Customer Reviews

Homicide: 100 Years of Murder in America

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Given the suthor's impressive academic credientials I was appalled at how badly done this book is done. Time and time again the author gets crucial facts wrong even in cases where the original sources cited get it right. In addition to the errors listed in the previous review the author identifies 17 year old Starkweather victim Robert Jensen as 16 year old victim Carol King's father, identifies the two youngest victims of the Clutter massacre the inspired In Cold Blood as being two girls when in fact it was a girl and a boy and myriad similar errors that completely undercuts the authors credibility and renders this work untterly unreliable and worthless as a reference resource. If the reader is interested in a book that really delivers what this one purports to attempt then I would highly reccomend Colin Wilson's briiliant and accurate "Criminal History of Mankind."

In addition to what has already been reported, there are other problems. "Edward" Kemper, the serial killer, is actually Edmund Emil Kemper III. This was the first time that I've read that the woman who committed suicide after being raped by KKK leader Stephenson was a KKK employee; all other books indicate that she was a state employee. Similarly, the lane on which the Hall-Mills murders took place has always been referred to as DeRussey's Lane; I've never seen it called "Phillips Lane". If the author's statement- that the editors added this material without her knowledge- is true, then she needs new editors. In the meantime, this book should be read with caution by anyone not already familiar with the cases.

For having a Ph.D., Dr. Scott sure has written a sloppy book. Perhaps she needed a better editor. This book, a surface study of murder from the 1900s through the present day, highlights in each decade a number of cases reflective of the era. It's an interesting premise and one that initially drew me in. Unfortunately, this book is riddled with inaccuracies, misspellings, and factual errors. People unfamiliar with the cases will be misinformed. To name just three examples: Scott states that Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate killed "Robert Jensen and his daughter." Robert Jensen and his girlfriend Carol King, both teenagers, were among the deadly duo's victims. Also written is that after John E. List murdered his wife, daughter, and two sons he "drove to his mother's home in another part of town and killed her, too." The author should have read the reference materials listed at the end of each chapter a bit more carefully. John List's mother, Alma, lived in the Westfield, NJ mansion's third-floor apartment. After List shot his wife Helen, he climbed up to his mother's apartment and shot her as well. Lastly, Perry Smith and Richard Hickok, made famous in Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" are listed as having murdered "Clutter, his wife, and two daughters with virtually point-blank shotgun blasts." The point-blank might be right, but the Clutters were murdered along with their daughter, Nancy, and their son, Kenyon.

Save your time and money; don't bother with this book!

Richard Trenton Chase is misspelled as Richard Tenton Chase. Diane Downs is misspelled as Diane Downes. In a particularly sloppy and disquieting factual error, Scott says that it is Downs' oldest daughter, Christie, who died after she and two siblings were shot by their mother; in actuality it was Downs' youngest daughter, Cheryl, who died. One wonders what the survivors of this tragedy would think of this error; hopefully, they never wasted their time with this book. And you shouldn't, either.

This could have been a fascinating book: an overview of headline-making murders over the past 100 years. But Scott--though a good writer--has no grasp of history (or perhaps--let's be fair--her editor or fact-checker done her dirt). Just in the first couple of chapters alone, the book gets the date of a famous murder off by ten years, refers to the "Ziegfield" [sic] Follies, and has the song "Good Ship Lollipop" released in the 1920s. Plus, there are no photos! I'm not asking for grisly crime scene shots, but a few illustrations are really called for in a book such as this. All in all, a sad and shabby job.

This author manages to relay amazing crime stories in such a dry fashion that it drains each story of all possible interest. In addition to the stunning number of factual errors pointed out by other reviewers below, I also noticed that the name of infamous spree killer Howard Unruh was spelled as "Unrah"throughout the book. I can't believe that a book can contain so MANY very sloppy, careless errors and yet still get published. Don't waste your time and money on this one. If you're looking for a good encyclopedia on American crime try a book by Jay Robert Nash or Miriam Allen DeFord.

I found this book to be truly appalling as the author, wholists serious acdemic credititials, mangles fact after fact afterfact. In addition there are problems with the way the author situates her data and a very poor lack of follow through with dates and outcomes omitted in some cases. Any reader interested in what this book claims to set out to do would be far better off finding a copy of Colin Wilson's brilliant "Criminal History of Mankind," a book that achieves all that this one doesn't.