50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century [Paperback]

Marv Balousek (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wisconsin | Publication Date: September 1997

Wisconsin's most notorious crimes and criminals are profiled in this book of the Crimes of the Century series. Read about the killer dairy princess or why Lawrencia Bembenek wasn't such an innocent Bambi. Find out how William Coffee and Jiggs Perry killed women who loved them. Meet notorious fiends Edward Gein and Jeffery Dahmer. Marv Balosek is a veteran crime, courts and government reporter at the Wisconsin State Journal and author of seven books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Badger Books Inc.; 1 edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878569473
• ISBN-13: 978-1878569479
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #470,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it., January 9, 2000

By 

Tosa Tillie (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century (Paperback)

I bought this book about a year ago and devoured it. If you live in or have connections to Wisconsin, this is a great read. It gives details on some of the cases you may have read about briefly in the newspaper, but never found out the outcome of the trial. I wish Marv would write more!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wisconsin Crime continues to fascinate, March 10, 2002

By 

David E. Hintz (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century (Paperback)

The last time I visited relatives in Wisconsin, we drove by "Ed Gein's cemetary" on the way to getting pizza. My uncle told stories of the crime which may stretch the truth a bit, but ultimately were fascinating. Marv Balousek does a very good job summarizing Gein and many more fascinating crimes committed in Wisconsin. Aside from some clarity and editorial errors, this is very well written and ultimately hard to put down. Recommended for all true crime buffs even for those with no ties to Wisconsin.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guilty pleasure, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: 50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century (Paperback)

This book briefly profiles 50 Wisconsin crimes (mostly murders) over the last century. Recent famous murder cases are included, like the Dahmer murders, the Monfils paper vat murder, and the Lawrencia Bembenek case in Milwaukee. There are also several cases dating back to the early part of the century, such as the Annie Lemberger murder in Madison.

If you live in Wisconsin and have a morbid curiousity about crime, this book is fascinating. The book tends to have a "gossipy" tone, the editing is uneven, and some of the photographs are not of good quality. Despite all that, each crime profile is gripping. The author provides lots of details about each case, and has done an excellent job in selecting which crimes to include. Many of the crimes he profiles led to modifications in the criminal justice or emergency systems; for example, as a result of the Monfils paper vat murder, procedures for releasing recordings of 911 calls have been changed.

This is not an intellectual book. It will not appeal to anyone's higher nature. And I couldn't put it down.