{"title":"Ben Blum","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"ranger-games-book-ben-blum-9780007554584","title":"Ranger Games","description":"A tense and layered true-crime story about an all-American soldier boy turned bank robber             Alex Blum was a clean-cut all-American kid with one unshakeable goal in life: to serve his country in the military. He was accepted into the elite Rangers regiment, but on the first day of his leave before deployment to Iraq, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma, and committed armed robbery.             The Blum family was devastated and mystified. How could he have done such a thing?             Alex’s attorney presented a defence based on the theory that trainee Rangers are indoctrinated on a level akin to the brainwashing in an extreme religious cult, and Alex insisted that he had believed the robbery was just another exercise in the famously daunting Ranger program. But Luke Elliot Sommer, the charismatic soldier behind the robbery, maintained that Alex knew exactly what he was doing, and had, in fact, planned it all with him.             Who was lying? What had happened to Alex during those gruelling months of training? How accountable was he?","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49610157031697,"sku":"GOR008673218","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49638100009233,"sku":"GOR008804677","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49728894664977,"sku":"NGR9780007554584","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0007554583.jpg?v=1750907473"},{"product_id":"ranger-games-book-ben-blum-9780385543194","title":"Ranger Games","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49787384529169,"sku":"CIN0385543190G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52815238365457,"sku":"CIN0385543190VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0385543190.jpg?v=1751259930"},{"product_id":"ranger-games-a-story-of-soldiers-family-and-an-inexplicable-crime-cd-9780804166058","title":"Ranger Games","description":"\u003cb\u003eA gloriously good writer.\u003ci\u003eRanger Games \u003c\/i\u003eis both surprising and moving.A memorable, novelistic account.--\u003cb\u003eJennifer Senior, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIntricate, heartrending, and morally urgent, \u003ci\u003eRanger Games\u003c\/i\u003e is a crime story like no other \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlex Blum was a good kid, a popular high school hockey star from a tight-knit Colorado family. He had one goal in life: endure a brutally difficult selection program, become a U.S. Army Ranger, and fight terrorists for his country. He poured everything into achieving his dream. In the first hours of his final leave before deployment to Iraq, Alex was supposed to fly home to see his family and beloved girlfriend. Instead, he got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma, and committed armed robbery. \u003cbr\u003e The question that haunted the entire Blum family was: \u003ci\u003eWhy?\u003c\/i\u003e Why would he ruin his life in such a spectacularly foolish way?\u003cbr\u003e At first, Alex insisted he thought the robbery was just another exercise in the famously daunting Ranger program. His attorney presented a case based on the theory that the Ranger indoctrination mirrored that of a cult. \u003cbr\u003e In the midst of his own personal crisis, and in the hopes of helping both Alex and his splintering family cope, Ben Blum, Alex's first cousin, delved into these mysteries, growing closer to Alex in the process. As he probed further, Ben began to question not only Alex, but the influence of his superior, Luke Elliot Sommer, the man who planned the robbery. A charismatic combat veteran, Sommer's manipulative tendencies combined with a magnetic personality pulled Ben into a relationship that put his loyalties to the test.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49799619838225,"sku":"CIN0804166056G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49937401020689,"sku":"CIN0804166056VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0804166056.jpg?v=1750818632"},{"product_id":"ranger-games-book-ben-blum-9780804169691","title":"Ranger Games","description":"Alex Blum was a good kid with one goal in life: become a U.S. Army Ranger. Then, on the day before deployment to Iraq, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma, and committed armed robbery. 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