Florida Pulp Nonfiction: True crime in the Sunshine State (ISBN 1425911609)

A law enforcment reaction to Florida Pulp Nonfiction:
Mr. Norman, I just finished your book. It is an excellent compilation of what is wrong in law enforcement today. As I read each story and realized how much you know about abuse of power and illegal/unethical behavior by those who are sworn to protect us, I began to wonder why those in power don't get it. I also wonder if the readers of your book will get it. I have been in law enforcement for fifteen years. It is a scary world that is made much worse by greed and bad judgment. The frightening part, though, is that someone we love, someone we care about could have something horrible happen to them and those in law enforcement will do nothing about it or worse, will make certain no one else does. Too often cases like you have sited are very common, perhaps too common for the average citizen to comprehend who has never had this inside look at investigations. It only takes one case ignored by an investigator to become relevant--your case. You have written an excellent, brave book, Mr. Norman. I hope there are many more to come. Hopefully readers will understand how close to home this problem is. Your book is about the WHAT. It will be up to the reader to decide WHY. Susan Purtee Columbus, Ohio

I didn't want it to end.:
What can I say? I thoroughly loved every word, every page, every chapter. Bob Norman is a gifted storyteller and a top-notch reporter. I would have read the whole book in one sitting, but I only let myself read a chapter a night to stretch out the enjoyment. Buy this book for all the book lovers in your life. It'll be the best gift they ever received.

Dispatches from the swamp:
A woman for whom "stalker" doesn't even begin to describe her pathology. ... A fatally intolerant Marine. ... A washed-up celebrity lawyer. ... A wrongfully convicted Death Row inmate. ... An inadequate father trading on a famous son's name. ... A twisted federal bureaucracy driven by a corporate customer service obsession that can't distinguish tourist from terrorist. ... A boy with impulse control so weak a teacher dies. ... A boiler room conman. ... A P.I. who personifies the notion that cops and crooks share more in common than either cares to confess. ... In late 1997, journalist Bob Norman quit his daily newspaper job, resisted the conformity required for a corporate chain career, switched Florida coasts, hired on at an alternative newsweekly and slithered into the swamp in search of slime. Eight years later, armed with a cast of characters only South Florida could accumulate and only he could ferret out, Norman has produced a book that's always compelling, always entertaining and -- in one must-read place -- of national importance. The national importance lies in Norman's justifiably acclaimed "Admitting Terror," in which he proved the point he'd been trying to make all along by producing at an alternative newsweekly reporting of which neither corporate chain newspapers nor their yacking and yelling cable counterparts any longer seem capable. The piece, which won him the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, documented how the (now rightly defunct) Immigration & Naturalization Service allowed the 9/11 hijackers entry into the United States. Years later, it remains a vital piece of journalism that every American should read, if only to better grasp what it is we have to overcome in our institutions in order to advance our national struggle with people who want to end our way of life. It put Norman in an odd position, because "Admitting Terror" won him accolades from Bill O'Reilly, Michelle Malkin and Howard Hunt, with all of whom its hard to imagine Norman finding agreement on the time of day. It also armed him: For the rest of Norman's life, whenever anyone accuses him of pursuing his own political, philosophical or social agenda to the exclusion of all other points of view, he has only to gesture to that one piece of reporting to silence the argument. He doesn't need to say a word. He is biased -- but unlike most American journalists he neither tries to voice the lie that he isn't nor fails to consider opposing views. He is refreshing because he is completely upfront about his biases. "Florida Pulp Nonfiction" is a sampler of the best of what Norman found in eight years churning out columns in South Florida, and it reads like a Victorian compendium of strange and exotic creatures. It reads like a book, too, rather than an assemblage of disparate columns, which is testimony to the oft-neglected fact that the journalist is producing both fodder for the news consumer and something more -- a body of work. Like the best journalists, Norman allows his sources to tell their stories. When they need help, he's there to coax out telling quotations (A woman concludes a diatribe about cheerleaders, "Of course, secretly, we all wish we were cheerleaders") and note perfect details ("He poured ... Diet Pepsi into an old paper-clip holder he'd made into a makeshift ashtray.") When they don't need help, he gets out of the way (indeed, he notes that he felt more like transcriptionist to one subject than interrogator). The book is nicely produced. The writing is disciplined and tight. Norman may piss you off (one wonders why anyone in South Florida still risks an interview, but they never seem to learn) because he happens to diametrically oppose you on a particular issue, but how can you stay angry at someone who's so honest about where he stands? Norman's candor -- his heart -- is a rarity in journalism and to his great credit. Norman's strength is the character study. Some writers have a compelling sense of place. Norman has a great sense of character, bringing people to life through quotations and details. "Florida Pulp Nonfiction" is a showcase book that says Norman's talent deserves a wider, larger audience. It does. Norman clearly recognizes that reporting and writing aren't status quo gifts delivered complete and requiring no further work or maintenance. He has clearly been polishing his potential for years, and it really shows in this book. Some of the pieces, in particular, stand out as excellent examples of keeping the story short and tight and leaving the reader wanting more. The pieces originally ran in the New Times. Introductions and concluding updates are a great touch that keep them current. Anyone interested in true crime, fans of South Florida and those who enjoy a well-turned column will find "Florida Pulp Nonfiction" exceeds expectations, and the book will leave you wanting more. If it was labeled fiction, readers might call it contrived but it's not fiction -- it's strange fact.

another view of florida:
In Florida Pulp Nonfiction, Bob Norman exposes the shadowy underbelly of the Sunshine State through stranger-than-fiction tales that range from heartbreaking to hilarious and from deadly serious to simply bizarre. With a compelling combination of hard fact and reasonable speculation, he indicts deranged soccer mom and 9/11 terrorist, gangster and grifter, child abuser and con man. This is not the family-friendly Florida of sand castles, sunsets and Disney World. Be sure to read it before the Florida Department of Tourism has it banned.

DOA:
I gave it four chapters until I was flatline. The book gave me an intellectual lobotomy from which it took days to recover, and I lost pay. I live in Florida and I've read many things about Florida, but I think this book just doesn't capture South Florida's TRUE crime, passion, magic and culture. Additionally, it was boring. I didn't put it down...because I bet my grandmother $10 I would find something I hadn't heard before or something witty on the next page. So I owe her $10. (...) Now, I did read another book recently entitled Miami Psychic and that book was the BOMB!! I highly recommend it. (...)