The Boys on the Tracks: Death, Denial, and a Mother's Crusade to Bring Her Son's Killers to Justice

by Mara Leveritt

Book Overview

"The Boys on the Tracks "is the story of a parent's worst nightmare, a quiet woman's confrontation with a world of murder, drugs, and corruption, where legitimate authority is mocked and the public... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312198418
• ISBN13: 9780312198411
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Put this book in the hands of every American

This is, in my view, the best full account of the "Train deaths" I have seen yet.This story and the events surrounding the Mena airport in Arkansas are unknown to most Americans, due to narrow-minded journalists and partisan political hacks on both sides. This story and the whole story of Mena is very real, and will haunt America for years to come.It is a true story of a parents worst nightmare. And a nightmare for the nation that few are aware of--our government and system of justice has become corrupt and lawless. I would deeply recommend this book for anyone who is interested in getting the word out about Mena and the "Train Deaths" and who is interested in helping reclaim our system of justice to prevent it from failing our children again.

"The Boys on the Tracks" - Reality in Arkansas

Readers outside of Arkansas might have a hard time believing that the events this book describes actually happened. Unfortunately, they did, as those of us who live here know. Although Leveritt works for a competing paper, the statewide Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reviewed "The Boys on the Tracks" at length. The review did not challenge any of the author's facts. Rather, it said the account was "eye-opening" and described the book as "staightforward, engaging and extensively researched." The review also said the book "reads like a psychological thriller," and that it "lures you in and holds you hostage." I pass this on so that readers who are not familiar with the caliber of Leveritt's reporting will feel confident about ordering the book. You won't be disappointed.

Mara provides more pieces to the CIA/Cocaine puzzle

This is an excellent book for everyone raising kids in today's society, everyone interested in the inner workings of law enforcement, and everyone interested in the "War On Drugs".Fiction writers have it easy, they can limit their cast of characters. In real life, Mara Leveritt, Gary Webb, Terry Reed, and the others who have explored the CIA/cocaine connection found it's not so easy. The cast of characters is immense, many of their names are confusing, but real life is like that. (As you read the various authors, many of the same characters do keep popping up!)I wanted to read "Boys on the Tracks" because I was flying my personal plane in and out of Mena during the same time period that Barry Seal and the CIA were importing drugs. I wanted to see whether Ms Leveritt's book rang true. It does. I have met a few of the characters and know of others. The facts in this book accurately reflect what I have personally observed.Unlike "The Secret Life of Bill Clinton" by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, this is not an anti- Clinton book. Those who want to bash Willie will have to look elsewhere. But after looking elsewhere, when you need independent verification of what is fact versus what is only rumor, I hope you will read this book.

A Horrible crime and the corruption that covers it up.

From the first paragraph to the final page I was enraptured by the prose and how the writer made us one with the grief-stricken mother of one of the boys who was so brutally slain. Although the events occurred in Arkansas everyone in the country is effected by the cover-up just as we were by the Waco bombing and the government's effort to hide the truth.I highly recommend this as must reading for an insight into "the war on drugs".

Brilliantly written = great insight to Arkansas politics

This book is one that the reader will not want to put down. An excellent overview of the events that occured in this case and the fact that there is little justice in Arkansas when high powered politicians are involved. The average person in this country doesn't believe these things happen, but after you read this book, the evidence is documented and plain to see.Hopefully, someday these guilty persons will be held accountable for putting a family, a state and country through such a horrible tragedy.It is time the American people opened their eyes to what is really going on in our country and to stand up against these powerful machines.Mara did a great deal of research and documented all of her information and wrote a book about what an ordinary family has had to endure for 12 years and no one will listen to them and bring these people that committed and covered up such a cruel deed to justice. The Ives deserve an answer and if anyone knows anything about this event, they should try to put this nightmare to rest.