Great Reading Challenge: Category Spotlight "A Famous Crime"

The Great Reading Challenge of 2018 is in full swing. If you haven't heard, the Great Reading Challenge (GRC) is open to adults 18 and over and is a fun way to engage in reading with a community of like-minded readers, while tracking your books read for the year. You get to choose categories - either before or after you read books. Use the GRC to broaden your reading horizons, or just have fun finding categories to fit the books you were going to read anyway. Maybe you will read more broadly, or maybe you will finally get to some of those books you have meant to read for years! In any case, we hope you'll have fun reading! Register for the GRC here.

This new regular blog spotlight will highlight books we have available for check out at Carnegie-Stout that fulfill different categories of the GRC. All of the book descriptions are courtesy of our NoveList Plus database.

This spotlight covers #11 "Read a book about a famous crime"


In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (364 CAP)
Available in book, ebook and CD Audio Book

"On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence."

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry (364.1523 BUG)
Available in book format

"The prosecutor of the Tate-LaBianca trials presents the inside story behind the Manson killings, explaining how Charles Manson was able to make his "family" murder for him, chronicling the investigation, and describing the court trial that brought him and his accomplices to justice."

Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence That Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago by Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi (364.1523 LUC)
 Available in book format

"An Italian immigrant who spoke little English and struggled to scrape together a living on her primitive family farm outside Chicago, Sabella Nitti was arrested in 1923 for the murder of her missing husband. With no evidence and no witnesses, she was quickly found guilty and sentenced to hang. Ugly Prey is a page-turning courtroom drama, but also a thought-provoking look at the intersection of gender, ethnicity, class, and the American justice system."

Staff Review: The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

As the temperature drops, what better way to spend your leisure time than with a gripping true-crime story? The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn is a true-crime story for those who need more than a sensationalized re-telling of the crime itself. The Jonestown massacre looms in our country’s collective consciousness as one of the great disasters of the 20th century. The horrendous nature of the event leads us to look at the characters involved with equal parts fascination and contempt. This book brings the reader into the environment in which the massacre's instigator, Jim Jones, grew up, the people around him who believed in him and his cause, and his rise to power and gradual corruption. Guinn, a former journalist, uses his investigative skills to tell this nuanced story with gripping prose.

In the first part of the book, there are surprisingly few red flags foretelling of looming disaster. Jones had a tendency toward unusual behavior, but didn’t appear to be a complete sociopath early on. We do see a child who takes an unusual interest in religion (neither of his parents were religious) and who has the desire and ability to control people. Jones discovers he has a talent for preaching and manipulating people and he creates congregations to effect social change. 

Peoples Temple, which Jones established in his twenties, had the positive mission of helping the disenfranchised. In the eyes of his wife, Marceline, who stayed by his side until the very end, Jones’s mission was akin to Christ’s and even though she didn’t approve of his means, she witnessed the positive change he was making in the world. In the first half of the book, the Peoples Temple appears to be a force for good. According to Guinn, the Temple played a large part in integrating blacks and whites in the Jim Crow Indianapolis of the 50s. They opened nursing homes and created social outreach programs to help troubled youth. As Jones brings in the disenfranchised by helping them, he gradually unveils his primary objective: the creation of a socialist utopia where everyone gives up their personal property and takes care of each other. It appears that Jones believed in his mission and that he was fighting for equality. He wanted everyone to live as he said God intended—to resist the material temptations of our capitalist society, which glorify the individual, and to take care of each other.

As the story goes on and gets darker, Guinn remains objective and never claims to know Jones’s intentions. Whether or not his heart was in the right place early on, it becomes difficult to believe Jones is fighting for a better world as his cruel and deceitful behavior starts to add up. Physical punishment and humiliation, sexually abusing members, keeping members’ income, selling and taking the property of members, stashing away his fortune in foreign accounts, indulging himself in comforts he denies other members, threatening blackmail for those who try to leave—these are just a few of the acts we find Jones guilty of. Guinn remains objective in his exposition so that the reader can almost understand why Jones's paranoia, grasp of reality, and ego get out of control. A large percentage of his members remain committed to his socialist utopia and want to be examples to the world. They demonstrate, well before the disaster, that they are willing to die for the cause. Their unwavering devotion, mixed with Jones's belief that he is destined to make history, create a toxic cocktail.

Jones started the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis, set up another location in San Francisco, and, spurred by his paranoia of nuclear war, ultimately set up a colony in Guyana. When the media finally caught on to Jim Jones’s misdeeds, he hid in the Guyana camp, Jonestown. The final harrowing chapters in Guyana where a senator and members of the media are murdered and nearly 1,000 people commit mass suicide (whether willingly or not) are equally heartbreaking and allegorical. The Road to Jonestown is a demonstrative story, not as much about fanaticism as about power. Guinn points out that Jones was a demagogue “who ultimately betrayed his followers whether he always intended to or not.” Guinn doesn’t glorify or sensationalize any of the dirty details; instead he treats Jones and the Temple members fairly, revealing Jones as a person gradually corrupted and divorced from reality. With Jones as their infallible leader, most members followed his alternate reality. Guinn handles all these themes and asks the big questions with an eye for the telling detail, bringing both the characters and their setting to life.

~Ben, Adult Services

Books and Movies: Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill

Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill is the story of John Connolly and James "Whitey" Bulger. The pair knew each other when they were children and grew up to take different paths (Connolly becoming an FBI agent and Bulger becoming a career criminal) until they met again when Bulger became an FBI informant. While working together to dismantle the Italian mafia in Boston, their plans lead to multiple murders, drug dealing, and racketeering and they both, eventually, (Bulger was able to evade capture for 16 years) end up in prison.

The intriguing, crime-filled lives of Whitey Bulger and John Connolly are perfect for a movie so of course, one was made. Black Mass opens in theaters tomorrow, September 18, and has a great cast, including Johnny Depp as Bulger, Joel Edgerton as Connolly and, Benedict Cumberbatch as Bulger's brother Bill. Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, and Adam Scott also star.

Read Alike: The Wettest County in the World

Shia LaBeouf's new movie, Lawless, is scheduled for release next week. The story tells of three brothers who make their living in the violent world of Prohibition era bootlegging. The plot is based on the Depression era ancestors of author Matt Bondurant. Mr. Bondurant used their story in his suspenseful 2008 novel, The Wettest County in the World.

When you add in the recent excitement around Western inspired novels, many of which have been adapted to the big screen in recent years, you wind up with today's list of reading suggestions.

For more on the Prohibition and the rise of organized crime during the Depression, check out Boardwalk Empire: the birth, high times, and corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson (974.985 JOH). This nonfiction title about the rise of Atlantic City and the powerful men behind the city served as the basis for the HBO drama of the same name.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Mr. McCarthy is not a cheerful author. His menacing novels delve into the dark sides of humanity and our propensities for violence. He's known for setting his stories in the Southwest, whether in the lawless past, or the lawless future. No Country for Old Men is the story of Llewelyn Moss, who gets himself caught up in the violence of drug trafficking in the '80s. The 2007 film adaptation starring Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin received the Academy Award for Best Picture.

True Grit by Charles Portis
In his career, Mr. Portis has been both a journalist and a novelist. In fact his second novel, True Grit, was originally serialized in The Saturday Evening Post. This engaging, suspenseful novel takes its cues from the Western genre, but creates something unique. A dialog-rich story told from the perspective of 14 year-old Mattie Ross, and her quest for revenge on the man who killed her father and the not quite upstanding men who join her in her quest. This novel has seen multiple film adaptations, from the 1969 version with John Wayne to the 2010 version, which also stars Josh Brolin.

Doc by Mary Doria Russell
Ms. Russell's most recent novel is, like her earlier works, richly detailed and character-driven, as she plays with genre conventions. Ms. Russell is known for experimenting with genre, often combining science fiction elements with historical settings. Doc is the story of the infamous Doc Holliday and how he came to meet up with Wyatt Earp in Dodge City, Kansas, though not the infamous shootout at the OK Corral. While there is no movie adaption for this title yet, rumor has it there might be an HBO series in the works.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Mr. deWitt's second novel, The Sisters Brothers, has garnered quite a bit of positive attention, including winning The Morning News' 2012 Tournament of Books. It's a gritty and darkly comic novel of the California Gold Rush. Eli and Charlie Sisters, brothers and hired guns of fearsome reputation, are on a mission to kill Hermann Kermit Warm. Eli, the narrator, begins to question their violent life. While there is no movie yet, John C. Reilly's production company has purchased the film rights.


Readers who enjoy stories about living on the wrong side of the law in a lawless land should also check out Joyce Saricks' recent Booklist column on books with a Western inspiration. It's a creative field, whether you prefer something historical or fantastic, violent or less so. Which was your favorite, Deadwood or Firefly?

Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you!

Spotlight on True Adventure: Discovery & Battle of Wits

Nonfiction or True Adventure stories deliver the adrenaline rush of exploration, survival, and discovery, without having to leave your comfiest chair. Though similar to Adventure Fiction (see Clive Cussler), part of the enjoyment to be found in True Adventure are the practical details. Whether it's the tools and procedures for mountain climbing, or descriptions of far off or extreme landscapes, readers will be immersed in a fantastic, but all too real, world.

This is our second post on True Adventure titles. You can read our first post, which focused on Survival Stories and Natural Disasters, by following this link: http://carnegiestout.blogspot.com/2012/01/spotlight-on-true-adventure-survival.html

Voyages of Discovery
The Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon by David Grann (918.11 GRA) Author David Grann retraces the 1925 journey of Percy Fawcett, who disappeared in the Amazon while in search of a missing city filled with Incan gold.

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
(940.5451 KUR) The story of two scuba divers who discover an unknown U-boat off of the coast of New Jersey, and their dangerously obsessive 11-year quest to identify the wreck.


Blind Descent: the quest to discover the deepest place on earth by James M. Tabor
(796.525 TAB) Not a tale for the claustrophobic, Mr. Tabor provides a look at the competitive world of professional spelunking from Oaxaca, Mexico to the Republic of Georgia.

Too Far from Home: a story of life and death in space by Chris Jones
(629.45 JON) When the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed, two American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut became stranded on the International Space Station. Journalist Christ Jones combines the details day-to-day life in space, with the dangerous rescue attempt à la Apollo 13.

The Lady and the Panda: the true adventures of the first American explorer to bring back China's most exotic animal by Vicki Croke
(LP 599.789 CRO) In 1936 socialite Ruth Harkness' husband was killed in an attempt to capture a Giant Panda for an American zoo, and Ms. Harkness decided to complete her husband's dangerous quest.

A Battle of Wits
Agent Zigzag: a true story of Nazi espionage, love, and betrayal by Ben Macintyre
(Biog Chapman) Conman Eddie Chapman trained as a spy for the Germans, but when given a mission to destroy a British airplane factory, he became a double agent for MI5 instead.

Sex On the Moon: the amazing story behind the most audacious heist in history by Ben Mezrich
(364.1628 MEZ) Thad Roberts worked hard to escape his life in Utah and become a NASA fellow, but then he decides to impress his girlfriend, a NASA intern, by involving her in a plot to steal moon rocks. Ben Mezrich is also the author of The Accidental Billionaires, the book behind The Social Network.

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: the astonishing rise and spectacular fall of a serial impostor by Mark Seal
(364.1633 SEA) When Clark Rockefeller's marriage comes to a bad end, he kidnaps his young daughter, but the FBI investigation turns up more than expected. Rockefeller is not the man he claimed to be.

Flawless: inside the largest diamond heist in history by Scott Andrew Selby
(364.162 SEL) In 2003, upwards of a hundred million dollars of diamonds and other gems were stolen from the high security Antwerp Diamond Center. Though, unlike a Hollywood crime caper, the thieves do not get away, but most of the valuables were never recovered.

Readers may also be interested in our Ann Rule Read Alike post, which includes reading suggestions about crimes and criminals.

Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you!

Read Alike: Ann Rule

As a college student, Ann Rule studied creative writing, psychology, and criminology, but it was likely the summers she spent as a volunteer in the jail where her grandfather was sheriff that started her interest in crime writing. Ann Rule started publishing articles in true crime and detective magazines under the pseudonym Andy Stack in the late 1960s. During the 1970s, she worked briefly as an officer with the Seattle Police Department, but it was the time she spent working at a suicide hotline that offered real insight into the criminal mind. As fate would have it, one of her coworkers was serial killer Ted Bundy, and the eventual topic of her first, partially autobiographic, book, The Stranger Beside me. Since the 1980s she has written over thirty books profiling serial killers, murderers, and other terrifying criminals. Her choice to focus on the victims of these crimes adds a human element to what might otherwise be the story of an inhuman monster. Because of the disturbing nature of her subjects, these books are not for those of us with weak stomachs or faint hearts, but if you enjoy a peek into the dark corners of humanity or real world mysteries, true crime might be the genre for you. You can read more about Ann Rule at her website or this interview with Book Page from 2002.

If you enjoy Ann Rule's true crime books, you might also enjoy:

Vincent Bugliosi was a prosecutor in California before he turned to writing, and it was his successful prosecution of Charles Manson that led to the publication of his first book, Helter Skelter. He has written several other true crime titles, but in recent years his carefully researched books have been more political in nature.

Joseph Wambaugh served on the Los Angeles Police Force for fourteen years, an experience which adds to the enjoyably human characters of his procedural mysterieas. In addition to fiction titles like his Hollywood Station series, he writes true crime titles like Fire Lover, the story of a man who was a fire investigator and an arsonist.

Erik Larson is probably best known for The Devil in the White City, the compelling story of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and Herman Mudgett, the serial killer who held the city in terror. Mr Larson has several years of experience working as a journalist, and those skills allow him to bring life to the historical topics of his books.

Joe McGinniss also has extensive experience as a journalist, though primarily as a sports writer. His most recent true crime title, Never Enough, is the story of the separate murders, one of which remains unsolved, of the two Kissel brothers.

Stella Sands is both a true crime author and the editor of a children's magazine, Kids Discover. In researching this post, I was particularly struck by Behind the Mask, the story of a murderous librarian.

The author of both history and true crime books, M. William Phelps' The Devil's Rooming House is the story of a woman who helped to pioneer the modern nursing home, and killed over sixty people.

Patricia Bryan, a law professor, has written about the murder of a farmer in Indianola, Iowa in 1900, Midnight Assassin.

Bestselling true crime author, Robert Graysmith's latest book, The Girl in Alfred Hitchcock's Shower, is about the rape and murder of Marli Renfro, the nude body double from Psycho.

Les Standiford writes history, mystery, and now true crime. Bringing Adam Home is the story of the murder and abduction of Adam Walsh, the son of John Walsh who is known today as the host of "America's Most Wanted."

Careless Whispers by Carlton Stowers tells the story of three young people murdered near Lake Waco, Texas..

Never Seen Again by Jeanne King tells of the disappearance of a Nashville lawyer's wife, and the conviction of her murderer ten years later.

A Twisted Faith by Gregg Olsen is a true crime work about a murderous minister by an author who also writes mystery novels.

A Peculiar Tribe of People by Richard Jay Hutto is the story of the 1960 murder of a Georgia woman, and her husband the slumlord's conviction for sodomy.

The Murder of Dr. Chapman by Linda Wolfe tells of a murder from 1830s America by the conman Lino Espos y Mina.

Shake the Devil Off by journalist Ethan Brown is the story of Zackery Bowen, an Iraq veteran who brutally murdered his girl friend before committing suicide in post-Katrina New Orleans.

We also have a list of true crime inspired films and documentaries available at the library.

Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you!