Non-Fiction 101: True Crime

Though several books have covered the 60-year-old case of Emmett Till's lynching in Mississippi, historian Timothy Tyson's new history freshly illuminates the trial of Till's murderers. He analyzes the trial transcript, which had been missing since 1955, interviews the key witness (now 80 years old) to Till's allegedly inappropriate behavior, and provides details from a recent FBI investigation. This riveting account immerses readers in the case and offers the definitive summary of its impact on subsequent history.

An account of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 relates the stories of two men who shaped the history of the event--architect Daniel H. Burnham, who coordinated its construction, and serial killer Herman Mudgett.

An account of the unsolved Golden State Killer case, written by the late author of the TrueCrimeDiary.com website traces the rapes and murders of dozens of victims and the author's determined efforts to help identify the killer and bring him to justice.

A skillful hybrid of true crime and social history that examines the relationship between the media and popular culture in the portrayal of crimes against gay men in the decades before Stonewall. Stories of murder have never been just about killers and victims. Instead, crime stories take the shape of their times and reflect cultural notions and prejudices. In Indecent Advances, James Polchin recovers and recounts queer stories from the crime pages—often lurid and euphemistic—that reveal the hidden history of violence against gay men.

Presents a true account of the early 20th-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

In the late 1800s, the city of Austin, Texas was on the cusp of emerging from an isolated western outpost into a truly cosmopolitan metropolis. But beginning in December 1884, Austin was terrorized by someone equally as vicious and, in some ways, far more diabolical than London's infamous Jack the Ripper. With vivid historical detail and novelistic flair, Texas Monthly journalist Skip Hollandsworth brings this terrifying saga to life.

hronicles the experiences of several women in Missoula, Montana, who claimed to be raped by University of Montana football players, highlighting the inequities of the law in regard to rape allegations and the treatment of rape victims and perpetrators.

A portrait of the cult leader behind the Jonestown Massacre examines his personal life, from his extramarital affairs and drug use to his fraudulent faith healing practices and his decision to move his followers to Guyana, sharing new details about the events leading to the 1978 tragedy.

A groundbreaking dual biography of notorious gangster Al Capone and Prohibition agent Eliot Ness explores the violence and corruption of 1930s Chicago and the history-shaping raids and arrests made by the legendary Untouchables.

This is the story of one of the most fascinating killers in American history - of his magnetic power, his bleak compulsion, his double life, his string of vulnerable victims. It is also the story of Ann Rule, a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal serial killer. Little did she realize that the "Ted" the police were seeking was the same Ted who worked with her at a Seattle crisis clinic, a man who had become her close friend and confidant. As she began to put the evidence together, a terrifying picture emerged of the man she thought she knew.

Tells the true story of an agender teen who was set on fire by another teen while riding a bus in Oakland, a crime that focuses on the concepts of race, class, gender, crime, and punishment.

ALSO GREAT FOR ADULTS
When he was only four years old, Kushner begged his older brother to buy him a treat from a local convenience store. Eleven-year-old Jonathan cycled away and was never seen alive again. Protected by his well-meaning parents from the gritty aspects of the case, yet knowing this event has changed his family forever, Kushner began delving deep into library research around the crime as a teen, driven to piece together the truth. The intimacy of Kushner's writing from his childhood recollections is imbued with grief over the loss of his brother, and brief chapters keep the narrative moving when an adult Kushner learns that one of the convicted murderers might be paroled.

ALSO GREAT FOR ADULTS
In this engaging and highly unusual travelogue, journalist Sarah Vowell explores the history of American presidential assassinations. From the Florida Keys all the way to Alaska, Vowell visits assassination sites, museums, prisons, monuments, and even a religious commune. Along the way she shares strange-but-true historical facts -- for instance, did you know that Robert Todd Lincoln, "a.k.a. Jinxy McDeath," was present at several presidential assassinations? -- and offers keen observations about history, politics, and the connection of the past to the present.

Bonnie and Clyde: we've been on a first name basis with them for almost a hundred years. Immortalized in movies, songs, and pop culture references, they are remembered mostly for their storied romance and tragic deaths. How did two dirt-poor teens from west Texas morph from vicious outlaws to legendary couple? And why? Award-winning author Karen Blumenthal devoted months to tracing the footsteps of Bonnie and Clyde, unearthing new information and debunking many persistent myths.

It's 1971 in Coronado, a small southern California beach town. For seventeen-year-old Eddie Otero, a skilled waterman and avid surfer, life is simple. Then a friend makes him an offer: Swim an illicit package across the border from Mexico. The intense workout is dangerous. Thrilling. Lucrative. And the beginning of a small business. When the young entrepreneurs involve their former high school Spanish teacher, the smuggling adventure grows into a one hundred million dollar global operation. Living on the edge, they vow to return to their normal lives--right after one last run.

Just as A Child Called It (1993) captured teen interest a generation ago, contemporary memoirs of youth enduring, escaping, and triumphing after seemingly unbearable abuse remain compelling. In this harrowing account of over a decade's captivity and suffering, Berry, who was kidnapped the day before her 17th birthday, and DeJesus, who was kidnapped at 14, share their experiences. The complexity of the emotions as the women endure their ordeal and as Berry gives birth to a daughter are highlighted by excerpts from the journal Berry kept throughout her captivity.

ALSO GREAT FOR ADULTS
Presents Capote's masterful account of the senseless 1959 murders of four members of a farm family in Holcomb, Kansas, and the search for the killers, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith.

Presents the true story of the first female U.S. District Attorney and traveling detective who found missing eighteen-year-old Ruth Cruger when the entire NYPD had given up.