The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Crime: A Photographic History (Mammoth Books) [Paperback]

Colin Wilson (Editor), Damon Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Mammoth Books | Publication Date: January 9, 2002

Charles Manson, Bonnie and Clyde, O. J. Simpson, Serpico, Sirhan Sirhan, Timothy McVeigh, John Christie, Lorena Bobbit, Ruth Ellis, the Gang of Four, the Great Train Robbery, and the Hitler diaries—these are only thirteen of the many and manifold cases featured in this new, copiously illustrated Mammoth volume drawn from the annals of twentieth-century crime. Researched by editor Colin Wilson, an authority on crime and the criminal mind, and with access to the extensive resources of the international photo collection at the Hulton Getty Picture Library, the book offers more than 500 pages of unforgettable, and sometimes rare, images that cover a widely diverse range of subjects, from art theft to arson, from con men to cannibalism, from forensics to executions, from censorship to terrorists. As comprehensive in its scope as it is shocking in its photographic details, this illustrated chronicle brings dramatic immediacy to some of the most notorious events of the last century. One photo presents serial killer Dr. Marcel Petiot's stash of his forty-seven victims' clothes. Another image captures the attempted assassination of President Reagan, his Secret Service agents diving to protect him, while still another illustrates the heavy hand of justice with a body reeling from the bullets of the firing squad. Here, too, are photographs of victims, vital clues, grisly crime scenes, mass murders, sex scandals, gangsters, spies, and innumerable other subjects that arrest the eye and graphically illuminate the consequences of crime.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786709227
• ISBN-13: 978-0786709229
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,649,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Amusing pictures, ridiculous text, November 7, 2006

By 

Harry Eagar (Maui) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Crime: A Photographic History (Mammoth Books) (Paperback)

For half a century, Colin Wilson has been publishing wildly gullible and sloppily researched books, but he was clever enough to concentrate on themes where there are lots and lots of uncritical buyers -- crime and mysticism.

As usual, the text in this collection is unreliable when it is not downright silly.

Nevertheless, many of the photographs are interesting to browse through. I had never seen, for example, a photograph of Landru, the French Bluebeard. The photographs are authentic: they do depict the people they claim to depict. You just cannot rely on Wilson's version of what they did.

For some reason, this collection has been issued in a variety of titles, sometimes as 'Illustrated True Crime'; sometimes with Damon Wilson listed as co-editor, sometimes not; under different imprints; and with slightly different texts. Since its only value is as a casual and random collection of old photos, that makes no difference.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice., October 7, 2005

By 

Joseph M. Stevens (london) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Crime: A Photographic History (Mammoth Books) (Paperback)

good book, nicely set out chronically by date on various crime photography. on the right page there is the photo, left- info; which is always a nice format. good value for money as well, as is thick and not too small not to see the photos clearly yet easy to carry around. in conclusion- good. nice.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Book but Brutal!, July 3, 2007

By 

Sylviastel - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Crime: A Photographic History (Mammoth Books) (Paperback)

Okay, I read real or true crime books as often as I can. I bought this book because I wanted to see photos that normally wouldn't be shown like Nicole Brown Simpson after her murder. There were cases that I don't think should be in the same book like the Long Island Lolita, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Lorena Bobbit trial, and others. Some crimes are far more serious like the Jack the Ripper murders, the World War II concentration camps, and some are missing like Pan Am 103 which was indeed a criminal act and a terrorist act. The pictures are interesting. The cover of the book is a mob hit. Even now after 13 years since the Simpson-Goldman murders in Brentwood, California, there is talk of the Goldmans publishing the O.J. book retitled Confessions of a Double Murderer.