In a recent edition of the newspaper, the Wall Street Journal's Elliott Gorn listed his five best true crime books. He likes biographies of criminals and historical titles. Here are his five favorites:
1. Jesse James by T.J. Stiles - I agree that this book was excellently researched and the writing glowed. It was an important biography and, as Elliott Gorn puts it, "gives us both the life and its rich historical context." I nitpicked it a bit but am glad to see it given this honor.
2. The Complete Public Enemy Almanac by William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix - I agree that this is an excellent, accurate book. A complete true crime library must include it.
Few crime encyclopedias pass my rigorous test -- to go beyond the well-known and well-worn stories and into the lesser-known but often just as absorbing tales of minor-league criminals.
The Complete Public Enemy Almanac (recently acquired by Turner Publishing) impressively managed to break new ground in a well-tilled field by offering previously unpublished stories and photos from the gangster era, 1920-1940. The standards are all here, of course, in skillful prose -- Baby Face Nelson, the Purple Gang, Bonnie and Clyde, etc.
3. A Pickpocket's Tale by Timothy Gilfoyle - A biography set in the Gilded Age underworld.
4. Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi - The biography that inspired Goodfellas.
5. Bandits by Eric J. Hobsbawm - The seminal 1969 guide to banditry through the ages.
His list differs from my top ten best, naturally enough but it's an interesting list.
I haven't heard of any of these.I will definitely go have a look.Im always searching for new true crime books to read.I am a total TC addict
Posted by: Yvette Kelly | August 10, 2009 at 04:55 AM