Shots in the Dark: True Crime Pictures

It wasn't as detailed as Death Scenes but still gives it a great run for the money. I'd recommend it for anyone who is fascinated with forensics. If given the chance, I would still buy it again.

If you are entertained by the disturbing, this book is great for keeping your sick mind entertained and your idle hands out of entrails. I would also recommend this book to anyone who isn't afraid to look through the eyes of a crime photographer of times past and appreciate the gall it took to actually take some of these pictures. The text in this book is not that fantastic, but it would be very hard to find words more interesting and memorable than the faces in these photographs. So...jeah...good (picture) book.

... but what a wonderful book! The photography in this book is so fantastic, that any person who admires excellent photographic skill will not be able to remain dispassionate. The topic (crime, criminals, accidents, homicides, etc.) is well represented, both in words (and the authors thankfully belong to the less is more school) and imagery. Buried here and there in the book you'll find an image and some commentary that makes a particularly relevant statement presented in a decidedly understated yet compelling fashion. For example, page 68, Elmer Fanter. The shot is of a young kid (16) who's standing in a cell, holding the bars and looking completely bewildered. He and his pals had murdered a man who had the temerity to come to the aid of a woman the lads were robbing. Of this shot, the author makes the statement (in part): "He and his friends saw no violent movies and were not subjected to inappropriate scenes on television, and those hands clenching the bars of the prison door never moved a mouse in a violent video game."

I've always been fascinated by true crime and forensics, and was quite amazed that this book had such uncensored, graphic photos. Crime scene photos, autopsies, serial killers, mob deaths, the pictures go all the way back to the late eighteen-hundreds and Lizzie Borden, and the text was very informative as well. It's definitely not the kind of book I would leave out on the coffee table, but for crime buffs it's a real must have.