as compelling, I guess, as reading unedited police reports and law suits - which is exactly what it is. I guess when it comes right down to it, I really don't find a letter from Sean "Puffy" Combs' doctor - as an excuse for a canceled tour - all that interesting. The contract Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman require their household help sign? Wow - how have I managed to live without knowing the extent of liabilities associated with release of Cruise/Kidman personal information, in detail by the type of media deployed! And the details of loser Parker Stevenson's alimony from estranged wife Kirstie Alley, insuring Stevenson continuance of their lavish life style? ("FAO Schwartz would keep a staff and the store open for two hours exclusively for Kirstie and me. We spared no expense, as we enjoyed our "private" shopping spree. Our FAO Schwartz jaunts would cost us approximately $15,000.") Um, fascinating, I guess?
I'll concede - the book has it moments. The last chapter, "Patently Absurd" includes some gems like the "human gas filter pad for wearing in the underwear" and a method for bar coding humans. And the "strap secured condom". Glad to see the US patent attorneys hard at work.
On balance, I should have realized that we're already overexposed to the excesses and absurdities of life in America - especially where celebrities are involved. The additional manifestation in raw legal documents, police reports, and court transcripts is simply more than I care about knowing, and frankly is not all that revealing, anyway.
26 people found this helpful
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Rob Reiner
5.0 out of 5 stars Can you handle the truth?
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2001
Bastone, Green & Glauber's book enters the leagues of Ripley's Believe It or Not, Ricky Jay's examination of con artists and circus folks, and Woodword & Bernstein's investigation into Watergate. In other words, it's fun, outrageous and incredibly revealing. Meticulously researched and entertainingly presented, the team paints a decidedly different picture of what we know and what we think we know. Fans of the web site will not be disappointed with what they find here; a must for muckrakers, malcontents and truth seekers.
6 people found this helpful
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C. Dipaolo
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny as all hell!
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2001
This book is pretty dam slick. I liked it mostly because I have been a fan of the website for a few years and its pretty good to have the material right in front of you.
6 people found this helpful
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