Author: Bill James File Type: epub An Edgar Award finalist for Best Fact Crime, this impressiveopen-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America (The Wall Street Journal) shows legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applying his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history. Between 1898 and 1912, families across the country were bludgeoned in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Some of these caseslike the infamous Villisca, Iowa, murdersreceived national attention. But most incidents went almost unnoticed outside the communities in which they occurred. Few people believed the crimes were related. And fewer still would realize that all of these families lived within walking distance to a train station. When celebrated true crime expert Bill James first learned about these horrors, he began to investigate others that might fit the same pattern. Applying the same know-how he brings to his legendary baseball analysis, he empirically determined which crimes were committed by the same person. Then after sifting through thousands of local newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, he and his daughter Rachel made an astonishing discovery they learned the true identity of this monstrous criminal and uncovered one of the deadliest serial killers in America. A suspenseful historical account (Publishers Weekly, starred review), The Man from the Train paints a vivid, psychologically perceptive portrait of America at the dawn of the twentieth century, when crime was regarded as a local problem, and opportunistic private detectives exploited a dysfunctional judicial system. James shows how these cultural factors enabled such an unspeakable series of crimes to occur, and his groundbreaking approach to true crime will convince skeptics, amaze aficionados, and change the way we view criminal history. A beautifully written and extraordinarily researched narrativeThis is no pure whodunit, but rather a how-many-did-he-do (Buffalo News).**ReviewBill James, with his daughter, Rachel, has done something truly extraordinary. Not only has he solved one of the most tantalizing mysteries in the annals of American crime--the sensational case of the 1912 Villisca Axe Murders--but he has tied it to a long string of equally savage, though completely obscure, atrocities. The result is his discovery of a previously unknown serial killer who roamed--and terrorized--the country a century ago. Brilliantly researched and written in James snappily conversational style, The Man From the Train is a stunning feat of detection, an un-put-downable read, and a major contribution to American criminal history.Harold Schechter, author of The Serial Killer Files and Th*e Mad Sculptor* [A] suspenseful historical account . . . The strength of the book hangs on [the authors] diligent research and analysis connecting crimes into the closing years of the 19th century. Even those skeptical at the outset that one man was responsibile for so much bloodshed are likely to be convinced. Publishers Weekly (starred review) I began The Man on the Train a skeptic. Could the notorious Villisca Murders of 1912, an unsolved crime so well-chronicled over the past century, really be the work of a killer whose victims numbered well into the dozens? But by the end, Bill James & Rachel McCarthy James totally sold me on their reasoning, exhaustive research, and their sly, sober portrait of a justice system totally overmatched by the techniques and monstrosities of a man fitting the serial killer prototype we know almost too well. That they also fingered the culprit and name him is an even more shocking bonus. Dont even think about missing out on this beautifully brilliant, bananas book.Sarah Weinman, editor of *Women Crime Writers Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 1950s* About the AuthorBill James made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s with his Baseball Abstracts. He has been tearing down preconceived notions about Americas national pastime ever since. He is currently the Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox, as well as the author of The Man from the Train. James lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Susan McCarthy, and three children. Rachel McCarthy James lives in Lawrence, KS with her husband Jason. She studied creative writing at Hollins University, and her work has previously been featured in publications including Bitch, Broadly, and The New Inquiry. The Man from the Train is her first book.

Author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau File Type: pdf

Author: Delafield Catherine File Type: pdf Examining the Victorian serial as a text in its own right, Catherine Delafield re-reads five novels by Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope, Dinah Craik and Wilkie Collins by situating them in the context of periodical publication. She traces the roles of the author and editor in the creation and dissemination of the texts and considers how first publication affected the consumption and reception of the novel through the periodical medium. Delafield contends that a novel in volume form has been separated from its original context, that is, from the pattern of consumption and reception presented by the serial. The novels later re-publication still bears the imprint of this serialized original, and this books investigation into nineteenth-century periodicals both generates new readings of the texts and reinstates those which have been lost in the reprinting process. Delafields case studies provide evidence of the ways in which Household Words, Cornhill Magazine, Good Words, All the Year Round and Cassells Magazine were designed for new audiences of novel readers. Serialization and the Novel in Mid-Victorian Magazines addresses the material conditions of production, illustrates the collective and collaborative creation of the serialized novel, and contextualizes a range of texts in the nineteenth-century experience of print.** Examining the Victorian serial as a text in its own right, Catherine Delafield analyzes five novels by Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope, Dinah Craik and Wilkie Collins in the context of periodical publication. Her book addresses the material conditions of production, illustrates the collective and collaborative creation of the text, and offers fresh readings of novels that appeared in Household Words, Cornhill Magazine, Good Words, All the Year Round and Cassells Magazine.

Author: Joel Feinberg File Type: pdf The first volume in Joel Feinbergs four-volume series The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law, Harm to Others focuses on the harm principle, the commonsense view that prevention of harm to persons other than the perpetrator is a legitimate purpose of coercive legislation. Feinberg presents a detailed analysis of the concept and definition of harm and applies it to a host of practical and theoretical issues, showing how the harm principle must be interpreted if it is to be a plausible guide to the lawmaker.