I killed and buried my best friend today. . . . He turned to me and begged that I put a knife through his chest. I did, and a second time when he wouldn't die. . . . God and his family and mine, please forgive me. In the summer of 1999, best friends Raffi Kodikian and David Coughlin headed off on an American rite of passage -- a cross-country trek in the spirit of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. The two stopped for a simple overnight sleep-out trip in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, carrying barely adequate camping supplies, only three pint bottles of water, and a journal to record their experiences. After they awoke the next morning in Rattlesnake Can-yon, however, the friends' adventure quickly took a turn for the worse when they were unable to find their way back out of the canyon. The journal they left behind chronicles their increasingly desperate search for help, as each new path ended in frustration, and buzzards began to circle overhead. Four days after they entered the canyon, help arrived. Rescuers found Kodikian dehydrated but alive. When he was asked where Coughlin was he pointed to a pile of stones: "Over there . . . I killed him," he said. David Coughlin had been stabbed twice in the heart. Had there been a darker motive than mercy? And how could anyone, under any circumstances, kill his best friend? Armed with the journal Kodikian and Coughlin carried into Rattlesnake Canyon, Jason Kersten re-creates in riveting detail those fateful days that led to the killing in an infamously unforgiving wilderness. Through in-depth interviews and profiles, he presents the key players in Kodikian's case and examines the ongoing controversy of an instance of murder that captured national headlines. Jason Kersten's Journal of the Dead is at once a true-crime mystery set in the wild, an exploration in moral ambiguity, and a compas-sionate portrait of a friendship's tragic end.
The true story of the mastermind counterfeiter who forged millions, replicated the impossible 1996 note, dodged the Secret Service, but couldn't escape the pain of his broken family. When Art Williams Jr.’s father abandoned the family and his bipolar mother lost her mind, a life of crime in Chicago quickly claimed him. Parking meter theft led to robbing drug dealers before Art fatefully met a man nicknamed DaVinci who taught him the skill of counterfeiting money. After just a few years, Art would print millions of counterfeit bills, selling them to criminal organizations, all while trying to raise a family on the side. Art’s greatest challenge arose when the Treasury Department released the 1996 note, the most intricate and secure bill ever created. Between painstakingly perfecting a new hundred-dollar bill to bypass the naked eye and security measures alike, Art was slipping by the Secret Service hunting him, and searching for his long-lost father, a path that ultimately led to his undoing. Prison may have been the end, especially as Art Jr. found himself behind bars sharing a cell with his own son, but with the same creativity and ambition that locked him up, Art reinvented himself as a professional artist. Art’s unbelievable journey extends beyond a life of crime to one of second chances, healing family wounds, and ultimately, triumph. Fans of Catch Me If You Can and The Art Thief won't want to miss this unforgettable caper story.
I killed and buried my best friend today ... When authorities found Raffi Kodikian -- barely alive -- four days after he and his friend David Coughlin became lost in Rattlesnake Canyon, they made a grim and shocking discovery. Kodikian freely admitted that he had stabbed Coughlin twice in the heart. Had there been a darker motive than mercy? And how could anyone, under any circumstances, kill his best friend? Armed with the journal Kodikian and Coughlin carried into Rattle- snake Canyon, Jason Kersten re-creates in riveting detail those fateful days that led to the killing in an infamously unforgiving wilderness.
Read Jason Kersten's posts on the Penguin Blog. The true story of a brilliant counterfeiter who "made" millions, outwitted the Secret Service, and was finally undone when he went in search of the one thing his forged money couldn't buy him: family. Art Williams spent his boyhood in a comfortable middle-class existence in 1970s Chicago, but his idyll was shattered when, in short order, his father abandoned the family, his bipolar mother lost her wits, and Williams found himself living in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. He took to crime almost immediately, starting with petty theft before graduating to robbing drug dealers. Eventually a man nicknamed "DaVinci" taught him the centuries-old art of counterfeiting. After a stint in jail, Williams emerged to discover that the Treasury Department had issued the most secure hundred-dollar bill ever created: the 1996 New Note. Williams spent months trying to defeat various security features before arriving at a bill so perfect that even law enforcement had difficulty distinguishing it from the real thing. Williams went on to print millions in counterfeit bills, selling them to criminal organizations and using them to fund cross-country spending sprees. Still unsatisfied, he went off in search of his long-lost father, setting in motion a chain of betrayals that would be his undoing. In The Art of Making Money, journalist Jason Kersten details how Williams painstakingly defeated the anti-forging features of the New Note, how Williams and his partner-in-crime wife converted fake bills into legitimate tender at shopping malls all over America, and how they stayed one step ahead of the Secret Service until trusting the wrong person brought them all down. A compulsively readable story of how having it all is never enough, The Art of Making Money is a stirring portrait of the rise and inevitable fall of a modern-day criminal mastermind. Watch a Video
SUNDAY. I KILLED AND BURIED MY BEST FRIEND TODAY' It would be one last youthful journey. A classic road trip across America. This was the Kerouac-style dream of Raffi Kodakian and his closet friend David Coughlin. The trip was never completed. Within weeks, David Coughlin was dead, killed by his friend, apparently as an act of mercy, after being lost in a 'desert for days and suffering from extreme dehydration. But soon questions began to be asked. Stories of Kodakian's violent temper began to emerge. Kodakian's girlfriend had been very close to Coughlin. How did they get lost in a desert canyon which thousands of other visitors had managed to navigate. And how could a young man kill his best friend, even in mercy? The pair kept a journal that they wrote in, right up to the end, extracts from which are reproduced in the book, offering clues to what really happened to the pair during their missing days in the desert. Kodakian is the only person who knows for certain - and he was eventually charged with murder. The result of the court case is the thrilling denouement to this extraordinary book.
Designed for an introductory, one-semester course, the scope, organization, writing style, depth of presentation, and pedagogical aspects of this text have been tailored to meet the needs of students preparing for a career in allied health. This text does not assume any prior science knowledge on the part of the student and effectively presents students with the fundamentals of anatomy and physiology. It's the only one-semester text available with a built-in study guide/workbook. A hallmark feature of this text is the author’s presentation of A&P concepts that are accurate, but presented at a level that is appropriate for virtually all students. The new author team highlights the relationships between structure and function of body parts and the mechanisms of homeostasis. In addition, interrelationships of the organ systems are noted where appropriate and useful. Without the excessive detail of some of the longer A & P texts, students can better comprehend key critical concepts in each important area of study. Users who purchase Connect Plus receive access to the full online ebook version of the textbook.
A journey through the mind of one who wanders thought as easily as you may wander city streets. Finding new ideas and concepts that are as crisp and exciting as when you find a small specialty shop that offers interesting wares. Browse the isles and challenge yourself to grow.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.