Criminal History

From pre-Civil War times, through the Old West era, and into the gangster era of the early 1930s and beyond, Greene County, Missouri, has seen more than its share of spectacular crimes. In 1837, the very first murder in Springfield, the seat of county government and the largest city, involved several of the town’s leading citizens. In 1865, just after the close of the war, James Butler Hickok ushered in the era of the Wild West gunfight in America when he shot and killed Davis Tutt on the Springfield public square. In 1886, nationally known temperance revivalist Emma Molloy was implicated...

Norco '80 tells the story of how five heavily armed young men - led by an apocalyptic born-again Christian - attempted a bank robbery that turned into one of the most violent criminal events in US history, forever changing the face of American law enforcement. Part action thriller and part courtroom drama, Norco '80 transports the listener back to the Southern California of the 1970s, an era of predatory evangelical gurus, doomsday predictions, megachurches, and soaring crime rates, with the threat of nuclear obliteration looming over it all.

Mafia is an absorbing introduction to the mob's most influential personalities - their lives, loves, and terrible crimes. It also provides an in-depth history of the role of the mob in Sicily and America. For anyone who wants to know the truth about organized crime and understand the violent forces that have shaped it over the last century, this book is an indispensable guide.

They were the women who loved the men America feared. From Prohibition-era Chicago to postwar Miami, Mafia Women chronicles the real lives of the wives, mistresses, and molls who stood beside the kingpins of organized crime. Through years of meticulous research and rare historical accounts, it unveils the hidden side of America’s underworld—the women who endured loyalty, betrayal, and survival in a world ruled by power and blood. Among them are Viola O’Banion, who defied the Church for love; Mae Capone, the steadfast wife who outlived a legend; Evelyn “Billie” Frechette, who paid ...

The Dark Side of History: 50 True Crime Stories of Murder, Power and Intrigue By Prof. Heinrich Müller Step into the shadowy corridors of history where power, passion, and politics collide in chilling acts of true crime. In this gripping and meticulously researched collection, renowned historian Prof. Heinrich Müller unveils 50 of the most fascinating real-life crimes from ancient times to the 21st century. These are not just tales of murder—they are windows into the darkest corners of human ambition, greed, and betrayal. From ancient political assassinations to modern-day spy scandals,...

On October 20, 1973, in San Francisco, a White couple strolling down Telegraph Hill was set upon and butchered by four young Black men. Thus began a reign of terror that lasted six months and left 15 Whites dead and the entire city in a state of panic. The perpetrators wanted nothing less than a race war.

Current Edition - Updated Annually Step into the shadowy realm of humanity's most notorious figures The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers: Who, When, Where, Why! delves into the lives, methodologies, and dark motives of the world's most infamous predators. From Victorian London's fog-laden alleys to the modern streets of Beijing, each page unveils chilling tales and mind-boggling mysteries. Discover not just the crimes, but the twisted psyches behind them. Learn about the tireless detectives, the unsolved enigmas, and the very fabric of what creates a killer. A great research tool and a must-...

In this masterful, groundbreaking work, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Heather Ann Thompson shines surprising new light on an infamous 1984 New York subway shooting that would unveil simmering racial resentments and would lead, in unexpected ways, to a fractured future and a new era of rage and...

MOSSAD’S NAZI COMMANDO The Shocking True Story of Otto Skorzeny and Israel’s Secret War Against Egypt’s Rocket Program By Gary Covella, Ph.D. A Scar-Faced Nazi. A Nation on the Brink of Annihilation. A Deal with the Devil. What if Israel’s most dangerous Cold War operation did not involve hunting a Nazi—but recruiting one? This is the astonishing, deeply unsettling true story of Otto Skorzeny, Adolf Hitler’s most notorious commando, and the secret alliance that forced Israel to confront the unthinkable in order to survive. A New Existential Threat In the early 1960s, barely ...

A warning before we begin: this book is not for the faint-hearted. There are no disguises here, no softened edges. You won’t find sugar-coated versions or incomplete accounts—only the raw, disturbing, and brutal reality of the most ruthless killers the world has ever known. Think you know the world’s most infamous killers? This book goes far beyond the usual names. From the notorious figures to the ones history barely remembers, here you’ll uncover lesser-known stories, details overlooked by the media, and the darkest, most chilling aspects of their atrocities. Each chapter delves ...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER The most famous true crime novel of all time "chills the blood and exercises the intelligence" (The New York Review of Books)—and haunted its author long after he finished writing it. On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the...

A young man from a privileged family, Jan Mydlar, is about to graduate from medical school when a sudden shift of fate changes his life forever. He becomes stuck in the most detested profession for the rest of his life—an executioner. Master Jan Mydlar finds himself in the middle of historical events of Bohemia. The religious and political turmoil in the Habsburg empire reaches its climax in the beginning of the 17th century. When Protestant leaders throw imperial Catholic governors out of the window of their offices at the Prague Castle, a civil war between Protestants and Catholics in ...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING MICHAEL B. JORDAN AND JAMIE FOXX A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time...

From human stew to hammer murders, these are the crimes nightmares are made of. Why read ghost stories when history drips with cannibals, assassins, and ritual killers? This collection brings together all three volumes of the series, delivering 60 chilling true crime stories and mysteries from around the world. Within these pages lie the darkest corners of human history: serial killers who stalked with hammers, ritual murders steeped in superstition, cannibal feasts, political assassinations that shook nations, and unsolved mysteries that defy explanation. Each story is meticulously ...

Discover the fascinating intersections of history, medicine, and the human experience in "Illness and Infamy." This captivating book delves into the lives of historical figures and notorious criminals, examining how their medical conditions influenced their actions and shaped the course of history. From the impact of pandemics on world events to the personal struggles of leaders and the chilling stories of killers, each chapter reveals the complex relationships between health, power, and infamy. Explore the captivating stories of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, and ...

“A remarkable—and singularly chilling—glimpse of human behavior. . .This meticulously researched book...represents a major contribution to the literature of the Holocaust.""—Newsweek Now available in audio for the first time, Christopher R. Browning’s shocking account of how a unit of...

When reality writes horror stories that fiction can't match—these are the cases that changed nations. Another 20 Solved and Unsolved Tales from Around the World From the frozen Arctic to tropical Thailand, from Communist show trials to aristocratic massacres, this volume delivers 20 meticulously researched cases that expose humanity at its most incomprehensible. Featured Cases: The Mad Trapper of Rat River Canada's greatest manhunt: A mysterious stranger with cold eyes triggers a 48-day chase through Arctic wilderness, leaving two Mounties dead and a riddle that DNA testing still can't ...

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD A “vivid and frank” (NPR) account of the crack cocaine era and a community’s ultimate resilience, told through a cast of characters whose lives illuminate the dramatic rise and fall of the epidemic “A master class in disrupting a stubborn...

Sophie Lyons was trained to steal as a child and spent decades moving through the crowded cities of the nineteenth century, surviving by skill, performance, and constant motion. In The Woman on the Circuit, Alana Sanchez traces Lyons’ life across New York, Canada, and the wider urban crime circuit, not as spectacle, but as labour. Drawing on court records, newspaper reporting, and Lyons’ own writing, this book examines the systems that shaped her choices: women’s criminal networks, policing and courts, public morality, and the narrow paths available to women who lived outside ...

For over a century, the Bruno-Scarfo crime family reigned over Philadelphia before a series of internal and external events led to their downfall. Such was the power that the family possessed that they had close connections with the Five Families of the New York Mafia.