Here is the shocking true saga of the Irish American mob. In Paddy Whacked, bestselling author and organized crime expert T. J. English brings to life nearly two centuries of Irish American gangsterism, which spawned such unforgettable characters as Mike "King Mike" McDonald, Chicago's subterranean godfather; Big Bill Dwyer, New York's most notorious rumrunner during Prohibition; Mickey Featherstone, troubled Vietnam vet turned Westies gang leader; and James "Whitey" Bulger, the ruthless and untouchable Southie legend. Stretching from the earliest New York and New Orleans street wars through decades of bootlegging scams, union strikes, gang wars, and FBI investigations, Paddy Whacked is a riveting tour de force that restores the Irish American gangster to his rightful preeminent place in our criminal history -- and penetrates to the heart of the American experience.

Frontier Justice highlights eighteen crimes and subsequent punishments of the most interesting, controversial, and unusual executions from an era when hangings and shootings were a legal means of capital punishment. Learn about the bungled hanging of Tom Ketchum who was beheaded by the noose; the unique trigger for the trapdoor used to hang Tom Horn; "Big Nose" George Parrott who was skinned, pickled, and made into a pair of shoes; the double trials of Jack McCall, assassin of Wild Bill Hickok; the hanging of a woman-Elizabeth Potts; the shooting of John D. Lee of Mountain Meadows Massacre infamy; and the only use of a double "twitch-up" gallows; etc. Each action-packed chapter includes biographical information, the pursuit, the investigation, legal maneuvers, trial information, and rarely-seen photographs.

The Definitive Account of the Crimes of Alaska Serial Killer Robert Hansen...the case that inspired the Frozen Ground movie starring Nicholas Cage and John Cusack . *** This edition includes a 16-page "2013 Afterword" *** __*__First published 9 years after Robert Hansen's sentencing, FAIR GAME exposed law enforcement and judicial bungling that allowed the 12-year murder spree of Alaska's most prolific serial killer. With an Anchorage police officer risking his career, and FBI profiling assistance, Alaska State Troopers finally brought Hansen to justice. __* *__Robert Hansen was never someone you'd call normal. A teenager bullied for having acne and a stutter, he became a loner with emotional problems. After prison time for arson in his native Iowa, and arrests for shoplifting in the Minnesota Twin Cities, he and his bride moved to Anchorage, Alaska. Becoming the father of two, a successful bakery owner, crack bush pilot and world-record holding big-game hunter, he seemed the solid "normal guy next door." But no one REALLY knew Robert Hansen ...or what he was capable of From 1971 to 1983, he went on a rampage. Usually stalking his prey in the seedier corners of Anchorage, he kidnapped and raped dozens of women, murdering at least twenty. FAIR GAME reconstructs Hansen's 12-year reign of violence, a victim's harrowing escape that led to his arrest and chilling confession, and reveals why the Hansen case didn't go to trial.__* *** EXCERPTS FROM EDITORIAL REVIEWS FOR THE 1st EDITION OF FAIR GAME (St. Martin's Press,1993). *** Anchorage Daily News___ ..". an impressive piece of research and reporting." We Alaskans Magazine___ ..". a gripping narrative."

Things are not always as they appear, as Cyril Wecht shows in this behind-the-scenes look at nine famous murder cases. Drawing on police reports, deopsitions, trial testimony, and autopsy reports, he raises important issues and offers fresh perspectives on each case.

Bob Woodward, the best investigative reporter in the country, spent six years examining the CIA using hundreds of inside sources and secret documents to paint a picture of the world's largest espionage apparatus.

Financial crime seems horribly complicated but there are only so many ways you can con someone out of what's theirs. In fact, there are four. A veteran regulatory economist and market analyst, Dan Davies has years of experience picking the bones out of some of the most famous frauds of the modern age. Now he reveals the big picture that emerges from their labyrinths of deceit.

Along the way you'll find out how to fake a gold mine with a wedding ring, a file and a shotgun. You'll see how close Charles Ponzi, the king of pyramid schemes, came to acquiring his own private navy. You'll learn how fraud has shaped the entire development of the modern world economy. And you'll discover whether you have what it takes to be a white-collar criminal mastermind, if that's what you want. (Which you don't. You really, really don't.)

Curtis Warren is an underworld legend, the Liverpool scally who took the methods of the street corner and elevated them to an art form. He forged direct links with the the cocaine cartels of Columbia, the heroine godfathers of Turkey, the cannabis cultivators of Marocco and the Ectasy manufacturers of Holland and Eastern Europe. His drugs went around the world, from the clubs of Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin to the golden beaches of Sydney.

This acclaimed and best-selling biography uncovers his meteoric rise from street mugger to the richest and most successful British criminal who has ver been caught. It relates how the Liverpool mafia became the UK's foremost drug importers; tells how Warren survived gang warfare and how he corrupted top-level police officers; unveils the inside story of the biggest and most successful British law enforcement operation ever undertaken; and reveals the explosive contents of the covert wiretaps that brought his global empire crashing down.

Thoroughly revised and updated, COCKY is a shocking insight into organized crime and an important investigation into a contemporary international drug baron.

'Compelling' - The Observer.

Shortlisted for the Macallan Gold Dagger for Crime Non-fiction.

The crime was unthinkable: a respected doctor is convicted of brutally murdering his pregnant wife. The trial that followed was a media circus--one often compared to the O.J. Simpson trial. The popularity of the case would go on to be one of the alleged inspirations of the TV show "The Fugitive" (and later the Harrison Ford movie of the same name)-something the creators deny, but fans insist is true. This book proves that truth is always more interesting than fiction. It looks at the murder, the suspects, and the ultimate outcome of one of the most notorious murders of all time.

The greatest archaeological find of the 20th century, and perhaps of all time, was the discovery in 1922 of the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Untouched for 3,300 years, the ancient tomb, filled with spectacular treasures, raised many questions about the legendary reign of this boy king. Recently Tut has been in the news again. Not only has a traveling museum exhibit of his tomb's fascinating artifacts drawn the public's attention, but also a CT scan of his body, which provides new evidence concerning the king's fate, has received a good deal of media attention. Based on this new investigation, an Egyptian team of scientists and scholars has now publicly ruled out the possibility that Tut was murdered. In this thorough and intriguing review of all of the evidence, two law enforcement specialists in forensics and the psychology of criminal behavior dispute the conclusions reached by the Egyptian team. Applying sophisticated crime-solving techniques used in the investigation of contemporary murders, Detectives King and Cooper make a compelling case that the cause of King Tut's death was most likely murder. The detectives' investigation concentrates on Tut's inner circle of close confidants. One by one, the suspects are eliminated, due to evidence or probable cause, until in the end the detectives focus on the most likely suspect. For readers who enjoy mysteries, true crime, and history, Who Killed King Tut? is both an educational read and a real page-turner.

The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority.

Into this maelstrom came a working class, Brooklyn-born, Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced -- or bought -- and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.

Many people express shock and horror when they hear of a wealthy or famous person killing another person. As a society, we seem to expect the rich and famous to behave better, to commit fewer crimes, to be immune to the passions that inspire other, less prominent people to kill. After all, the rich and famous have everything--why would they need to murder? But the rich and famous kill for the very same reasons other do: love, power, money, jealousy, greed, revenge, and rage. Here, Scott takes us on a tour of murders committed by the rich and famous during the last century, looking at the motives, the responses of the community and local law enforcement, the media, and the outcomes. She argues that the rich and famous may kill for the same reasons as others, but they receive vastly different treatment and are often able to get away with murder. Homicide by the rich and famous is not new in this country, nor is fascination with the crimes committed by our most revered citizens. But being among the upper echelon of society does afford such suspects with a greater ability to escape punishment. They have greater access to better respresentation, they have the means to flee the country, they have influential friends in high places willing to put themselves on the line, and they are generally treated better by law enforcement and the criminal justice system. This book profiles the many ways in which homicides committed by the rich and famous are similar to other murders in their motives, but differ from those committed by everyday citizens in their outcomes. Scott provides readers with a showcase of crimes that will infuriate and fascinate readers.

"A snake handler convicted of the attempted murder of his wife by means of serpent bite is serving ninety-nine years in prison. The reader is gradually pulled into an increasingly complex story as Thomas Burton allows the many individuals involved in this event to tell their stories. Readers are less likely to find themselves concerned with what "really" happened than with larger issues they too will become involved in. this is more than a story about the headline 'preacher tries to murder wife - with rattlesnakes " it is a story of individuals struggling with their faith and their fate under the steady gaze of their God." --Ralph W. Hood Jr., winner of the American Psychological Association's William James Award in the psychology of religion
In this comprehensive, multilayered set of narratives, the story of Glenn Summerford's fall from grace is told by its participants, through interviews, court documents, and other primary sources. Free of either prejudice against or romanticizing about the snake-handling Holiness religion, this book presents an absorbing story of a fascinating group of people, while allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about Summerford's guilt or innocence. The Serpent and the Spirit is a startling commentary on truth and its representation, religion and its expression, humanity and its flaws.
Thomas Burton is professor emeritus of English at East Tennessee State University. He is the winner of the Appalachian Consortium Laurel Leaves Award.

Orchestrated to the sounds of getaway cars and machine guns, the abduction of Oklahoma City businessman Charles Urschel in 1933 was a highly publicized crime in an era when gangsters were folk heroes and kidnapping had become a scourge. The criminals' interstate flight to a desolate hideout in Texas called for federal action, instigating the most intensive manhunt the country had yet seen. It also set in motion a chain of events that would have lasting significance for crime-fighting in America.

In an exciting account of that celebrated manhunt, Stanley Hamilton rekindles the spirit of yesterday's newsreels to chronicle the pursuit and capture of George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn. Tapping a wealth of newspaper reports, court transcripts, literary accounts, and recollections of participants, he draws readers into the chase and its aftermath, unraveling what was then considered the most compelling crime mystery of the day.

Hamilton sets the stage with an overview of the lawlessness of that era and of Kelly's formative years, getting under the skin of a hard-boiled criminal to show us what made Kelly tick. He assembles a cast of larger-than-life characters to weave this tale of true crime, one of the largest of whom was the 38-year-old director of the national police force, J. Edgar Hoover.

Hoover had revitalized an ineffective agency whose operatives were still not authorized to carry firearms or make arrests, and when the Urschel case broke, it was Hoover who stepped up to coordinate the manhunt. Hamilton takes readers behind the scenes in Hoover's operation to show how this case was responsible for popularizing the G-man and institutionalizing the FBI, creating the agent-as-hero image that replaced earlier characterizations of blundering foils to glamorous gangsters.

, br>This iconic kidnapping case, breathlessly followed by a fascinated public, was so quickly and effectively concluded that it was largely instrumental in bringing about the end of the Gangster Era in America. "Machine Gun Kelly's Last Stand" brings that era to life again by providing a fresh look at one of America's most notorious criminals, vividly recreating the times in which he lived and sharing the stories of the people whose lives he touched.