Sifting Truth From Lies: An Interview With Mark Bowden, Author Of True Crime Book, 'The Last Stone'

Publisher’s Weekly offers an interview with Mark Bowden, the author of a new true crime book, The Last Stone.  

In Bowden’s The Last Stone (Atlantic Monthly, Apr.), detectives try to find out what happened to 13-year-old Katherine and 11-year-old Sheila Lyon, sisters who vanished from a Maryland mall in 1975.

What surprised you the most about how the case unfolded?

The duration and difficulty of the interrogation was far beyond anything I imagined, and it fascinated me. With no physical evidence and, initially, no witnesses, every bit of information about the crime had to come from the suspect himself. And the suspect, Lloyd Welch, was so compulsive a liar that his behavior bordered on comical. He also had every reason in the world not to tell the truth. Building the case against him meant traveling down a long path of deliberate untruths, stories designed to mislead. The detectives had to somehow sift the truth from a mountain of lies.

You can read the rest of the interview via the below link:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/interviews/article/79338-sifting-truth-from-lies-pw-talks-with-mark-bowden.html 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine Q&A with Mark Bowden concerning his book, Hue 1968, Black Hawk Down, Killing Pablo, and his other books, via the below link 

 www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2017/12/my-q-with-mark-bowden-author-of-hue.html

My Q&A With Mark Bowden, Author Of 'Hue 1968' And 'Black Hawk Down'

My Q&A with Mark Bowden, author of Hue 1968, Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo, appears in the current issue of Counterterrorism magazine.

You can read the piece below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge 

Conversation With Mark Bowden, Author of 'Hue 1968,' 'Black Hawk Down,' And 'Killing Pablo'

I had a long telephone conversation today with Mark Bowden, the author of Hue 1968, Black Hawk Down, Killing Pablo and other outstanding non-fiction books.

A former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, Mark Bowden spoke about how he came to write Hue 1968, his visits to Vietnam, and some of the interesting people he spoke to for the book.

He also spoke about his career in journalism and offered the backstory to Black Hawk Down and his other fine books.    

My interview with him will appear in the upcoming issue of The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. I’ll post the interview here when it come out.

You can read my Philadelphia Inquirer review of his previous book Three Battles of Wanat below:

My Philadelphia Inquirer Review Of Mark Bowden's 'The Three Battles Of Wanat And Other True Stories'

My review of Mark Bowden's The Three Battles of Wanat And Other True Stories appeared today in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

As I wrote at the top of my review, I saw Mark Bowden at a Center City book store some years ago when he was promoting one of his books.

I recall that he spoke of his pleasant surprise that military people and their families were willing to open up to him. He noted that he didn’t serve in the military and previous to his Philadelphia Inquirer series on Black Hawk Down and his subsequent book, he had never covered the military.

As a Navy veteran, a former Defense Department civilian employee, and a writer who covers the military for The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security Int’l, I’ve associated with sailors, soldiers, marines and airmen nearly all of my life. For some years now I spoken to a good number of current and former armed forces members who very much like Bowden’s Black Hawk Down, Killing Pablo, Guests of the Ayatollah, and his other books on the military.

Although Bowden may not share their mostly hawkish views, most believe he is a fair reporter. Military people want their story told and fairness is all most of them ask for. That Bowden is also a fine storyteller is a plus.

You can read the review via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/20160327_Bowden_s__Three_Battles_of_Wanat___Continuing_a_great_tradition.html

Or below:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.