Content tagged with "crime"

The Blade Itself
Book
9
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Book Review
September 20, 2019
233

This is compelling book in a weird format. It’s about two things: the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and a serial killer at work in the city during that time. The two stories are weirdly separate. The killer visits the fair, but doesn’t commit any murders there, so the connection is…

The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade
Deane’s Library
Book Review
August 31, 2024
655

This is a detailed and wildly frustrating book about the history of drugs in Mexico. To be technically correct, it’s about the industry of drugs in Mexico, but the one truth that shines through: not a lot of drugs get used in Mexico. The country’s drug trade is a big factory to supply it’s addicted…

House of Gucci: A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed
Deane’s Library
Book Review
March 20, 2022
289

Fascinating history of the Gucci family and company, from the patriarch and his humble origins as a leatherworker in rural Italy, down through the generations, including the sensational murder which was the focus of the 2021 movie, and then the current disposition of all the players and the destiny…

The Laundromat: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite
Deane’s Library
Book Review
February 7, 2021
231

This is likely the definitive account of The Panama Papers – the massive data leak from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. It also covers some other sensational data leaks, like SwissLeaks and Offshore Leaks. It’s good, no doubt. But it’s confusing, and there’s no real way around that. There…

Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World’s Greatest Art Heist
Deane’s Library
Book Review
December 25, 2018
118

I’ve become a little obsessed with the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist lately, after listening to the “Last Seen “podcast. This book is by the definitive reporter to cover the crime – he’s been reporting on it, on and off, for 25 years. Sadly, the book is scattered. It’s not a beginning-to-end…