Books by Rob Crimmins

Synopsis of and Sample chapters from Balloon Wars

Balloon Wars is the working title for Rob Crimmins' yet unpublished memoir of twelve months in Baghdad during and after "The Surge" in 2007 and seven months in Afghanistan operating an ISR asset that gave the United States Army the high ground. The Persistent Threat Detection System is a 110' long balloon on a tether that places a stationary camera and weapons detection system thousands of feet above the battle space. The view it provided in Iraq and in Afghanistan is unlike any other in history and the story of operating it and living with the troops whose missions it supported is one of a kind as well.

The Formation, Development and Work of the Delaware State Police: A Teachers Guide

is the story of one of the first State Police agencies in the Unites States. The early chapters are about the formation of the organization in the 1920s and how it grew through the first half of the Twentieth Century. The last four chapters draw on interviews with veterans of the force to describe what it was like to serve during World War II and how they responded to the most important events and cases since then. Those events and cases were the "The Lonely Hearts" murders, the attempt to desegregate Milford High School in 1954, the Wilmington Riots in 1968 and the Pennell serial murder case.

From the preface of "Cell 17: Interviews With The Imprisoned"

"In 1971, at the age of fifteen, I made a friend. He was a street fighter; a twentieth century desperado. He and I differed in important ways but we were alike in many ways too. We were on our high school football and wrestling teams. We were both fierce competitors but I think our motivations were different. Like a cross between Marlon Brando and Geronimo he fought and smoked and played the drums and lived a life that his mother and his coaches couldn’t change.

. . . The conversations and the people in this book are real. The conditions of their lives and the acts they’ve committed aren’t entertaining. What they say, however, is instructive and at times enlightening. My friend’s situation is unique. Everyone I spoke with described different circumstances. The differences between their tales are more striking than the similarities but since each path led to the same place there are common threads. In some cases it’s clear that punishment is deserved and in some I saw how things could have been different.

These interviews are windows into the most significant problem our country faces. While gazing at those that are imprisoned through the glass of words on a page we see a reflection of ourselves and our society. In some cases, the images that their words conjure are disturbing. But if we are compassionate we’ll change focus and thoughtfully consider the changes that we need to make."

Lone Traveler: The Singular Life of Benjamin Franklin

is a concise yet thorough account of the life of Benjamin Franklin including all the events that he would consider most important and some that he might have overlooked or omitted but are necessary for the modern reader who seeks to understand one of the most important characters in world history.

This book is available on Amazon.com and ITunes.

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