Crimes of the Century

A Selective History of Infamy

De: Richard B. Spence, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Professor Richard B. Spence

The Zodiac Killer. The Son of Sam. The Lindbergh kidnapping. Over the past century, certain crimes have captured the imagination of the public, dominating the front pages of newspapers and inspiring armchair investigators for generations. At the heart of these “crimes of the century” is often a burning question: Who did it? Or, if the culprit is known, what was the motivation?

Crime is perennially appealing because it takes us into the dark recesses of the human psyche. Murder forces us to confront our own mortality, and it raises unanswerable questions about human nature, the social contract, and how well we truly know even those closest to us. From a serial killer’s decades-long crime spree to a conspiracy to commit political assassination, murder elicits mystery - and most of us cannot turn away.

Delve into some of the most infamous, ghastly, and mysterious crimes of the last hundred-odd years in Crimes of the Century: A Selective History of Infamy. Taught by Professor Richard B. Spence of the University of Idaho, this enthralling course gives you a dozen case studies of murders most foul. From an intriguing Irish domestic murder to a world-shaking political assassination, this course gives you an inside look at some of the most heinous and maddeningly unknowable crimes in modern history.

Contemporary tabloids may have offered salacious details as the crimes were unfurling, but today we have the beauty of hindsight to analyze the crimes. While many of them remain as mysterious as when they occurred, the historian’s view allows us to situate the homicides in their time and place and can give us insight into both the particulars of the era as well as something universal about human nature.

Whether you are a die-hard true-crime fan, or just interested in compelling stories about gruesome events, Crimes of the Century: A Selective History of Infamy will open your eyes to the dark side of history...and humanity.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 The Great Courses (P)2021 The Teaching Company, LLC

A must read

This is a very well written book that I didn’t want to pause. The narration is excellent and comfortable listening to.

Besides the above the author takes us through different cases across the world. The cases are covered in short form however enough to catch your attention trough out the entire book.

I have done a lot of case studies therefore it impressed me even more how the author could give information on cases I hadn’t seen before.

Definitely a must read for all true crime enthusiasts.

*This review has been published on different platforms

Good summary of complex cases

Some new info or ideas on cases where I thought we knew everything. And some new cases I hadn’t heard of.

Great listen

Fantastic narrative voice interesting interesting stories written with with a design to interest the reader or listener

good as an intro but...

This is fine as an introduction to these cases, but there was only one that was new to me. So a good listen for people who haven't looked into the topic of famous crimes, but very little new to those who have familiarity with true crime history.

Quite Enjoyable & Interesting Perspectives

This Series covers many well known and many rarely known murder cases located in the United States, but also World Wide.

Notorious cases, Infamous Murderers and Serial Killers. Even if there are cases You’ve heard about before, I recommend that You do NOT slip passed them, because the way they are presented in this Series the material isn’t boring or just a regurgitation of what You have heard time and time again. Instead, after giving an overview of the case, This Series then takes You in for a deeper dive, and even discusses some facts ‘after the fact’, so that tidbits of information may be presented that You likely never heard before. In one instance the Lindbergh Baby case, most True Crime Lovers have heard that case about 50 million times, and yet, here they discuss some “after the case” facts and information I had never heard about before and was completely new to me. I admit, the supposition of who was involved, why they were believed to be involved, etc., make a lot of sense. They even cover the Hinkertfelt Farm murders, which was a pleasant surprise, although nothing much new.

The point is, this is a very diverse and wide ranging list of murder cases spanning the globe, the information is presented in an easy to listen to style, not overalls brainiac, all the while remaining professional and interesting. After the initial case is laid out, the Narrator goes into a detailed dissection of the players, the motivation, court case, media, etc, and it really does stay interesting through out.

The Narration is a male, well suited to the material discussed. The voice is medium deep and semi-soothing, b

Best Great Courses Lecture There Is

I love all the Great Courses but this is my favorite and it's not close

Provocative

The narration is exceptionally well done…clear, enthusiastic…varied in rhythm and emphasis.

The information is, for this listener, new and fascinating. These alternative understandings of the murders—alternative in the sense of being completely different, more complex and more compelling than present explanations—are provocative. Whether true or not, they are entertainingly strange, complex, and engaging, even if not thoroughly convincing.

Recommended.

New cases, New Twists

I thought I knew a lot about some of these cases, but turns out that there are many twists I’d never unraveled. The ones I had barely heard of were so well presented it feels like I now know them well. VERY WELL DONE!!

5

It is what it says it is.... and well done.
Not bloody or scary. For those who
remember the news when these were
happening.

true crimes

Takes you deep into investigations with backgrounds normally not given . it shows how cases convolute and lead to solutions, for the most part, or down many dead in rabbit holes. Very interesting read.