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Blood Betrayal
By Sheila Johnson. 2006
Crazy Kills"The worst I've ever seen" - that's how Sheriff Cecil Reed described the July 7, 1995 slayings of Carolyn…
Headrick, 44, and her mother Dora Ann Dalton, 62. The two were found in their home in rural DeKalb County, Alabama, where they'd been shot, stabbed and then even speared by a Native American style lance. Randy Headrick, Carolyn's husband, was the beneficiary of $325,000 in insurance money. But he swore he'd been at work when the murders were committed--and the police couldn't break his alibi.Bad NewsHeadrick was a troublemaker who'd spent four years in a Texas prison for possession of a pipe bomb. More recently, he'd had an affair with a married woman--which his second wife Carolyn had discovered. The woman had later been harassed and her house had mysteriously burned down. The police knew Headrick was bad news but they just couldn't nail him on these murders. There was only one person who knew for sure if Headrick was the killer . . .Bamboozled
By Joe Biel, Joey Torrey. 2012
In this introspective exploration of former boxer Joey Torrey's life, his past, his murder conviction, and his more than 30-year…
incarceration in a California state prison are each fine-tooth combed. Nearly five years after his original memoir, this new edition is re-written as a biography and delves deeper into circumstances surrounding Torrey's alleged murder of his boxing coach, the lengthy prison sentence handed down, his undercover collaboration with the FBI on "Operation Matchbook" in support of John McCain's proposed Professional Boxing Amendments Act, and the inner workings of the prison system in general. From his days as a Compton gang leader and an Olympic boxing hopeful to being tried as an adult rather than a 17-year-old minor, this compelling narrative reflects on his life as a parable as well as examining the strategies used in his conviction, such as establishing the motive as robbery despite a lack of evidence linking the opening of safe to the murderer. And after more than three decades as a model prisoner-and saving the life of a prison guard-Torrey has prolifically written hundreds of letters to Joe Biel, who finds himself in the unlikely situation to share this story.An Act Of Murder
By Linda Rosencrance. 2006
Fatal Blaze? "The Bride Who Cried." That was the title of the dinner-theater murder mystery presented at Maryland's luxurious Harbourtowne…
resort on Valentine's Day weekend, 1998. But no tears were being shed by Kimberly Hricko at 3 a.m. when she reported a fire in the room she shared with her husband, Stephen. Rescuers found him dead, badly burned around the upper body. It seemed that he'd fallen asleep while smoking a cigar, sparking off an inferno.Staged MurderBut Kimberly's efforts to play the part of an innocent widow quickly began to unravel. Sleuths learned that she had been having an affair with a man ten years her junior. She also stood to inherit $400,000 on her husband's death--and had tried to bribe a coworker to kill Stephen for $50,000. In the courtroom, prosecutors argued that Kimberly injected her sleeping spouse with a lethal dose of muscle relaxant and set the fire to cover her tracks. For a cold-blooded killer who acted without remorse, there could only be one verdict. . .Linda Rosencrance has fifteen years experience as a reporter, writing for both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, as well as many community papers in the Boston metropolitan area. She is the author of Murder at Morses Pond and has also written an anthology examining various crimes on college campuses. She lives in the Boston area.The Beautiful Cigar Girl
By Daniel Stashower. 2006
On July 28, 1841, the body of Mary Rogers, a twenty-year-old cigar girl, was found floating in the Hudson-and New…
York's unregulated police force proved incapable of solving the crime. One year later, a struggling writer named Edgar Allan Poe decided to take on the case-and sent his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, to solve the baffling murder of Mary Rogers in "The Mystery of Marie Rog t."The Girl with the Crooked Nose
By Ted Botha. 2008
MORE THAN THIRTY MURDERS, NINE FUGITIVES, AND ONE OBSESSED MAN In this thrilling and fascinating account of Frank Bender and…
his work, readers will be drawn into the cases he has solved, the intricacies of his art, the colorful characters he encounters, and the personal cost of his strange obsession. Through breathtakingly realistic sculptures, Frank Bender reconstructs the faces of the missing and the dead based in part on forensic science, and in part on deep intuition, an uncanny ability to discern not only a missing face but also the personality behind it. His skills have led to the solving of many murders and other serious crimes, and have given faces to the victims, including the infamous case of the feminicidios--in which hundreds of murdered women were found outside Juarez, Mexico. With a conclusion as shocking as its story is gripping, The Girl with the Crooked Nose will haunt readers long after the last page is turned. "A compelling glimpse into a gruesome profession."--Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman"Frank Bender is one of the unsung heroes of crime detection . . . In an original and highly readable nonfiction thriller, this book brims with authenticity and the complexities of crime-solving procedurals . . . [A] fascinating story of a brilliant forensic artist's quest to solve some of the most baffling murder cases ever. It is exceptional crime writing that is timely and informative."--Tucson Citizen "Action-packed . . . Botha's work relays Bender's surprising conclusions about the case and imparts more information about reconstructing the faces of the dead than most readers will expect." --Booklist "[A] crackling account of a quirky, maverick forensics artist, Frank Bender, and his largely successful efforts in facial reconstruction of murder victims . . . What is extraordinary is Botha's writing, with his unerring depiction of Bender's painstaking work and the eventual unraveling of the brutal crimes it solves . . . The tales in this book accurately capture the dark motives and complexities of senseless murder, and even the most savvy true crime reader will not be able to resist the author's insightful storytelling."--Publishers WeeklyStrengthening Coastal Planning: How Coastal Regions Could Benefit from Louisiana's Planning and Analysis Framework
By Debra Knopman, David G. Groves, David R. Johnson, Jordan R. Fischbach, Kate Giglio. 2014
This report highlights RAND s contributions to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority s Master Plan. Its purpose is…
to help policymakers in other coastal regions understand the value of a solid technical foundation to support decision-making on strategies to reduce flood risk, rebuild or restore coastal environments, and increase the resilience of developed coastal regions. "Uncertain Peril
By Claire Hope Cummings. 2008
Life on earth is facing unprecedented challenges from global warming, war, and mass extinctions. The plight of seeds is a…
less visible but no less fundamental threat to our survival. Seeds are at the heart of the planet's life-support systems. Their power to regenerate and adapt are essential to maintaining our food supply and our ability to cope with a changing climate. In Uncertain Peril, environmental journalist Claire Hope Cummings exposes the stories behind the rise of industrial agriculture and plant biotechnology, the fall of public interest science, and the folly of patenting seeds. She examines how farming communities are coping with declining water, soil, and fossil fuels, as well as with new commercial technologies. Will genetically engineered and "terminator" seeds lead to certain promise, as some have hoped, or are we embarking on a path of uncertain peril? Will the "doomsday vault" under construction in the Arctic, designed to store millions of seeds, save the genetic diversity of the world's agriculture? To answer these questions and others, Cummings takes readers from the Fertile Crescent in Iraq to the island of Kaua'i in Hawai'i; from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. She examines the plight of farmers who have planted transgenic seeds and scientists who have been persecuted for revealing the dangers of modified genes. At each turn, Cummings looks deeply into the relationship between people and plants. She examines the possibilities for both scarcity and abundance and tells the stories of local communities that are producing food and fuel sustainably and providing for the future. The choices we make about how we feed ourselves now will determine whether or not seeds will continue as a generous source of sustenance and remain the common heritage of all humanity. It comes down to this: whoever controls the future of seeds controls the future of life on earth. Uncertain Peril is a powerful reminder that what's at stake right now is nothing less than the nature of the future.Weeds and Wildflowers in Winter
By Lauren Brown. 2012
The help you need identifying the dormant but visible vestiges of spring and summer wildflowers and other plants. When it…
was first published, Roger Tory Peterson said of Weeds and Wildflowers in Winter (originally published as Wildflowers and Winter Weeds), "this book will be a joy to those wood-walkers and strollers who have been puzzled by the skeletal remains of herbaceous plants that they see in winter." And indeed, it has been in print for decades, helping both wood-walkers and botanists identify and better understand the weeds we see in winter. This charming guide identifies more than 135 common species of wildflowers and weeds found in the northeastern United States. Each plant is superbly illustrated with a full-page drawing accompanied by an elegant description of the plant's key characteristics. In addition, a step-by-step key to plant identifications and an illustrated glossary of common plant parts and botanical terms make this book an even more valuable resource. If you've ever wanted to know what those plants you see sticking up out the snow are, you'll appreciate this lovely, useful book.Weeds
By Richard Mabey. 2011
The true story-and true glories-of the plants we love to hate From dandelions to crabgrass, stinging nettles to poison ivy,…
weeds are familiar, pervasive, widely despised, and seemingly invincible. How did they come to be the villains of the natural world? And why can the same plant be considered beautiful in some places but be deemed a menace in others? In Weeds, renowned nature writer Richard Mabey embarks on an engaging journey with the verve and historical breadth of Michael Pollan. Weaving together the insights of botanists, gardeners, artists, and writers with his own travels and lifelong fascination, Mabey shows how these "botanical thugs" can destroy ecosystems but also can restore war zones and derelict cities; he reveals how weeds have been portrayed, from the "thorns and thistles" of Genesis to Shakespeare, Walden, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers; and he explains how kudzu overtook the American South, how poppies sprang up in First World War battlefields, and how "American weed" replaced the forests of Vietnam ravaged by Agent Orange. Hailed as "a profound and sympathetic meditation on weeds in relation to human beings" (Sunday Times), Weeds shows how useful these unloved plants can be, from serving as the first crops and medicines, to bur-dock inspiring the invention of Velcro, to cow parsley becoming the latest fashionable wedding adornment. Mabey argues that we have caused plants to become weeds through our reckless treatment of the earth, and he delivers a provocative defense of the plants we love to hate.Hurricane Katrina and the Forgotten Coast of Mississippi
By Susan L. Cutter Christopher T. Emrich Jerry T. Mitchell Walter W. Piegorsch Mark M. Smith, Lynn Weber, Susan L. Cutter, Christopher T. Emrich, Jerry T. Mitchell, Walter W. Piegorsch, Mark M. Smith. 2014
Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in August 2005 with devastating consequences. Almost all analyses of the disaster have…
been dedicated to the way the hurricane affected New Orleans. This volume examines the impact of Katrina on southern Mississippi. While communities along Mississippi's Gulf Coast shared the impact, their socioeconomic and demographic compositions varied widely, leading to different types and rates of recovery. This volume furthers our understanding of the pace of recovery and its geographic extent, and explores the role of inequalities in the recovery process and those antecedent conditions that could give rise to a "recovery divide. " It will be especially appealing to researchers and advanced students of natural disasters and policy makers dealing with disaster consequences and recovery.Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris
By David King. 2011
Death in the City of Light is the gripping, true story of a brutal serial killer who unleashed his own…
reign of terror in Nazi-Occupied Paris. As decapitated heads and dismembered body parts surfaced in the Seine, Commissaire Georges-Victor Massu, head of the Brigade Criminelle, was tasked with tracking down the elusive murderer in a twilight world of Gestapo, gangsters, resistance fighters, pimps, prostitutes, spies, and other shadowy figures of the Parisian underworld. The main suspect was Dr. Marcel Petiot, a handsome, charming physician with remarkable charisma. He was the "People's Doctor," known for his many acts of kindness and generosity, not least in providing free medical care for the poor. Petiot, however, would soon be charged with twenty-seven murders, though authorities suspected the total was considerably higher, perhaps even as many as 150.Who was being slaughtered, and why? Was Petiot a sexual sadist, as the press suggested, killing for thrills? Was he allied with the Gestapo, or, on the contrary, the French Resistance? Or did he work for no one other than himself? Trying to solve the many mysteries of the case, Massu would unravel a plot of unspeakable deviousness. When Petiot was finally arrested, the French police hoped for answers. But the trial soon became a circus. Attempting to try all twenty-seven cases at once, the prosecution stumbled in its marathon cross-examinations, and Petiot, enjoying the spotlight, responded with astonishing ease. His attorney, René Floriot, a rising star in the world of criminal defense, also effectively, if aggressively, countered the charges. Soon, despite a team of prosecuting attorneys, dozens of witnesses, and over one ton of evidence, Petiot's brilliance and wit threatened to win the day.Drawing extensively on many new sources, including the massive, classified French police file on Dr. Petiot, Death in the City of Light is a brilliant evocation of Nazi-Occupied Paris and a harrowing exploration of murder, betrayal, and evil of staggering proportions.From the Hardcover edition.One Good Horse
By Tom Groneberg. 2006
Since moving west over a decade ago, Tom Groneberg has worked with horses as a trail guide, as a ranch…
hand, and as the manager of his own ranch in Montana, but he has never owned a really good horse. Until, on an autumn night, in a warm barn under a blanket of snow, Blue is born. Soon, he will belong to Tom Groneberg. "If I had a good horse," writes Tom, "I could give it my life. I could ride it for years. We could grow old together. " So begins this unique American love story about a man and his horse. In straightforward, poetic prose, Tom Groneberg chronicles the early successes and failures of trying to train Blue, earning the animal's trust, and saddling him for the first time. The experience is challenging, but ultimately rewarding for Tom. Through his relationship with the animal, he develops a deeper understanding of the land and his community, and of himself -- as a man, and as a husband and father. In a world in which horses are fast becoming nothing more than warm-blooded lawn ornaments, Tom still believes these animals are important in human lives. At its heart,One Good Horseis about the power of hope, the simple story of a horse and the way people connect with nature and with each other across the generations.The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise
By Michael Grunwald. 2006
The Everglades was once reviled as a liquid wasteland, and Americans dreamed of draining it. Now it is revered as…
a national treasure, and Americans have launched the largest environmental project in history to try to save it. The Swamp is the stunning story of the destruction and possible resurrection of the Everglades, the saga of man's abuse of nature in southern Florida and his unprecedented efforts to make amends. Michael Grunwald, a prize-winning national reporter for The Washington Post, takes readers on a riveting journey from the Ice Ages to the present, illuminating the natural, social and political history of one of America's most beguiling but least understood patches of land. The Everglades was America's last frontier, a wild country long after the West was won. Grunwald chronicles how a series of visionaries tried to drain and "reclaim" it, and how Mother Nature refused to bend to their will; in the most harrowing tale, a 1928 hurricane drowned 2,500 people in the Everglades. But the Army Corps of Engineers finally tamed the beast with levees and canals, converting half the Everglades into sprawling suburbs and sugar plantations. And though the southern Everglades was preserved as a national park, it soon deteriorated into an ecological mess. The River of Grass stopped flowing, and 90 percent of its wading birds vanished. Now America wants its swamp back. Grunwald shows how a new breed of visionaries transformed Everglades politics, producing the $8 billion rescue plan. That plan is already the blueprint for a new worldwide era of ecosystem restoration. And this book is a cautionary tale for that era. Through gripping narrative and dogged reporting, Grunwald shows how the Everglades is still threatened by the same hubris, greed and well-intentioned folly that led to its decline.'Till Death Do Us Part
By Matt Birkbeck, Robi Ludwig. 2004
Every day six people in the United States are murdered by spouses or intimate partners. The stories of killer spouses…
tend to captivate us, as they beg the question of how so many seemingly normal and happy people manage to go over the edge. Indeed, every relationship presents "extreme moments" where scary feelings surface, yet what happens when those feelings turn to action? In Till Death Do Us Part, noted psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig, along with journalist Matt Birkbeck, presents the psychological profiles of notorious killer spouses -- from Scott Peterson and Clara Harris to Rabbi Fred Neulander and Betty Broderick. Ludwig reveals ten killer personality types. These ten personality types are defined in detail and illustrated with examples from high-profile cases along with in-depth analyses of the motivations behind the murders. The ten types range from the Betrayal/Abandonment Killer (who loses control and kills from a broken heart) to the Control Killer (who micromanages every aspect of the spouse's life) and the Black Widow/Profit Killer (who kills for money). With gripping stories and probing insight, authors Ludwig and Birkbeck examine the concept of peaceful versus violent resolution and why certain spouses believe murder is the best and only response. In an age when spousal murder is headline news, Till Death Do Us Part explores a phenomenon that many spouses can't help but think about at some point in their relationships -- which sheds light on the very notion of "happily ever after."I'll Take Care of You
By Caitlin Rother. 2014
Nanette Johnston Packard, a sexy divorcee, liked to meet men at the gym and through personal ads. Soon after she…
began dating millionaire Bill McLaughlin, he moved her and her kids into his bay-front home in Newport Beach. But one man was never enough for Nanette. . .Eric Naposki, her NFL linebacker lover, fulfilled Nanette's wilder cravings. Together they schemed to make her fiance's fortune their own. When McLaughlin was gunned down, authorities had suspicions--but no proof. Pulitzer-nominated writer Caitlin Rother explores this chilling story of a woman who seemed to have it all--until justice finally had its day. Includes dramatic photosChild's Prey
By Jon Bellini. 2001
School Slaughter At 8 a. m. on Wednesday October 11997 nerdy overweight outcast Luke Woodham16 entered his Pearl Mississippi high…
school to settle some scores. Armed with a . 30-30 hunting rifle he opened fire and then calmly walked out of the school door leaving two teenage girls dead and another seven students seriously wounded. Police soon discovered that Woodham's 11-minute rampage had actually begun hours before at home where they found his mother Mary Anne brutally beaten with a baseball bat and then stabbed to death. Evil CultLuke Woodham may have been the assassin but behind his horrifying act lay the shadowy hand of a twisted mastermind. Grant Boyette18 Bible student-turned-Hitler-lover and devil-worshipper was a diabolical Pied Piper who used a fantasy role-playing game to program six high school students with hate Satanism and animal torture. "Murder Is Gutsy And Daring. "Those were the chilling words of Luke Woodham now serving three consecutive life sentences. The horror he unleashed serves as a disturbing reminder of today's shocking epidemic of high school shootings and that the one place America's kids are supposed to be safe has become the most dangerous place of all. 16 Pages Of Shocking Photos!Mom
By Dr Katherine Ramsland. 2012
The family was seemingly perfect. A loving husband and wife, devoted to each other and to their children. Three young…
boys, aged twelve, six, and fourteen months. The family was strongly religious and close-knit. And, at the start of our story, they were planning a big barbecue to celebrate Mother's Day. Within twelve hours, the young boys would be dead at the hands of their own mother--and the town would be rocked by the greatest tragedy in its history. This book details both the murders and the mother's trial, at which she claimed that God had commanded her to sacrifice her sons as he had to Abraham in the Old Testament--communicating through a series of signs she saw throughout the day. Why would a mother kill the children she is bound by love and biology to protect? And can a person who kills because she truly believes God demanded it be found guilty of murder? This trial created a dramatic legal controversy--that still resonates in the present day. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Katherine Ramsland knows exactly what makes killers tick. A professor of forensic psychology and criminal justice at Pennsylvania's DeSales University, Dr. Ramsland has written and published 38 books and over 1,000 articles providing insight into the psychology of some of the world's most high-profile mass murder and serial killing cases. She holds advanced degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, philosophy, and criminal justice. ABOUT THE SERIES A new collection of compelling short nonfiction crime eBooks from leading independent eBook publisher RosettaBooks, CrimescapeTM provides riveting storytelling that puts its publications at the top of the true crime genre. CrimescapeTM authors are not only the best true crime authors in the business--many of whom have seen their books made into major motion pictures. They're also police detectives, forensic professionals, criminal psychologists, and investigative reporters. Their inside expertise brings readers unique insight into the murderous mind--and some of the world's most mysterious and fascinating cases. "What makes for a good true-crime story? Interesting characters, an engrossing plot, situations that often teeter between life and death. But here's the MacGuffin about true crime: What you're reading actually happened. Sometimes truth really is more compelling than fiction. And that's why you will enjoy reading Crimescape's true crime series." --Paul Alexander, # 1 bestselling author of the Kindle Singles Accused, Murdered, and HomicialGhost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South
By Brooks Blevins. 2012
In 1929, in a remote county of the Arkansas Ozarks, the gruesome murder of harmonica-playing drifter Connie Franklin and the…
brutal rape of his teenaged fiancé captured the attention of a nation on the cusp of the Great Depression. National press from coast to coast ran stories of the sensational exploits of night-riding moonshiners, powerful "Barons of the Hills," and a world of feudal oppression in the isolation of the rugged Ozarks. The ensuing arrest of five local men for both crimes and the confusion and superstition surrounding the trial and conviction gave Stone County a dubious and short-lived notoriety. Closely examining how the story and its regional setting were interpreted by the media, Brooks Blevins recounts the gripping events of the murder investigation and trial, where a man claiming to be the murder victim--the "Ghost" of the Ozarks--appeared to testify. Local conditions in Stone County, which had no electricity and only one long-distance telephone line, frustrated the dozen or more reporters who found their way to the rural Ozarks, and the developments following the arrests often prompted reporters' caricatures of the region: accusations of imposture and insanity, revelations of hidden pasts and assumed names, and threats of widespread violence. Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South entertains readers with a dramatic tale of true crime as well as a skilled interpretation of the region. Throughout this narrative, Blevins weaves a sophisticated social history of the Ozarks in the early twentieth century, critically analyzing the stereotypes and imagery inherent in local folklore and embedded in media coverage of the murder and trial. Locating the past of the Upland South squarely within the major currents of American history, Blevins paints a convincing backdrop to a story that, more than 80 years later, remains riddled with mystery and a source of bitter division in the community where some believe Connie Franklin met his end.Immortal Monster
By Anthony Bruno, Marilyn J. Bardsley. 2011
(A 62-page True Crime Short with photographs) Contract killer, lethal scam artist, loving father, abusive husband, abused son, convicted murderer,…
jailhouse schemer, liar, TV star. The man they called "The Iceman" was all of those. In 1988 he was sentenced to life for four gruesome murders, but this was just the tip of his iceberg. He had a taste for esoteric methods of death--favoring a cyanide solution in a nasal spray bottle--and body disposal--freezing one of his victims to disguise the time of death. At one point he bragged that his personal body count was over 200, seven times the more likely number. Still, he has huge following, and a biopic based on his life is about to start shooting this fall. The Iceman told his story in three extremely popular HBO documentaries, which are still broadcast regularly. Why does the Iceman's story continue to fascinate the public five years after his death and 25 years after his apprehension? And how much of his legend is truth?Curious Encounters with the Natural World: From Grumpy Spiders to Hidden Tigers
By Susan Post, Michael Jeffords. 2017
Michael R. Jeffords and Susan L. Post have circled the globe--and explored their neighborhood--collecting images of the natural world. This…
book opens their personal cabinet of curiosities to tell the stories of the pair's most unusual encounters. From the "necking" battles of mate-hungry giraffes to the breathtaking beauty of millions of monarch butterflies at rest, Jeffords and Post share 200 stunning photographs and their own insightful essays to guide readers on a spectacular journey. Their training as entomologists offers unique perspectives on surprise stag beetle swarms and spider hunting habits. Their photographic eye, honed by decades of observation, finds expression in once-in-a-lifetime images. The result is an eyewitness collection of startling and unusual phenomena that illuminates the diverse life inhabiting our planet.