Official Review: The Making Of A Con by Grace Larson

[Noraine Alissa Poria]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Making Of A Con" by Grace Larson.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Making of a Con is a book written by Grace Larson. It is a biography of a man whose been in and out of prison. Edwin Grant "Pappy" Hamilton is a son and a grandson of known physicians. His life was not easy; he was raised in a toxic environment and for him, he thought it was normal. His father killed himself when he was still a baby, and his mother lied to him by telling him that his father had been murdered. He was one of the national guard, and he was first convicted when he and his friends pulled a prank to their Colonel. And after that he was then accused of stealing their Colonel's money. He served 3 years in Angola, and staying for that long made his life miserable. When he was released from Angola, he went home to his mom and met a girl named Dorothy. However, Grant started doing crimes and was convicted for the second time. Can Grant have another chance in life? Or will he be in jail for the rest of his life? And what about Dorothy, will their love last even if the other one is locked up?

Reading this book has been hard for me. The main character had been through a lot of catastrophic events in his life. He dealt with a lot of mental issues without him knowing it. The first time that he was convicted, aside from getting involved in a harmless prank, he didn't do anything wrong. He was 17 when he was sent to Angola, where prisoners are treated badly. It is heartbreaking how we judge ex-convicts even though we didn't know the story behind their conviction. The book made me realized a lot of things and taught me a few lessons about chances and judgements. It is a book that will wake you up and slap you with the reality.

The author did a great job in writing this one, I spotted some errors but it doesn't affect the story that much. The biography of Pappy is really interesting. I enjoyed reading it. It has depth in it and the issues that it tackled are seen in our society. The characters that had mental issues, didn't know that they got one. Like what I've mentioned earlier, Pappy was raised in a toxic environment, and with that he thought that his mom's actions and what he does is normal. It is alarming for the reason that a lot of people went through the same experience in their life. It is also awakening because, the book will be a representation for us on how we raised our child(ren) properly.

Honestly, from the beginning up until the end I was hooked with this biography. Edwin Hamilton is a man with beautiful soul, yet he was pushed and raised by toxic people. It is a heartfelt novel that will make you feel a lot of emotions, from sadness, frustration, disappointment, sympathy and a lot more. It is a well written book with unforgettable story and moral lessons that will carve in the heart of the readers. And because of that, I would gladly rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. This book is the first biography that I've read, and it is incomparable to any books that I've read before.

I recommend this book to every one who loves to read stories about crime, and to those people who are curious about how inmates are treated inside a prison cell. If you are into well written biography then this book is for you as well. After you read this book, you will realized that criminals aren't born, they are developed by our society. And the real monsters who created them are still free and blends in with the normal citizens.

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The Making Of A Con
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[Debjani Ghosh]

There are a few grammatical errors in your review but it was well-organized. I can empathize with Grant - it was not his fault that he was raised by toxic people and that he was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. I would have picked up this book to find out if Grant's and Dorothy's love survives his incarceration but this book deals with a lot of dark issues which I am not ready to read right now. Thanks for the review.

[fredrick otieno]

I do agree that criminals are made and not born. This indeed is a great crime story. It indeed would help the reader see criminals from angle. I love crime stories and would go for it.

[kandscreeley]

It's funny, many criminals say they are innocent. It definitely sounds like the author had a hard life, and I would be interested in learning what led him to do the things that he did. I wonder if it would be helpful to learn how to keep others away from the life that he lived. Thanks for the lovely review. I'll put this one on my list.

[T_stone]

This is a good crime story to learn from. Growing up with toxic people wasn't his fault and meeting Dorothy should have some kind of effect on him. Although this story has a lot of bad events, I'd like to know what becomes of him. Thanks for the detailed review.

[GPM]

I do agree that criminals are made and not born. This indeed is a great crime story. It indeed would help the reader see criminals from angle. I love crime stories and would go for it.

[HollandBlue]

It is heartbreaking how we judge ex-convicts even though we didn't know the story behind their conviction. The book made me realized a lot of things and taught me a few lessons about chances and judgements. It is a book that will wake you up and slap you with the reality.

This part of your review is really eye-opening and makes me want to read the book.

[wendos]

Many are the times we judge others without taking a moment to about where they've come from. I feel this book will teach us many lessons on how to treat others even when they are on the wrong.

[EvaDar]

Well, I am in agreement with the assertion that our culture has some responsibility for creating the atmosphere for certain groups of people to turn to crime. I'm glad someone wrote this book. Thanks for the thorough review.

[writer808]

Interesting review.

[Kajori Sheryl Paul]

The main character had been through a lot of catastrophic events in his life. He dealt with a lot of mental issues without him knowing it. The first time that he was convicted, aside from getting involved in a harmless prank, he didn't do anything wrong. He was 17 when he was sent to Angola, where prisoners are treated badly. It is heartbreaking how we judge ex-convicts even though we didn't know the story behind their conviction. The book made me realized a lot of things and taught me a few lessons about chances and judgements. It is a book that will wake you up and slap you with the reality.

I am not much into biographical books
However, this paragraph really interested me in the book.

Thank you for the great review.

[Dolor]

Grace Larson's The Making of a Con is a biography of Edwin Grant "Pappy" Hamilton. This book sheds light to the minds of the people about parenting, sound judgment, and perspective on the ex-convicts. Thanks for the review.

[Kibet Hillary]

Nice to note that the author was able to make the story to evoke varying emotions in the reader. I am also learning a lesson just from reading the review. This is especially on how we are so quick in judging people based on their actions and not knowing what was the motive behind it. Quite an enthralling review.

[Hiruni Bhagya 81]

I've read books about inmates before. But there's a fine line between reality and fiction. I think this biography will touch many hearts. So, thanks for your wonderful review.

[Sushan Ekanayake]

People who goes to prison have interesting stories to tell, almost always. Definitely this will be an interesting book. Nice review. Thank you