Best American Crime Writing

by Otto Penzler and Thomas H. Cook

Book Overview

Features the best crime journalism of the year, including Mark Singer's The Chicken Warriors, a study of cockfighting, and David McClintock's article Fatal Bondage, about a vicious serial killer. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375712992
• ISBN13: 9780375712999
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Vintage Books USA
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent overall, but biased toward coastal publications

This is quite a good anthology, although the selections are heavily tilted toward New York publications. The New Yorker and New York Times magazines are certainly not the only venues for crime reporters, though you might think so if you relied only on the editor's choices. The best part of the book is James Ellroy's contributed essay "Choirboys" in which he recounts his misspent youth before finally being motivated to writing by the publication of Wambaugh's novels. Ellroy's power as a writer is fully on display in this intensely personal tale. Of the 15 stories, I would judge only one as weak. The selection covers crime, not just those with gore. There's the story of a burglar who stole nothing but sterling silver. Another accompanies a businessman who is about to start a five year prison sentence for financial misdeeds that cost investors about a billion dollars. The decades old murder of a Peace Corps volunteer is given attention as the author tracks down a woman's killer who literally got away with murder thanks to political maneuvering by the State Department and Peace Corps. Overall it's a solid anthology and choosing James Ellroy to write the introduction and finagling his own contribution was genius. My only reservation, as noted, is that the editors seem to have chosen only from publications mostly on the east coast where the view of things can be skewed. Jerry

True-life crime Journalism at its best-A pleasing assortment

As fan of non-fiction with a leaning towards true life mysteries; I was thrilled to find the 2004 edition of Best American Crime Writing on my library shelves- I ate the whole book up in a few days. I was thrilled to learn that there were additional years of "Best' books, right now I am finishing the 2002 compilation ... I decided to dash off a review before I had forgotten.What is so much fun is that the articles themselves are twenty or thirty pages so it's easy to finish one or two in a sitting. Great book for commuters and travelers.As well, if there are any stories that center on a topic that one doesn't find interesting, it's a cinch to simply skip on to the next story.Other reviewers have noted what I will repeat, the writing is first rate, not sensationalised or prurient, and the topics cover such diverse subjects as Insurance fraud in the high stakes world of Horse racing, a Capra-esque town beset with a series of tradgedies,a wacked out super charming serial killer con-man, as well as an investigation into the Crash of Egyp Air 990.I found particularly insightful , Doug Most's Judgement Day which introduces the reader into the point of view of a contrite convict serving time for murder in Massachusetts, and his experiences with the parole board-I have never read anything quite like it. Kudos to the editors, they've done a wonderful job pulling together the best of True crime from the magazine world, this should give exposure and acclaim to a much aligned genre and its authors...

Best american Crime Writing

An excellent collection with great writing. Edgy, evocative, atomshpereic with fully developed character studies that are made even more fascinating by the fact that these are real people and events. The crime reporters explore the conjunction of everyday life and the many faces of pathology. Could not stop reading; can't wait for the next edition.

A Rare Gem In The Genre!

Although I'm a fan of true crime, most of the genre doesn't meet my standards. Too often I find that it focuses on the criminal and the macabre, gruesome, or sensational aspect of whatever story is being told and appeals to a certain prurience which I find distasteful. Often, the victims are forgotten or neglected in favor of the criminal, whose story may be more interesting or titillating. This remarkable collection, however, includes only well-told stories from respectable publications. Most of the 17 stories are riveting and will linger with you long after you've finished the book. These are true human interest stories which never ignore the real tragedies involved. Kudos to the editors for managing to find such quality stories. I can't wait for the next edition!

Excellent Book!!

This book is a wonderful read!! It contains 17 articles written in the past year by excellent journalists from various magazines such as: GQ, SPIN, THE NEW YORKER, ATLANTIC MONTHLY, ESQUIRE, VANITY FAIR and more. The variety makes it nice because you get to read different styles of writing by different authors on different subjects. The subjects too are a variety in range: "The Cheerleaders" focuses on a town in New York hit by tragedy after tragedy; "A Prayer For Tina Marie" is a wonderful article about a woman who murdered her two kids in an unthinkable way (much worse than Andrea Yates); "Flesh and Blood" is about the murder-for-hire by pro football player Rae Carruth... AND MUCH MORE!! With such quality of writing, you don't want to miss this book. I am really hoping that more of these will be published!!