Randy Dotinga of the Christian Science Monitor considered his most very favorite historical true crime titles ever and came up with this list of the top five:
1. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
2. For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb and the Murder That Shocked Chicago by Simon Baatz
3. Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides
4. Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz
5. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
Now there's a solid list. Larson's is the book that introduced many of my generation to historical true crime. I did have a hiccup at a couple of them, though. I reviewed #4 for The Hatchet and Lizzie herself would've been proud of the hatchet job I gave it. And although the author of #5 made me mad, a lot of true crime devotees and professional reviewers loved the book.
* * *
'A murder mystery from 178 years ago' - CNN picked up the story of two brothers who took their grandfather's old ghost stories seriously ---- and discovered a mass grave in Pennsylvania.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/24/pennsylvania.graves.mystery/
* * *
Timesfreude - If schadenfreude means taking pleasure in the pain of others, then I am all a-freude with my other fellow Times haters at the very latest Manhattan flapdoodle. Here's a set of links from Slate http://www.slate.com/id/2265910/ if you too enjoy nurturing a New York grudge.
I haven't read two of the books you mention, Laura, but I disagree strongly about the rest! I know CSM is a well respected paper/magazine, but I don't agree with their journalist - no Pearson or Roughhead? What about Vincent Bugliosi's "The Manson Murders"? No Ann Rule? I could keep this up for hours, but I won't!
Posted by: Fiz | September 07, 2010 at 10:48 AM
I guess the historical moniker is what kept The Monster of Florence off of this list.
Posted by: Republic Monetary Exchange | September 07, 2010 at 02:16 PM
Hello,
Randy Dotinga here. I'm the author of the CS Monitor article.
As the headline says, these are my picks for the best historical true crime books .
I'd have a very different list if it was for all time. Thanks!
-Randy
Posted by: Randy Dotinga | September 15, 2010 at 03:53 AM
Randy, now you are just teasing us. Send us a link to your all time best!
Posted by: laura | September 18, 2010 at 06:14 AM
Exactly my thoughts Fiz. Thanks for your article, it's well written and documented.
Posted by: detective prive | February 25, 2011 at 10:15 AM
Just ordered the two books on your list I have not read. Thanks for the recommendations and the consistently excellent posts and responses we find here.
Posted by: Kim | March 09, 2011 at 10:20 PM
The Devil in the White City is one of my favorite books--so good, I read it twice! I'm glad I came across your site--lots of fabulous information.
Posted by: April Moore | April 26, 2011 at 07:37 PM
I don't disagree with the list, but I would like to make a prediction. The international media frenzy in 2007/2008 over the historic (decades long) institutionalized child abuse which took place in Jersey, Channel Islands, will soon be back in the news with evidence of a systematic cover-up of the kind which topples governments.
Jersey bloggers and a former Jersey police chief have blown the lid off a cover-up of the cover-up and it is only a matter of time before this becomes global front page news all over again.
It is not yet clear what happened to many unexplained juvenile bones and unnaturally shed milk teeth which were uncovered in the Haut de la Garenne punishment cellars, but the lie the government told about the forensic evidence is now apparent in the form of numerous legal documents posted online in assorted Jersey blogs.
Expect this to call into account the ethical credibility of the reporters of BBC Jersey and to shame or implicate many within the UK government.
Posted by: Leigh LaFon | May 22, 2011 at 04:07 PM
i want to know about more information, if you can provide my some insight about your thought on this information
Posted by: Toe Shoes | June 30, 2011 at 04:23 AM
This will be a lot of reading good articles here. A themeHere is a very interesting read which is why I often visit here to read more.
Posted by: supra suprano | August 07, 2011 at 09:26 PM
Just read the article from CNN. Very interesting story. It's incredible what a hunch can lead to.
Posted by: Jennifer Kurtz | August 08, 2011 at 12:10 PM
Hey, cool site. I recently encountered this soldier, I am incredibly content I did not. I most certainly will certainly be back here for additional frequent. Want to increase the information and bring a lot of extra to your article, but I just I can read the same great information at this time.
Posted by: jason varitek jersey cheap | August 10, 2011 at 04:11 AM
I like everything positive.
Posted by: babe ruth jerseys | August 10, 2011 at 08:37 PM
Thank you for this very useful information. I find it very interesting. In these pages, will keep the eyes.
Posted by: ken griffey uniform | August 11, 2011 at 10:56 PM
I took the time to read all the comments, but I really liked the article. It proved to be very helpful to me, and I believe all the critics here! Always good when you can not just be told, but!
Posted by: aaron rodgers jersey sales | August 15, 2011 at 04:29 AM
I simply wanted to write a small word to be able to appreciate you for those precious solutions you are giving here. My extended internet investigation has now been rewarded with wonderful suggestions to exchange with my co-workers. I 'd suppose that we readers are very much fortunate to live in a fabulous website with very many brilliant professionals with interesting secrets. I feel really privileged to have discovered your entire webpage and look forward to plenty of more fabulous moments reading here. Thanks a lot again for a lot of things.
Posted by: tony dorsett jersey white | August 16, 2011 at 03:52 AM
After sharing this very good thanks. Very inspiring!
Posted by: mike fontenot jersey | August 20, 2011 at 02:05 AM
You really make it appear really easy with your presentation however I in finding this topic to be really one thing that I feel I might by no means understand. It kind of feels too complex and very wide for me. I’m taking a look ahead to your subsequent post, I’ll attempt to get the hold of it!
Posted by: torii hunter jersey toddler | August 20, 2011 at 02:32 AM
Especially useful article.
Posted by: david ortiz jersey auction | August 22, 2011 at 02:38 AM
The same work a good way to ensure that other people really like I have a similar desire to see more on this issue a lot of the basics. I know there are many who see the future of your site will be more enjoyable.
Posted by: manning jersey women | August 22, 2011 at 03:21 AM
Hello site owner. I really love everything in this site in addition to this posting! White piece of published writing is really very fast to understand. Your existing website's theme is so impressive! Will understand, my partner and I can get very large. Keep a very favorable position. We call on the net masters such as your network, in addition to how much of a spammer more. Magic
Posted by: cphilip rivers jersey | August 24, 2011 at 04:48 AM
I would like to thank you for supplying so much information on the subject of crime. You have a great sight.
Posted by: davek | August 25, 2011 at 11:12 AM
I miss CLEWS! It's a wonderful blog and has inspired me to consider doing something along these lines myself. I'm sure you're on to bigger and better challenges (a new book, perhaps?), but I really miss the fascinating stories I always found when I visited. It's fun to re-read older entries, but I miss your voice.
~katherine
Posted by: katherine | August 28, 2011 at 11:48 AM
Laura,
Thanks for the interesting and useful post; I agree with the Erik Larson pick by the Monitor. He's a terrific storyteller, and I can't wait to read his new book.
I just published (last Saturday) my new part-time blog, covering public safety topics in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina. If you have some time, I'd love your feedback: www.LeanoraMinai.com
(I'm a former St. Petersburg Times cops reporter, and I came across your site tonight as I was doing some research on blogs).
I enjoyed your posts and look forward to stopping by again soon.
Best,
Leanora
Posted by: Leanora Minai | September 28, 2011 at 10:33 PM
Great recommendations! I read "The Devil in the White City" and it was awesome. I'll have to check out the others. Thanks
Posted by: self defense products | September 30, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Even when the cold winds blow and the world seems to be covered in foggy shadows, the goodness of life lives on. Open your eyes, open your heart, and you will see that goodness is everywhere.
Posted by: ugg discount | October 07, 2011 at 10:26 PM
The list is just great, but I had trouble approving what you called "Historical" as much for "2. For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb and the Murder That Shocked Chicago by Simon Baatz ".
I was really shocked by the insensitivity of this book, and would really just throw it away, I couldn`t bare the mind of someone else reading it as well, and I would immanently delete it from the list.
Posted by: Avizaz | October 18, 2011 at 11:12 AM
I find the inclusion of the Baatz book on this list absolutely absurd. As a longtime collector on Leopold and Loeb who appeared in two documentaries on the case, I bought the book and still haven't even been compelled to read it yet -- there wasn't one primary source listed in the index at all! That pretty much means Baatz has simply rehashed more than 75 years of other people's research on the case. The best book on "Dickie and Babe" is The Crime of the Century by Hal Higson, which includes all the research conduced by the original contract writer who had to abandoned the project because of family pressure from the same community in Kenwood Chicago Dickie and Babe hailed from. Higdon, primarily a sports writer, picked up the pieces and compiled a thoroughly well researched and compelling account of what was, at the time, considered "the crime of the century," before the Lindberg kidnapping and decades later the O.J. Simpson case stole that moniker. Considering that Nathan Leopold's parole attorney Elmer Gertz, who was the last living major player connected with "the boys," used to send everyone who contacted him my way, I never even heard of Baatz when his book was published. I cannot fathom what he could have possibly added to the arena of serious study on this landmark of crime.
Posted by: Sam Katz | May 09, 2014 at 04:41 PM
Pardon my typo ... I meant to write Hal Higdon. There should be an edit feature on this website, and there isn't.
Posted by: Sam Katz | May 09, 2014 at 04:43 PM