{"product_id":"gangsters-swindlers-killers-and-thieves-lawrence-block-9780195169522","title":"Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains","description":"Drawing on his experience in creating fictional bad guys, crime novelist Lawrence Block surveys the underside of American history through fifty of its most infamous characters. Some, like Jesse James, Bonnie Parker, and Joe Colombo, led a life of crime; others, like John Wilkes Booth and John White Webster, committed one notorious act. Some, like Pretty Boy Floyd or the elusive thief Railroad Bill, have become folk heroes, whether or not the real details of their lives matched the myths they inspired. Others, like Ed Gein and Ted Bundy, will be forever reviled. \u003cbr\u003e Block introduces each biography with a writer's eye for character and a good story. He begins the book with a short essay that considers how Americans have defined and regarded villains through history.\u003cbr\u003e The biographies, culled from the pages of the \u003cem\u003eAmerican National Biography\u003c\/em\u003e and illustrated with archival photographs, describe each villain's background, exploits, and eventual fate--often with unexpected details. The convicted killer Nathan Leopold, for example, became the administrator of a leprosy hospital after his parole. The gangster Dutch Schultz was known not only for his bootlegging expertise but also for his cheap, ill-fitting clothes. The stagecoach bandit Black Bart fancied himself a poet (or, as he put it, \"PO8\"). And when outlaw Bill Doolin finally met his end, only a rusting buggy axle marked his grave. \u003cbr\u003e Ideal for readers of true crime, crime fiction, and history, \u003cem\u003eGangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves\u003c\/em\u003e brings a fresh perspective to American's fascination with crime and its perpetrators.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Lawrence Block\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0195169522\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780195169522\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/13\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.07lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.48h x 5.52w x 1.05d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2004 pg. 155\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2004 pg. 79","brand":"Lawrence Block","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44119412900095,"sku":"9780195169522","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_90ec5667-e600-4b05-a3b4-f2fa6e5fb5a3.jpg?v=1687409203","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/gangsters-swindlers-killers-and-thieves-lawrence-block-9780195169522","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}