Best American Crime Writing: 2002

by Otto Penzler, Thomas H. Cook

A riveting new anthology series—a year’s worth of the most powerful, the most startling, the smartest and most astute, in short, the best crime journalism.

Scouring hundreds of publications, guest editor Nicholas Pileggi, and series editors Otto Penzler and Thomas H. Cook have created a remarkable compilation of the best examples of the most current and vibrant of our literary crime reporting. Ranging in style from Mark Singer’s ribald “The Chicken Warriors,” an up-close look at the tawdry, wildly popular, illegal world of cock-fighting, to David McClintick’s harrowing “Fatal Bondage,” the tale of a grifter with an attraction to sado-masochistic sex and serial killing, this collection showcases the wide variety of writing in the field today.

Criminal behavior itself also falls into a spectrum, from the isolated and idiosyncratic misdeed, such as that documented in Skip Hollandsworth’s “The Killing of Alydar,” an investigation into the greed that spawned the killing of a thoroughbred horse, to the large-scale malignancies that can shake an entire nation, as recounted in “The Day of the Attack,” Nancy Gibbs’s sobering retelling of the events of September 11, 2001.

Good crime writing is never just about the crime or the criminals, so this collection also has moving and often troubling portraits of the victims, their families, and the communities in which they lived, and, in pieces such as D. Graham Burnett’s “Anatomy of a Verdict,” a reminder of the immensely difficult process that is coming to judgment.

Entertaining, at times alarming, Best American Crime Writing is compelling evidence of the furthest reaches of human behavior.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Essays

432 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 2002

About the author

Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.

Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.

Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection in 1977, and The Lineup in 2010. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the prestigious Ellery Queen Award in 1994, and the Raven--the group's highest non-writing award--in 2003.

Reviews

[Dr. Deere · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book slaps. A brilliant anthology of crime stories from over two decades ago. From murder to cockfighting rings, this book has the stuff.

[Joe Nicholl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent collection of true crime stories, only two I speed read through two, the rest were very, very good. Collected from magazines like The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, etc. (not that I like those mags, can't stand the Atlantic Monthly)...anyways...This was the first of the series that has been published yearly since 2002. I've also got the 5th vol. edited by none other than James Ellory...This vol. 1 was edited by Mysterious Press dude Otto Penzler and Thomas H. Cook. Have you ever read any Cook? He's great...I'd say my favorite over the last five years...The Chatham School Affair is excellent...I digress, back to vol. 1...there a interesting article on O.J. Simpson after the Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman murder trial and before he landed in Nevada prison...what a piece of shit that f--k-wad-jerk O.J. is...There's an interesting article published immediately after 9/11. It comes off so innocent and quaint...well before PNAC had the light shined on them, the f---ing cock-roaches...There was a quote from this rabbi who said, "Today we are all Israelis!" WTF-? OH, you mean the Dancing Israel's!!!! Or, Lucky Larry Silverstien! (please...don't get me started)....The last story is excellent, I think it's called Verdict of the Jury or something like that....an inside look at what a jury goes through to decide a murder trial...riveting reading...4 outta 5 Stars!!!

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was kind of strange. I didn't realize what the set up of the book would be until I started reading the second short story. I don't think I'll read it again.

[Plum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding nonfiction writing!

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

for one article in particular, a prayer for tina marie, this book is worth reading. it's one of the best pieces of crime reportage, or magazine writing period, I have ever written. it will both break your heart and haunt you. and if you're the typical guy it will change the way you look at women. there's also an excellent piece in here by the always fun to read charles bowden about a dea agent who is sent to jail for hiring a hit. as always, bowden's got a special gift of taking you deep into the underworld. it's always a fun ride with him at the helm.

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just got this on a whim while browsing at the library. I didn't know I really liked true crime writing, but I guess I do because I really enjoyed this book! Stories dealt with OJ Simpson, a unique look at 9/11 that I hadn't read before, Israeli drug dealers, and an inside look at a jury deliberating a murder case, and more. I'll read more of these crime writing collections.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great true-crime stories from Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, GQ, etc. Every story riveting. Great to be able to read a complete story quickly, then put it down and come back for the next chapter. A good book to have on the shelves when you're between big books.

[Joe Noir · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three volumes in this series, those published in the US by Vintage, were the best. All the volumes in this series are good. Non-fiction crime from a variety of sources, and covering a multitude of sins.

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is really about current psychology and sociology issues. My favorite chapters were "The Crash of Egyptair 990" which describes the state of Middle Eastern culture regarding the US. The unreliability of eyewitness testimony in "Under Suspicion" by Atul Gawande.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift for fans of crime and justice journalism.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like this kind of thing, this was very good!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. One or two pieces were not quite up to the rest, but otherwise, top notch.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

These anthologies of true crime writing are really good. It's like getting an entire book of the most interesting magazine articles.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This edition, 2002, was very good. I find this series depends on who the editor is and what they choose. The series has been renamed ....Crime Reporting.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of true crime stories.