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Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- January 2010 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
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Beakley, Mike "Darkside", and Pam Phree, Betrayal, Murder, and Greed: The True Story of a Bounty Hunter and a Bail Bond Agent ....Buy this book
- December 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- James, P.D., Talking About Detective Fiction....Buy this book
One of crime fiction's most popular and respected writers lifts the lid on "the human appetite for mystery and mayhem," and lets us get a good look at the works in this wide-ranging survey, dishing up the goods on (among others) Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Peter Lovesey and Sara Paretsky, her own writing process and what she sees as the recent renaissance of detective fiction.
- November 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Brown, Stuart, Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook....Buy this book
Well, isn't this Precious? Fans of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency can skip the bottle of hooch in the desk drawer and settle in with a nice cup of red bush tea instead. With photographs by Mats Ogren and a foreword by Precious' creator, Alexander McCall Smith, this amply illustrated culinary tour offers an intriguing glimpse into Botswana's traditions and culture, with numerous detours for recipes for stews, fat cakes (doughnuts) jams and other trtaditional delicacies, with the proceeds from the book's sales being shared among several African charities.
- Penzler, Otto, The Line-Up...Buy this book
The head honcho of New York's Mysterious Bookstore dumps on his enemies (mostly big chain bookstores) in the intro, but the rest of the book is a fascinatiing look at how some of the best writers in the genre see their own characters. And so you have Robert Parker on Spenser, Lee Child on Jack Reacher, Robert Crais on Elvis Cole and Joe Pike and so on. Also weighing in on their heroes are folks like Michael Connely, John Connolly, Laura Lippman, Anne Perry and Alexandar McCall Smith. Engaging and often surprising, this one comes highly recommended.
- September 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
Gunn, Drewey Wayne, ed., The Golden Age of Gay Fiction....Buy this book
An ambitious stab at tracking the various strata of gay fiction, including some eye-opening chapters on gay pulp fiction. Of particular interest to fans of this site are Josh Lanyon's survey of Joseph Hansen's early works, and editor Gunn's essay on the development of gay crime fiction entitled "Down These Queer Streets."
- Redmond, Christopher, Sherlock Holmes Handbook....Buy this book
Long overdue second edition of the 1993 classic brings fans up to date on the latest films, books, TV shows and the effect of the internet on spreading the word.
- July 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Hack, Richard, Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie ....Buy this book
- Lovisi, Gary, The Dames, Dolls and Delinquents: A Collector's Guide to Sexy Pulp Fiction....Buy this book
World-renowned paperback junkie and expert Gary Lovis takes us on atour of pulp fiction babitude with an astounding array of close to 700 full-color covers. But it's also a valuable collectors' guide, featuring plenty of info to help with identification, including title, author, cover artist, publisher, date, not to mention values for three grades of condition. Bad girls never looked so good.
- June 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Fredericksen, John C., Honey West., Buy this book
A heart-felt tribute to the ground-breaking cult favourite that at its best – surprise, surprise -- actually improved upon the original character, as created by G.G. Fickling, transforming the affable bimbo sleuth into something far more subversive: a lady dick with looks AND brains.
- Rayner, Richard, A Bright and Guilty Place (true crime) ....Buy this book
Subtitled "Murder, Corruption, and L.A.'s Scandalous Coming of Age" this one covers an unsolved 1931 Los Angeles murder, and everything from Chaplin's socialst agenda to Aimee MacPherson and the St. Valentine Day's Massacre.
- Silke, Jim, and R.A. Maguire, Dames, Dolls, And Gun Molls...Buy this book
A long overdue tribute by art historian Jim Silke to legendary pulp artist Robert A. Maguire who created gorgeous cover images for more than a thousand books and worked for virtually every mainstream publisher in the U.S. and who never met a dame who didn't want to strip down and hold a gun.
- May 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
Folsom, Tom, The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld ....Buy this book
Folsom makes the case that Gallo was "cool" -- the first counter-culture gangster. Hmmm....
- Wlaschin, Ken, Silent Mystery and Detective Films....Buy this book
A real eye opener from film expert Wlaschin, this well-illustrated volume presents a jaw-dropping litany from around the world of over 1500 early crime flicks, ranging from slap-stick one reelers probably best forgotten to Gawd-I’d-love-to-see-them early film appearances of such beloved mystery icons as Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan and Boston Blackie. A labour of love that your mystery fan will love too. impressive.
- April 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Beaver, Jim, Life's That Way: A Memoir ....Buy this book
An actor (he played Ellsworth on Deadwood), a husband and a father offers a harrowing glimpse of his wife's death from cancer and his struggle to survive the loss, in the process proving himself to a man of uncommon courage and depth, a rara-avis indeed.
- March 2009 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Herron, Don, The Dashiell Hammett Tour: 30th Anniversary Guidebook....Buy this book
A special, 30th anniversary edition celebration of what is pretty much mecca for any true hard-boiled crime buff: a pilgrimage to San Francisco, and Don Herron's guided tour of all things Hammett.
- February 2009
- Olin, Deb, Cheri deFonteny and Lynn Walker, Hardcastle and McCormick ...Buy this book
This love letter to “the boys” is billed as "The Complete Viewers Guide to the Classic Eighties Action Series" and that ain’t no lie. It’s crammed with interviews, episode guides, technical data and more trivia than you could rev a motor at. Fun, fun, fun… or at least until the judge takes the customized race car away.
September 2008 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Blum, Howard, American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century .. Buy this book
True crime about the notorious 1911 LA Times bombing, featuring Clarence Darrow and real-life P.I. William J. Burns among the cast of thousands.
- Schechter, Harold, editor, True Crime: An American Anthology .. Buy this book
Crime is evidently as American as apple pie, and this anthology goes out of its way to prove it, with a boffo selection of red, white and blue mayhem from a star-studded list of contributors that includes everyone from Abraham Lincoln to Jim Thompson.
- May 2008 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Wenzl, Roy, et al, Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door ..Buy this book
The BTK killer stalks Kansas. More serial killer porn, illustrated.
- January 2008 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Geary, Rick, J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography ..Buy this book
Now here's something you don't see everyday: a no holds-barred biography of the FBI head honcho (and headcase) done in comic book form. Geary, famed for his Treasury of Victorian Crime series and numerous grahic novel adaptations of literary classics, does his usual bang-up job of extensive research, finely rendered period detail and good ol' storytelling. It's all here, from the Bureau's early, Depression-era gangbusting days to the shadowy world of Watergate, with plenty of professional (and personal) malfeasance (and rumours of malfeasance) to ponder. Hoover might not have been all bad, but he sure was drawn that way.
- November 2007 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Freeman, Judith, The Long Embrace ..Buy this book
It's a shame about Ray, or at least that's what the author of this alternately trashy and insightful biograghy seems to want to imply. Freeman sniffs through the flotsam and jetsam of Chandler's personal life and particularly his marriage to Cissy, a beautiful but much older woman. Freeman pawed through Raymond Chandler's papers and letters, interviewed some of the people who actually knew them, and tracked down over thirty of the California homes and apartments the Chandlers lived in, all in an effort to figure out what made Chandler tick, but the result is still inconclusive, and alternately intriguing and more than a little creepy. Plus, it doesn't change one iota the work Chandler left behind. Or how I feel about it.
- Life: The Most Notorious Crimes in American History ..Buy this book
Culled from the pages of Life Magazine and other sources, this is one coffee table book that's hard to resist. Ambitious in its scope, even if it eventually settles for only "Fifty Fascinating Case from the Files," this is an utterly engaging romp through the history of American crime, covering everything from Lincoln's assassination to school shootings, with forays into Lizzie Borden, Patty Hearst, the Boston Strangler, the Lindbergh kidnapping and more. Well presented, generously illustrated and sporting concise but engaging overviews of each crime, it's almost impossible to put down once you start browsing through it. The only real disappointment is the aftermath, when you realize they've missed several interesting -- and equally notorious -- crimes. The assassination of Jesse James? Charles Whitman? Bonny and Clyde? I can hardly wait for Volume Two.
- October 2007 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Leonard, Elmore, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing (non-fiction) ..Buy this book
A slim book that expands upon, as Leonard puts it, "'the rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what's taking place in the story."It's padded out with illustrations from Joe Ciardiello.
- Rosen, Fred, When Satan Wore A Cross (true crime; wacko priest kills nun!)....Buy this book
- August 2007 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Chapman, Duane, You Can Run But You Can't Hide .. Buy this book
TV's bounty hunting "Dog" barks up a storm.
- Green, Bill, Ben Peskoe, Will Russell & Scott Shuffitt, I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski....Buy this book
Subtitled "Life, 'The Big Lebowski' and What-Have-You" this is the ultimate fan book for those who know. Featuring an intro by Jeff Bridges. The Dude abides.
- Richmond, Cliff, The Good Wife (true crime)....Buy this book
The author promises all the dirt on "The Shocking Betrayal and Brutal Murder of a Godly Woman in Texas" and he delivers, in this fascinating look at the 1996 killing of wealthy, conservative Texan lecturer Penny Scaggs and "a seemingly model Christian marriage gone horribly wrong."
- June 2007 Reference, Non-Fiction and True Crime
- Grams, Martin, The Radio Adventures of Sam Spade....Buy this book
All you ever wanted to know about the immensely popular radio show starring Howard Duff: the good, the bad and the blacklist. The success of the show upped the ante on Hammett's already popular creation, and the book delves into the subsequent comics strips, magazine articles and radio cross-overs and imitations, including bios on the principal players, a complete episode guide, an unproduced radio scrip and t is reprinted, and a reprint of "Babe Lincoln," a female detective that never came to be. Grams is the author of numerous books on old-time radio and old-time television, , including he staggering Radio Drama A Comprehensive Chronicle of American Network Programs, 1932–1962.
- Pinkerton, Allan, Thirty Years a Detective....Buy this book
The founder of the detective agency that bears his name, Pinkerton was instrumental in bringing down the James gang, the Molly Maguires, and the Reno brothers and foiled an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln, wrote countless books tooting his own horn but in this reprint, the most famous dick of his day tones down the BSP and simply tells readers how to protect themselves from criminals. The scams may change, but human nature doesn't.
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