True Crime
Smalltime : a story of my family and the mob
Russell Shorto
364.1092 /Shorto
Nonfiction, Literary Nonfiction, True Crime, Biographies
"Family secrets emerge as a best-selling author dives into the history of the mob in small-town America. Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a city "in its brawny postwar prime," is where "Little Joe" Regino and Russ Shorto build a local gambling empire on the earnings of factory workers for whom placing a bet--on a horse or pool game, pinball or "tip seal"--is their best shot at the American dream. Decades later, Russell Shorto grew up knowing that his grandfather was a small-town mobster, but never thought to write about him, in keeping with an unspoken family vow of silence. Then a distant cousin prodded him: You gotta write about it. Smalltime, the story of Shorto's search for his namesake, delves into the world of the small-town mob, an intricate web that spanned midcentury America, stitching together cities from Yonkers to Fresno. A riveting immigrant story, Smalltime is also deeply personal, as the author's ailing father, Tony, becomes his partner in piecing together their patriarch's troubled past. Moving, wryly funny, and richly detailed, Smalltime is an irresistible memoir by a masterful writer of historical narrative"--
We keep the dead close : a murder at Harvard and a half century of silence
Becky Cooper
364.1523 /Cooper
True Crime
"1969: the height of counterculture; the year Harvard would begin the tumultuous process of merging with sister school Radcliffe; and the year that Jane Britton, an ambitious graduate student in Harvard's Anthrlopology department, would be found bludgeoned to death in her apartment. Forty years later, Becky Cooper, a curious undergrad, will first hear whispers of the story: The dead was nameless. A student had an affair with her professor, and he murdered her in the Peabody Museum. Though this rumor would prove false, it started and investigation that would consume Cooper's life for the next ten years. WE KEEP THE DEAD CLOSE is a narrative of mirrors, misogyny, and murder. It is at once a rumination on the violence and oppression that rules our revered institutions, a ghost story reflecting one young woman's past onto another's present, and a love story for a girl who was lost to history"--Dust jacket flap.
Fascinating. The rumors of a death some 40 years previous instigate a journey of research, sifting through stories, facing and naming some hard-learned truths, and personal reckoning for the author. -Candice
The map thief : the gripping story of an esteemed rare-map dealer who made millions stealing priceless maps
Michael Blanding
025.82 /Blanding
True Crime
This is the story of an infamous crime, a revered map dealer with an unsavory secret, and the ruthless subculture that consumed him. Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers, both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects. Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief, until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. This book delves into the untold history of this fascinating high-stakes criminal and the inside story of the industry that consumed him. The author, a reporter and magazine writer, has interviewed all the key players in this stranger-than-fiction story, and shares the fascinating histories of maps that charted the New World, and how they went from being practical instruments to quirky heirlooms to highly coveted objects. Though pieces of the map theft story have been written before, the author is the first reporter to explore the story in full, and had the rare privilege of having access to Smiley himself after he had gone silent in the wake of his crimes. Moreover, although Smiley swears he has admitted to all of the maps he stole, libraries claim he stole hundreds more, and offer intriguing clues to prove it. Now, through a series of exclusive interviews with Smiley and other key individuals, the author teases out an astonishing tale of destruction and redemption. The story interweaves Smiley's escapades with the stories of the explorers and mapmakers he knew better than anyone. Tracking a series of brazen thefts, and an obsessive subculture, the author has pieced together an unforgettable story of high-stakes crime. -- Provided by publisher.
Added by Beth
Stealing the show : a history of art and crime in six thefts
John Barelli
364.16287 /Barelli
True Crime
When he retired as the chief security officer of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Barelli had spent the better part of forty years responsible not only for one of the richest treasure troves on the planet, but the museum's staff, the millions of visitors, as well as American presidents, royalty, and heads of state from around the world. Here he shares his experiences of the crimes that occurred on his watch, taking readers behind the scenes at the Met. Focusing on six thefts but filled with countless stories that span the late 1970s through the 21st century, Barelli shows how museum personnel with local and sometimes Federal Agents opened investigations, caught the thief, and (in some cases) recovered the artwork. -- adapted from jacket
Added by Beth
Museum of the missing : a history of art theft
Simon Houpt
364.16287 /Houpt
True Crime
What kind of person would dare to steal a legendary painting—and who would buy something so instantly recognizable? In recent years, art theft has captured the public imagination more than ever before, spurred by both real life incidents (the snatching of Edvard Munch’s well-known masterwork The Scream) and the glamorous fantasy of such Hollywood films as The Thomas Crown Affair. The truth is, according to INTERPOL records, more than 20,000 stolen works of art are missing—including Rembrandts, Renoirs, van Goghs, and Picassos. Museum of the Missing offers an intriguing tour through the underworld of art theft, where the stakes are high and passions run strong. Not only is the volume beautifully written and lavishly illustrated—if all the paintings presented here could be gathered in one museum it would be one of the finest collections in existence—it tells a story as fascinating as any crime novel. This gripping page-turner features everything from wartime plundering to audacious modern-day heists, from an examination of the criminals’ motivations to a look at the professionals who spend their lives hunting down the wrongdoers. Most breathtaking of all, this invaluable resource offers a “Gallery of Missing Art,” an extensive section showcasing stolen paintings that remain lost—including information about the theft and estimated present-day value—and which may never be seen again
Added by Beth
Diamond Doris : the true story of the world's most notorious jewel thief
Doris Payne
364.162 /Payne
True Crime
"In the ebullient spirit of Ocean's 8, The Heist, and Thelma & Louise, a sensational and entertaining memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief--a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own path, stealing from elite jewelers to live her dreams." --Publisher
Added by Beth
"I heard you paint houses" : Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran and closing the case on Jimmy Hoffa
Charles Brandt
364.106 /Brandt
True Crime
Provides an account of the life and activities of hitman Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran, including his account of how he killed Jimmy Hoffa.
This book is the basis of the Martin Scorsese film "The Irishman" staring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. This DVD is available from ICPL. -Beth
The poisoner's handbook : murder and the birth of forensic medicine in Jazz Age New York
Deborah Blum
614.13 /Blum
True Crime
Science journalist Deborah Blum shares the untold story of how poison rocked Jazz Age New York City. She tracks the perilous days when a pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Drama unfolds case by case as chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle and Norris and Gettler create revolutionary experiments to tease out even the wiliest compounds from human tissue. From the vantage of their laboratory it also becomes clear that murderers aren't the only toxic threat--modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner.--From publisher description.
This was the basic for "The Poinsoner's Handbook" film from PBS's American Experience. It is available on Kanopy with your library card or on DVD from ICPL. -Beth
Black Klansman : race, hate, and the undercover investigation of a lifetime
Ron Stallworth
322.42 /Stallworth
True Crime
1978, Colorado Springs. African American detective Ron Stallworth came across a classified ad in the local paper asking for all those interested in joining the Ku Klux Klan to contact a P.O. box. He responded, expecting to learn about a growing threat to his community. Instead, he was recruited by phone to join the Klan. Stallworth recruited his partner to play the 'white' Ron Stallworth, while conducting all subsequent phone conversations himself. A searing portrait of a divided America-- and the extraordinary heroes who dare to fight back.
Spike Lee's film version of this book, starring John David Washington and Adam Driver is available on DVD from ICPL. -Beth
The poisoner's handbook : murder and the birth of forensic medicine in Jazz Age New York
Deborah Blum
614.13 /Blum
True Crime
Science journalist Deborah Blum shares the untold story of how poison rocked Jazz Age New York City. She tracks the perilous days when a pair of forensic scientists began their trailblazing chemical detective work, fighting to end an era when untraceable poisons offered an easy path to the perfect crime. Drama unfolds case by case as chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler investigate a family mysteriously stricken bald, factory workers with crumbling bones, a diner serving poisoned pies, and many others. Each case presents a deadly new puzzle and Norris and Gettler create revolutionary experiments to tease out even the wiliest compounds from human tissue. From the vantage of their laboratory it also becomes clear that murderers aren't the only toxic threat--modern life has created a kind of poison playground, and danger lurks around every corner.--From publisher description.
Added by Beth
Shorto takes a deep dive into his own family history, uncovering its origins in Sicily, why Pennsylvania attracted his own great-grandfather to sail across the Atlantic, and why the mob? He unearths family secret after family secret and paints a picture of an American experience. -Anne M