True Crime Books

i will like to ricieve a copy of this book.

Very informative. Great details. It goes over everything that a person should know.

Response by Marilyn T. Miller. I am compelled to respond to an earlier review. This book was a cooperative work of all three authors but was done under the direct guidance and care of Henry Lee. Crime scene investigation has been one of Dr. Lee's lifetime concerns. This book is the result of that dedication. The other authors owe a hugh amount of graditute to him for their participation in the effort.

I read this book as a required text for a Masters program in Forensic Science. Having read the previous reviews on the book, I was not expecting a particularly good textbook, but I do not believe that the other reviews do justice to how totally worthless this book is. I feel obliged to write a review of my own to balance the scales, as it were.

First off, the comment regarding the numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the book is grossly understated. I cannot believe that this book ever saw an editor's desk. I have randomly opened the book to several pages, and quickly found the following sentences, which I believe should illustrate my point:

- Most importantly [sic] by keeping the suspect away from the scene, any physical evidence found at the scene that originated from the suspect will link the suspect to the scene only at the time of the crime and not from the suspect having been returned to the scene for identification by victims or witnesses. p.53 (grammatical error, poorly written and confusing)

- Access [sic] the type of scene, the boundary of the scene, and the personnel and equipment needed. p 58. (should read, 'assess')

There are others, as well - alas, I have forgotten the sentence I came across while reading for class that contained a minimum of 5 errors. Yes. One sentence.

My most significant complaint, however, is that the book is simply not thorough. This is primarily due to the fact that it appears to have been written for idiots - all the major areas are touched upon, but there appears to be a fear that tackling them in detail would confuse people. So, instead, each technique is mentioned only in passing, leaving the reader with only a very vague overview of what goes on at a crime scene. Any person actually practicing in the field of forensic science is bound to be disappointed by its lack of depth, detail, and 'new' material. This likely also applies to anyone who has read any other books on the subject, whether they are active in the field or not.

For those who are interested in the subject and looking for a much better primer, I would suggest Fisher's 'Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation,' instead. While he does not have the friendly or chatty writing style that Lee has (the only thing going for Lee's book, incidentally), he is significantly more thorough. The book is also more well-regarded in the field, based on everything I have heard. This is not to say that Lee does not have a prominent name in forensics - quite the contrary. But, I would hate to think that anyone would purchase this book on his name alone. He should stick to spoken lectures, at which he is quite excellent.

This book was an exceptional take-home package of crime scene processing information in an easy-to-read format. However, the chosen title for this work is egotistical and arrogant. There are a large number of typographical errors, but the book is actually quite useful. I must say, please wait for the second edition before purchasing this book.

I was hoping for some colorful information abour the victims. Instead the book reads like a genelogy chart. There are pictues of current descendents of the vicims which is interesting. Not a total waste, just not what I wanted to read.

Wonderfully conceived piece of work which focuses on the interesting, arcane and too-often ignored personal aspect of the Ripper murders - the lives of the victims themselves. This book is not for those who only revel in bloodlust or whose interest singularly lies in finding the identity of the Ripper, but ascribes personalities, background and ultimately "humanness" to the five canonical victims. Thanks to the author and all who collaborated on this book.

there are pictures of some descendants, but nothing new as far as information on the victims.

Jack the Ripper. The Whitechapel Murderer. Leather Apron. All are monikers that were applied to the mysterious serial killer who frequented the streets and alleys of Whitechapel, East London, in the fall of 1888. Because he was never caught, he continues to terrify and tantalize. In consequence, more books and articles have been dedicated to the Ripper than any other serial killer in modern history.

"The Victims of Jack the Ripper" is a refreshing addition to any Ripperologist's library. Instead of proposing a dubious new suspect or arguing ridiculous conspiracy theories, Neal Stubbings Sheldon investigates the histories of the five canonical victims. He discovered a previously unpublished photo of victim number two, Annie Chapman, and corresponded extensively with the descendants of Polly Nichols and Catharine Eddowes as well as Chapman. His research turned up interesting family stories as well as one bit of sad irony: when Catharine Eddowes' cousin was hanged for murder in 1866, she profited from the tragedy by selling a gallows ballad about the crime to the crowd in attendance. She probably never thought that her own notoriety would ever exceed her cousin's, but it did, only she was fated to be prey instead of predator.

The only Ripper victim who continues to be an enigma, even after Sheldon's thorough researches, is Mary Jane Kelly. The 'autumn of blood' was brought to a conclusion by her murder in a foul, dimly lit room in Miller's Court, resulting in a widely held suspicion that she may have been the killer's original target all along. Determining her real identity and antecedents remains the Holy Grail for serious students of the Ripper crimes, but if anyone has a shot at a future resolution of this feminine enigma, it's Sheldon.

Once I started to read this facinating book, I couldnt put it down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an in depth view at how anti semitism flourished in those times, and how destructive it was.
I was amazed at how the author gathered so many details, interviews, photos, etc. Very impressed- and for someone who preffers fiction over non, that means alot!!

Helmut Walser Smith's The Butcher's Tale analyzes a town's (Konitz Germany)involvement in anti-Semetic activity in 1900. At the turn of the century Germany is experiencing great progress in the arts, sciences, and they are considered the most literate in the world. Although the education system is the envy of other modern nations during the period, the government unfortunately continues to see the nation's minorities as a problem. Although the Jewish minority has been fully emancipated since Napoleon's invasion, anti-Semitism is still prevalent in Germany. Anti-Semitic sentiments have made their lives difficult, nevertheless, the Jewish community has been able to assimilate themselves into German society and have a voice in larger cities such as Berlin.

However in Konitz on March 13, 1900 body parts of a murder young man are found strewn throughout town. Immediately the Jewish community is suspected and anti-Semetic events take place. Walser Smith in The Butcher's Tale investigates the murder of the young man and how it tore the community of Konitz apart. Furthermore, Walser Smith illustrates to his readers the history of anti-Semetism, the place of anti-Semetism in Germany during 1900, and how anti-Semetic sentiments would evolve in Germany's future (particularly under the Third Reich). The book is written extremely well which makes it an easy read (it sucks you into the historical plot much like a novel). In addition, for anyone looking to gain knowledge of how anti-Semetism evolved in Germany or the roots of anti-Semetism this is an excellent opportunity.

The Butcher's Tale is on the surface the story of the murder of an 18 year old boy in an obscure town in a backwards corner of Germany in 1900. The parts of the book which deal with the discovery of the body and the subsequent investigations read like any report of a murder might, with heavy emphasis on detail and comparisons of witness testimony, etc.

The most important parts of the book deal, however, with the reaction of the townspeople to the murder: an upsurge in anti-Semitic hysteria which eventually forced the government to send troops to keep order. Smith does a good job of analyzing the roots of anti-Jewish prejudice in Germany and Central Europe and provides a fascinating history of the beginnings of the so-called blood libel and desecration of the Host stories, belief in which accounted for much of the anti-Jewish feeling in Central and Eastern Europe from the Middle Ages on. Smith also draws some interesting parallels with the behavior of the German government in 1900, when it actively protected its Jewish citizens, and then in the 1940s, when the Third Reich actively sought to massacre those same citizens.

This book is important because it gives us precious insights into the tendency of human beings, even well educated, civilized humans, to lapse into hysteria and believe the most unbelievable stories about people they once trusted and accepted. Read this book, and remember it the next time you hear rumors about child molesting day care workers, or secret covens of Satanists among us, or other widespread, previously unsuspected, conspiracies.

I was recently assigned to read this book for a World Civilizations history course in college, and I was surprised by how interesting it turned out to be.
The author offers historical facts and evidence of a supposed 'ritual murder' in Konitz, a German town. But it reads like a suspense story that makes you want to keep reading to know what happened.
I strongly recommend this book to those interested in anti-Semitism and history.

The reviews of this book may lead you to expect a true-crime story. It was researched very well and and is, therefore, a meticulous examination of German townspeople at the beginning of the 20th century; but the reviews are more interesting than the book. This is not because the story, itself, is not interesting but because it is told in a dull manner.

If you think, as I did, that this book will tell you why a whole town of Christians would not only believe false stories about Jews but actually make up the false stories, forget it. The author seemed to attempt to do this through his detailed examination, but I still don't know the answer. Maybe no one does.

Even if I had not already read the author's preface, after I read this book I could have told you he is a college professor and had his students critique part of the book. It reads like a term paper, lots of facts but not a page turner. A very interesting story, then, turns out to be a dull book.

This book is profoundly outdated. The practice of law involves nowadays a lot more of technology, a lot more of sophisticating approach of the cases and a lot more of sharks in the sea to fight with.
A good (but not great) read, a pretty good insight at how lawyers used to think.
I would say it' s ok for a non-lawyer to buy and read this book, but I - as a lawyer -would go for a more modern read.
Also note that this book talks about trial lawyers exclusively, so this is about a percentage of all lawyers, and i would say its for those who (used to) handle pretty big cases, so this has very little to day with the everyday practice of law.
Also: the nations top litigators don' t really tell you how they win, they much more tell you how they "won".

After reading Emily Couric's hugely interesting book I now realise that a good lawyer is worth his or her weight in gold. The secrets of the top legal eagles are laid bare; an LA attorney candidly admits that "flirting ouragously with the judge by batting eyelashes and wearing short skirts" has served him well in the California courts, while a New York litigator fascinatingly reveals his strategy when he represented the man fired for masturbating in his office and won him $2.1M after a jury found his employers liable for failing to protect him from sexually harrassing himself.

I think I gave up on this book when it spent a page detailing how one attorney had a younger, blond wife who came from a rich family and worked out with him. THen it went on to say how they had a personal trainer and worked out at an exclusive club.


WTF does that have to do with anything?

Please note that the book was written in the 80's so all of the legal insight is horribly outdated.

I wouldn't give 50 cents for this book.

As a law student, I found this book extremely helpful. It has briefs about the work of America's finest lawyers in civil, criminal, and tort law. It is truly amazing. "The Nation's Top Litigators Tell How They Win" and surely they do. Legal textbooks are stuffy, inhuman, and relate little to practicing real law. Books like these are what prepare you for practicing law in the real world.

I read this book.... and I couldn't even finish, it was so bad. Don't buy this one.

Anyone that works in a corporate environment needs to be interested in the role multinational conrporations have on the global economy. The Corporation is a very inteersting entity, largely unchecked and left to its own conscience in many respects. Huffington explores this road.

Pigs at the Trough is a fantastic look into corporate greed. Not only does the book expose the unfair buisness practices of crooked CEOs but also the great gap between them and thier workers. The book explains that what happens upstairs at a large corporation is much different. Huffington shows how the upper one percent of the world is getting away with murder and still making more than the lower eighty percent of the entire world.
Overall Pigs at the Trough was an excellent read. You will find yourself repulsed by the leaders of Walmart and Tyco but at the same time will not be able to put it down. Inform yourself and read this book.

Ms. Huffington clearly seeks to take no prisoners in her expose of corporate/legislative malfeasance: She names names, she gives dates, she states exact amounts of money. (Eg.: "If you paid $1 in taxes last year, you paid more than Dow Chemical.") In a truly bipartisan castigation of government corruption, she squeals (pun not intended) on Republicans and Democrats alike, making a strong case that the "military/industrial complex" that President Eisenhower warned about has become a military/industrial/legislative complex--with the legislators holding paying jobs in both the military AND the industrial groups they're supposed to regulate.

Yeah, she's mad all right. If you believe that capitalism is inherently benevolent, and that the profit motive never conflicts with the Bill of Rights, then you probably won't like this book. If, however, you have unsettling suspicions that many of our nation's political actions over the past 3 decades seem to have been motivated solely to create profits for the few... well, this book, angry or not, may provide information that is useful to you. Your call.

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

i just had to read this book for my pol sci 1 class. it was actually very interesting. i really had no idea how much corporations were affecting america but now i do. there are so many facts in this book that make it very interesting. this is definitly a must read!

I couldn't put this book down. It is very well written and NOT one of those true crime books that you have to keep flipping backwards to clarify people and events. I have been going to Las Vegas since my grandparents moved there in the early 1980s and I am somewhat partial to non-fiction books set in familiar locations. The only thing that might be slightly negative about A Fire In the Desert is that the story is not yet over, so it left me feeling a little incomplete, but that is not Glenn Puit's fault (the book went to press before Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan pled guilty to various charges related to Melissa James' death).

Very simple read that i finished in 2 days. Basically gives an introduction to all the characters involved in this case and gives the actual details of the statements made by the accused and other persons of interest.

Mr. Puit is a very thorough journalist and a great writer, however many attorneys in Las Vegas felt that his book was premature because a jury had not yet decided the case.

However, the information provided in the book gives the reader the sense that a guilty verdict is inevitable. As in Mr. Puit's other book "Witch" he leaves some questions open for the reader to decide. In this book, we are left to ponder whether both the Husband and the Wife are responsible for the murder or whether the Husband is more culpable and the wife merely a pawn of her Husband's will.

Very, very well written book. My son grew up with and hung out with Craig. My kids claimed that Craig was cocky and arrogant but I never saw any of this. He was a good kid. However, after reading this book, I became firmly convinced that success brings out the worst in some people. His downfall can be roughly compared to the careers of Denny McLain and Mike Tyson. As a Born Again Christian, I pray for Craig and Kelly often. I feel like one of my own kids has, "bit the dust".

I'm sure there will be a final draft from this writer about the Titus-Ryan murder after the trial is over.

If you want to see a lot of raw data without much commentary or background, this book is definitely worth a look since it includes complete interviews and short summaries of official police reports. The manuscript is rife with weird indentations and sloppy typos, but you get the facts of this lurid and disturbing case.

I'd tell you to wait for the final draft but this book is definitely worth reading for a review of what's going to show up in the upcoming trial. Unless you live in Las Vegas and have access to regular reports, you'll at least this need this book to get an idea of the twists and turns going on right up to today!

I read this book a while ago. SO my memory is a little hazy. But I remember that the book had a nice classic pulp tone. Like a pulp ghost writer hooked it up rather than Vidocq himself -maybe its the translation.

THe first part of the book deals with Vidocq's criminal adventures. And the second half is where he turns to good.

Its kind of repetitious. Vidocq escapes from jail at least 5000 times. and he disquises himself and shadows some one like 200-300 times.

Over all, I recommend this book. Nice gaslamp adventure. If you like pulpy crime narratives from the 19th century - who doesnt.

True story of a thief and career criminal he became head of Paris's secret police. Insiration for Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Alan Poe's detective stories. A master of disguise, acrobat, and keen investigator who also used lies, extortion, and bribes to always get his man.

Not possible to review, as I never received this item.
Please refund my money.

I was really impressed with this book. Cindi is a remarkable woman to come through so much physical and mental pain and then to be able to forgive and move on with her life. It makes you grateful for what you have in life and shows you that amongst all the evil in the world there are still so many good people, helping each other. I really enjoyed reading this book and would urge others to do so.

It took courage to live thru this horrible attack and more courage to write so honestly about her pain and then to be able to forgive the anonymous attacker.

This is an incredible story of an amazing woman who fought (and in many ways is still fighting) a horrific and totally senseless crime. Her very personal journey of survival is truly an inspiration to us all,and I thank her for having the courage to share it. She is helping to make the world a better and safer place. While it is often very difficult, forgiveness is NOT an option: it is a necessary part of this life. The bondages of anger, bitterness and depression that accompany unforgiveness far outweigh the original pain of whatever we may have encountered.When we release those who hurt us to God's justice, we free ourselves of any and all bondages and then our own healing can begin.
The only complaint I would have about this book is that it tended to drag a bit once I got past the half-way mark.Otherwise it is a powerful read.
God's blessings to Cindi and all her family!

This was a great book! I really enjoyed the positive attitude that Cindi demonstrated throughout this extremely difficult time in her life. I thought it was a fabulous read! I was finished with the book in three days!

You know how this book is going to end, but despite that, it is impossible to put it down - as long as you make it to the last third. The beginning 20 pages tells the tale of Chris Boyce's escape from prison (He is the former USSR spy brought to fame by the movie "Falcon and the Snowman.") The next 180 pages or so starts off well but then bogs down as it presents all the false-leads that law enforcement got stuck with in their going-nowhere-fast manhunt for him over the next 12-18 months. The final third presents Boyce's perspective of where he was hiding until they caught him at the end, and although you know it will end in his capture, it is an amazing and addictive read.

As a humorous aside, I love the idea of FBI agents and US marshalls driving around Port Angeles WA in the summer of 1981 looking for him, openly drinking cans of beer as they drive around town. Federal law enforcement officials drinking AND driving simultaneously on a national manhunt. How times have changed. Did you have to drink from an open container as you drove around Port Angeles in 1981 in order to maintain your cover as a federal agent?

Great! I am 15 and have just discovered this great book. My mother had owned it it was about my uncle Duke Smith. Duke his nick name. the book was great a must to read.

I didn't care about the red herrings the investigators were following. I just wanted to know what Boyce was really doing. So I read only those parts of the book. Those parts were quite interesting.

For about two years I have had this thing for reading true escape stories. The Flight of the Falcon is one of the best. It's a story about a smart, young, convicted spy and his escape from prison. I give it only four stars because the author kind of went over board on the whole "follow the false leads" thing. For 18 months they got thousands of leads that went absolutely nowhere and Boyce was well on his way to freedom. But the play by play accounts of each false lead was redundant and tedious. Lindsey took a gamble with that and won.....in my opinion. All the redundancy paid off in a big way with a truly exciting escape story.

I picked this book up in a used book store, and read it in less than a day. I couldnot put it down! At first, I almost felt sorry for Christopher Boyce, but once he started robbing banks to support himself, forget about it. I wonder if today, in July of 2000, if he is still as bitter towards both the government and the CIA

It's amazing that 50 years after it was published this book is still a relevant account of police work in Los Angeles. It still captures the courage, determination, and even fear, involved with law enforcement. But, it now reads like a retro "cop talk" diary from the extraordinary Jack Webb. His language and tone is a peek back into the past, when Los Angeles was a much smaller place and a sense of community still existed. I love this book and I highly recommend it for anyone that has an interest in that time and place.

On radio, in the 1950s television version of Dragnet, and in its 1960s resurrection, Jack Webb was Sergeant Joe Friday, the straight-shooting, no-nonsense exemplar of the LAPD. In this non-fiction book, Webb tells the real stories of crimes that were too violent to be broadcast on "Dragnet." Among them are the famous murder of the "Black Dahlia," a woman who was tortured for days before her killer slit her throat, drained her body of blood, bisected it and dumped her in an empty lot. Another story that made my blood boil was the murder of a 10-year old orphaned boy, whose own mother had just died days before. His father lost a wife and, senselessly, a son within weeks to a murderer who killed for the thrill of it.

Each chapter of the book is labeled with an LAPD rank, from Policeman, to Sergeant, to Lieutenant, all the way to Commissioner(s). The stories in the first few chapters are the most absorbing, as they demonstrate actual, hands-on police work. Yet, it was also interesting to read of problems which confronted, and still confront, Los Angeles and its police force at higher levels. The book particularly presents a good picture of Chief Parker, who is responsible for cleaning up the vice and corruption that marked the pre-1950 LAPD and setting rules that made officers proud to serve.

A warning to 21st century readers: This book was written in 1958 with the stereotypes -- and the language -- common at the time. Some sentences might make you gasp: i.e., in describing race relations in Los Angeles, Webb writes that "It is a dozen collisions, the Oriental, the Mexican, the Indian, the Southerner (both Negro and white), the Easterner and the Westerner; intra-racial as well as one skin pitted against another of a different color." There are a lot of sentences like that, particularly in the later chapters, where Webb was trying to argue that the LAPD of the time was cognizant of ethnic tensions and attempted to ameliorate them. (As an unabashed LAPD booster, Webb marshals evidence to make his case that the department was addressing racism.) And, from a 21st century viewpoint, the LAPD war against bingo parlors seems terribly penny-ante, although perhaps justified by the "broken windows" theory.

But the heart of this book is the stories of crimes great and small, and the police officers who solved them. A must for those interested in true crime stories, Los Angeles history, and the LAPD.

I remember watching "Dragnet" and "Badge 714" when I was a kid. I came across the book "The Badge" during my tenth year in high school, which was in 1960. I read it several times and remember being amazed by the contrast in the way Jack Webb wrote and the way he protrayed the Sgt. Joe Friday character. For some strange reason, this book has always been in the back of my mind, and so when the recent release of "The Black Dahlia" came about in the movie circuit, I, just on a whim, went to Amazon.com to see if an old edition of "The Badge" was floating around somewhere. I remembered that Jack Webb had written about this case in His book. I could not believe that, not only was it available, but available for under five frogskins, and new too boot!!!

I am now in the process of reading this book again, and am again amazed at Jack Webb's ability to write. He was so far ahead of his time, in his ability to tell a story back then that even now, his writing is beyond the typical codswample that is available today. Jack Webb was always so robotic in the way He acted, moving about like he had a two-by-four piece of lumber tied to his spine. His writing ability was another story.

I am once again amazed by this man's ability to write a story. Anyone who buys this book and reads it will NOT be disappointed. In fact, I would suggest that quite the opposite will be true.

THE BOOK GIVES A GOOD INSIGHT TO THE HISTORY OF THE LAPD.....IT LETS YOU INTO CRIMES THAT HAVE HAUNTED THE AREA FOR YEARS AND GIVES YOU AN APPRECIATION TO THOSE WHO HAVE TO WEAR THE ACTUAL BADGE.