11 Oak Street

by Graham Cook

11 Oak Street is the true story of how the Queen's bankers, Coutts & Co, sent two cashier’s cheques to the law firm of Urie Walsh in San Francisco with the wrong address on the envelope (11 Oak Street instead of 1111 Oak Street), setting off a chain of events that led to the abduction of a three-year-old child from Bristol, England, to San Francisco, California.It is a horrifying story of greed, ineptness, corruption, stupidity and wasted years as the father tries to seek justice and access to his son in the midst of a thirteen-year nightmare that even Kafka could not have thought up. If you want to read about the seven California lawyers involved in this story who either went to jail, were disbarred, or resigned with charges pending, and inept judges who broke all the rules or were disciplined, this is the book for you. This is a story that would never have happened if those concerned had fulfilled their duties correctly and not broken the law. If Graham Cook, the author, had known then what he knows now, there would have been no story and he would not have gone bankrupt, become homeless or, through the actions of his own brother, ended up in a California jail. This is the book the California Judges Association refused to let the author promote to its members, since it reveals in detail the judicial abuse by some of their past and present members whose conduct will shock and disgust any right-minded person.

Genres: Biography, Memoir

223 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Graham Cook grew up as one of six children from an impoverished background. He left school at fifteen and undertook an apprenticeship as a Heating & Ventilation Engineer. Aged twenty-three he started and sold one successful large company after another to companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, each of which, based on the principles of ethics and quality that are his hallmark, made him a very wealthy man at a very early age. However, after accumulating such wealth, he made the worst decision of his life in pandering to the ‘snob’ value of wanting and obtaining an account with Coutts & Co, where human error precipitated a chain of events which changed Graham Cook’s life forever, ending in the abduction of his son and financial ruin. After living in California for years, he returned to the UK penniless and needing to start a business career all over again; he is now the founder and owner of a successful company, building it up from nothing.

Reviews

[Richard Bunning · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a stunning indictment of a corrupt and vindictive legal system, which is not set in a failed State, or in a corrupt totalitarian regime, or in some particularly troublesome period of history, it is set in the `legal' system of the State of California and its judicially semi-autonomous counties. I am not Californian, or even American, so feel free to read my supporting criticism with that in mind. Graham Cook isn't a `native' of that area either, which undoubtedly coloured some of the judgements against him.

The facts in this book are just that, facts. Critics may assume that some things are left out in order to so weigh the book's balance in the author's favour. This thought naturally crossed my mind, but the book covers such blatant miscarriages of justice that any sane person would struggle to do anything but side fully with Graham Cook.

This autobiographical account is stunning. That he persisted in fighting through the courts for so long, despite a deep well of corruption hidden in the system, even whilst struggling against many of those, then or previously, close to him, is nothing short of flabbergasting. This was all to achieve what exactly? To find out you will have to read the book.

Graham Cook clearly states that neither he nor his supporters did everything right every time, but gads, if he wasn't royally screwed by the system then who has ever been. Courts are rightly inclined towards prejudice in favour of the mother in cases of disputed custody. As a general rule, I think this is no bad thing. As a husband and a father I feel I'm more than within my rights to say so. However, courts need to be fair and open to ruling in a father's favour whenever there is any doubt as to the mother's capability or behaviour. We all hear thousands of stories reflecting this sort of issue. However, this book is far more than just one more example in that unfortunate flood. This isn't about simple biases that exist in any legal system; this is about corruption within, and the illegal manipulation of, the judiciary. This is about corruption, prejudice and outright theft by individuals that society needed, or still needs, to trust.

This is a very well written account of a family `train-crash' caused by systemic failures and a lack of impartial oversight. Every adult that cares a fig about family issues, about natural justice or about the dangers inherent in poorly regulated legal entities, should read this. But above all, this book needs to be read by those that hold public office in the, in so many ways great, State of California.

The author is known to me.

[BookTrib.com]

11 OAK STREET by Graham Cook tells the unnerving true tale of how one small mistake can have massive repercussions that can tear lives apart.

Read the full review on BookTrib.com

[Dee-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style of this book is bland, but I was compelled to read it for the content. Flabbergasted about the unfairness of the legal system and how unlawful it can be. Also, each time Graham (the author) met a new woman ... my inner voice kept saying ... 'Don't go there!' Same with friends, family, lawyers, business schemes and more. After the first couple of chapters, it was one train wreck after another. This book is definitely one-sided, even including the mistakes he makes, the author makes himself the 'saint', but am left wondering if he was part of the problem too.