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Big Book Of Bad |
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Big Book Of Little Criminals By George Hagenauer, Taggart, Carl Sifakis (DC Comics) Another excellent edition of the DC Comics' Factoid Press "Big Book" series. This one focuses on a variety of criminals, from small-time hoods to organized crime. Not terribly morbid, bu interesting all the same. NNNN - Interesting Indeed! |
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| Bloodletters
And Badmen By Jay Robert Nash (Evans) Originally published in 1973, this is a classic in the field of True Crime. There has been a lot of discussion about Nash not always getting his facts in order, but this is still a great A-Z collection of America's Worst, "from the Pilgrims to the Present". (Not Yet Reviewed) |
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Business: An Anecdotal History of Scotland Yard By H. Paul Jeffers (Berkley) Although the fact above is a rollicking story, I just finished reading the book it was culled from - Bloody Business by H. Paul Jeffers - and I must say I was not terribly impressed. The Edward Gorey cover is fantastic and there are a few interesting stories, but not nearly enough to hold my interest. If you are interested in learning about the history of Scotland Yard - such as how the police department was originally set-up and who led it over the years, then you might find it very satisfying, but I was hoping for a bit more blood and guts. NN - Too Much Business, Not Enough Blood |
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Chronicle Of Crime By Martin Fido (Carlton) This book is a collection of crime stories from the 19th century to the present time. What I really love about this book is its newspaper/tabloid design and the fact that the older articles preserve the language and moralizing of the times. It's also great because it dredges up a number of little known "commoner" atrocities rather than simply dwelling on the usual serial killers that inhabit most books. The graphics are also quite nifty, including lots of those 19th century illustrations that I find so captivating. A great compendium. (Not Yet Reviewed) |
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| Prisoners By Arne Svenson (Blast Books) This is just the kind of morbid and intensely nostalgic book that I expect to write someday. Arne Svenson stumbled upon an incredible cache of abandoned glass plate negatives in an old building in Marysville, California (quite close to the Castle DeSpair, incidentally), many of which were old prisoner photographs that had been taken by town photographer Clara Smith when under contract with the city between 1900 and 1908. Her office had been in the building, which was set to be demolished, which explains why Svenson stumbled upon such a golden cache. The best thing about these pictures was that the name of the criminal and their alleged offence had been scratched directly onto the plates - which allowed a great opportunity for further investigation. By searching crumbling old Marysville newspapers and San Quentin prison records, Svenson was able to piece together the stories behind many of the images - 70 of which are presented in this fascinating book. Unfortunately, many of the stories are of the Petty Larceny variety, rather than the much more interesting murder/assault variety, and that prevents the book from getting a five-star rating on the Morbid-O-Meter, but for fans of prison historical documents and old newspaper clippings, this is quite a find. Due to the photographer's experience in portraiture, most of the images have more of a portrait gallery feel than a mug shot feel, which adds to their period mystique. A beautiful work. NNNN - A Fascinating Chronicle!! |
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| Sins
Of New York By Edward Van Every (Gale Research Co.) Originally recommended by Sue Prendergast: "Here's what I wrote about the next book: 'Another book: have you read Sins of New York? I came upon one of the original copies... the Comtesse will be pea-green with envy.' I of course grabbed it; it was marked only three dollars! This is a compilation of stories from the old 'Police Gazette--The National Police Gazette, the Leading Illustrated Sporting Journal in the World,' printed in 1930, by Edward Van Every, also author of 'Muldoon: the Solid Man of Sport.' From the introduction, by F.P.A. (Franklin P. Adams.): 'His book shows, uniquely and fascinatingly, a great part of thr history of the American people, their tastes, their violences, their recreations.' Especially delicious is the second section, 'The Richard K Fox Gazette,' reprinted, from 1876, on actual Pink Paper just like the old Gazette itself! Long quotations from the tabloid are include with the best and most absurd illustrations. " Well, I did not get the same printing of this book as Sue did, since my copy was all in boring black and white - no pink pages. And I must say that I was very unenthralled with the stories reprinted in the book. For the mostpart I did not find them very morbid or interesting. However, the illustrations are magnificent, and if you're interested in fabulous morbid 19th century illustrations, then you will adore this book. If you're looking for a good read, steer clear... NNNNN - For The Illustrations, NN - For The Tales |
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| Accidentally,
on Purpose: The Making Of A Personal Injury Underworld In America by Ken Dornstein (Palgrave) Recommended by Jacques Le'Disco: "My favorite chapter covers The House of Pain, where the inhabitants specialized in burning, and mutilating insurance scam artists (sometimes in vain)." Sounds fascinating to me! |
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Bloody Business by H. Paul Jeffers (B&N Books) Recommended by Lily: "A History of the Scotland Yard, which details many of the cases they have dealt with over the years (most notably and thoroughly discussed is the Jack the Ripper case, but of course!) A few fabulous pictures, esp. that of a wax sculpture of George Jacobs Smith drowning one of his wives, and wonderfully chilling stories." |
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First Guidebook to Prisons and Concentration Camps of the Soviet Union by Avraham Shifrin (Bantam Books) Recommended by Ulf Rosvall: Here's a snippet of the review on Amazon.Com: "This book, written by a former inmate, describes no fewer than 1,976 concentration camps in the Soviet Union, as of early 1980. In the post-Stalin era alone, at least 1.6 million people died in these camps, and at the time of writing, inmates numbered in the millions... The author describes a world of watchtowers manned by guards bearing machine guns, and electrically charged barbed-wire fences; he portrays prisoners in columns or transport vehicles, prisoners attacked by dogs, prisoners in camp uniforms with numbers across their chests, women prisoners, child and teenage prisoners... Perhaps the most distressing part of this work is the very first section, which lists 119 prisons and concentration camps built specifically for women and children... these camps were characterised by extreme violence and sadistic cruelty: thus in Novosibirsk, club-carrying guards 'subject the young prisoners (aged 10 to 18) to merciless beatings' while children are sent to hard labour projects... Then there is the short section entitled 'Extermination Camps,' listing camps where prisoners, 'forced to work under dangerously unhealthy conditions for the Soviet war machine, face a virtually certain death'. The author identifies three categories: (1) camps where almost no-one ever comes out alive (the prisoners work in uranium mines and uranium enrichment plants); (2) camps where the prisoners are used for dangerous work in the arms industry (the prisoners perform high-risk duties in military nuclear plants); (3) camps where prisoners are used for dangerous work causing disability and fatal illness (the prisoners operate machines without ventilation). Next the author documents the existence of 85 psychiatric prisons, where mentally healthy human beings are administered heavy doses of neuroleptic drugs; where inmates are bound so that the victim's body becomes compressed as if in a vice; and where prisoners are beaten by criminals and subjected to electric shocks at the slightest provocation..." |
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Mammoth Book Of Illustrated Crime: A Photographic History by Colin and Damon Wilson (Carroll & Graf Publishers) Recommended by Denese: "It's a photographic history of crime, just like the title says. The authors are British, so the viewpoint on some of the crimes is a bit askew. The book starts in 1864 and ends with 9/11/01. In between are some gruesome pictures, some boring pictures, and some very interesting tidbits. Have you ever heard of Marie Tarnovska? Because this woman is my new hero. Some of the pictures are just boring headshots of famous criminals, but then you pictures of things you never wanted to see, such as John Wayne Bobbit's severed bobbit. Boy, you turn the page to that and it just leaps right off the page at you. :) There are also a lot of interesting European serial killers and heinous murders that I'd never heard of. All in all, I think you'd like this book." |
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Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corinne May Botz (Monacelli) Recommended by Riley Amazon description: "This fascinating and macabre volume offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police. In the 1940s she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: tiny pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crime scene are revealed to those who study them carefully. Corrine Botz's lush color photographs lure viewers into every crevice of Frances Lee's models and breathe life into these deadly miniatures, which represent the dark side of domestic life, unveiling tales of prostitution, alcoholism and adultry. Botz's introductory essay, which draws on archival research and interviews with Lee's family and police colleagues, present a captivating portrait of the creator of these amazing miniatures." |
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Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough (Penguin) Recommended by Katchaya: "This looks like a great book I'll have to get!" |
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