A BLOODY LEGACY Chronicles of American Murder

Hardback. 1st US edn. The authors recount some of the most famous murders in American history, from the 18th century to the day before 'yesterday', and tells of killers and victims of all types and from all strata of society. Dealing with such well-known cases as the murders of train robber Jesse James and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the kidnapping death of the Lindbergh baby, the brutal slayings of nurses in Chicago, and the hideous killings of 17 young men by Jeffrey Dahmer, these fascinating stories are written just as they might have been found in the files of the police who solved the crimes and the district attorneys who prosecuted the killers. Although some of the murders examined may be familiar, many of the most interesting are less well known. The cases chronicled include : The story of the Black Dahlia; the murders committed by Ed Gein; the case of town bully Ken Rex McElroy, who was shot to death in the cab of his truck in front of some 60 people, including his wife, yet not a single one of them saw the killer; the story of Jeffrey MacDonald, the Green Beret doctor in jail for killing his pregnant wife and 2 daughters, plus much, much more. The authors relate the tragic details of each crime - the motives of the killers as well as the plights of the victims. The book is organised chronologically and illustrated with 30 arresting news photographs. Murders are classified by type, date, and location, and there are descriptions of how the killers were found and, whenever possible, brought to justice. Illus. 182pp. 8vo. h/back. Nr F. in Nr. F. dw.