Crime Reads » History

A Brief History of the Rise—and Evolution—of True Crime Books

A Brief History of the Rise—and Evolution—of True Crime Books

Who writes true crime? It was once the domain of lawyers, reporters, and cops. But not anymore.

By Keith Roysdon | June 14, 2021

Jack Ruby Is the Key to the Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories. So Why Have We Forgotten About His Trial?

Jack Ruby Is the Key to the Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories. So Why Have We Forgotten About His Trial?

Conspiracy theories focus on Ruby and the supposed cover-up. But his Texas trial has mostly been lost to history.

By Dan Abrams and David Fisher | June 2, 2021

The Silent Woman

The Silent Woman

From musician to muse to wife to sex doll—the savage remaking of Alma Mahler

By Maria Hummel | June 1, 2021

How Frigid Conditions and a Failed Execution in 17th Century England Pointed the Way To a Scientific Breakthrough

How Frigid Conditions and a Failed Execution in 17th Century England Pointed the Way To a Scientific Breakthrough

In 1650, Anne Greene was publicly hanged and ruled dead. She was an early marvel of "suspended animation."

By Philip Jaekl | June 1, 2021

How McCarthyism, the Rise of Tabloids, and J. Edgar Hoover's Quest to Prove Himself

How McCarthyism, the Rise of Tabloids, and J. Edgar Hoover's Quest to Prove Himself "Manly" Led to a Surveillance State

There were always rumors about Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn's sexuality. At one legendary hearing, the innuendo came into focus.

By Christopher M. Elias | May 28, 2021

Five Nonfiction Books You Should Read This Month

Five Nonfiction Books You Should Read This Month

Spies in exile, treasure hunts, and the search for a missing person.

By CrimeReads | May 27, 2021

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

The Real Story of All Those Crazy Recording Devices Nixon Insisted on Installing in the White House

By Michael Dobbs | May 26, 2021

How Anti-Catholic Propaganda, Racism, and One Man's Paranoid Obsessions Helped Form Oregon's Founding Myths

By Blaine Harden | April 27, 2021

Fraud and Spiritualism Between the Wars: A Study of Two Hoaxes

By Kate Summerscale | April 20, 2021

How Gilded Age Corruption Produced the Biggest, Maddest Gold Rush in History

How Gilded Age Corruption Produced the Biggest, Maddest Gold Rush in History

America was on edge, inequity was bringing about class warfare. And then there was news of gold in Alaska.

By Brian Castner | April 14, 2021

On The Voynich Manuscript, the Most Indecipherable Coded Text Ever Discovered

On The Voynich Manuscript, the Most Indecipherable Coded Text Ever Discovered

In 1912, a Polish rare book dealer found a manuscript written in a unique language. To this day, it has yet to be deciphered.

By Edward Brooke-Hitching | April 7, 2021

Five Fearless Female WWII Spies and Resistors

Five Fearless Female WWII Spies and Resistors

Operating behind enemy lines, women took on some of the war effort's most dangerous clandestine work.

By Erika Robuck | April 2, 2021

Few Films Understand the History of Blackmail and Queer Criminalization Better than Basil Dearden’s <em>Victim</em>

Few Films Understand the History of Blackmail and Queer Criminalization Better than Basil Dearden’s Victim

This classic noir, starring icon Dirk Bogarde, uses the conventions of melodrama and detective cinema to explore a persisting crime: the extortion of queer men

By Victoria Wiet | April 1, 2021

Cipher Girls: The Women Who Cracked Hitler's Codes

Cipher Girls: The Women Who Cracked Hitler's Codes

Thousands of women contributed to the codebreaking efforts at Bletchley Park. Few were honored in their time.

By Kate Quinn | March 12, 2021

On Poisonings, Serial Killers, Mass Murderers, and Other Symbols of the Zeitgeist

On Poisonings, Serial Killers, Mass Murderers, and Other Symbols of the Zeitgeist

Why do some crimes become media sensations and cultural touchstones, while others more horrifying fade into obscurity?

By Harold Schechter | March 11, 2021

The Invention of Murder: How the Ancient Romans Codified Their Bizarre Views on Murder

The Invention of Murder: How the Ancient Romans Codified Their Bizarre Views on Murder

The Romans took a pragmatic (and utterly horrifying) approach when it came to determining liability for killing and injury.

By Emma Southon | March 10, 2021

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