Lawrence P. Gooley

North Country / Adirondack Author

Book Tag: Warren County

Bullets, Booze, Bootleggers, and Beer: The Story of Prohibition in Northern New York, Volume 1

Bullets, Booze, Bootleggers, and Beer, Volume 1-Front Cover

Prohibition was the wildest, most chaotic period in northern New York’s history. America’s so-called “Great Experiment”—banning the social and recreational use of alcohol—led to unforeseen and unfortunate consequences. Thousands of speeding bootleggers presented potentially deadly hazards to casual drivers. The number of gun-toting highwaymen (robbers) skyrocketed with the emergence of new and irresistible targets—bootleggers carrying cash north to buy alcohol, and bootleggers carrying valuable booze loads south.

Even more alarming were the almost daily wild shootouts, often on village and city streets, the air heavy with bullets as lawmen and smugglers fought it out during high-speed chases. Worse yet in the eyes of many were the extremely aggressive tactics of lawmen, who were sworn to provide enforcement (the offenses were mostly misdemeanors) and protect the public, but killed bootleggers and innocent citizens alike in the process, and were rarely held accountable. They falsified charges, lied, stonewalled, withheld evidence, and did whatever it took to avoid prosecution. » More Details

Dannemora’s Death House: The Crimes and Fates of 41 Killers Sentenced to Die in Clinton Prison’s Electric Chair

Dannemora's Death House-Front Cover

In 1890, when electrocution replaced hanging in New York State, Clinton Prison became a house of execution for the next 24 years. But not every killer who was sentenced to death died in the electric chair. Some were saved by fate, mercy, legal action, or last-minute reprieves. While some ultimately survived, most did not. By 1914, when all executions were moved to Sing Sing, 26 inmates had been electrocuted at Clinton.

Inside are the stories of 41 murderers who were sentenced to die in Dannemora’s electric chair. Graphic details of many brutal attacks are covered, including victims’ injuries as provided in coroner and autopsy reports, so this is not a book for the squeamish—but it is a book for fans of true-crime stories. There’s plenty of drama, passion, and angst throughout in stories ranging from shocking to frightening to just plain remarkable. » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 6

People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 6-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

People & Places of the Adirondacks & Foothills, Volume 5

People & Places of the Adirondacks, Volume 5-Front Cover

The People & Places of the Adirondacks collection contains a variety of story types: original works of hard history, the lives of unusual people, noteworthy accomplishments, groundbreaking inventions, remarkable mishaps, oddities, and humor.

They all have one thing in common: each is rooted in the North Country, defined here as the Adirondacks and foothills. The region’s past is filled with relative or complete unknowns who were, in fact, highly accomplished individuals. Many of the chapters here reveal their stories, which are well worth preserving. Those and others are presented with a purpose that is threefold: to educate, amuse, and entertain.

In this volume… » More Details

25 Diabolical Adirondack Murders: The Twisted, Fiendish Deeds of North Country Killers

25 Diabolical Adirondack Murders-Front Cover

Within these pages are twenty-five complete stories of murder in the North Country. The perpetrators range from average citizens to some of the worst degenerates imaginable. Their methods run the gamut from poison to clubs to knives to guns to axes, while their stories contain shocking revelations and remarkable twists, far too many to count. And some are just plain unusual.

These true chronicles from long ago once held readers spellbound, and are as riveting as many of the high-profile murder cases in modern media. It’s at once fascinating and disturbing to explore the devious minds of those who walk among us. » More Details

Adirondack & North Country Gold: 50+ New & True Stories You’re Sure to Love

Adirondack & North Country Gold-Front Cover

There is no other book out there like Adirondack & North Country Gold. Within these pages are 51 original stories about remarkable people, places, and events from the Adirondacks and foothills. Included are four anchor chapters that together are large enough to fill a volume: the life stories of Garrett Cashman, Michael Donovan, Harry Elkes, and Eben Rexford.

Though they may be unfamiliar names, their accomplishments are legend. Cashman was history’s second cluster balloonist who, in the 1950s, captured the imagination of the entire nation. Donovan was a world-champion athlete whose achievements rank among the rarest in sports. Elkes was a beloved world-champion cyclist with a brilliant and tragic career. And the modest and unassuming Rexford wrote one of the most enduring songs in American history, a best-seller for more than half a century.

There’s so much more among the other 47 stories. You’ll find humor (The Great Canine Court Caper); inspiration (the Dean Van Clute story); romance (Love So Strong, It’s Criminal); mystery (New York’s Legendary Vanishing Judge); and the offbeat (Alligators in the Adirondacks, and Rock Eaters? No Way … But Anything Else Will Do!). » More Details

Terror in the Adirondacks: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert F. Garrow

Terror in the Adirondacks-Front Cover

In the summer of 1973, a serial killer’s rampage in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State changed the region forever. Innocent visitors and campers were brutally knifed to death, terrifying thousands of residents and vacationers.

A peaceful part of America was lost, as people armed themselves and locked their doors, living and sleeping in fear. It was a reign of terror the likes of which the mountains had never seen.

And it was all the vile handiwork of one very troubled, dangerous man: Robert Francis Garrow.

But there is much more to Garrow’s story than a series of murders. Before he was captured, there was the longest manhunt in Adirondack history, and one of the longest the state has ever seen. There was a bizarre trial, with horrifying revelations that shocked the senses of citizens from coast to coast. » More Details