''The Rough Guide to True Crime'' is a non-fiction paperback reference guide to national and international true crime cases by American
crime writer
True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events.
The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
Cathy Scott. It was released in the UK and US in August 2009 by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.[Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on custome ...]
imprint.
Summary
''The Rough Guide to True Crime'' is a compilation of a variety of cases, including historic crimes, with sections broken down by the type of offenses and who committed them. It includes black-and-white photos as illustration. Psychological profiles are included throughout by forensic expert Dr. Louis B. Schlesinger, who explains the psychology of serial killers, murderers, hit men and burglars. The book features
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys ...
, mob hitman
Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski,
John Wayne Glover "The Granny Killer," and British "Doctor of Death"
Harold Shipman
Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known by the public as Doctor Death and to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English general practitioner and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolif ...
.
Scott's story from ''The Rough Guide to True Crime'' about mob enforcer
Herbert Blitzstein was selected for inclusion in the July 2012 retrospective of crime writing, ''
Masters of True Crime: Chilling Stories of Murder and the Macabre''.
The author appeared on
BlogTalkRadio
BlogTalkRadio is a web-based platform that allows podcasters and radio sites and talk show hosts to create live and on-demand talk format content for distribution on the web and podcast distribution channels. Its claim to fame is a web-based 'st ...
's "True Murder" show and described some of the crimes included in the book that were committed in the 19th century as "a different time in America, where people like
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...
could walk in and just rob a bank" and get away with it. And while "there was nothing glamorous about what they did, they are a part of lore."
Critical reception
The book was featured at
BookExpo America
BookExpo America (commonly referred to within the book publishing industry as BEA) was an annual book trade fair in the United States. BEA is almost always held in a major city over four days in late May and/or early June. Nearly all significan ...
2009's trade fair in
DK Publishing
Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages.
It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...
's booth in New York City.
In a review, ''
True Crime Book Reviews'' wrote, "From the Moors murders and Harold Shipman, to the murder of 2pac, this guide illuminates the psychology in play behind the most intriguing crimes in history, from the absurd to the appalling. ''The Rough Guide to True Crime'' explores the best of the haunting genre of True Crime."
''True Crime Book Reviews'': New True Crime Books August 2009
/ref>
Contents
*Outlaws: "The money, or your life"
*Heists and Robberies
*Kidnapped
*White-collar Crime
*Deception: The Art of the Con
*Homicide
*Serial Killers
*Organized Crime
*Dirty Cops and Bad Apples
*Lesser Violations
*Cybercrime
References
External links
''The Rough Guide to True Crime'' in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Penguin's ''Rough Guide to True Crime'' book page
Amazon's book page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rough Guide to True Crime, The
American non-fiction books
British non-fiction books
Non-fiction crime books
Penguin Press books
2009 non-fiction books
Crime reference works
History books about crime
Non-fiction books about criminals
Books by Cathy Scott