Shared Reads: True Crime: An American Anthology

True Crime: An American Anthology (Library of America, 2008) is a magnificent achievement and a revelatory read. Editor Harold Schechter, noted for his own contributions to the literature of true crime, displays a deft hand and remarkable depth of knowledge in assembling a panorama of American crime writing dating back to the 1630 hanging of pilgrim John Billington as reported by William Bradford through the trials of the Menendez brothers and the impact on real estate as interpreted by Dominick Dunne.

Throughout, Schechter presents us with amazing writing from authors famous, forgotten and anonymous. We have a remarkable, rare, account of true crime reporting by Benjamin Franklin in a case as fresh and relevant today as it was in 1734. We accompany Nathaniel Hawthorne as he visits a wax museum, “consisting almost wholly of murderers and their victims,” that will stay with the Reader long after the book is finished. We find Abraham Lincoln relating the case of Archibald Fisher's alleged murder and the man Lincoln defended up until the trial's improbable denouement.

             We encounter Cotton Mather's deliciously plummy account of infanticide in early New England and Ambrose Bierce's survey of Crime in post-Civil War California. The Table of Contents read like a Who's Who of Master Wordsmiths: Mark Twain relating the state of lawlessness in the Old West, Frank Norris observes the capture of a fugitive on the docks of New York City, Edmund Pearson on the 'Bloody Benders' of Kansas, Damon Runyan's sparkling, cynical take of the Snyder-Gray murder trial, Alexander Woollcott considers Nan Patterson, H. L. Mencken's dyspeptic views on forensic psychology, Theodore Dreiser's reflections on the Robert Allen Edwards case, a case that strongly resembled the one that inspired An American Tragedy, while the incomparable Dorothy Killgallen covers the same case with a completely different aesthetic. We have Edna Ferber covering the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., Jim Thompson weighing in with Oklahoma noir and James Thurber attending the Hall-Mills trials. A.J. Liebling reports on the frenetic, cut-throat newspaper wars raging in New York at the turn of the 20^th Century through the lens of the torso murder of Turkish Bath Attendant, William Gildensupper while Zora Neale Hurston absorbs the atmosphere of racial tension in Live Oak, Florida surrounding the 1952 killing of Dr. Clifford Leroy by Ruby McCollum. Jack Webb writes about the Black Dahlia in a piece that inspires a young James Ellroy whose own contribution appears later in the volume. Robert Bloch adds a touch of American Gothic with his reporting on the crimes of Wisconsin's Ed Gein and Calvin Trillin brilliantly intertwines two separate worlds when writing about a murder in Harlan County, Kentucky. Gay Talese has a look around the the former Manson Family homestead and Truman Capote refracts another angle on the Manson case with his fascinating interview with convicted killer, Bobby Beausoleil and Jimmy Breslin relates his personal involvement in the Son of Sam. Jay Robert Nash takes a look at the Lana Turner – Johnny Sompanato affair while Ann Rule represents what's current and popular in the true crime field.

             We also have authors whose name may not be as well known as those presented above but, judging from the selections presented here should be. Celia Thaxter arrives first at Smutty Nose to get first-hand accounts for Atlantic Monthly. José Martí reports on the trial of assassin Charles Giteau. Elizabeth Hardwick considers the ordeal of Caryl Chessman. Miriam Allen deFord delivers a penetrating dissection of the murder of Bobby Franks by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb that would surely have risen the eminently risible hackles of H. L. Mencken, while W. T. Brannon's account of Richard Speck's murders of eight nurses in the city of Chicago remains a masterpiece of the genre.

             The fifty selections chosen by Mr. Schechter each capture the unique feel of the individual eras in which the crimes occurred and together they form a fascinating overview of the progression of crime in America and, by extension, the progress of America ourselves. The quality of the work itself is represented beautifully in this perfectly proportioned book. The cover graphics are elegant and effective. The paper, including endpapers, is of high quality and pleasing to the touch. The construction of this book is impeccable and it should be noted that it was printed in The United States of America in contrast to the many shoddily bound books currently produced and imported from Communist China.

             True Crime: An American Anthology is certainly the best book of its type in well over a decade. It is one of the best books I have read of any genre, period. I would highly recommend this work without any hesitation to anyone who enjoys reading about true crime, human behavior, the history of the United States or who just enjoys reading excellent selections of exceptional writing. Exceedingly well done.

              True Crime: An American Anthology is available at the Owen County Public Library. Check it out!

~ Laura M. Wilkerson

    Genealogy Department, OCPL

Children's and Teens' Summer Reading Program 2011 Review

Well, Summer Reading has come and gone for another year.  Our themes, "One World, Many Stories" and "You Are Here" took us around the world and back again.  We looked at a variety of countries, cultures past and present, and had a wide variety of programs.  We had 268 participants this year.  Average attendance at our Fantastic Friday programs was 95.  [Not too shabby.]  Hopefully everyone had as much fun as we did!

There are lots of photos on the library's website.  (Scroll down to see the Photo Gallery button.)

For those of you that are interested, we are planning to have the steel drum guys come back and do an outdoor concert for us. 

We did a few things different this year.  Most notably, we did not ask participants to count pages.  We only asked that they read at least one book/comic/magazine/cereal box/etc. per week and write down the title in their reading "passport".  At the end of the program participants were given a special sticker in place of a certificate.   Feedback so far has been pretty positive.  If you have feedback about SRP, or anything else at the library, we hope you'll share with us. 

This is YOUR Owen County Public Library, and letting us know things like requests for materials, feedback on programs, etc. that we already offer, or suggestions and ideas for any aspect of the library is always helpful.  

Shared Reads: Wanton West: by Lael Morgan

            Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder, and the Wild Women of Montana’s Frontier by Lael Morgan (Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2011) is a book whose parts are greater than the whole.

            Morgan introduces the reader to the pioneers of the Montana frontier both famous and infamous. She focuses largely on prostitutes in early Montana, drawing largely on real estate and census records to chart their declare and fall, or success and upward mobility as the case may be, and shows how many of Montana’s most respectable citizens financially backed various red-light districts in Montana. The book starts off reading like fiction which is a bit disconcerting to the Reader until we find that these passages are taken from a book, Madeleine: An Autobiography whose author is to this day Anonymous but who scholars believe was an experienced prostitute working in that era and who some believe went on to marry into a prominent Canadian family.

            It is somewhat surprising how many frontier prostitutes eventually went on to marry, some very well, and lead respectable lives, but choices were fewer on the frontier and the profession did not engender the stigma it later acquired. Many of the prostitutes mentioned in this book slip completely from the record at a time when it was easier to lose oneself than it is now and there are harrowing tales of suicide among the soiled doves of Montana.

            A particularly interesting section deals with the situation of Chinese prostitutes. At a time when authorities were concerned with both an alleged “yellow peril” and a presumed epidemic of “white slavery” the appalling abuse of Chinese women trafficked to the United States for purposes of prostitution were studiously ignored. Like the United States perception of the plight of women in fundamentalist groups or cultures is a matter of “culture” rather than of human rights, officials took a hands-off approach to the issue of the sexual slavery of Chinese women. The author admits because this was considered a matter for the Chinese to deal with official records are scanty but the author unearths some records that demonstrate the horror to which these women were subjected.

            Ms. Morgan also recounts early movers-and-shakers of the era, men who made their fortunes in mining and ranching and the women associated with them. Readers may be familiar with the factoid that Montana had the only Congressperson to vote against the United States’ entry into both World War I and World War II. What isn’t as well known is that this woman, Jeanette Rankin, only held two terms, widely separated, that resulted in her being in a position to cast those two career-ending votes. It is also surprising, and instructional for those following current political arguments concerning Original Intent, that the New York Times published an article arguing that Ms. Rankin’s election was clearly illegal as the U.S. Constitution clearly uses the pronoun “he” when putting forth the qualifications needed in order to hold elected office.

 This controversy echoes the controversy over the book, Madeline: An Autobiography, which resulted in the 1919 arrest of the then President of Harper & Brothers publishers, Clinton Tyler Brainard, upon a complaint from The Society for the Prevention of Vice. The complaint wasn’t based on any salacious details contained in the book, rather, The Society for the Prevention of Vice, objected to the fact that our anonymous Madeline showed no remorse over her former life of sin. Brainard, who rejected a plea deal that would have required him to divulge the author’s true identity, was initially convicted and fined $1,000, though that conviction was later reversed.

Another interesting story concerns Tom Cruse who made his fortune from gold mines and the tragic story of his daughter, Mary, a subject that fully warrants a full-length treatment. Also making an appearance is Huguette Clark, daughter of “Copper King,” William Clark. Hugette was still alive when this book went to press but she died two weeks shy of her 105 birthday in New York City on May 24, 2011. Huguette, who had been a something of a recluse since the 1930s and hospital bound since 1988, left a $30 million dollar bequest to her longtime nurse and caregiver while leaving the bulk of her estate, $300 million, to charity. She left a Water Lily painting by Charles Monet that she had purchased in 1930 to the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. Indeed, it is curious to read how many of the people who made their money in Montana left it to institutions in Washington, D.C., New York, California, anywhere, it seems, but Montana.

There are also famous people who pop up along the narrative thread, most notably the artist Charles Russell. The boxer Stanley Ketchel takes up quite a bit of space and Calamity Jane spent some time on the Montana frontier. There is a charming, and tantalizing, appearance by Charlie Chaplin.     

The author helpfully provides a list of “major players” as well as a timeline of events in the back of the book. The author gives us well sourced footnotes but inexplicably omits a separate bibliography. The book does contain an index and some quite interesting photographs.  

Although the subject matter is interesting the book suffers from a lack of depth and writing that falls somewhat flat. Still, it is a diverting read and not unworthy of attention. Wanton West: Madams, Money, Murder, and the Wild Women of Montana’s Frontier is available at the Owen County Public Library. Check it out!

~ Laura Wilkerson, Genealogy Department, OCPL

Good advice for everyone to remember.

What are your thoughts on this?

June Is Adopt a Cat Month!

This is Buttons T.Cat Wilkerson

He is a Beautiful Boy

He is the Tab Hunter of Kitties

Unless He Wants Out.

Then He's the Steve McQueen of Kitties

Buttons Was Adopted From

The Owen County Humane Society

When He Was Found

He Was Close to Death

But They Nursed Him Back to Health

He Then Spent 8 1/2 Months in a Cage

With a Sign That Read

Vicious! Do Not Pet!

Until My Son Brought Him Home to Us.

Buttons Is a Wonderful Cat

And a Loving Companion

He Just Doesn't Like Cages

Here is One of the Cats Currently at 

The Owen County Humane Society,

A No-Kill Shelter

Although I am Sure None of Them

Are Quite So Wonderful as Buttons

I am Sure Many of Them 

Are About 99.857% as Good

So If You Want to Throw a Little Love Their Way

For the Kittens, and the Cats

And Yes, Even the Dogs

Their Website Is

http://www.owenhumanesociety.com/

Marley Mouseater

Who Will Be 21 Years Old

This Summer

 

OCPL On the Move

Our "On the Move" program is a community outreach program that visits four areas around Owen County.  We bring library materials for all ages, storytimes and activities for kids. 

Today, I am writitng this from Cunot's Community Center.  We also visit the communities of Coal City, Gosport, and Patricksburg.  We visit each location twice each month, and are timing our Summer visits to coincide with the Summer Food Service Program, which provides free lunches to kids.

For dates, times and locations you can check our website.  Come by and see us this Summer!

 

New James Patterson Coming!

The perfect life

A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York—including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.

The perfect lie

Nina's secret life began 18 years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina's world is shattered when she unearths a terrible secret that causes her to run for her life and change her identity.

The perfect way to die

Now, years later, Nina risks everything she's earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled. In a story of wrenching suspense, James Patterson gives us his most head-spinning, action-filled story yet—a Hitchcock-like blend of unquenchable drama and pleasure.

Available  June 28th