About book The Girls Of Murder City: Fame, Lust, And The Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago (2010)
Narrators voice was quite irritating for the first hour or so, but gradually grew on me. Would have rated this four stars, except I loathe it when an author pretends to climb into the head of real historical figures and pretends to know not only what they said in conversation, but what they were thinking when having this made up conversation. And this book is rife with that. Still, though, an interesting story about an interesting period of time. This was interesting and a quick read. I've seen the movie 'Chicago' and vaguely recall that it was based on a true story, but I had no idea of its real history. It was fascinating to read about Maurine Watkins, one-time classics scholar, as a beginning reporter covering the murder cases and then writing her play. I also didn't know that 'Chicago' was made into a silent movie and the 1942 film, 'Roxie Hart.' Will have to try to find those.... Newspaper crime coverage seems a bit more responsible these days, and reporters certainly don't have the access they once had. I think, however, that good-looking, "cultured" white criminals probably still have an advantage in court. A quick Google search reveals many articles showing the disparity in convictions of blacks vs whites in the US. Of course, some of that is surely attributable to social conditions and the ability to pay for a good lawyer, as well as physical appearance. Biasandbelief.pbworks.com (along with plenty of other sites) has a relevant report on the "halo effect of attractiveness." Plus ca change, etc. Still, I think we've made improvements since the 1920s.
Do You like book The Girls Of Murder City: Fame, Lust, And The Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago (2010)?
3.5. Liked it. Didn't love the end. But would recommend if you like Chicago, city or musical
—Mon
Engrossing book about the origin of the play and movie 'Chicago'.
—tamalaadams
Entertaining read about the true events that inspired "Chicago".
—amrita
Fast-paced, gripping true crime set in 1920s Chicago. Teh fab.
—julia_as
