Product Description

A riveting new anthology series–a year’s worth of the most powerful, the most startling, the most astute and smartest, in short, the best crime journalism.

Included in this first volume are Mark Singer’s “The Chicken Warriors” from The New Yorker: an up-close look at the tawdry, wildly popular, illegal world of cock-fighting; E. Jean Carrol’s “The Cheerleaders” from Spin: the story of how an idyllic town–the model for Bedford Falls in It’s a Wonderful Life–was ravaged by murders, rapes, and suicides; and David McClintick’s “Fatal Bondage” from Vanity Fair: the tale of a grifter with an attraction to sado-masochistic sex and serial killing. Intriguing, entertaining, compelling reading, The Best American Crime Writing is sure to become a much-anticipated annual.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #422641 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-13
• Released on: 2002-08-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Penzler, founder of the Mysterious Press and Otto Penzler Books, and true-crime writer Cook (Blood Echoes), inaugurate a new annual series with this first-rate collection of the best crime writing published in 2001. William Langewiesche delivers both the human and the technical events in "The Crash of EgyptAir 990"; Alex Prud'homme investigates the dilemma facing the state of Texas, which condemned Johnny Paul Penry, a retarded man, to death in its busy execution chamber; Julian Rubinstein portrays Jacob "Cookie" Organ, an Israeli who was "the Pablo Escobar of Ecstasy"; while Nancy Gibbs conjures a frightening September 11 play-by-play in "The Day of the Attack." The majority of the pieces have a finger on the cultural pulse, but the best offer something more. Robert Draper's portrayal of a troubled girl who eventually kills her two children includes a scathing criticism of society at large ("Strangely, the Texas authorities insist upon viewing Tina Marie's dirty-laundry list of boyfriends as the handiwork of a manipulative black widow.... The tsk-tsks fly"). E. Jean Carroll's "The Cheerleaders" is a morose and darkly ironic account of suicide, torture and murder in a town rumored to have been the model for Bedford Falls in It's a Wonderful Life. Charles Bowden immerses readers in the muddled and too familiar world of a DEA agent slipping across the line in Mexico. This is an important book for crime buffs, but will appeal to general readers as well. The only complaint and it's minor is that, though the editors say they scoured "nearly two hundred so-called little magazines, reviews and journals," most of these articles come from such national magazines as the New Yorker, GQ and the Atlantic Monthly.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Fans of true crime will welcome this new anthology series, which each year will compile the best articles of the genre into one volume. The 17 selections in this first volume of the series come from a wide variety of sources, including Spin, GQ, The New Yorker, Texas Monthly, and Details. Editors Penzler (founder of Mysterious Press and editor of The Best American Mystery Stories of the Year) and Cook (author of 18 books, one of which was nominated for an Edgar) have assembled a diverse assortment of writing, with subjects both well known, such as O.J. Simpson (Pat Jordan's "The Outcast"), and not so well known, such as members of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Breeders Association (Mark Singer's "The Chicken Warriors"). Nancy Gibbs's moving "The Day of the Attack," written within approximately 30 hours of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, is included as a representative of reporting on this historic crime. Because these well-written articles vary widely, this work should appeal to all true-crime enthusiasts. Recommended for all public libraries. Sarah Jent, Univ. of Louisville Lib.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
One of the strengths of this true-crime anthology series comes simply from its astonishing variety. This latest installment includes articles on terrorism, sexual slavery, medical malpractice, and Internet-virus creation--in addition to standbys murder, larceny, fraud, and burglary. There's even an article about the old-fashioned art of tracking, still in use today at the U.S.-Mexico border. Of course, it's the quality of the writing that's touted here, and justifiably so. Peter Landesman's now-famous "The Girls Next Door"--which exposed our country's horrific problem with sex slaves--is included, as is Clive Thompson's fascinating "The Virus Underground," which probes the reasons it's so dangerous to click on e-mail attachments nowadays. There are only two sour notes: "Punch Drunk Love," Jonathan Miles' lightweight ode to bar brawling, and the essay "Choirboys," James Ellroy's umpteenth recitation of his delinquent youth, performed this time to acknowledge his debt to Joseph Wambaugh. But give Penzler and Cook mulligans on those. It's risky to claim anything is the best, but it would be tough to better this collection. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

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!!