Born Bad [Paperback]

Jack Sargeant (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1871592623 | ISBN-13: 978-1871592627 | Publication Date: April 1996

In 1958, garbageman Charlie Starkweather, accompanied by his jailbait sweetheart Caril Ann Fugate, embarked upon a killing spree which shocked America.

Modelling himself on James Dean, Starkweather took teen rebellion to its logical and bloody conclusion, killing first Caril's disapproving father and then a succession of other victims before being apprehended and executed in the electric chair.

Born Bad tells the story of the star-crossed bluejean lovers and their violent stand against the world, including quotes from Starkweather to illuminate his twilight creed of flaming youth unleashed.

The book also investigates the cinematic legacy of the archetypal gun-crazy killer couple, including such films as Terrence Malick's "Badlands", David Lynch's "Wild at Heart", the Tarantino-scripted "True Romance" and Oliver Stone's notorious "Natural Born Killers".

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: The Tears Corporation/Creation (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1871592623
• ISBN-13: 978-1871592627
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,191,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A waste of 90 minutes, March 21, 2000

By 

Marty - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born Bad (Paperback)

This book reads exactly like a newspaper clipping from the 50's. I doubt very seriously if the writer even bothered to go to Nebraska to do any research. As far as the writers attempt to investigate the legacy of the (Archetypal Gun-Crazy Killer Couple)as portrayed in other films, I fail to see his comparison between the killings and the movie True Romance. Tired? Can't fall asleep? Buy the book then. Otherwise save yourself some money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting..., February 20, 2007

By 

Moniker "fantasyfreak" (Takoma Park, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Born Bad (Paperback)

I picked this book up at a used bookstore for cheap - fifty cents - so I don't feel too gyped. However, if I had paid full price, I would have been disappointed.

The first half of the book chronicles the killing and terror that Charles Starkweather and his young girl friend forced on thier Nebraksa town and the negighboring area. The second part of the book - after an amusing collection of pictures - is about how the pair inspired a series of different movies, most of which I hadn't heard of, but were entertaining.

I enjoyed the final part - it was really written and research - however, teh first part just felt like an extended police report. The girl friend's past wasn't provided, the context of several deaths weren't even really known and little follow up was down afterwards.

Final words: Worth reading, if you are a fan of the movies mentioned in the second half (Badlans, Natural Born Killers, Kalifornia), but other wise jsts wikipedia the names and read up.