Who is Andrew Vachss?

"Andrew Vachss is an attorney who represents children and youth exclusively, with 30 years experience in child protective work. He has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social services caseworker, and a labor organizer. [information borrowed from The Zero]

"Vachss" is pronounced "Vax", like "fax" or "axe"

He also directed a maximum security prison for "aggressive-violent" youth."  For more details, please come down to Zero. The Zero, Mr. Vachss official site....where I got all this info and the pictures too!

On a very deep personal note, I fell in 'love' with this man from the first article I read about him. You have to admit he is incredibly sexy!! Right up there with Sam Elliot and Sean O'Connery!!!!  But that's surely not the reason.

I fell in 'love' with this man in the way a child might be in 'love' with their big brother, a favorite uncle, Grandpa, or the Kinght in Shining Armor. Not 'dad' status and not a 'crush', but a love of admiration and adoration that goes much deeper, straight to the soul.  The kind of love that will remain silently with you till your dying days.

I love Vachss, the person, the character, for what he stands for.  I admire anyone with the ka-huna's to go against the grain of our pitiful society and it's fucked up politics in the name of a child, I would love to see his work in a courtroom.  For me... he is a fairytale. It is very difficult for me to believe that people care that much, even more difficult to believe they will do something about it. Too many have the ability to do something, but they just don't care or they 'don't want to get involved'. Others cared... but not enough to do anything. Where was my knight I wonder..... This is one man.  Where are the rest of them.  Should there not be a full army of poeple fighting this same fight?  There should.....  but there isn't.

Vachss is a rescuer of flesh AND fur!!  As if being an attorney and an author isn't enough, the guy does dogs!  Lots of them.  If you can't trust a man who cares for his dogs, who can you trust.  See photos of the dogs and read some great dog stories (exceprts from Vachss' novels) on The Zero. Of 40+ dogs listed I interpreted a strong message of RESCUE and Dogs of Service. It's not clear wich dog listed, if any, are actually Vachss' dog, but there are enough dogs on the website to go around.  Hmm.. more charitable acts, go figure!

His charity goes far beyond his words. "Before any of his novels were ever published, Andrew Vachss turned his frontline experiences into a textbook. Entitled The Life-Style Violent Juvenile: The Secure Treatment Approach, it was released by Lexington Books in 1979. That textbook is once again available. in a searchable Microsoft Word file, available on CD-ROM. The cost of the CD is $20. Of that amount, $15 goes to Licensed for Life — a cop who's seen it all reaches teens by lowering their guard."  - Quoted from The Zero

"Licensed For Life's mission is to educate new drivers about the laws regarding driving while under the influence. The program focuses on high school students (15-18) in developing their ability to make the right choice by providing them with the practical application of safety skills though education." - Quoted from Liscensed for Life