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The Annals of Unsolved Crime
One of America’s most acclaimed investigative journalists re-investigates some of the most notorious and mysterious crimes of the last 200 years
The beloved head of the UN dies in a tragic plane crash . . . witnesses unearthed years later suggest it wasn’t an accident. Theories behind the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe change yearly, and some believe Jack the Ripper was a member of the royal family. History books say Hitler burned down the Reichstag—but did he? And who really organized the conspiracy to kill Abraham Lincoln?
Acclaimed investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein cut his teeth on one of the most notorious murder mysteries of the 20th century in his first book, The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth , one of the first books on the assassination and an instant bestseller. His conclusion? The Commission left open too many questions.
He examines those questions here, as well as some of the most famous “unsolved” or mysterious crimes of all time, coming to some startling conclusions. His method in each investigation is outline what is known and unknown, and show the plausible theories of a case. Where more than one theory exists, he shows the evidence for and against each. And when something remains to be proved, he says as much.
In The Annals of Unsolved Crime , Epstein re-visits his most famous investigations and adds dozens of new cases. From the Lindbergh kidnapping to the JonBenet Ramsey murder case, from the Black Dahlia murder to anthrax attacks on America, from the vanishing of Jimmy Hoffa to the case of Amanda Knox—Epstein considers three dozen high-profile crimes and their tangled histories and again proves himself one of our most penetrating journalists.
The beloved head of the UN dies in a tragic plane crash . . . witnesses unearthed years later suggest it wasn’t an accident. Theories behind the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe change yearly, and some believe Jack the Ripper was a member of the royal family. History books say Hitler burned down the Reichstag—but did he? And who really organized the conspiracy to kill Abraham Lincoln?
Acclaimed investigative journalist Edward Jay Epstein cut his teeth on one of the most notorious murder mysteries of the 20th century in his first book, The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth , one of the first books on the assassination and an instant bestseller. His conclusion? The Commission left open too many questions.
He examines those questions here, as well as some of the most famous “unsolved” or mysterious crimes of all time, coming to some startling conclusions. His method in each investigation is outline what is known and unknown, and show the plausible theories of a case. Where more than one theory exists, he shows the evidence for and against each. And when something remains to be proved, he says as much.
In The Annals of Unsolved Crime , Epstein re-visits his most famous investigations and adds dozens of new cases. From the Lindbergh kidnapping to the JonBenet Ramsey murder case, from the Black Dahlia murder to anthrax attacks on America, from the vanishing of Jimmy Hoffa to the case of Amanda Knox—Epstein considers three dozen high-profile crimes and their tangled histories and again proves himself one of our most penetrating journalists.
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2012
31 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
About the author
Edward Jay Epstein
72 books66 followersEdward Jay Epstein (born 1935) was an American investigative journalist and a former political science professor at Harvard, UCLA, and MIT. While a graduate student at Cornell University in 1966, he published the book Inquest, an influential critique of the Warren Commission probe into the John F. Kennedy assassination. Epstein wrote two other books about the Kennedy assassination, eventually collected in The Assassination Chronicles: Inquest, Counterplot, and Legend (1992). His books Legend (1978) and Deception (1989) drew on interviews with retired CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton, and his 1982 book The Rise and Fall of Diamonds was an expose of the diamond industry and its economic impact in southern Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 18, 2013
This book was uneven. It covered some well-known and not so well known (at least to me) unsolved or suspiciously solved crimes. I guess the author is a respected investigative journalist and it seemed like he did a bunch of research on these. Two of the unsolved crimes, though, I had never heard of and didn't really care about and he went on and on and on. Other chapters, the crimes were so well known that he did the reader a favor by not rehashing what was common knowledge. It seems I am contradicting myself, but I really didn't care for 30 pages of who killed the Vatican's banker; it could have been shortened for sure. Then the chapter on Marilyn Monroe's death, he goes into a bunch of detail for a page and and half and then ends it abruptly a half-page later with "this is what I think happened. The end." Hard to describe what I mean. The book was interesting, but the unevenness of the writing was distracting to me.
December 16, 2019
Not something that I had on my to-read list, but I picked it up and it seemed interesting enough. It was fine overall, but like other readers, I found this book to be pretty uneven. Some cases spanned 40 pages, while others were closer to five. I understand that the author is an investigative journalist, and cases he had covered tended to be the longer ones, but I can only read so many stories about suspected mafia killings before it gets to be a bit too much. Some of the stories were interesting, and I did appreciate learning more about some cases I knew very little about, or had never heard of at all.
June 25, 2015
Interesting enough, but rather uneven. First off, the 35 or so cases covered are not all unsolved, but many of the solutions are controversial. Some of the more famous cases he spends very little time on, three or four pages, with a passing reference to whether or not he agrees with the conclusion, or which theory he favors if the crime is not solved. Then he will drone at length about some other case that is much less known...example...four pages on the OJ Simpson case, followed by 32 pages about the Dominic Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case. It would be a good introduction to famous cases for someone who knows nothing about any of them, but for a true crime obsessive like myself there is nothing much new. (unless you are REALLY interested in Dominic Strauss-Kahn vs. the hotel maid or poisoned Russian spies)
March 10, 2014
Well, this was informative. It was also dry, uneven, formulaic, and alternately long-winded and underexplained. Recommended if you need a quick discussion of something in particular or, of course, if you're interested in extremely in-depth discussions of Russian mid-level corruption and political intrigue. Not so much for anyone else.
February 22, 2019
Overall, the author spends more time describing each case than he does providing evidence that supports his opinions on each one. The support of his positions are often vague, inconsistent, and smashed into the end of each chapter in a short paragraph.
In addition, the pacing feels awkward: he places longer chapters (20-30 pages) in random places in each part, while shorter chapters (4-5 pages) are just dropped in after the longer chapters. There is no set structure.
I think this book would benefit more as an anthology, with one book dedicated to each part the author writes. This would help clear up pacing, as well as providing more details for each case, and giving more room to fully explain the evidence used to back up the author’s personal opinion. This felt like an unsatisfying and rushed read.
In addition, the pacing feels awkward: he places longer chapters (20-30 pages) in random places in each part, while shorter chapters (4-5 pages) are just dropped in after the longer chapters. There is no set structure.
I think this book would benefit more as an anthology, with one book dedicated to each part the author writes. This would help clear up pacing, as well as providing more details for each case, and giving more room to fully explain the evidence used to back up the author’s personal opinion. This felt like an unsatisfying and rushed read.
December 19, 2015
The Annals of Unsolved Crime by Edward Jay Epstein ( Melville House 2013) (364.1523) is a very shallow series of sketches summarizing two dozen or so notorious twentieth century crimes. The author supplies about the same level of detail one would find in the newspaper and then offers comments as to whether he agrees with the conclusions reached by law enforcement. It's not poorly written material, it's just that the author offers nothing original or new. My rating: 5/10, finished 11/13/13.
March 18, 2020
If you are into crime books as much as I am, you will appreciate The Annals of Unsolved Crime. Each chapter opens with a new crime that is unsolved or just simply a mystery altogether.
While each chapter does introduce a new topic to delve into, I believe it does not really get to the root of all the crimes discussed. It feels a bit rushed, as they are complex topics that are covered in about 50 pages or so.
Despite this, I really enjoyed how niche the crimes discussed are, as well as its ability to report them in an unbiased manner and without the goal of solving this mystery.
While each chapter does introduce a new topic to delve into, I believe it does not really get to the root of all the crimes discussed. It feels a bit rushed, as they are complex topics that are covered in about 50 pages or so.
Despite this, I really enjoyed how niche the crimes discussed are, as well as its ability to report them in an unbiased manner and without the goal of solving this mystery.
May 20, 2013
I am giving this one star as I can't give a negative one.
April 17, 2024
The best chapters of this hodgepodge of true crime cases are--not surprisingly--those with which the author has firsthand knowledge: "Who Killed God's Banker?" (the death of Italian banker Roberto Calvi), "The Elimination of General Zia," "The Case of the Radioactive Corpse" (the Litvinenko Affair), and "Bringing Down DSK" are all stand-out, in-depth, well reasoned accounts of those cases.
However, the going is a bit more haphazard with many of the other cases, where Epstein shows that he's relying on discredited sources (Epstein's recommended reading for "The Black Dahlia" is Steve Hodel's junk; he recommends Robert Graysmith's dumb book for "Zodiac") or he's just uninformed on the state of modern scholarship. This is particularly curious in the case of the JFK Assassination, where again and again, Epstein seems to be taking at face value the post hoc coerced testimony of Marina Oswald; seems to be unaware of the deeply intertwined nature of Lee Oswald's relationship with the CIA (seems like Epstein hasn't read John Newman's excellent Oswald and the CIA for example); seems to be oblivious to the intersection of intelligence and organized crime within the post-Bay of Pigs Cuban exile community; and so on.
However, the going is a bit more haphazard with many of the other cases, where Epstein shows that he's relying on discredited sources (Epstein's recommended reading for "The Black Dahlia" is Steve Hodel's junk; he recommends Robert Graysmith's dumb book for "Zodiac") or he's just uninformed on the state of modern scholarship. This is particularly curious in the case of the JFK Assassination, where again and again, Epstein seems to be taking at face value the post hoc coerced testimony of Marina Oswald; seems to be unaware of the deeply intertwined nature of Lee Oswald's relationship with the CIA (seems like Epstein hasn't read John Newman's excellent Oswald and the CIA for example); seems to be oblivious to the intersection of intelligence and organized crime within the post-Bay of Pigs Cuban exile community; and so on.
April 20, 2020
The topic was interesting, but it has the flaw of many books of different stories-lack of primary research, from all indications. When a book covers an assortment of topics, one tends to get the impression the author just grabbed stories from whatever was at hand and failed to check closely to see how reliable the sources are.
There are some intriguing ideas, namely that Jack The Ripper might have been an invention of the tabloid press of the era. But others have been discredited, such as Jeffrey MacDonald's wife and children being wiped out by hippies. (Hippies were not saints, but they did not typically commit mass murders. Charles Manson was originally thought to have been a hippie, but he was not.) Even worse is the suggestion that Lee Harvey Oswald did kill President Kennedy, but was acting under Fidel Castro's orders. Obviously if Castro were behind the assassination of President Kennedy, the US government certainly would have known of it and the USA would have launched a military invasion of Cuba openly-and legitimately-and not stopped until Castro were dead.
Basically details like these make this book look like yet another phony-baloney conspiracy theory volume.
There are some intriguing ideas, namely that Jack The Ripper might have been an invention of the tabloid press of the era. But others have been discredited, such as Jeffrey MacDonald's wife and children being wiped out by hippies. (Hippies were not saints, but they did not typically commit mass murders. Charles Manson was originally thought to have been a hippie, but he was not.) Even worse is the suggestion that Lee Harvey Oswald did kill President Kennedy, but was acting under Fidel Castro's orders. Obviously if Castro were behind the assassination of President Kennedy, the US government certainly would have known of it and the USA would have launched a military invasion of Cuba openly-and legitimately-and not stopped until Castro were dead.
Basically details like these make this book look like yet another phony-baloney conspiracy theory volume.
October 30, 2017
I downloaded this book as a lark, clicking randomly to show another person how easy it is to check out library books via Amazon. But I'm glad I chose to read it for many reasons, most specifically because it can help journalism students learn about
• famous cases that are much more enjoyable to learn about than a Wikipedia entry
• deep reporting, with historical context and nuance you can't really grok in longitudinal coverage
• a writer's voice, in offering an "expert" opinion on intrigue and suspicion
Sure, Epstein may have recast some of his previous reporting from New Yorker, Vanity Fair or The Atlantic et. al., but the book is also somewhat of a timeline of his career, starting with his 1965 Cornell thesis research on JFK's assassination.
In short: "The mysteries in The Annals of Unsolved Crimes include political assassinations, kidnappings, airplane crashes, arson, vanishings, mass murders, serial killings, poisonings, nuclear weapon smuggling, and bioterrorism." And good insights into in-depth reporting
• famous cases that are much more enjoyable to learn about than a Wikipedia entry
• deep reporting, with historical context and nuance you can't really grok in longitudinal coverage
• a writer's voice, in offering an "expert" opinion on intrigue and suspicion
Sure, Epstein may have recast some of his previous reporting from New Yorker, Vanity Fair or The Atlantic et. al., but the book is also somewhat of a timeline of his career, starting with his 1965 Cornell thesis research on JFK's assassination.
In short: "The mysteries in The Annals of Unsolved Crimes include political assassinations, kidnappings, airplane crashes, arson, vanishings, mass murders, serial killings, poisonings, nuclear weapon smuggling, and bioterrorism." And good insights into in-depth reporting
February 15, 2018
The Annals of Unsolved Crime, by Edward Jay Epstein, is a work of nonfiction that looks at 35 different unsolved, or questionably solved, crimes. Epstein is a journalist who is interested in investigating the unexplained and unexplainable, even years after the fact.
The Annals of Unsolved Crime is separated into 35 chapters, which fall under 5 categories, and then the JFK case stands on its own at the end. Epstein went to great lengths to consolidate the facts for each case, from the original notes from the case to interviews with people involved to accessing secret files from the various governments involved. He lays the gathered information out in an unbiased manner, summarizes the resulting convictions, if any, goes over the prevailing conspiracy theories, and then gives his thoughts on the case, based on the information and a lifetime of investigative journalism. The cases are clear, concise and interesting.
To catch the rest of this review, and more, check out my blog: theunsophisticatebibliophile.wordpress.com
The Annals of Unsolved Crime is separated into 35 chapters, which fall under 5 categories, and then the JFK case stands on its own at the end. Epstein went to great lengths to consolidate the facts for each case, from the original notes from the case to interviews with people involved to accessing secret files from the various governments involved. He lays the gathered information out in an unbiased manner, summarizes the resulting convictions, if any, goes over the prevailing conspiracy theories, and then gives his thoughts on the case, based on the information and a lifetime of investigative journalism. The cases are clear, concise and interesting.
To catch the rest of this review, and more, check out my blog: theunsophisticatebibliophile.wordpress.com
August 8, 2018
Edward Jay Epstein is an investigative journalist and former professor. This book is interesting and contains some fascinating tidbits about unsolved mysteries and crimes that most of us are familiar with (although there were a few I was not familiar with).
In general Epstein outlines the major theories for each of the cases, and then reveals his own assessment about what actually happened. It is not always entirely clear why Epstein comes to the conclusions he does, but since these are unsolved cases, some speculation is certainly involved.
In some places, there are grammatical errors and typos. In some places, you get the feeling Epstein falls a bit short. However, as a student of history with an interest in unsolved mysteries, I found the book relatively enjoyable.
I personally found Epstein’s conclusion on the JFK assassination to be one of the most logical theories, even though it still involves some speculation and gaps in information.
In general Epstein outlines the major theories for each of the cases, and then reveals his own assessment about what actually happened. It is not always entirely clear why Epstein comes to the conclusions he does, but since these are unsolved cases, some speculation is certainly involved.
In some places, there are grammatical errors and typos. In some places, you get the feeling Epstein falls a bit short. However, as a student of history with an interest in unsolved mysteries, I found the book relatively enjoyable.
I personally found Epstein’s conclusion on the JFK assassination to be one of the most logical theories, even though it still involves some speculation and gaps in information.
July 31, 2024
Alright I don't really have too much to say. As always with these format of books some chapters were more interesting than others. That was fine with me, but what threw me off was when chapters were just super long out of no where. There was a broad organization that got a little confusing at times. There were a lot of cases I had never heard of that were pretty intriguing, however some of the more popular ones barely got any pages. I know it's cause they're popular and everyone already knows them but maybe those are the ones the author should've dove in on. Anyways overall pretty good though I'd be lying if I said I didn't skim a few chapters. Hey maybe now I'll finally go back to fiction (who knows).
February 1, 2023
Felt very 'intro to true crime'. My biggest complaint is that there are obviously a handful of cases that the author has worked on as a journalist and knows VERY well, and desperately wants us to know about it. These chapters are wayyyyy too long for no reason, with meandering details and useless repetition - however he knows these few cases would not sell the book, so he included a few other famous cases by writing a page or two in between the other chapters he actually wanted to talk about, which were clearly an afterthought and under researched. This could have used a very dedicated editor.
March 19, 2024
A collection of articles about unsolved crimes, this book is unfortunately not as interesting as it sounds. For whatever reason, Epstein adopts an extremely flat and monotonous, almost legalistic, tone that reduces even the most spectacular crime into a mildly interesting event. Maybe that's the point: he wants to legitimize conspiracy theories, so he writes about them in as dull a manner as possible. In any case, his writing style makes the book difficult to read. In addition, some chapters are completely impenetrable - the chapter on shady Vatican banking is amazingly recondite - while others are strangely short.
An interesting starting point, but unsatisfying on its own.
An interesting starting point, but unsatisfying on its own.
July 23, 2025
A pretty informative read. I learned and relearned the crimes within the book. Some of them are very fascinating, others felt a bit dull to read. Epstein’s own account and journalism on some crimes he covered were always nice to read about, because it added a nice background to the crime unfolding.
There were moments where I felt bored in reading and moments where I wanted to know a bit more. Each crime followed a pattern: the lead-up/background, theories, and Epstein’s personal assessment.
Overall, it’s an okay read :)
There were moments where I felt bored in reading and moments where I wanted to know a bit more. Each crime followed a pattern: the lead-up/background, theories, and Epstein’s personal assessment.
Overall, it’s an okay read :)
July 24, 2025
Amazing read! I wish I could find more books similar to this one! Each person/conspiracy was researched and written with such great depth! Not a conspiracy theorist, myself, but this book made me rethink some events!
August 3, 2017
I was personally hoping for more murders, but there is an interesting variety of unsolved and international crimes represented. I'd recommend it as a pleasant read in the true crime genre.
March 6, 2018
Really found the timeline charts helpful and fascinating.
January 23, 2022
Lots of the crimes had a political element to them. If your not a fan of crimes with possible political influence then don't read this book. However, the book was easy to read.
Read
June 2, 2023DNF
June 22, 2025
Really eye opening. Very interesting to the point of shocking how politics and world affairs influence how a crime is solved.
July 19, 2015
This was a great read for me. Looking at what others think, this book appears to be one of those that you either love or hate and there is just no in between. I loved it. The author is an investigative journalist for Vanity Fair magazine. He looks at a series of crimes that were either unsolved, solved but had questions surrounding the final outcome or solved but not necessarily a true solve.
Each chapter discusses a crime. They range from Jack the Ripper to Marilyn Monroe. From DSK and his discreditation thus successfully barring him from becoming President of France to money laundering, theft and the mafia's possible involvement in a Vatican conspiracy. Political assassinations, headline crimes and conspiracies - he touches on both the well known and the unknown.
Some of the headline crimes that have been rehashed a thousand times in the media are treated more cursorily with the interesting part being the authors conclusion based on his own and others research. On the less well known cases, he goes into great detail in order to lead the reader through the ins and outs of the case. In all cases, the authors draws a conclusion about what he thinks has occurred and if the crime was satisfactorily solved or not.
At the end of the book, he offers a reading list for those interested in delving further into these crimes. I liked the book because there were things I had never heard about or knew very little. I loved the style because it was like reading a compendium of articles rather than a book with an ongoing narrative.
That style of compiling articles is what may throw some readers. Those looking for an ongoing narrative thread from story to story will not be satisfied. Although he does group the crimes somewhat, these are basically stand alone stories - some short, some long. It also not American centric. For people uninterested in crimes going on in other parts of the world, they might prefer to give this one a miss. For me, it was like a great cheese plate - lots of choices in different flavors and sizes. A great book for crime buffs.
Each chapter discusses a crime. They range from Jack the Ripper to Marilyn Monroe. From DSK and his discreditation thus successfully barring him from becoming President of France to money laundering, theft and the mafia's possible involvement in a Vatican conspiracy. Political assassinations, headline crimes and conspiracies - he touches on both the well known and the unknown.
Some of the headline crimes that have been rehashed a thousand times in the media are treated more cursorily with the interesting part being the authors conclusion based on his own and others research. On the less well known cases, he goes into great detail in order to lead the reader through the ins and outs of the case. In all cases, the authors draws a conclusion about what he thinks has occurred and if the crime was satisfactorily solved or not.
At the end of the book, he offers a reading list for those interested in delving further into these crimes. I liked the book because there were things I had never heard about or knew very little. I loved the style because it was like reading a compendium of articles rather than a book with an ongoing narrative.
That style of compiling articles is what may throw some readers. Those looking for an ongoing narrative thread from story to story will not be satisfied. Although he does group the crimes somewhat, these are basically stand alone stories - some short, some long. It also not American centric. For people uninterested in crimes going on in other parts of the world, they might prefer to give this one a miss. For me, it was like a great cheese plate - lots of choices in different flavors and sizes. A great book for crime buffs.
April 9, 2013
A lot of times, we judge a case based on headlines and popular opinions without delving deeper into it. I admit, I do this at times especially if the case is too sensationalized. Guilt by public opinion! In fact, before reading this book, I was very sure that Amanda Knox was guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher based on sensational news headlines and Knox's photos wearing inappropriate facial expressions during her trial. Epstein's investigative research, however, made me wonder if investigators were merely obsessed with an unlikely theory of cult killing and tried to fit evidences, albeit very farfetched, to the case to satisfy their theory.
How about the legendary Jack the Ripper that sends chill to anyone by just hearing his name? I have read books and watched movies/TV shows that made such a big deal about Jack the Ripper bringing out our worst fear when we think about serial killers. What would you think if you find out that Jack the Ripper is the creation of tabloids whose business is being threatened by bankruptcy? By reporting several unrelated murders in the city and stringing evidences together to make it appear that there is only one perpetrator and feeding the public's fear of their safety, they sold more papers and saved their business.
Conspiracy theories, cover-up operations, assassinations, profiling and more. This book will make you think twice before you judge a case whether it is criminally, terroristic or politically motivated. We will wonder if we can fully trust investigative bodies such as the FBI, police investigators or the judiciary to protect us from being judged unfairly. In so many cases, square evidences were made to fit round cases in order to close a case without regard of whether they were destroying innocent lives.
A recommended read for anyone who loves mystery and true crime stories.
How about the legendary Jack the Ripper that sends chill to anyone by just hearing his name? I have read books and watched movies/TV shows that made such a big deal about Jack the Ripper bringing out our worst fear when we think about serial killers. What would you think if you find out that Jack the Ripper is the creation of tabloids whose business is being threatened by bankruptcy? By reporting several unrelated murders in the city and stringing evidences together to make it appear that there is only one perpetrator and feeding the public's fear of their safety, they sold more papers and saved their business.
Conspiracy theories, cover-up operations, assassinations, profiling and more. This book will make you think twice before you judge a case whether it is criminally, terroristic or politically motivated. We will wonder if we can fully trust investigative bodies such as the FBI, police investigators or the judiciary to protect us from being judged unfairly. In so many cases, square evidences were made to fit round cases in order to close a case without regard of whether they were destroying innocent lives.
A recommended read for anyone who loves mystery and true crime stories.
August 23, 2014
Inconsistent, all over the place, and fraught with grammatic and typographical errors... in short, a bit of a mess. I imagine this wasn't a top moneymaker for the publisher, so could understand their not being bothered with the expense of physical reprinting, but ebooks should be a different story, especially when a work contains this many errors -- if there's seemingly no effort to get it semi-right the first time, then corrections need to be addressed. When so little care and attention goes into simple proofreading, it makes a reader question the research and fact-checking as well... especially not good for a book such as this.
Outside of the errors, the writing itself is wildly inconsistent from case to case -- some (mostly the more obscure 'political' cases) go into painful detail of questionably relevant minutiae, while others (mostly the 'big name' cases) are barely even summarized. It seems clear to me that the 'big name' cases were only included so the dustjacket and tags could say they were included -- the content was perfunctory at best. Granted, most readers are already decently well versed in 'big name' cases and don't need quite so many of the expository details, but that shouldn't preclude a semi-thorough analysis -- unfortunately, the author doesn't even see fit to mention all the theories of some cases, let alone explore them.
Two stars for the seeming thoroughness of the political cases, and that's being generous, considering the rest of it.
Outside of the errors, the writing itself is wildly inconsistent from case to case -- some (mostly the more obscure 'political' cases) go into painful detail of questionably relevant minutiae, while others (mostly the 'big name' cases) are barely even summarized. It seems clear to me that the 'big name' cases were only included so the dustjacket and tags could say they were included -- the content was perfunctory at best. Granted, most readers are already decently well versed in 'big name' cases and don't need quite so many of the expository details, but that shouldn't preclude a semi-thorough analysis -- unfortunately, the author doesn't even see fit to mention all the theories of some cases, let alone explore them.
Two stars for the seeming thoroughness of the political cases, and that's being generous, considering the rest of it.
December 22, 2014
This book was incredibly informative! I've read my fair share about the more popular of the unsolved crimes - JonBenet Ramsey, the Black Dahlia, Jack the Ripper - but I found the section on state crimes the most interesting. The lengths some of them went to to create cover-ups, or even just frame other international agencies is remarkable. And terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
This book is incredibly well-researched, which is always something I look out for when reading true crime. The author is also not afraid to flat out admit when he just doesn't have a bloody clue what happened. Try as he might to piece the available evidence together, sometimes you just have to admit when you're stumped.
It was great to read about cases I'd never even heard of - which is often why I enjoy these types of anthologies. Reading about these cases also made me much more aware of the goings on in international relations, which have always fascinated me.
This book has given me my fair share of homework to do in order to gain a complete understanding of some of these cases. Homework I am more than happy to do!! I will definitely be seeking out more from this author. I liked his style, and I especially enjoyed how he presented his information.
This book is incredibly well-researched, which is always something I look out for when reading true crime. The author is also not afraid to flat out admit when he just doesn't have a bloody clue what happened. Try as he might to piece the available evidence together, sometimes you just have to admit when you're stumped.
It was great to read about cases I'd never even heard of - which is often why I enjoy these types of anthologies. Reading about these cases also made me much more aware of the goings on in international relations, which have always fascinated me.
This book has given me my fair share of homework to do in order to gain a complete understanding of some of these cases. Homework I am more than happy to do!! I will definitely be seeking out more from this author. I liked his style, and I especially enjoyed how he presented his information.
January 22, 2015
I used to admire Epstein for his book Inquest, one of the first truthful books about the JFK assassination. He has some great stuff here, like the Lindbergh kidnapping being an inside job (I never trusted Anne Morrow--just kidding). But he thinks ridiculous things like Marilyn Monroe committing suicide by giving herself a massive chloral hydrate enema. That's impossible to believe. And he actually thinks Lee Harvey Oswald was a JFK shooter, which has been amply debunked. He also thinks Jeffrey MacDonald didn't kill his wife and daughters, which is a laugh because each person in that family had a separate blood type and you could tell who had been in each room of the house. He's also way off on the Black Dahlia killer. The killer's son has written a great book explaining that his father was the killer.
Otherwise, he's good on Jack the Ripper, the Lincoln assassination, the Reichstag Fire, the anthrax attacks, Gen. Zia of Pakistan, Jon Benet Ramsey, Sam Sheppard, and the Oklahoma City bombing (although he doesn't mention that Timothy McVeigh asked Gore Vidal to witness his death, because he knew Gore didn't buy the three killers story).
Generally, it's quite good, with intensive research, except for the cases I cited.
Otherwise, he's good on Jack the Ripper, the Lincoln assassination, the Reichstag Fire, the anthrax attacks, Gen. Zia of Pakistan, Jon Benet Ramsey, Sam Sheppard, and the Oklahoma City bombing (although he doesn't mention that Timothy McVeigh asked Gore Vidal to witness his death, because he knew Gore didn't buy the three killers story).
Generally, it's quite good, with intensive research, except for the cases I cited.
November 12, 2019
Written by a journalist, The Annals of Unsolved Crime goes over a bunch of different crimes, gives details as to the investigation, and gives the author's best guess as to what actually happened. The author seems to have been involved in the initial investigation of several of them and doesn't shy away from giving details.
It is a pretty interesting book. I hadn't even heard of several of these crimes, which, considering I'm something of a true crime junkie, was a surprise to me. Nor are all the crimes murder, as often happens in books like this (though most are, really). The author covers the Reichstag fire, some terrorism cases, and a sexual assault case as well, so be aware of that going in. I did like reading it, but at some points the author got very... hmm, smug? And definitive. He seemed to believe sometimes that he and he alone had the proper answer and everyone else was deluded. Weird tone to the book. Still, I think I would recommend it if you're interested in unsolved crimes. Just remember that you may find yourself shouting at the author now and again.
It is a pretty interesting book. I hadn't even heard of several of these crimes, which, considering I'm something of a true crime junkie, was a surprise to me. Nor are all the crimes murder, as often happens in books like this (though most are, really). The author covers the Reichstag fire, some terrorism cases, and a sexual assault case as well, so be aware of that going in. I did like reading it, but at some points the author got very... hmm, smug? And definitive. He seemed to believe sometimes that he and he alone had the proper answer and everyone else was deluded. Weird tone to the book. Still, I think I would recommend it if you're interested in unsolved crimes. Just remember that you may find yourself shouting at the author now and again.
August 24, 2014
A fast, easy read ... although the writing must not have been either fast or easy (much research was needed; and the author summarized succinctly - I thought - vast amounts of data, which must have taken some effort [often harder to cut words than to add words]). His conclusions about each case seemed (to me at least) well reasoned, although with many cases - as he himself points out - nobody can ever know for sure. Of course readers predisposed with their own theories will probably reject the author's conclusions out of hand if they are different from their own. I learned a lot about a many of the cases (the newspapers really do a lousy job of reporting). I also found disheartening (but not too surprising) the role of various governments in some of these crimes (and cover-ups). For a few cases he does go into lengthy detail before summarizing ... but it seems unavoidable in those cases (e.g. 'God's Banker' and the radioactive Russian case [Litvinenko]).
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