Overview

An Edgar Award finalist for Best Fact Crime, The Man from the Train is an ""impressive...open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America"" (The Wall Street Journal). In this groundbreaking work of historical true crime, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical genius to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.Between 1898 and 1912, families across the United States were brutally murdered in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Valuables were left untouched, bodies were staged, and faces covered. Some cases, like the infamous Villisca Axe Murders in Iowa, gained national attention--but few believed the crimes were connected. Fewer still noticed that every family lived within walking distance of a train line. Digging through thousands of newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, James and his daughter Rachel uncovered a chilling truth: these murders were the work of one man, traveling by rail, who would go on to become one of America's most prolific yet largely forgotten serial killers. Riveting and immersive, The Man from the Train offers a vivid portrait of turn-of-the-century America, exposing how cultural blind spots, flawed investigations, and opportunistic detectives allowed this killer to operate undetected. Blending meticulous research with narrative drive, this modern classic of true crime nonfiction will fascinate readers of Devil in the White City, My Favorite Murder, and fans of unsolved mysteries and historical crime investigations.

Full Product Details

9781508284956

Table of Contents

Reviews

Fans of historical true crime will enjoy the conversational and fast-paced writing about these unsolved murders and an early twentieth-century serial murderer. -- Library Journal One of the most readable works of nonfiction I've ever picked up...James has a conversational style of writing that draws the reader in, even when he departs from murders to offer short history lessons on nineteenth-century detectives-for-hire (pretty bad), nineteenth-century newspapers (not great), and mob justice (truly horrifying)...Even more remarkable than the exhaustive research and addictive narrative, the [authors] actually seem to solve the case and reveal the identity of the Man from the Train. Skeptics may balk, but I'm convinced. -- Raleigh News & Observer Truly spectacular...It's fun to watch these amateur detectives solve a puzzle. And solve it they do...The final twist in the story-set tens years after the Villisca murders on the other side of the Atlantic-gave me chills. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune It's easy to get caught up in the elaborate search and the authors' conclusions, which are plausible. Fans of true crime-as well as detectives in homicide bureaus-will relish this book. -- Kirkus Reviews Bill James successfully transfers his detail-oriented mind-set to true crime in this suspenseful historical account. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) The Man from the Train is a beautifully written and extraordinarily researched narrative...This is no pure whodunit but rather a how-many-did-he-do. -- Buffalo News Impressive...An open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America. -- Wall Street Journal

It's easy to get caught up in the elaborate search and the authors' conclusions, which are plausible. Fans of true crime-as well as detectives in homicide bureaus-will relish this book. -- Kirkus Reviews Fans of historical true crime will enjoy the conversational and fast-paced writing about these unsolved murders and an early twentieth-century serial murderer. -- Library Journal Bill James successfully transfers his detail-oriented mind-set to true crime in this suspenseful historical account. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) One of the most readable works of nonfiction I've ever picked up...James has a conversational style of writing that draws the reader in, even when he departs from murders to offer short history lessons on nineteenth-century detectives-for-hire (pretty bad), nineteenth-century newspapers (not great), and mob justice (truly horrifying)...Even more remarkable than the exhaustive research and addictive narrative, the [authors] actually seem to solve the case and reveal the identity of the Man from the Train. Skeptics may balk, but I'm convinced. -- Raleigh News & Observer The Man from the Train is a beautifully written and extraordinarily researched narrative...This is no pure whodunit but rather a how-many-did-he-do. -- Buffalo News Truly spectacular...It's fun to watch these amateur detectives solve a puzzle. And solve it they do...The final twist in the story-set tens years after the Villisca murders on the other side of the Atlantic-gave me chills. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune Impressive...An open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America. -- Wall Street Journal

It's easy to get caught up in the elaborate search and the authors' conclusions, which are plausible. Fans of true crime-as well as detectives in homicide bureaus-will relish this book. -- Kirkus Reviews Bill James successfully transfers his detail-oriented mind-set to true crime in this suspenseful historical account. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) The Man from the Train is a beautifully written and extraordinarily researched narrative...This is no pure whodunit but rather a how-many-did-he-do. -- Buffalo News Truly spectacular...It's fun to watch these amateur detectives solve a puzzle. And solve it they do...The final twist in the story-set tens years after the Villisca murders on the other side of the Atlantic-gave me chills. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune Fans of historical true crime will enjoy the conversational and fast-paced writing about these unsolved murders and an early twentieth-century serial murderer. -- Library Journal One of the most readable works of nonfiction I've ever picked up...James has a conversational style of writing that draws the reader in, even when he departs from murders to offer short history lessons on nineteenth-century detectives-for-hire (pretty bad), nineteenth-century newspapers (not great), and mob justice (truly horrifying)...Even more remarkable than the exhaustive research and addictive narrative, the [authors] actually seem to solve the case and reveal the identity of the Man from the Train. Skeptics may balk, but I'm convinced. -- Raleigh News & Observer Impressive...An open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America. -- Wall Street Journal

Author Information

Bill James made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s with his Baseball Abstracts. He has been tearing down preconceived notions about America's national pastime ever since. He is currently the Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox, as well as the author of The Man from the Train. James lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Susan McCarthy, and three children. Rachel McCarthy James lives in Lawrence, KS with her husband Jason. She studied creative writing at Hollins University, and her work has previously been featured in publications including Bitch, Broadly, and The New Inquiry. The Man from the Train is her first book. John Bedford Lloyd, a graduate of Yale's School of Drama, has appeared in a host of major motion pictures, including The Bourne Supremacy, Crossing Delancey, The Abyss, The Manchurian Candidate, and Philadelphia. His television credits include Suits, Pan Am, Law & Order, Spin City, and The West Wing. His critically-acclaimed audiobook narration includes reading for authors such as Michael Crichton, Nicholas Sparks, Paul Doiron, and Atul Gawande, among others. In reviewing Lloyd's performance in Better by Atul Gawande, AudioFile magazine declared, ""John Bedford Lloyd's deep, rich voice delivers just the mix we look for in doctors--knowledgeable, authoritarian tones mixed with the warm, comforting style that characterizes a great bedside manner.""

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