Dear Dateline Viewers...
“In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, hundreds of millions of birds were killed, not for museums but for another purpose altogether: women's fashion.” –Kirk Wallace Johnson, The Feather Thief
Who doesn't love binge-watching Dateline and not being able to leave the house without a checklist and four different back-up plans? If you're tired of the Dateline formula, we've got you covered with these chilling true crime reads!
The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean
The history of medicine seems to always focus on the outcome, but how did we get to those useful solutions? Obsession twists perception and scientists who are looking for good things are not exceptions. Kean takes readers on a two thousand history trip looking into some of the most disturbing acts and trials of medicine from the electric chair to lobotomies to so, so many more.
The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Japanese Underworld by Jake Adelstein
By the author of Tokyo Vice, The Last Yakuza tells the tale of Makoto Saigo, a failed rock star who follows the only path he can find: joining the yakuza. Nicknamed the Tsunami, Saigo learns the ever-changing internal politics of the yakuza that could easily get you killed or, at the very least, lost a finger. Adelstein follows the history of the yakuza through postwar depression all the way to the present.
I Am a Killer: What Makes a Murderer: Their Shocking Stories in Their Own Words by Danny Tipping and Ned Parker
From the Netflix show, I Am a Killer, this book collects the one-of-a-kind interviews with murderers behind bars digging into their minds and the endless questions of why they committed the crimes they did.
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
Kirk Wallace Johnson heard of the strange case of the feather thief while fishing in a river in New Mexico, and the strangeness of the theft consumed his thoughts with questions: why steal dead birds, had the perpetrator paid for his crimes, and where had the birds ended up?
Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identity the Nameless by Laurah Norton
Any fans of the endless crime scene investigator shows know how important forensic science is, how critical the evidence is in putting away the criminals. This fascinating book breaks down the forensic science investigations on famous cold cases.