Good news folks. Jake Needham has released some chapters to his books as podcasts. This is cool since many people may not be in an area where u can buy the books and this will give u a chance to hear what you are missing. Then u will have to come to Bangkok, visit the Big Mango while you read one of Jake’s books that u picked at one of the bookstores around town. Here is a travel agent so u can book your flights. CYA Soon.
Here is the new online letter from Jake:
http://www.jakeneedham.com/htmlpages/bangkok.html
Here are the PodBooks:
http://www.jakeneedham.com/htmlpages/podbooks.html
Here is an earlier review we did of Jake’s latest book:
http://www.2thebigmango.com/2006/05/07/jake-needhams-new-book/
Enjoy!
oh christ, not more insipid drivel from jake the moron. when will foreigners in thailand (not including legitimate expats) realise what a phony this guy really is? perhaps they already know given that his sales are in the thousands at best. and people actually think they’ll make a movie out of his toilet paper? yeah, right. i met this guy at an event at the US embassy - how he got an invite god only knows. ***** edited ….
View all comments by eric
Eric,
So you are an unpublished author who lacks the talent and drive of one who has a wide fan base and is deeply respected?
Or, do you just have a case of the ass for someone who is successful? How did you end up at an Embassy party? Do you work for State, an NGO or were you serving?
Maybe you can’t understand someone who is hard-assed enough to do it his own way. His sales are in Asia because he chooses not to publish in the US. I can’t understand why he doesn’t publish in the US. He would be a best seller if he was available on Amazon. I wouldn’t have the mental toughness or the bank balance to resist that. He does.
I will admit to being a friend of Jake’s. He is as real as it gets. Most writers of his stature would not take the time to communicate with fans, he does.
If you had any Hollywood experience (Jake and I both do) you would realize that development deals wax and wane, sometimes taking years. Writing and publishing books is very different than making movies.
Cheap shot at his family. He is a serious family man. His wife is an intelligent and talented woman from a good family.
Jake is one of the few people that I truly respect for following his own gut. I wish that I had that kind of talent and attitude. He is the Raymond Chandler of this generation.
You sound like one misplaced expat Eric; maybe it’s time to go home.
View all comments by David
I have read all of Jake’s books, and have loved them! I picked up my first book at the Bangkok airport, after my wife and I spend 10 great days in Bangkok and Chang Mai. Admittedly, my having spend time in and around Bangkok greatly enhanced the read for me. Notwithstanding my personal experience, however, the story lines are first rate, engaging and funny. I am not an avid reader; other than Robert Ludlum books, the only books I’ve truly enjoyed have been Jake’s. I do not know Jake, but I have emailed him to express how much I’ve enjoyed his books, and to ask when the next one is coming.
It is most unfortunate the some would use this portal to make personal attacks on Jake and his family.
View all comments by Jeff
Eric - feel free to post how u feel but leave innocent family members out of your tasteless rants.
FYI - the only people making money at the Anthony Robbins seminars is Anthony Robbins.
View all comments by smitty
Whoever you are, ‘eric’, your rudeness, lack of appreciation of a good fiction writer, and personal slight on a person’s family is beyond belief.
Granted you referred to yourself with a small ‘i’ indicating you know how insignificant you are. I will also grant that you know, and spell correctly, the word ‘moron’. That is probably because you have been told you are one so often that you were forced to go and look up the word in a friend’s (if you have one) dictionary. I doubt whether you would actually own such a tome yourself.
Jake Needham is not only a good friend of mine but an author who I admire greatly. I endorse every word written by David and Jeff and consider it unnecessary to echo any further their appreciation of the man and/or his work.
I also fully agree with David’s final sentence and regard as crass, unjustified and unsubstantiated the allusion you seek to imply with your inverted comma phrase “musician”. You probably do not have an ounce of the talent in your whole body which Jake’s charming wife possesses in one of her little fingers.
Go and crawl back to under whichever smelly little rock from which you emerged to write your vile opinions.
View all comments by hjr
Ive only read “Killing Plato”, but i thought the book was an excellent read. it was one of those few books that sucks you in and I couldnt stop reading it. the only other book that sucked me in as much recently was “Shantaram”. I do intend to read “Laundry Man” or his new one next. - so I hope Mr. Needham keeps em coming.
View all comments by Ron
My boss bought me “The Ambassador’s Wife” and I found I couldn’t stop reading until the last page. It was so absorbing and like Ron said “it really sucks you in”. It’s soooo good.
Although I do not have the honour of meeting Mr. Jake Needham personally, I spoke to him a couple of times over the phone when he wanted to talk to my boss Capt Hans, he sounded a very humble and a polite gentleman. So ‘eric’ you should stop calling people ‘moron’, ‘phony’ and especially attacking someone so dear to his heart - his wife. Could it be that you are suffering from a very deep inferior complex and if you are I suggest you better see a psychiatrist or check yourself into a mental hospital.
Mr. Needham continue with your brillant writing. I am one of your fans.
Cheers
Jeannie
View all comments by Jeannie
just thought i’d pile in, eric. i was at the embassy in bkk for 4 years and never met anyone like you at any of the parties. guests, particulary farangs who do get invited, are generally a higher grade. obviously you have never met jake’s wife, who indeed is a talented concert pianist and a published journalist. she has a british education. i suspect that you’ve probably never met women like her before in thailand. sorry, eric, but you’re a loser.
View all comments by embassy employee
I can’t even get my hands on a Jake Needham - Big Mango book in the Uk. I tried to bid on one on Ebay, which went for £23 GBP. He must be a really crap writer!
Eric, what are your great books called?
View all comments by A Oh
A oh - u never said anything.
We have some original big mango books we can sell at the bar.
speak up…
View all comments by smitty
Eric,
I normally don’t take the time to respond to viscious, negative people but, I must say, you pushed the button.
Let me start by saying my wife and I live in Atlanta, Ga., are US citizens and have been blessed enough to be able to travel around the globe. We have a great appreciation for the asian culture and love Southeast Asia. Everyone we have met in China, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and elsewhere in Asia have been genuinely kind, good people. It embarasses me that the kind of personal attacks and rudeness you made comes from a farang and one fromn the US.
I am an avid reader and while I live in Atlanta I travel to meet authors and attend literary events. I just returned from Los Angeles where I attended a party for about 50 authors prior to the Festival of Books. I met them all and found new authors to read. They all were very engaging and kind but no writer has been any more gracious than Jake Needham.
I emailed Jake several years ago after picking up The Big Mango in Singapore. I had not heard of Mr Needham but he came recommended by every local I asked about good novels with a Thailand setting. I devoured the novel. It felt as if I we still on vacation as I read the book. Upon arriving in the States, I researched Mr. Needham and contacted him by email. He took the time which, he did not have to do, to answer my email and even pulled a couple of 1st/1st from his own private stash and sold me. I have followed Mr. Needham’s career as a writer since. Jake’s books are not sold in the U.S. so I have to work a little harder to obtain copies to read and collect. The Ambassador’s Wife is next on my list to read and I know that its going to another quirky, adrenaline fueled trip to Singapore as I get lost in its pages.
I hope all that read this knows that Eric is not representative of most farangs whether from the USA of not. Unfortunately, there are a few Erics wherever you go but, Thank Goodness there are only a few.
Larry
View all comments by Larry
Wow, after a long hiatus I see that the only response to the latest release to the new book was to reply to my original comment. My apologies to the blog editor for sounding overly harsh of Mr. Needham, however, I find that the praise he gets for his works is more of a reflection of his readers than it is of the quality of his writing.
Many “expats” who are here often have to defend their decision for coming to a place like Bangkok and they come in two flavors (I’m excluding the legitimate expat who comes here to work in a real position with a real organization for real money). The first flavor of these other expats is smart, educated, and hard working but wants something different in life. Such “good expats” end up incurring a large opportunity cost when coming to a place like Bangkok compared to other nearby cities like HK and Singapore. Furthermore, Bangkok also attracts more than its fair share of losers who don’t have any positive qualities whatsoever, the “bad expats”. Both good and bad expats want to be able to point to some sort of justification for coming, and Mr. Needham’s works provide the perfect excuse. The fact that someone is writing about their city of choice more or less helps to legitimize their decision to come here. It really has nothing to do with the quality of his writing, and most people outside of BKK who read his literature find it to be second rate at best (a poor man’s john grisham).
As for David and his “experience in hollywood”, I seriously question how much experience he really has. If the books are such hot sellers in Asia, and if he wants to make one or more of them into a movie, then the strongest selling point he could have is to publish in the US and get some decent reviews. Any producer in hollywood wouldn’t demand anything less. In short, something fishy is going on. I’ll give 10 to 1 odds to any takers that not a single book will be turned into a movie without first publishing in the US.
View all comments by eric
eric - you are entitled to your opinions, valid or otherwise, but it is the way you feel the need to attack someone as a method for getting your opinions aired is what I have a problem with.
Feel free to send me your book, published or not and I will be happy to review it.
thx
View all comments by smitty
i thought this was toned down enough to pass scrutiny? how was I attacking anyone?!? are people really that thin-skinned?
i’m not a writer nor, like some people, do i purport to be. however, i feel that the moderators of this website (presumably you) are open-minded enough to allow other opinons that are contrary to your own. again, if i’m attacking with simple ad hominems, then i don’t see it.
View all comments by eric
I suppose that none of us should criticize Bush, the former or current PM of Thailand or any other politician for that matter unless we were former politicians ourselves? come on guys, thicken that skin!
View all comments by eric
eric - I believe in your first comment, the one the triggered all the responses, you were attacking. Hence I deleted some of it. Your subsequent comments are your opinions. I have no issue with those.
I think you make some fine points but I can’t totally agree with u. If your measure of opportunity lost is purely based on not reaching one’s top potential income bracket then I am as guilty as the rest. I got sick of Hong Kong. The mandarin Chinese bleeding it out, the sickening pollution and the ideology that work is all the matters. So yes, I left Hong Kong for those very reasons to live in Bangkok.
Singapore is just too boring, too contrived and will eventually be a big resort town full of offshore money managers. I moved to Bangkok because I wanted to see if I could start over - reinvent myself so to speak. Sure - I gave up some income but I think my quality of life is better than most “rich” people.
You make some good points but I don’t think you know Jake, his reasons for writing or how much his audience enjoys his work.
We are very thick skinned here and adore the controversy on the commenting but I believe you can discern criticism from attacking.
As for Bush - well. Is is frankly just too embarrassing being an American these day.
carry on…
View all comments by smitty
I have read all of Jake’s books except The Ambassador’s Wife. The Big Mango is a classic about Bangkok although I liked the first edition better than the expanded one. I read The Laundry Man as well as the first draft called Tea Money. The Killing of Plato was when the wheels fell off the tuk-tuk. There were over 50 typos and errors (references to Phuket being in the Gulf of Thailand instead of the Andaman Sea, etc.) but this was the editor/publisher’s fault as much as the author’s.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of each of Jake’s books and have met him and find him to be an amiable man.
I was a little disappointed when Mr. Needham and Bernard Trink got in a mud-slinging match but artists are sensitive people and resent negative reviews. Nevertheless, I still respect Jake’s ability as a crime writer. Maybe not a Dashiell Hammet but better than a Robert Parker.
ps, No I haven’t written or published any books
View all comments by kwai mai sabai
john s: And exactly why is self-publishing not publishing?
(I’ll bet 20 baht now that whatever you say in response will not answer the question)
At least Needham is creative… I note that you made comments on two different posts on this site in a matter of a few minutes and had to repeat the description of Needham’s writing as “trash”, using it in both of your very short comments.
Is three sentences without repetition the limit of your imagination?
General negative comments about the actual work of others is the most worthless use of the written word I can think of. Fortunately, due to your brevity, although each word was valueless, not too much was wasted.
Do you actually have anything of value to say?
View all comments by werewolf
Yes “werewolf” thanks for policing the blog for the self-publisher (I won’t call him a writer or author, which implies some abilities.)
Everyone in Bangkok knows that these books are for Patpong farangs.
The books like Tea Money are full of stereotypes of Thais and farangs. It’s very objectionable.
Yes sir I did peruse the “prose” it is just pretentious pap. As is the author’s photo of himself chomping on a stogey.
I’m surprised you take such great offense at this. None of these self-published works were ever published by a respectable first world publisher were they? They are for sale near the other hooker-bar books. I thought that was the point of them? To sell to this audience?
View all comments by john s.
You’re welcome “John S”.
Well, if you accepted the bet then you owe me 20 baht. You’ve said nothing to explain why self-publishing is not publishing.
But at least this time you managed to insert a salient idea: “The books like Tea Money are full of stereotypes of Thais and farangs. It’s very objectionable.” You haven’t given any examples or explained how you might have done it better, but at least you’ve said why you think it’s trash, even if only in the most general of terms.
I don’t know Jake Needham personally and I’ve never been introduced to him, though I’ve seen him around town a few times. I’m not sure why a photo of the man smoking a cigar is “pretentious” — having seen him in a few pubs, he seems to enjoy his cigars. I’ve also seen him in Subway ordering a sandwich and he seems to be a pretty ordinary guy.
I have no reason to care whether you like his writing or not. I imagine that Mr. Needham only cares about selling books, which is something he seems to do successfully.
The only offense I take is at comments like “This is trash” (which the administrator seems to have had the good sense to delete) without anything more to offer.
If you’re going to express an opinion then express a **real** opinion; one that gives a reason for me to accept what you have to say; one that provides examples and explanations; one that is a better piece of writing than the guy you’re criticizing.
Otherwise you’re just wasting space and time.
But, congratulations. Your latest comment is a big improvement over your three previous attempts. You still fall far short of being a competent commenter but you’re showing positive signs.
Maybe someday you can successfully write and sell a book… or perhaps you already have? If so, let me know the title and I promise to buy it and read it.
Cheers,
Werewolf
View all comments by werewolf