Overview

From the one-of-kind mind of Bill James, famous for revolutionizing the way we think about baseball, comes a ""thought-provoking meditation"" (Seattle Times) and epic tour through American crime--now available in paperback.The man who revolutionized the way we think about baseball examines our cultural obsession with murder--delivering a unique, engrossing, brilliant history of tabloid crime in America. Celebrated writer and contrarian Bill James has voraciously read true crime throughout his life and has been interested in writing a book on the topic for decades. With Popular Crime, James takes readers on an epic journey from Lizzie Borden to the Lindbergh baby, from the Black Dahlia to O. J. Simpson, explaining how crimes have been committed, investigated, prosecuted and written about, and how that has profoundly influenced our culture over the last few centuries--even if we haven't always taken notice. Exploring such phenomena as serial murder, the fluctuation of crime rates, the value of evidence, radicalism and crime, prison reform and the hidden ways in which crimes have shaped, or reflected, our society, James chronicles murder and misdeeds from the 1600s to the present day. James pays particular attention to crimes that were sensations during their time but have faded into obscurity, as well as still-famous cases, some that have never been solved, including the Lindbergh kidnapping, the Boston Strangler and JonBenet Ramsey. Satisfyingly sprawling and tremendously entertaining, Popular Crime is a professed amateur's powerful examination of the incredible impact crime stories have on our society, culture and history.

Full Product Details

9781416552741

Table of Contents

Reviews

For true-crime afficianados, this book is a hoot. James has to be the least starchy serious writer I've run across in years. He has the gift of writing the way a person talks--no easy task, believe me--giving Popular Crime a folksy, conversational feel. --The New York Times Book Review Running through Popular Crime is an exploration of the enduring popularity of true crime. James' thought-provoking meditations elevate his book far above any routine recitation of facts. --The Seattle Times An engagingly written history of well-publicized deadly crimes. --Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A very entertaining book, and it will instigate arguments even as it scores many important points. --The Washington Post Popular Crime is bloodthirstily engrossing, and you can read it with the cover proudly showing, because this is an important study of American culture and the human animal's fascination with violence. Bill James deserves a standing ovation.--Stephen King

Popular Crime is bloodthirstily engrossing, and you can read it with the cover proudly showing, because this is an important study of American culture and the human animal's fascination with violence. Bill James deserves a standing ovation. --Stephen King

Running through Popular Crime is an exploration of the enduring popularity of true crime. James' thought-provoking meditations elevate his book far above any routine recitation of facts. --The Seattle Times

Running through Popular Crime is an exploration of the enduring popularity of true crime. James' thought-provoking meditations elevate his book far above any routine recitation of facts. -- The Seattle Times

Author Information

Bill James made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s with his Baseball Abstracts. He is currently the Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox. James lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife and three children.

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