The “riveting behind-the-scenes story” of the infamous rampage that killed eight student nurses in Chicago (Vincent Bugliosi). On the night of July 14th, 1966, drifter Richard Benjamin Speck broke into a Chicago dormitory that housed eight student nurses. One by one, Speck raped, strangled, and stabbed them to death in a sadistic sexual frenzy. Miraculously, one victim, Corazon Amurao, … Corazon Amurao, survived by hiding under the bed during the long, nightmarish ordeal. By morning Speck had changed the landscape of American crime.
Now, award-winning Chicago journalist Dennis L. Brea and prosecuting attorney William J. Martin reveal the never-before told story of one of the most appalling mass murders in history–from the killer’s twisted upbringing to the lives and deaths of his innocent victims to the massive manhunt and investigation and the trial that held the country spellbound. Meticulously researched with scores of interviews, including that of Speck’s lone survivor, TheCrime of the Century is “the richly detailed and riveting behind-the scenes story of the crime that murdered American innocence and ushered in the era of mass murder” (Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter).
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I was a newlywed when this happened and, though I was aware of it, I was interested in learning the details. This True Crime story was a good, chronological depiction of the victims and the killer. Well written.
The Richard Speck murders
True crime story but not nearly as well written as Capote’s In Cold Blood.
Very realisc
If you like to read true crime, This is the one to read.
Interesting read. I would recommend it for true crime lovers.
I lived just a few miles from this happened and remember, as a preteen being horrified that something like this could shatter my childhood and cause such concern to everyone around me. I have not read much about Speck or what he did since that time, since I lived through all the news of it when it happened. The inner workings of the defense and prosecution teams was interesting and the movements of both the survivor and of Speck during the days and weeks after the murders was unknown to me until I read this well-done book.
I was a student nurse in Ohio when the killings of these Chicago student nurses were murdered in 1965 so took a special interest in reading this account. I couldn’t have read it many years ago but decided now was the time. Very chilling but also a true account by the prosecutors and would recommend the read.
Great book. Very well written. Very detailed, but also easy to read and follow the story.
I remembered this crime when it happened and always wondered how it came about.
So, so sad – I’m a nurse and retired – I remember this case very well.
In this era of mass shooters, this may seem, sadly, run of the mill ordinary. It was not. The stories of the nurses, the murderer, and the trial are riveting. The book was very well written by participants in the saga.
This is a crime book to not be missed!
Excessive details of the killers lifestyle pre-murders.
What can you say. Real story. Tragic
Even though I was aware of the story contemporaneously, the details provided by the authors’ insights into the police processes and the trial strategy were riveting.
Good story on a crime. Well written and researched
A good review of Speck from before the murders of the nurses in Chicago, through the trial and the sentencing. If you are in to true crime books this is a good one to read.
Excellent book with incredible details and anyone who likes the law would love it!
Very well written…
Very thorough treatment of this heartbreaking tragedy. Well written.