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The Murderers' Who's Who
Grampie Groundhog decides to turn over the family job of forecasting the weather to one of his grandchildren. But which one? Gregory wants to do it but so does his twin, Greta. The two draw straws and Gregory wins. Right before the big day Gregory loses his glasses, so it’s Greta to the rescue. Together, the twins announce “Spring is coming!†and everyone celebrates.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 23, 2016
I took this out of the Grad Library about 18 times when I was still in college. Great book, heavily illustrated and fully cross-referenced.
August 27, 2020
A read that falls somewhat within the “guilty pleasure ” section, this was nonetheless a very informative, well-researched and illuminating study on all manner of despicable ways that homo sapiens (as a supposed advanced species) can do such horrible things to their fellow homo sapiens.
The book is basically an encyclopedia of murder, killings, lust, greed, and just plain old cruel stupidity. Published originally in Great Britain in 1979, the cases are presented in alphabetical order either by the infamous “name” assigned to the case, or by the last name of the perpetrator.
The majority of the cases are from mid-19th up thru latter-20th century Europe with a heavy focus on the British Isles, but certainly not exclusively. Prior to the development of more modern criminology techniques and theories, poisoning was by far & away the most popular way of disposal, as it was hard to detect. So, many of the earlier cases involve very creative mixtures of said materials with a heavy leaning toward the tried & true standby – arsenic.
All the biggies are represented, on both sides of the Atlantic, up until the late 70’s:
Jack The Ripper -The Granddaddy of the Modern Media Serial Killer.
Peter Kürten – “The Monster of Düsseldorf” and active in Germany in the late 1920’s – early 1930’s. He was eventually captured and charged with 9 brutal murders of young children and women by stabbing, strangulation, bludgeoning in what was described by the murderer as “an orgy of sadism and perversion.” This sadist and child murderer was the “inspiration” for the crazed child killer played by a very young Peter Lorre in the seminal Fritz Lang perversely classic and influential German film, M (1931).
H.H. Holmes – American mass murderer active in Chicago who built a sprawling mansion, or “castle,” as his neighbors derisively described it. The elaborate structure (100 rooms) was a virtual sadist’s playground and multi-level torture chamber consisting of air-tight rooms with gas inlets, vats of acid and asbestos, as well as steel-lined, windowless rooms containing trays of surgical instruments and various apparatus of torture. He was active primarily in the 1890’s and admitted to, and was convicted of at least 27 killings, but there were likely many more. His story became widely known with the success of author Erik Larson’s 2003 non-fiction bestseller book – The Devil In The White City. Rumor has it that the book has been optioned by Martin Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio is slated to portray Guess Who?
Axe-Man of New Orleans – Unsolved series of violent killings by axe between 1911 – 1919 in the Crescent City.
Black Dahlia Murder – Infamous brutal unsolved LA killing in the 1940’s.
Bonnie & Clyde
Lizzie Borden
Boston Strangler
Clutter Murders – The slayings indelibly re-created in Truman Capote’s literary masterpiece In
Cold Blood.
Ruth Ellis – 28-year-old night-club manager who killed her race-car driver lover in a fit of murderous passion and she was the last woman to be hanged in Britain on July 13, 1955.
Albert Fish – Notorious American sex murderer with extraordinary perversions; including sado-masochism and cannibalism. Known as the “Brooklyn Vampire,” the house painter and father of 6, admitted to at least 100 separate incidents perpetrated on children throughout 23 states primarily in the 1920’s & 1930’s.
Hammersmith Nude Murders – A series of 6 murders in London between Feb 1964 & Feb 1965. All the victims were prostitutes and found nude, earning the killer the moniker of “Jack The Stripper.” The murders stopped suddenly in 1965 and were later associated with the suicide of a 45-year-old man in South London whose name was never shared with the public.
Kray Twins – Psychologically damaged identical twins (Reginald & Ronald) who had a death-grip on the underworld criminal activities of London’s East End primarily in the 60’s. They became Rock Stars of a sort at the time and have been the subject of several films, the most recent of which stars Tom Harding as the twin psycho siblings.
Leopold and Loeb
Manson Family Murders
Sacco and Vanzetti
Ed Gein – Twisted real-life sadist that served as the model for the character of Norman Bates by Alfred Hitchcock.
Richard Speck – The garbage collector with “Born To Raise Hell” tattooed on his forearm who murdered and tortured eight student nurses in Chicago. He professed his innocence for the majority of his incarceration until in 1978 he randomly told a newspaper, “Yeh, I killed them. I stabbed them and choked them.”
Charles Whitman – The University of Texas Tower Sniper Killer who shot 46 people in 1966 and was eventually shot and killed when police crashed thru the barricade he had created at the foot of the stairwell which led to where he was perched atop the roof.
Learned a lot and I’m a sucker for this type of stuff.
Recommended for those inclined.
The book is basically an encyclopedia of murder, killings, lust, greed, and just plain old cruel stupidity. Published originally in Great Britain in 1979, the cases are presented in alphabetical order either by the infamous “name” assigned to the case, or by the last name of the perpetrator.
The majority of the cases are from mid-19th up thru latter-20th century Europe with a heavy focus on the British Isles, but certainly not exclusively. Prior to the development of more modern criminology techniques and theories, poisoning was by far & away the most popular way of disposal, as it was hard to detect. So, many of the earlier cases involve very creative mixtures of said materials with a heavy leaning toward the tried & true standby – arsenic.
All the biggies are represented, on both sides of the Atlantic, up until the late 70’s:
Jack The Ripper -The Granddaddy of the Modern Media Serial Killer.
Peter Kürten – “The Monster of Düsseldorf” and active in Germany in the late 1920’s – early 1930’s. He was eventually captured and charged with 9 brutal murders of young children and women by stabbing, strangulation, bludgeoning in what was described by the murderer as “an orgy of sadism and perversion.” This sadist and child murderer was the “inspiration” for the crazed child killer played by a very young Peter Lorre in the seminal Fritz Lang perversely classic and influential German film, M (1931).
H.H. Holmes – American mass murderer active in Chicago who built a sprawling mansion, or “castle,” as his neighbors derisively described it. The elaborate structure (100 rooms) was a virtual sadist’s playground and multi-level torture chamber consisting of air-tight rooms with gas inlets, vats of acid and asbestos, as well as steel-lined, windowless rooms containing trays of surgical instruments and various apparatus of torture. He was active primarily in the 1890’s and admitted to, and was convicted of at least 27 killings, but there were likely many more. His story became widely known with the success of author Erik Larson’s 2003 non-fiction bestseller book – The Devil In The White City. Rumor has it that the book has been optioned by Martin Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio is slated to portray Guess Who?
Axe-Man of New Orleans – Unsolved series of violent killings by axe between 1911 – 1919 in the Crescent City.
Black Dahlia Murder – Infamous brutal unsolved LA killing in the 1940’s.
Bonnie & Clyde
Lizzie Borden
Boston Strangler
Clutter Murders – The slayings indelibly re-created in Truman Capote’s literary masterpiece In
Cold Blood.
Ruth Ellis – 28-year-old night-club manager who killed her race-car driver lover in a fit of murderous passion and she was the last woman to be hanged in Britain on July 13, 1955.
Albert Fish – Notorious American sex murderer with extraordinary perversions; including sado-masochism and cannibalism. Known as the “Brooklyn Vampire,” the house painter and father of 6, admitted to at least 100 separate incidents perpetrated on children throughout 23 states primarily in the 1920’s & 1930’s.
Hammersmith Nude Murders – A series of 6 murders in London between Feb 1964 & Feb 1965. All the victims were prostitutes and found nude, earning the killer the moniker of “Jack The Stripper.” The murders stopped suddenly in 1965 and were later associated with the suicide of a 45-year-old man in South London whose name was never shared with the public.
Kray Twins – Psychologically damaged identical twins (Reginald & Ronald) who had a death-grip on the underworld criminal activities of London’s East End primarily in the 60’s. They became Rock Stars of a sort at the time and have been the subject of several films, the most recent of which stars Tom Harding as the twin psycho siblings.
Leopold and Loeb
Manson Family Murders
Sacco and Vanzetti
Ed Gein – Twisted real-life sadist that served as the model for the character of Norman Bates by Alfred Hitchcock.
Richard Speck – The garbage collector with “Born To Raise Hell” tattooed on his forearm who murdered and tortured eight student nurses in Chicago. He professed his innocence for the majority of his incarceration until in 1978 he randomly told a newspaper, “Yeh, I killed them. I stabbed them and choked them.”
Charles Whitman – The University of Texas Tower Sniper Killer who shot 46 people in 1966 and was eventually shot and killed when police crashed thru the barricade he had created at the foot of the stairwell which led to where he was perched atop the roof.
Learned a lot and I’m a sucker for this type of stuff.
Recommended for those inclined.
September 14, 2017
c1979: Of its time but handily listed in alpha order. I can see this one being useful to budding crime writers. Some interesting little facts here and there. And some crime stories that I hadn't heard of before.
August 23, 2008
Great book for all those interested in crime. Some fascinating cases - and some tragic, such as young men hanged and then discovered to be innocent.
It isn't very detailed, however - there are far too many cases to be able to do so, and so if you want to know more about particular crimes you'll have to look them up elsewhere. Also bear in mind that it does nto cover anything before 1980, so a lot of important, recent cases are missing; many of the entries are based in the early 1900s and 1800s. Perfect for anyone looking to research Victorian crime, beyond a doubt.
It isn't very detailed, however - there are far too many cases to be able to do so, and so if you want to know more about particular crimes you'll have to look them up elsewhere. Also bear in mind that it does nto cover anything before 1980, so a lot of important, recent cases are missing; many of the entries are based in the early 1900s and 1800s. Perfect for anyone looking to research Victorian crime, beyond a doubt.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews