Dead Giveaway: The Rescue, Hamburgers, White Folks, and Instant Celebrity . . . What You Saw on TV Doesn’t Begin to Tell the Story . . . - Softcover

Ramsey, Charles; Nyerges, Randy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1938441516 ISBN 13: 9781938441516

Publisher: Gray & Company, Publishers, 2014

Synopsis

One of America’s most unusual celebrities tells his own outrageous story.

From dishwasher to international celebrity in one afternoon . . . Charles Ramsey gives a roller coaster account of his life before, during, and after the dramatic rescue of three kidnapped women in Cleveland . . .

Global news media declared him a hero. Well-wishers mobbed him. The Internet made him a viral sensation. It couldn’t have happened to a less likely guy. Now, read how it all went down.

Ramsey was in the wrong place at the right time when he answered a young woman’s cry for help, kicked in his neighbor’s locked front door, and got her the hell out of there―leading to the astonishing rescue of three young women―Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight―who had been missing for a decade.

Reporters and TV cameras flocked to a neighborhood―and a man―they otherwise would have ignored. Ramsey was ready, with plenty to say.

“Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms . . . Dead giveaway.” It was a quote that launched a thousand Internet memes . . .

In this book Ramsey walks us step-by-step through the day of the rescue and talks about living right next door to Ariel Castro―outwardly charming, secretly a monster.

He tells about life before the rescue―growing up a privileged black kid in a white suburb, seeking out trouble over and over, getting kicked out of school, selling drugs, going to prison, and ultimately finding work as a dishwasher and landing by chance on gritty Seymour Avenue.

And he shares what it’s like to become an instant celebrity, when suddenly everybody wants a piece of you. (For example, he learned the hard way that when a big TV network flies you to New York City for an interview, that doesn’t mean they also bought you a ticket back home to Cleveland!)

This is a wild, eye-opening tale told with a sharp sense of humor.

About this title

About the Author:

Charles Ramsey became an unlikely international celebrity on May 6, 2013 when he helped rescue three kidnapped women in Cleveland, Ohio. National media and fans called him a “hero.” He says no, he just did what anybody should have done. He lives in Clevelan, Ohio.

Randy Nyerges is a writer, a musician, and a certified tutor in the Cleveland Public Schools. He previously worked in media relations in Washington, D.C, and has held several staff appointments in the United States Senate. He graduated from Kent State University with a degree in journalism.

Review:

A warts-and-all chronicle that is often funny and is extravagantly profane. (Feran Tom The Plain Dealer 2014-04-27)

Charles Ramsey, casual hero and spontaneous satirist. (Russell Brand 2013-05-07)

If I ever meet him I’m going to give him the biggest hug. (John Walsh America's Most Wanted 2013-05-07)

I think I'm in love, Charles Ramsey. #Cleveland #Hero. (Valerie Bertinelli 2013-05-07)

A national hero, a viral video star. (Josh Levs CNN 2013-05-07)

Dear Charles Ramsey: I am not a little pretty white girl, but I totally want to run into your black arms. (Patton Oswalt 2013-05-07)

He's an unpretentious, forthright and extremely likeable Good Samaritan. Oh, and also brave . . . What's so appealing about Ramsey is his unfiltered honesty, humility and even humor (Denver Post Editorial Board Denver Post 2013-05-09)

Charles Ramsey is the best kind of hero ... the kind that saves lives, and makes you laugh your ass off. (TMZ Staff TMZ 2013-05-07)

That's a real hero right there. (Snoop Dogg 2013-05-06)

About this edition

• Publisher: Gray & Company, Publishers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1938441516
• ISBN 13: 9781938441516
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 166