Day of Fury: The Story of the Tragic Shootings That Forever Changed the Village of Winnetka (Hardcover)

by Joyce Egginton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
On May 20, 1988, a psychotic woman rampaged through Chicago's northern suburb of Winnetka, leaving poisoned food and drink at a number of homes, starting a fire that almost killed a mother and two of her children, and spraying gunfire through an elementary school classroom, causing the death of a child and wounding several others. After shooting one more person, she committed suicide. The story of the growing psychosis of Laurie Dann was superbly told in Murder of Innocence by Joel Kaplan, George Papajohn and Eric Zoun, and this book--by the former New York correspondent of the Observer of London--complements the earlier work most effectively. Egginton chronicles the short- and long-term results of the tragedy for those directly involved--children, parents, police officers, clergy and educators--and for the upper-middle-class town of Winnetka, which had thought itself protected against violence. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (July 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688090850
• ISBN-13: 978-0688090852
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #919,936 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The people of Winnetka came off like clueless snobs, August 8, 2006

By	Terry M. Callen (Gloucester City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I felt sorry for the children who were shot and the people Laurie Dann victimized.

But the people of Winnetka really made me angry with their feelings of superiority, their demands, their wanting to have their way in all things, their hurry to sweep the tragedy under the rug, the way they refused to believe that "one of their own" could have perpetrated the crime, how they think money can insulate them from the real world, their 1950s attitudes towards women....I could go on for hours.

Then there was Laurie's father, Norman Wasserman - an enabler par excellence. Laurie ex-husband came off as an arrogant spoiled brat as well but, contrary to Mr. Wasserman's claims, Russell Dann did not cause Laurie's mental problems. She had those for years. Everyone just chose to ignore them.

Well-written book which should be required reading for rich folks who think "it can't happen HERE."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was very interesting and accurate., October 7, 1999

By A Customer

I thought the book was very accurate and interesting. I really enjoyed it and would recommend this book to others. I thought Egginton did a fantastic job of relaying the events to the reader.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It could happen to YOU!, July 26, 1998

By A Customer

I remember the pictures of Laurie Dann pasted all over TV when this tragedy happened back in 1988. Once I picked up this book and saw the last known photo of her it came back to me. This is an unfolding story. The big question that this books tries to answer for me is 'Why did she do it?'.Or better yet 'What led her to such a state of mind?'. It is difficult in a case like this to be able to answer these questions completely. But 'Day of Fury' tries to answer them from all different angles. I've read another book on this tradegy called 'Murder of Innocence', and I think this book by Joyce Egginton takes the high road and also goes more into depth with the aftermath. I like both books, but 'Day of Fury' seems to have more colors; painted by a seasoned writer in Egginton.

My header 'It could happen to YOU!' simply means that you just never know what can happen to you after a relationship goes sour. With Laurie Dann, was it just a marriage gone bad? Is this a commentary! on OCD(Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder)? COULD this happen to YOU?

Great book! Need another one on this tragedy.