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The Best American Crime Reporting (Best American Crime Reporting)
Thieves, liars, and killers--it's a criminal world out there, and someone has to write about it. A thrilling collection of the year's best reportage by the aces of the true-crime genre, "The Best American Crime Reporting 2009" brings together the mysteries and missteps of an eclectic and unforgettable set of criminals. Gripping, suspenseful, and brilliant, this
...morePaperback, 313 pages
Published
September 15th 2009
by Ecco Press
(first published August 27th 2009)
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Kirsti
rated it
Did you know that Target has its own crime lab? It's not in some closet in the back of a Target store, of course. It's a high-security private lab at the corporate headquarters. Target knows that police need to catch murderers and rapists and arsonists more than they need to catch shoplifters. So the company has its own fingerprint experts and investigators who gather the evidence and turn it over to police. If the shoplifters are stealing thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise, operating as...more
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This year's collection ranges from so-so to pretty good. Most interesting are the essays on two crime-prevention industries: Alec Wilkinson's "Non-Lethal Force" (about the development of weapons designed to incapacitate criminals without killing them) and John Colapinto's "Stop, Thief!" (about methods of stopping not only individual shoplifters but also shoplifting gangs). Best true-crime story is David Grann's "True Crime" (about a cold case that turns hot when ...more
Another really fascinating collection of writing centered around crime. The articles and essays vary in topic and each is interesting for its own reasons. I do think this collection is a bit stronger than the 2008 edition but, really, they're both great. Out of 15 pieces, here are my favorites:
The Color of Blood by Calvin Trillin
What do you do if you defend your family with lethal force, only to have everyone tell you there was no threat?
Body Snatchers by Dan P. Lee...more
The Color of Blood by Calvin Trillin
What do you do if you defend your family with lethal force, only to have everyone tell you there was no threat?
Body Snatchers by Dan P. Lee...more
As usual a great collection of non-fiction essays revolving around crime. Some are criminal profiles, such as a piece about a teenage mass murderer who was the victim of parental fallout so traumatic he was diagnosed with suffering the equivalent of war trauma. Another standout is a story about a Polish writer who penned a post-modern novel based on a crime he committed. Some of the more interesting pieces step back and take a look at policing, such as the use of non-lethal force and the work of...more
Some of the stories were REALLY good and REALLY disturbing! It was interesting to read more about ones I already knew of or had seen on the news. Some of them were so hard to follow and seemed a little pointless. Overall, a pretty easy read b/c it's made up of all short stories.
Squirrely G
added it
Wide variety of stories - some sad, some sickening, all astonishing. Collection of articles makes for easy 'just have a few minutes' reading.
Great writing and reporting. Especially interested in the Atlantic piece on crime in Memphis. Thanks Grant for the gift.
Story about store detectives was most interesting.
John
is currently reading it
My favorite annual collection of stories.
Some of these articles were a bit depressing, but on the whole the collection is totally fascinating.
Guilty pleasure.
A good mix of stories, and several that I loved, but a few too many that I disliked.
Loved this book! The chapters about living in solitary confinement (for decades, without any human contact), and the "Don't Snitch" movement were haunting . . . . Great writing. Highly recommend.
I love this series. I read it every year.
This one was a little tamer than previous editions. I did like True Crime by David Grann, because it was out of the ordinary.
James
added it
Good collection of articles from the Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, etc. The best article (so far) is also available online here: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/sum...
Michael
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Jennifer T.
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Dennis Groves
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Cicely
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Lawyer, author, legal correspondent for CNN and The New Yorker magazine.
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