The Last Days of Cleveland: and More True Tales of Crime and Disaster from Cleveland's Past
Bellamy does not merely recount twice-told stories. He writes like newspapermen used to write before journalists were trained to write formulaic, AP-style abomination. He writes as if his supper depended on the evening’s headline . . . When Bellamy sticks to the subject, he is unimpeachable. And it’s not just his knowledge. More than anything it his enthusiasm and affection for his subjects (and their city) that makes Bellamy so compelling. (Jason LeaNewsherald.com20101110)There are half a dozen murders, several suicides, a shipwreck and the story of a persistent Roaring Twenties holdup man whose prison career was as engrossing as his crime spree. As Bellamy’s other books are replete with tragedy on an epic scale, these “tales of woe,” a phrase he likes to use, seem somehow intimate. That is, if a beheading can be intimate. The bloodless stories are just as interesting (Barbara McIntyreAkron Beacon Journal20101214)A must for fans of local crime and disaster stories. . . The stories are at times amusing, at other times heart-wrenching . . . and always engaging. (April HelmsHudson Hub-Times20101215)Heroes and rogues fill the pages of this book. The stories will hold your attention and chill you to the bone. (Crime Shadow News20101123)Even if you live in Cleveland, you don’t know as much about this city—rich in culture and history—as John Stark Bellamy II . . . He exposes the darker side of Cleveland—its murderers and petty thieves—and a few of the Forest City’s heroes (firemen and policemen, not politicians). He has made a career of chronicling Cleveland’s rowdy and sometimes funny past. (Technorati20101126)