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Product Description
Product Description
Thieves, liars, and killers—it's a criminal world out there, and someone has to write about it. A thrilling collection of the year's best reportage by the aces of the true-crime genre, The Best American Crime Reporting 2009 brings together the mysteries and missteps of an eclectic and unforgettable set of criminals. Gripping, suspenseful, and brilliant, this latest addition to the highly acclaimed series features guest editor Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker staff writer, CNN senior legal analyst, and bestselling author of The Nine.
About the Author
Jeffrey Toobin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1993 and is the senior legal analyst for CNN. In 2000 he received an Emmy Award for his coverage of the EliÁn GonzÁlez case. He is the author of The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, which spent more than four months on the New York Times bestseller list. Before joining The New Yorker, Toobin served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Brooklyn, New York. He lives in Manhattan.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some Great Stories - Most are Mediocre, Nov 6 2009
By stoic - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Best American Crime Reporting 2009 (Paperback)
I have enjoyed the Best American Crime Reporting series for many years, so I was thrilled when I saw that my local library had the 2009 edition. I read all of the stories and there are some gems in this collection. On the whole, however, I thought that this collection contained more "clunkers" than did other collections in this series.
The best stories in this collection are fantastic. My favorites were:
- Body Snatchers (from Philadelphia magazine) is about a group of crooked funeral homes directors and physicians that sold the organs of deceased people. The story is interesting both for what it says about the ways that we react to death and for the depths to which some people will sink to make a dollar.
- "The Fabulous Fraudulent Life of Jocelyn and Ed" (from Rolling Stone) is about two wealthy Philadelphia college students who funded their jet-set lifestyle through identity theft. The real interest here is the story of Jocelyn - a beautiful woman who lied and manipulated her way through life for reasons that remain murky.
- "True Crime" (from The New Yorker) was my favorite story in the collection. It concerns the murder of Polish businessman. The case goes cold until clues turn up - in the form of a novel published by an anguished Polish intellectual. This is one of those "you'd-never-believe- it-if-it- weren't-true" stories.
- Dead Man's Float (from New York magazine) was a story with which I was already familiar. CNBC financial commentator Seth Tobias was found dead in his swimming pool at his mansion in Florida. Tobias' family alleged that his wife, Phyllis, murdered him and that she was not entitled to Seth's estate. Others, meanwhile, alleged that Seth was involved in cocaine and also led a secret gay life. Reading this story won't make you a better person, but you won't be able to put it down, either.
Unfortunately, this collection also includes some boring stories. I could not wait for "Non-Lethal Force" (which discusses non-lethal weapons) to end. "Mexico's Red Days" (about the violence south of the border) goes nowhere; it is just a series of vignettes. Many of the other stories are not bad, but they did not excite me, either.
In the end, the 2009 edition of Best American Crime Reporting is a mixed bag. I would not invest any money in the book, but it is worth borrowing from the library.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic collection, Oct 4 2009
By Kate - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Best American Crime Reporting 2009 (Paperback)
I love, love, LOVE the Best American true crime series. I'm a huge true crime fan, and this is the best of the best. I started reading the crime series back in 2004 and have since read every year's collection. However, even if you're not into true crime, I definitely think the writing is good enough that you would still enjoy a lot. Furthermore, if you're interested in true crime but don't know where to start, this is a good place to start. (I'd also recommend that you check out In Cold Blood, Helter Skelter, The Executioner's Song, and Fatal Vision if you want some good true crime writing).
The series always includes a wide variety of crimes, and 2009's stories are true to form. From articles about death row inmates to identity thieves to corpse mutilation for profit, the book explores many different facets of crime and punishment. The Best American series always features a few stories that "humanize" a criminal and really probes deeper than sensationalistic crime reporting. Personally, that's what I enjoy. Obviously, some criminals are not as sympathetic due to their cruelty and/or callousness, but black and white thinking is usually an obstacle to interesting writing (especially about criminals). For example, one of the 2009 stories was about a teenager who takes a gun to a mall, kills several bystanders, and then himself. The story could have been superficial, but it actually is a compassionate but honest portrayal of what led this young man to such a traumatic end.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent series, an excellent book, Nov 2 2009
By L. Jonsson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Best American Crime Reporting 2009 (Paperback)
I have enjoyed this crime reporting/writing series since it began in 2002. All of the volumes of this series have excellent reporting. I was excited when this new volume came out, and it has proven to be one of the best in the series.
I will give you a snyopsis of the standout tales (although all of them are good):
"American Murder Mystery" Hannah Rosen writes about the decline of the ghetto, which is unfortunately correlated with a rise in crime in the suburbs, harrowing and not to be missed.
"Zankou Chicken Murders" Mark Arax writes about a fast food chicken chain whose family is torn apart by the murder of two family members by another family member. Food and fast times abound.
"The Day Kennedy Died" : a fascinating tale by Michael J. Mooney which is an account of a speech by an elderly Doctor to medical students on the day he was one of the attending physicians in Dallas for JFK. Ironically the same Doctor also worked on Oswald.
"The Fabulous Fraudulent Life of Jocelyn and Ed," which is by Sabrina Rubin Erdeley, is the story of love, glamour lies and identity theft.
"Everyone Will Remember me as Some Kind of MOnster" by Mark Boal is about the forgettable crime of a sick youngster, who thought he would be immortalized by his killing spree in a shopping mall, only to be forgotten about a week later.
"True Crime" by David Grann (an excellent writer, I reviewed his "The Lost city of Z" some time ago) about a cold case in Poland that is solved with incredible detective work.
Again, all of the stories are wonderful, and you will find yourself reading this book until 2 am and wanting more. Shame on the editors for not having this series come out twice a year! There could be "Best American Crime Reporting" Vol 1 in the Spring, and Vol 2 could come out in the Fall.
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