RatSnakes: Cheating Death by Living A Lie: Inside the Explosive World of ATF's Undercover Agents and How We Changed the Game Hardcover – May 28, 2019

Vince Cefalu will certainly not win any literary awards for his writing, however if you read it in that context you are missing the point. This book is as real as it gets. The main takeaway I took from this book is the constant struggle of ATF to cultivate professional & polished clean-cut agents that speak in the way upper society (especially judges, prosecutors and congress) expects, versus utilizing agents that are “rough around the edges” and can relate to criminal groups in a way only they could for infiltration. You cannot take people out of law school or polished police officers and ask them to go undercover and infiltrate an outlaw motorcycle group or other criminal group. They would be sniffed out the first day. That was why other agencies often came to ATF for this type of work & still do. At the same time, employing people such as these listed people, comes with baggage and obviously people who will fight supervision and authority, publicly complain to the media and name names in a book, potentially without his former coworkers approval. I hope those friends named, did give their O.K. Many of them no doubt have children who would read this book. The author tells stories in a way that are (mostly) funny, brutally honest, self-deprecating and self-evaluating, yet cringeworthy because our society today does not allow us to speak or act that way at least publicly without severe ridicule. Somewhere in between polished and unprofessional is probably best, which is mostly the case today. A large bunch of these type of agents would ruin any agency, but a small manageable handful can be utilized successfully as they obviously did in the past. The only untruth I would point out is his attempts to tie himself into ‘fast and furious’ which according to all available reports, he really had no part and only heard stories from other acquaintances. P.S. the person who said fake as potter obviously has a personal axe to grind, because you can’t read this and take that away from it. Cefalu gave many people and other agencies reasons to be upset with him, so you can start there.

If you want to read a true detailed nitty-gritty account of what it’s like to be undercover agent, this is a book to read!! Sooo glad I found it and the pride Vince Cefalu has for being a part of the ATF completely beams through the entirety of this book! It is palpable! Wish there were a follow up!

This book had been recommended by a “friend” and I am so glad they did!An intelligent and humorous account of Mr. C’s experiences gave a rare insight into a seedy world few understand. Mr. C and his badass buddies understand…

Cefalu mostly recounts events from his career and does it in a way that keeps you looking forward to the next page. If you have any interest in this type of thing you should enjoy this book.

I’m seriously loathing the 1 star reviewers and there comments. At this point there are only 2, and the first one starts off with the words, ‘fake news’; we can easily write his review off since his best attempts to sound Trumpian fail. The second refers to a ‘few’ Google search quotes that in my mind in no way conflict with what Mr. Ceflu details. I’m sure regular clean cut uniformed officers would bitch about his tactics and almost hobo appearance and foul mouth. So, ignore that one also.I found this book riveting more for it’s historical content than the actual antics of a UC because I was one of those with a misspent youth and can relate to the hilarity and danger of ‘that’ world. Fortunately, I too got off that track, but not the law professions. Mr. Ceflu will not win a Pulitzer for his writing, that’s to be sure, but he’s not that bad. Since it was coming from the mind of an inexperienced author and Ratsnake life he does a pretty good job.I too did some searches and can’t find fault with any of his historical references of the ATF, other agencies, and insight to the Waco debacle. The rest you’ll just have to believe or not. I choose to to believe he has recounted it to the best of his ability. Who here could have such a varied job for almost 30 years and remember everything exactly. Plus, much of it is self-deprecating.I thoroughly enjoyed it and give it a thumbs up - I usually only read Sci-Fi and Thrillers - and encourage folks to read it. Like I said, my youth was not dedicated to straight A’s and church groups. His encounters are very believable to me since I can relate to many of them - although I was the violator and not the UC. I just never got caught.I can’t quite rise to 5 stars simply because of the writing, but I have to remember that this is not fiction. It is someone’s first hand accounting.BTW, Mr. Ceflu. I only purchased your book after very accidentally catching a local cable talk show that n Jacksonville, Fl. First,you look like you lived the life you did, and it was rough on you (sorry). Second, when I came to purchase there were only two reviews and since I usually read only Kindle Unlimited books - because I read so many - I was hesitant, but not anymore. Thank you for your service and if we ever met in Florida in the 1970’s thanks for not busting me. I know book promotion is expensive and difficult, especially since publishers will only front you peanuts unless your name is in the same league as Stephen King or J. K. Rowling. So, your promotional efforts paid off at least once.

This book RatSnakes was a very good read. Getting to know what these agents go through and how the have to live there lives. Takes a special kind of person to be able to live this way. I am anxiously waiting for Vincents next book.

This is my final review. I don't know if it is the author or a copyeditor who is responsible for this, but every sentence I read that contains an adverb (many, many sentences) makes me cringe. The order of adverb vs. helping verbs, and even action verbs, is incorrect and many instances and a large distraction from the story.Otherwise, I am enjoying the book and the way the author details the good and the bad of being an undercover operative. The continuity of the information is succinct and the flow is good. He tells the story using relative side stories and events in a manner that draws you in and leaving you wanting more tidbits as you get to know him.If the flow hadn't been disrupted so grievously by the misuse of adverbs I would have rated it a 4. Unfortunately, the grammar was a deal breaker.Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book.

ATF is just a loosely coupled bunch of a-holes. I picked up the book to try to improve my impression of the ATF and in turn it just made it worse.