Other books that might interest you

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  A History of Smuggling in...

  Stan Zimmerman

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  Why Florida has been a smuggler’s paradise for centuries—and how traffic in everything from weapons to exotic flowers has shaped the state’s history.   Amateur smugglers may sneak a box of Cuban cigars into the U.S. here and there—but in the big picture, untaxed and untraced commerce, aka contraband, is a trillion-dollar-per-year global business. New technologies to discover and curb smuggling are met by equally well-equipped perpetrators, determined to stay below the radar. With its long coastline, hundreds of remote landing strips, and airports clogged with sun-seeking tourists, Florida is a superhighway of smuggling. It is easy to move illegal goods like weapons, drugs, slaves, exotic birds and flowers, all while avoiding the best efforts of U.S. and international customs authorities. Who does this smuggling? Well one Florida governor and the wife of another, for starters. Everyone from hardscrabble commercial fishermen, Spanish explorers, Mafia mobsters, crew chiefs for fruit pickers, respected attorneys—and even one Florida governor and the wife of another. This fascinating history covers the role of smuggling in Florida history, including its discovery and settlement, the Seminole Wars, and the Civil War. With stories of land booms, money laundering, drug runners, and more, this is a book that leaves no stone unturned—or suitcase unopened

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  Real or Fake - Studies in...

  Joe Nickell

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  The man who is “the embodiment of the Mythbusters, Sherlock Holmes, and Richard Feynman” weeds out the treasures from the shams in artifact investigations (Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine). 
   
  Detailing how the pros determine whether an Abraham Lincoln signature is forged or if a photograph of Emily Dickinson is genuine, Nickell, a leader in forgery detection and forensic investigation, provides the essential tools necessary to identify counterfeits. In this general introduction to the principles of authentication, Nickell provides readers with step-by-step explanations of the science used to detect falsified documents, photographs, and other objects, illustrating methods used on hit shows such as Antiques Roadshow and History Detectives. 
   
  Including fascinating cases drawn from Nickell’s illustrious career, Real or Fake combines historical and scientific investigations to reveal reproductions and genuine objects. Nickell explains the warning signs of forgery, such as patching and unnatural pen lifts; chronicles the evolution of writing instruments, inks, and papers; shows readers how to date photographs, papers, and other materials; and traces the development of photographic processes since the mid-nineteenth century. Lavishly illustrated with examples of replicas and authentic objects inspected by Nickell, Real or Fake includes case studies of alleged artifacts including Jack the Ripper’s diary, a draft of the Gettysburg Address, notes by Charles Dickens, Jefferson Davis’s musket, and debris from the Titanic. 
   
  “An expert on antique ink and paper, and the forensic analysis of historic documents.” —The New Yorker 
   
  “Nickell advocates a multifaceted approach that looks at provenance, content, material composition, and scientific analysis.” —Maine Antique Digest

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  The Aleppo Codex - A True Story...

  Matti Friedman

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  The intriguing story of the quest to recover the missing pages from one of the world’s most important holy texts: the 1,000-year-old Hebrew Bible known as Aleppo Codex. 
  A true-life thriller about the journey of one of the world’s most precious manuscripts—the 10th century annotated Hebrew Bible known as the Aleppo Codex—from its hiding place in an ancient Syrian synagogue to the newly-founded Israel. Using his research, including documents which have been secret for 50 years and interviews with key players, AP correspondent Friedman tells a story of political upheaval, international intrigue, charged courtroom battles, obsession, and subterfuge.

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  Thirty-Eight Witnesses - The...

  A. M. Rosenthal

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  A Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist’s groundbreaking account of the crime that shocked New York City—and the world In the early hours of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight-year-old Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was stabbed to death in the middle-class neighborhood of Kew Gardens, Queens. The attack lasted for more than a half hour—enough time for Genovese’s assailant to move his car and change hats before returning to rape and kill her just a few steps from her front door.   Yet it was not the brutality of the murder that made it international news. It was a chilling detail Police Commissioner Michael Joseph Murphy shared with A. M. Rosenthal of the New York Times: Thirty-eight of Genovese’s neighbors witnessed the assault—and none called for help.   To Rosenthal, who had recently returned to New York after spending a decade overseas and would become the Times’s longest-serving executive editor, that startling statistic spoke volumes about both the turbulence of the 1960s and the enduring mysteries of human nature. His impassioned coverage of the case sparked a firestorm of public indignation and led to the development of the psychological theory known as the “bystander effect.”  Thirty-Eight Witnesses is indispensable reading for students of journalism and anyone seeking to learn about one of the most infamous crimes of the twentieth century.

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  Mortal Danger - And Other True...

  Ann Rule

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  From trust to terror…from security to survival…. 
   
  Only Ann Rule, who unknowingly worked alongside the smart and charming Ted Bundy-America's most notorious serial killer-could lend her razor-sharp insight into these cases of the spouse, lover, family member, or helpful stranger who is totally trusted but whose lethally violent nature, though masterfully disguised, can and will kill. Featured here is the case of a Southern California family man who appeared to be the picture of healthy living with his expertise in naturopathic healing. Luring a beautiful flight attendant into a passionate affair, he swept her away to a secluded home on the Oregon coast where his jealous rages escalated, ultimately leading to a brutal sex attack in which she believed she would die. How this brave victim survived, never knowing her tormentor's whereabouts, and how he resurfaced, forcing a tragic end for all involved, makes this one of Ann Rule's most compelling narratives. 
   
  Other cases include that of the woman who masterminded her husband's murder to gain his inheritance…the monstrous sadist whose prison release damaged a presidential candidate's campaign and ended in a bitter double tragedy in a quiet neighborhood three thousand miles away…the shocking DNA link between a cold-blooded crime and a cold case…and inside the horrific case of the man who crossed an ocean and several countries to stalk the Eurasian beauty who had fled from him in desperation.

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  Masquerade - A True Story of...

  Lowell Cauffiel

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  In the exclusive suburb of Grosse Pointe, Alan Canty was a respected psychologist, with clients drawn from wealthy families across Detroit. But at night, he ventured into the city's seedy south side, where, under the name Dr. Al Miller, he met with prostitutes. One girl in particular caught Dr. Al's eye: a skinny teenage drug addict named Dawn, an ex-honor student who had fallen under the spell of a pimp named Lucky. Canty became their sugar daddy, spending thousands to buy them clothes, cars, and gifts. But when the money ran out, Canty's luck went with it-and he was soon found hacked to pieces, his body scattered across Michigan. In this thrilling true crime tale, Cauffiel shows what happens when deception turns fatal.

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