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History's Worst Crimes and the People Who Investigated Them by Bill Price
Read about true crimes from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the Watergate burglary, the most infamous crimes to hold public attention long after they were committed. This book take you on a journey through 50 of them. Some of these cases have been solved, some await a resolution, and some my remain a mystery forever. All the stories in their historical text with the leading characters involved.
256 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2014
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About the author
Bill Price
80 books10 followersBill Price is originally from Herefordshire and now lives in North West London. After working in various areas of the UK book trade for fifteen years, he become a full time freelance writer and is now the author of ten books. Most of these have reflected his interest in the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and, in particular, the First World War.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 17, 2022
4 Stars
This book contains information on 50 of the most heinous crimes ever committed and they include crimes of murder, assassination, robbery, fraud, kidnapping, hijacking, treason, and espionage. The crimes discussed in the book are all in chronological order according to when they happened.
I did find something particularly interesting about the statistics of crimes and that information can be found on Page 8, Paragraph 1. It reads:
"Studies have shown exposure to lead poisoning, particularly in young children, can cause an increase in dysfunctional and aggressive behaviour because lead impairs the decision-making process in the brain".
The book starts out taking a look at
Caine's murder of his brother Abel and is considered to be the first ever murder. It is believed that this first ever murder was committed because of jealousy.
I also learned another fascinating piece of information and that is the assassination of Julius Caesar led to the first ever recorded autopsy "in which it was established that only one of the 25 stab wounds he received was severe enough that it might alone prove fatal. Instead he probably died from a combination of blood loss and the accumulation of wounds". This information was taken from Page 18, Paragraph 8.
I was also unaware of the Black Sox Scandal involving eight Chicago White Sox players and many gangsters and gamblers. The objective of the scam was to throw the game and that is just what occurred. It resulted in no one being convicted but the eight players involved were banned from playing baseball including Shoeless Joe Jackson. I had heard nothing of this scandal prior to reading this book.
The book also discusses many of the infamous criminals such as Ed Gein, Jack the Ripper, Bernie Madoff, and many others. This book is a must read for those who are captivated with the true crime genre.
This book contains information on 50 of the most heinous crimes ever committed and they include crimes of murder, assassination, robbery, fraud, kidnapping, hijacking, treason, and espionage. The crimes discussed in the book are all in chronological order according to when they happened.
I did find something particularly interesting about the statistics of crimes and that information can be found on Page 8, Paragraph 1. It reads:
"Studies have shown exposure to lead poisoning, particularly in young children, can cause an increase in dysfunctional and aggressive behaviour because lead impairs the decision-making process in the brain".
The book starts out taking a look at
Caine's murder of his brother Abel and is considered to be the first ever murder. It is believed that this first ever murder was committed because of jealousy.
I also learned another fascinating piece of information and that is the assassination of Julius Caesar led to the first ever recorded autopsy "in which it was established that only one of the 25 stab wounds he received was severe enough that it might alone prove fatal. Instead he probably died from a combination of blood loss and the accumulation of wounds". This information was taken from Page 18, Paragraph 8.
I was also unaware of the Black Sox Scandal involving eight Chicago White Sox players and many gangsters and gamblers. The objective of the scam was to throw the game and that is just what occurred. It resulted in no one being convicted but the eight players involved were banned from playing baseball including Shoeless Joe Jackson. I had heard nothing of this scandal prior to reading this book.
The book also discusses many of the infamous criminals such as Ed Gein, Jack the Ripper, Bernie Madoff, and many others. This book is a must read for those who are captivated with the true crime genre.
May 31, 2021
Good book to read to change it up and have a bit of a break between some tougher reading. Discusses several crimes in 3-4 pages. It is a great format and easy to read and follow. It does a good job of discussing each case with multiple scenarios in a non-bias fashion and from the cases I previously knew background on I could tell they were well researched. Good range of crimes. Many you have heard and many you maybe haven't.
May 25, 2016
I really liked this book! Because of its formatting, it was easy to read alongside other books, as well as just read on occasion, rather than having to focus on it only. The writing is excellent and the information documented is interesting and relevant.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews