NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2012
"A well-composed, engaging, lurid tale."
A suspenseful murder mystery set on the eve of the Japanese invasion of old Peking in 1937.
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NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2012
"A quick read about a gruesome crime with a twist at the end--will appeal mostly to die-hard fans of historical true crime."
The final installment of the author's true-crime trilogy about New York City in the Gilded Age.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 15, 2012
"An interesting detour into a true-crime niche."
Strand (
Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies, 2008, etc.) explores the connection between America's sprawling highway system and the pathology of the murderers who have made them a killing ground.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 10, 2012
"Disturbing social history in the form of a fast-paced thriller."
NONFICTION
Released: April 5, 2012
"Though exhaustively researched, the book is not compelling enough to hold the interest of anyone who does not have a personal connection to the material. Read Eric Hansen's Orchid Fever (2000) instead."
An excruciatingly detailed account of the 2002 controversy that rocked Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Fla., when its scientists were asked to identify an orchid of dubious origin.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 1, 2012
"A remarkable crime saga that could have been 100 pages shorter."
NONFICTION
Released: April 1, 2012
"Still, an engrossing look inside Al Capone's murderous ranks and a chilling examination of a natural born killer."
Gusfield presents the short, brutal life of "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn (1902 –1936), born Vincent Gebardi, a gifted athlete who became notorious as Al Capone's deadliest lieutenant and putative organizer of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929.
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NONFICTION
Released: April 1, 2012
"An incomplete though mostly engaging portrait of the circumstances surrounding the death of a little girl."
NONFICTION
Released: March 13, 2012
"Engaging exposé of an underground world less glamorous and more intricate than its Hollywood representations."
NONFICTION
Released: March 7, 2012
"A worthwhile read for those interested in the underbelly of American history."
A look at the art of the con, based on the story of a man who fought back against the con artists who swindled him.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 1, 2012
"Not recommended."
Unsavory account of the suffering of Sharon Tate's family in the aftermath of her murder and her mother Doris' and sister Patti's subsequent rise to national prominence as advocates of victims' rights.
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NONFICTION
Released: March 1, 2012
"A thoroughly reported procedural too much repetition and heavy-handed foreshadowing."