Leopold and Loeb: The Crime of the Century

As a deadline crime reporter for 30 years, I know solid reporting. Hal Higdon's story of the Leopold and Loeb saga represents solid reporting, powerful writing and an objective view lacking in many contemporary stories. His writing offers a close-up view of high society life in the early part of the 20th century, and the workings of sick, brilliant minds. This is a classic. Reviewer Steven Hepker.

So, Hal Higdon apparently used to be a journalist for Runner's World, which would explain why the book is written kind of like a realllllllly long magazine article... but that's okay with me. I mean, there are a LOT of facts in this book, most of the time facts that don't appear to be important. Sometimes it seems a little random, but it also adds to the realness of the case. A TON of research obviously went into the writing of this book. If you're already interested in the Leopold and Loeb case, this book is perfect! It's incredibly detailed, and I felt it was pretty suspenseful. It's also pretty long- I mean, it covers EVERYTHING. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was inspired to go rent every movie adaptation there is of the case. Excellent!

When you think of chicago during the 1920s, the first thing that comes to mind is Al Capone, prohibition, gangsters and crime. But in 1924, for a few months, Al Capone was no longer the talk of the town, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb became the most famous and unlikely celibrities of the time. Two extremely bright 19 year olds from very wealthy Chicago families, decide to kidnap and kill at random a person just for the "thrill" of it, with no other apparent motive than getting away with it and committing the perfect crime.The author tells in details the planning of the crime, the day it happened, the investigation, the arrest, the trial and the aftermath. The trial in particular is fascinating as it gives you a great insight on the muderer's personnalities, their intelligence, their upbringing and how their relationship with one another led to murder. The book is written as if it were a fictional mystery novel, you will sometimes find yourself wondering whether or not this really happened. The suspense builds extremely well throughout the book, as if Hitchcock himself had put his touch to it. Even if i knew from the beginning who the killers were, as the investigation unfolded, i almost thought they would get away with it.I highly recommed this book to anyone who enjoys mystery, history, law, psychology, chicago or just a great read.

If it were a novel, it would be contrived. The story of Leopold and Loeb is so fascinating that it is incredible that Hollywood has not yet cashed in. With a cast of characters that includes two rich, young, genius Jews,an innocent young victim, an over-ambitious D.A., Nietzche (in philosophy, if not body), and the great Clarence Darrow, there is no room for disinterest. I would believe that this book would be interesting to many styles of readers, including those interested in crime, in law, and in history. Well-written and concise, this book was fun to read.

This straightforward account of the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder of Bobby Franks and its lengthy aftermath makes for chillingly effective non-fiction. I liked Higdon's "just the facts" approach, which proceeds without sympathy, fluff or verbosity. The book corrects certain misconceptions that resulted from "Compulsion," Meyer Levin's superb but sympathetic novel about the crime. Higdon should apply his skills to other "media event" crimes, such as Nicole Simpson or the Lindbergh kidnapping, and write another fine book.