The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City & Sparked the Tabloid Wars

Takes a bit sort thru all the characters and what is happening .. Then settle in for a real feel period piece of just how close media and law enforcement were. Crime scenes of today do not exist in this who done it.
Feast of people, story and time

This is true crime writing with style and humor. A relatively obscure murder covered blisteringly by the tabloids of turn of the century-era (yes, that century) New York is examined in detail, and delivered with panache.

I found this novel interesting in the background research the author accomplished for this novel.

Cut-throat activity is not just the 20th or 21st century.

Police solving crimes with the 'newest' CSI technology before it was referred to CSI!

Reads like a fiction book! Every time I thought the case was solved, the author surprised me with a new development. In fact, the author saved a few surprises for the final review of the case after the book had ended. It certainly is a page turner.

I really wanted this to be an interesting read. Te event that inspired the book should have been intriguing, but somehow it just wasn't. The main players should have been interesting, but the author cannot manage to make the reader care about them, and they remain two-dimensional ghostlike figures to the end.

By far the most egregious error in this book is that, while the existence of many photgraphs is mentioned repeatedly, there is NOT ONE in the book. This is not because illustrations and photgraphs are no longer in existence, as any internet search reveals. What could the author and the publisher have been thinking, to omit these?

All in all, a very disappointing read.

This book is a rollicking good story, ranging all over New York City and out to the "rural areas" (that are now totally built up) and swamps (yes, the New York City area had swamps), as newspapers such as the Herald and the New York Post (one of the few of the old papers still standing, and still proudly a tabloid newspaper) and their numerous rivals competed for readers to drive up their circulation.

This book is really about two things: a fantastic, grisly murder (Dismembered parts found scattered all over the five boroughs of New York !!! They never found the head !!! Who is the victim ???) and how the newspapers reacted. (They were SO happy, the only real news at the time was a heat wave).

This book details exactly how involved in crime-solving the early newspapers were. We think of newspapers as reporting the news, not necessarily creating it, but this book shows how it was done in the Good Old Days of Reporting. Remember all the movies from the 1940s and 1950s, with the intrepid newspaper reporters running around sneaking around the crime scene, questioning witnesses before the police showed up, showing up in the detective's office offering their information in exchange for An Exclusive? Well, that was exactly how it was, and this books tell the story of how that all started.

Reporters from all the papers set up in apartments across the street from the police station to monitor the activities of the investigating officers. They tailed the cops, trying to get exclusive information. The cops often had the reporters tailed, to find out what THEY knew. The newspapers tailed each other's reporters, looking for any advantage. They paid witnesses for their exclusive stories. One newspaper even had a veritable army of reporters mounted on bicycles, fanning out all over the city, looking for clues. They often beat the cops to the witnesses - and published it as soon as possible, to scoop the competition. Yellow Journalism was born with this case, and boy, was THAT an exciting time!

Police departments from the five boroughs were independent at the time, so it was a rather scattershot investigation in the early stages. The body was identified numerous times - wrongly - before they finally figured out who it was. Multiple suspects were arrested on the thinnest of evidence, investigated, and released. Theories abounded. Scientific (well, maybe...) types of the time would show up at the morgue wanting to measure the parts of the corpse and divine what kind of person they were by their hands alone. Anyone missing a brother, father, or son also showed up at the morgue - masses of them - claiming the body for their own, whether is was or not. Frankly, it was a mess for some time.

But an EXCITING mess for us...

This was one of the most exciting books I ever read, and by God, it was all true. It's great for the beach, a vacation, or just an afternoon in a hammock. I loved it. You will, too.

Like another reviewer, I was expecting an Eric Larson-ish read. This author just is not engaging. His style isn't fun to read or even coherent. The story jumps about in ways that make no sense. Larson's prose can send you one direction, then reel you back and off to another. I don't know if that's what Paul Collins was trying to do, but whatever...it failed. Three chapters and my lunch hour wasted. It's going back to the library.

Certainly can not recommend.

The good news, this is a very well researched book with a lot of information regarding the late 1800's. You have a murder mystery that is the impetus of the novel. I never heard of The Guldensuppe's murder but based on this book and the two major papers, The Journal and The World, this was the O.J. Trial at the time-hence the title, The Murder Of The Century.

The pace is good, I read in quick and the author gave it enough juice for you to finish the book. Also, he does an epilogue and he gives an update on all the characters, anyone that read my reviews knows I am big on tidying things up at the end especially non-fiction books. I learned a lot about how powerful Newspapers used to be where many times, they made the news. Also, I never seen Citizen Kane but after reading this book, I am interested in learning more about William Randolph Hearst.

The not so good department, out of fairness, before reading this book, I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and it spoiled me, Unbroken was non- fiction but it was so fantastic and so well written that very few writers can do, what she does. So Paul Collins is a good writer but He is not in the same league as Hillenbrand, that said , I wanted more details, more descriptions, more about the characters , for example , Collins introduces a detective Carey and after a while ,nothing is mentioned about him. it world have been nice if he spend more time with the characters-making them more 3 dimensional. The author touches upon the life of the late 1800 and early 1900's but the wow factor was missing, again Hillenbrand had it ,Collins didn't . Is it fair to compare both writers in the same genre? I don't know , as I mentioned , I read one then the other, you decide.

This book details the murder case deemed the Murder of the Century by the shameless newspapers of the era: The murder of William Guldensuppe, whose torso, lower body and legs were all discovered separately wrapped in different areas of 1897 New York. The identity of the body was difficult to ascertain, as a distinguishing tattoo had been removed, and the head was not located.

The book covers the police investigation of the murder, the attempt at identifying the murdered victim, and the capture, arrest and trial of the two most likely involved people. From initial discovery of the first grisly packages to years after the trial was concluded, all the evidence is laid out for the reader to digest.

My problem with this book was more of the style in which it was written. I had difficulty following the seemingly tangential points that sprung out from every new piece of evidence. I suppose that may be the nature of a chaotic investigation that takes place well before the police and forensic procedures with which we are so familiar nowadays, but I still found it confusing and distracting. At times, the author would suddenly reference a person's name that hadn't been mentioned in quite some time, assuming (I can only imagine) that I was keeping minute detailed notes of everything I had read. Well, I hadn't.

I also couldn't quite reconcile that this murder was as interesting as the battling tabloid publishers of the time made it out to be. Certainly, it was a gruesome deed, and New Yorkers seemed captivated by it at the time, but in retrospect, it really seemed nothing more than a love triangle gone bad. Maybe that's a sad testament to my own desensitization to sensational murder, a sad fact given man's increasing barbarism, but even trying to look information up on the murder afterwards, I was barely able to find any information about the case. If it was the murder of the century, wouldn't it have been more interesting in perpetuity?

The best part of this book, in my opinion, was the portrayal of the media. Chiefly, the case was covered by two tabloids that dominated at the time: Pulitzer's The World, and Hearst's The Journal. "Shameless" is the best word I can use to describe their tactics and coverage, inventing plot schemes, paying off informants, and bullying their way into ongoing police investigations, all the while watching their circulation skyrocket as a result! It's head-shakingly shocking the lengths the papers went to to get the story - whether that story was right, relevant, or not!

It's also incredibly frustrating to think how modern forensics might have been able to help with the investigation, but this all took place at a time when chemists were mocked on the stand during trials, fingerprinting was not yet used and crime scenes were not preserved. New York was still 40 years away from implementing an Alternate Juror, which ended up taking the trial in a completely different direction when one juror fell quite ill. It's amazing to think the case even went to trial at all without an identification of the murdered victim, which hadn't been established definitively until the trial was actually under way!

I listened to the audiobook of this title, which unfortunately did not include the illustrations contained in the hardcover and paperback. That's a shame, as it would have been interesting to see the players in this nonfiction drama, but it wasn't necessary. The book was capably read by William Dufris, who did well giving each character their own voice.

I just finished reading this book and WOW, it was a fantastic read into what was once dubbed "the murder of the century." A grisly find of a dismembered body on the morning of 1897 in NYC begins one of the most sensational and puzzling crimes of the times. What follows is the detailed description and events surrounding the mysterious death of William Guldensuppe. The victims lover, and then boyfriend become suspects is this sensational love triangle and every moment seems to be captured by the top newspapers of the day.

It was so neat to catch a glimpse of what life was like in NYC in 1897. This was a time before fingerprinting and forensics and careful documentation by police investigators. I was shaking my head at the way the crime scenes and investigation were conducted. So interesting! Plus, a HUGE part of this book is the rivalry between two newspapers, the Journal owned by Hearst and the World, by Pulitzer. It was amazing to read that so much of the initial investigation was conducted by these newspapers for the sole purpose of outdoing one another. The author perfectly captures how the papers relished their role in the unfolding drama. The author gives us an account of the growth of lurid news and the public's fascination for it.

I was so addicted to this book. I loved it!! The author really did his research for the book but it does not come off dry and too fact ridden. This is a non-fiction book that is both fascinating and so well written it was a joy to read. If you are ready for a real life tale that includes murder, dismemberment, adultery, contract killing, false identity, grave robbing, gambling, illicit abortion and medical malpractice, this is the book that has it all, you will not be disappointed.

It's compelling history that's also great page-turning entertainment. Five stars and a definite must read!!

Paul Collins has vividly recreated a once notorious crime, its investigation, the trial of the main perpetrator, and its aftermath. In doing so he has not only written a true crime story but also done an excellent job of recapturing the atmosphere of New York in the Gilded Age. It was a time of rapid change, when a newly literate population demanded that their news be delivered in as sensational manner as possible. Two newspaper publishers, William Randolph Hearst of The New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer of The New York World, competed to outdo each other in an ongoing war for circulation.

In the summer of 1897 the gruesome discovery of a dismembered body in several different locations shocked New York. The newspapers rushed to print sensational stories that hampered more than helped the police investigation. Eventually the victim was identified, and then suspects were arrested. Details of the crime and the trial of one of the suspects riveted the city and much of the world for months. Even years later, after one suspect had been executed and the other sent to prison, the bloody details of the case were immediately recalled every time a similar crime occurred.

The chief value of The Murder Of The Century is not so much the details of the murder and trial, intriguing though they are, but rather its vivid depictions of New York City as a place dominated by newspapers seeking to outdo each other. This is also a story of technological change, as both newspapers made use of the latest printing presses and techniques to draw readers to them with colored pictures and eventually actual photographs. Most of all, thanks to Collins' fine writing and his ability to tell a dramatic story, this is a most enjoyable read.

While the unethical and immoral behavior of tabloid journalism is receiving renewed interest among the public, it is quite propitious that The Murder of the Century should be published at this particular point in time. Although the text's primary focus is a particularly gruesome murder that took place in New York City in 1897, the murder is not altogether significant in the annals of crime at the turn of the century.

What truly raises this crime to bookworthy status is its role in sparking a tabloid war between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal that would cement the role and perhaps the behavior of "yellow" journalism to this day. Although the crime itself might be no more than an asterisk in the realm of criminal law, it certainly had enough elements of sensationalism to keep the average voyeur sated for weeks at a time.

Although the case was initially written off as a prank, it would quickly attain celebrity status of "an open sewer of murder" with elements of dismemberment, adultery, contract killing, false identity, illicit abortion, and medical malpractice. This is not to mention a search for a missing head, noteworthy descriptions of sexual organs that would temporarily ban women from the courtroom, and a defense attorney renowned for his extravagant sartorial style, superb courtroom oratory, and questionable legalistic behavior.

The case begins on a hot muggy day in New York on June 27, 1897, when the first of the body parts are discovered by innocent by-standards. In very short order, with the World and the Journal taking opposing sides in the case and using questionable if not outright illegal steps to seek advantage in gaining access to developments, the case is trumpeted by the two tabloids at an ever increasingly histrionic pitch in an attempt to gain readership. As the trial proceeds over several weeks we see how Hearst's younger, brasher, and more aggressive behavior exemplified by his so-called "Wrecking Crew", transforms the Journal into the king of all New York newspapers by stealing personnel from the more established World and amping up the sensationalism in its pages.

Paul Collins does an admirable job of describing the elements of the case, but more importantly, putting this first tabloid war in historical perspective. He even gives us an early look into Hearst's next step in his inexorable road to be the king of all newsmen. A murder in a big city can attract hundreds of thousands for a matter of weeks and months, but a war with a foreign country can attract millions for years. Collins is able to relate the fascinating yet macabre aspects of this circumstantial murder case, while adding to our understanding of the history of a questionable but still relevant journalistic genre.

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely! It was a great listen. New York City in the age of Tammany Hall and Pulitzer vs. Hearst duking it out in their tabloids. What's not to like?

What other book might you compare The Murder of the Century to and why?

Compulsion by Ira Levin, which was a novel about the Leopold/ Loeb murderers. This story is true though, and much more compelling because it is factual.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene I remember the most is when Augusta returns to the prison and asks for a job. I think she missed the attention she got as a high profile prisoner.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I enjoyed the book immensely but would never sit for 10 hours to finish any book...

Any additional comments?

This is a wonderfully written and narrated story about a real life murder in 1897 New York City. The most important thing about the narrative is the early police force, (fingerprints were not reliable at that time) and how the newsmen and women were just as likely to gather the clues as the cops. It was an important step in beginning a cohesive way to solve crimes and a lot of the people involved learned a great deal from being involved in this case.

In New York City 1897, various body pieces, apparently belonging to one victim, are turning up all over the city. Detectives are stumped but this murder is about to trigger a huge newspaper war between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. It is the birth of both yellow journalism (and there is an explanation given for that term) and tabloid reporting.

This was quite an interesting and entertaining read. The newspaper publisher’s involvement in the investigation of the murder sets off a publicity circus unlike any other seen before. The public eats up the lurid story, following every detail of the investigation and the sensational trial that follows.

The author, Paul Collins, clearly did a rigorous amount of research but this is not a dry retelling of the crime, it’s actually a very readable and absorbing story. The details can be a bit gruesome at times but overall an engrossing look at life in turn of the century New York. The similarity to today’s television media just proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Paul Collins is a talented writer who excels at research. Murder of the Century showcases Collins's talent well.

Crime, especially heinous acts, are always good for showcasing contemporary society. The crime is a microcosm of culture, attitude and convention. The murder mystery of 1897 allows us to see the birth of tabloid news and developing criminology. It is always fascinating for me too see how long ago discoveries were made that are still used today. Collins uses a sensationalized murder mystery to teach us.

His adept talent easily takes readers through a truly mysterious case packed with many people. Collins balances all the details and people to allow the reader to grasp the content without disturbing the flow of the book.

I found the content to be engrossing and the writing engaging. I highly recommend this book for history buffs or true crime readers who like compelling drama and history more than gore.

Every decade, every century has a murder case that somehow captures the imagination of the world. In 1897 it started with the discovery of a headless torso in the East River.It the murder happened at a precipitous moment. New York City was engaged in newspaper wars, battles for circulation basically, on a scale unknown to previous generations. Two generals of that war, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, offered huge rewards and commissioned cadres of reporters to develop leads and shadow the detectives. One of Hearst's reporters eventually helped reveal the identity of the headless, limbless victim-William Guldensuppe, a German immigrant employed in the City's public baths.

William Guldensuppe's lover and landlady Mrs. Augusta Nack and Martin Thron, a barber in Manhattan were soon arrested for the crime. Because Guldensuppe had been dispatched in Queens County on Long Island and not in Manhattan, the case was tried in what at the time, were suburbs. The first case to go was that of Thorn, the barber. Thorn was represented by one of the most able (and shady) lawyers of the day, William F. Howe. Howe was English by birth and served term of imprisonment there for impersonating a lawyer. His legal career in England over, he went to New York where he earned a well-deserved reputation as the go-to man for every well-heeled or well-publicized thief and murderer on the east coast.

Imagine the result if Johnny Cochran had been granted a mistrial in the Simpson case. In the second trial, the prosecutors mistakes would not have been repeated, For that matter the prosecutors would have seen the strategies and strengths of the defense team and adjusted their case accordingly. Even the best lawyers make mistakes in trial and William F. Howe provided no exception. Having demolished Mrs. Nack, who had turned states evidence, before a mistrial was declared, he confidently assumed he would get another bite at her. I won't reveal how disastrous that decision was except to say the accounts of Martin Thorn's execution are almost as gruesome as the accounts of the murder and decapitation of William Guldensuppe.

Cops, reporters, skilled lawyers, adultery, and a great mystery solved. Who could ask for more?

Most "true-crime" histories are adequate at capturing the details of the evidence, the suspects and the investigation surrounding any given trespass. But the very good ones, like Paul Collins' "The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime that Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars", go beyond that. They provide us with the context, historic and social, behind and around the event. Mr. Collins explores the significance of a woman being a prime suspect in a horrific murder during a time when women weren't taken seriously. He examines xenophobia of the era (when immigrants were flooding into The City) and how the investigation was affected by the fact that the suspects (even the victim) were foreign-born. Even the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, and its coverage by the newspapers, had an effect on the case.

While Collins more than efficiently details the legal antics and forensic investigation of the Guldensuppe murder, we are given the added dimension of the life of late 19th Century New York that made the "murder of the century" the sideshow it was. Collins gleefully describes (and I gleefully enjoyed) the descriptions of a record-setting, sweltering New York summer, the sleepy villages of Queens, and the furious energy of Newspaper Row. Most important, it depicted a New York that was addicted to news and/or diversion. For all his research on these points, Mr. Collins is to be thanked.

Certainly, other murders of the nineteenth century captured the imagination or disgust of New Yorkers: the murders of Helen Jewett, Mary Rogers, Harvey Burdell and Jim Fisk come to mind. But the viciousness, the butchery (ante- and post-mortem) that was visited upon William Guldensuppe had pushed the memories of all previous crimes to the background. And nobody understood this more than the newspapers of the era. Too many books fail to live up to the promise of their subtitles. This book makes good on its promise. As others have noted, the murder is only one half of the book's focus. The other half centers on the Hearst/Pulitzer war and how it was ignited by this crime. (Even the word "war" seems inadequate. This was Total War.) The newspapers provided a unique bridge between the facts emerging from the police investigation and the rumors spreading among the population. But the press not only reported the facts and the rumors about the case, but, more to Mr. Collins' point, the newspapers created the facts and rumors about the case. While we are used to The Fourth Estate lying to us, the era that Collins depicts seemed to buy (literally and figuratively) what reporters had to say. By the end of the book, a reader may wonder "What was the Murder of the Century? The murder of William Guldensuppe or the murder of truthful reporting?" This is the type of history writing that has value. And it is this type of "true-crime" writing that sets Collins' book above the rest in the genre.

Some people compare this book to The Devil in the White City, but truth be told, I prefer THIS book to that one! Try to imagine a cross between "Law & Order" and "CSI," then throw in a little "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," set the story in 1897 and voila - you have The Murder of the Century!

The Martin Thorn murder trial was that era's version of the OJ Simpson trial in the 1990s, replete with media circus, courtesy of (primarily) William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer's New York World. Both papers went beyond simply reporting on the crime of William Gudelsuppe's dismembered body... They actually helped investigate the murder and deserve about as much of the credit for solving the case as the NYPD does! At one point, Hearst even goes so far as to purchase what he believes to be the murder scene so that his paper can have dibs on reporting any new details found by the police.

There are 1892-style "car chases" (involving horses-and-buggies and packs of journalists on bicycles), journalists pocketing potential evidence, webs of lies to sort out, a love triangle or two, jail house visits by the celebrities of the day, etc. Really worth checking out, if you enjoy reading aobut history, true crime and sensational journalism!

Who did it? The author gives his theory, but not until the very end of the book (no, don't worry, I won't give it away).

Nevertheless, the questions about the identity of the headless corpse and who killed the man, and why, are overshadowed in this book by the stunning background the author paints of an era utterly different from our own.

Enormous profits were to be had in sensationalistic newspapers. In New York, Pulitzer and his paper were pitted against the new arrival, Hearst. Hearst was not above offering reporters nice raises to join his paper. In fact, he seems to have bought the majority of his reporters from Pulitzer. Hearst also started running newspapers that included colored cartoons.

Whenever there was a hint of a juicy story, a flood of reporters would fly out the doors and leap onto their bicycles, since there were only a tiny handful of cars in New York at that moment.

The police who investigated the murder were, at first, uninterested and plodding. A headless corpse struck them as yet another medical student prank.

It was only after the newspapers began investigating that the police, clumping along as poor seconds, began to take an interest in the corpse.

And a fine, sensational murder it turned out to be. An illegal abortionist! Adulterous sex! Pulitzer and Hearst and their legions of reporters fell on the story with glee. And they milked it for all it was worth.

A very interesting read.

Get it. Well written. Time hasn't altered the creepy or the story viability. A true story from 1897, it deals with a love triangle & vicious murder of one William Guldensuppe; the New York newspaper coverage of the crime and investigation; the journalism war between Pulitzer and Hearst; trial antics of one of the top New York criminal lawyers of the day and the aftermath. Such an awesome time to be a journalist, out running around loose solving crimes tracking down witnesses! If you've read any of my other reviews you know I'm always whining around about wanting more pictures (or in this case, illustrations). This review is no different : ) There are a few illustrations in the book and I searched on-line to assuage my curiosity.

An amazing story I was surprised I had never heard of. Collins starts the tale as a mystery detective story and draws one in to this tale of murder and journalism. Full of colorful larger than life characters, the story also has elements that are relevant to today's media with its dueling pundits and various versions of the truth. The amount of topics covered by the story is incredible: capital punishment, the beginnings of modern forensics, immigration, legal maneuverings as well as tabloid newspapers. A must read for those interested in true crime and media history.

If you thought the murder of the 19th century might be Lincoln's this book tells that the murder of a guy named Guldensuppe in June of 1897 was transformed into the 19th century's most prominent murder by the Hearst and Pulitzer New York papers. The murder is not a particularly interesting one but those papers made it a sensation. The book is mostly based on the lurid newppaer coverage of the case. The account is of varying interest. One of the accused was represented by William F. Howe, a bellering New York lawyer who got away with things in court which no self-respecting judge should have permitted. And one stands in amazement that alternate jurors could not be selected in New York at the time and for some 33 years thereafter!

An intricate and complex story on a murder in 1890's New York. It's a pretty fascinating stuff with many twists and turns, plus a host of characters who come and go. This after all is reality with a legion of potential witnesses, suspects, meddling reporters and detectives - this is not fiction where the writer can streamline the characters.

The best parts are on the tabloid press competing and interfering or actually doing the investigative work. And interestingly, because this is before the advent of the automobile - the arrested suspects were transported in full view by public transit! The most colourful character is the defence attorney Howe. Most things wrap up in the end. This is a great murder mystery read that exquisitely captures the time period.

An historical true-crime story, told as a ripping good yarn. In turn-of-the-century NYC, the murder(s) aren't even the most colorful characters - that honor goes to dueling newspapermen Joseph Pulitzer and the upstart William Randolph Hearst. The crime becomes the focus of their newspaper rivalry, and their reporters are often doing a better job of investigating than the police. From Hearst's bike-riding "Murder Squad" to Pulitzer's increasing reclusiveness, Collins has a knack for bringing the period to life without ever losing sight of the human stories.

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June 26, 1897, New York. A farmer in Long Island is startled when he finds that his duck pond, and his ducks are red with blood. Meanwhile, two boys playing on a pier on the Lower East Side discover a human floating torso wrapped in oil cloth. In Harlem, blueberry pickers find neatly severed limbs in a ditch.

Who was this mystery man? No witnesses... no suspects, and there was no head.

In the midst of this hideous crime two of the big media moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph's went after the media side of the case without holding back. The headlines battled one another, reporters lurked around looking for suspects, awards were posted for the finding of the head and even children took to the streets for a chance at winning the loot.

Considering this is based on a true crime... truth really can be staggering than fiction.

In the end, what is discovered is beyond imagination for the time....

Murder of The Century was interesting. I had not considered before what newspapers went through to get the big scoop and in this read you discover that not too much is off-limits, including one part where the one newspaper company sends all of its reporters out to cut the lines on the phone booths so when the other newspaper got there to call in their notes, they would not be able to.

As the murder unfolds and people come forward a trial starts that is also quiet interesting and eventually a solution to the crime that is both surprising and through provoking.

My only complaint is that somewhere int he middle it bogged down.... suddenly the audio felt long and I was waiting to get interested again, which I did... but not a big fan of books or audio that drag out.

Fans of true crime I think will enjoy this for the amazing story and a gruesome crime that is unthinkable and when you hear the motive behind it....

Perhaps author Paul Collins and Crown Publishers could have come up with a shorter title but they couldn't have given us a more rousing story. Collins manages to offer hard history in a story telling style that reads as good as any detective novel.

The Murder of the Century is about, as you might guess, a murder. But more than that it is the story of how journalism became sensationalism and truth learned to play second fiddle to headlines that sell. Long before CNN, MSNBC and FOX News, Joseph Pultizer and William Randolph Hearst were betting their fortunes on creating a new kind of media.

Ironically, Pulitzer is now remembered for the likes of iconic Pulitzer Prize winning authors, Harper Lee and William Faulkner. But in 1897, he and Hearst all but invented yellow journalism. Pulitzer would spend the end of his life trying to build a different legacy and Hearst was later immortalized in the movie Citizen Kane.

Behind this is a story of a headless body found in the James River, a new fangled execution device called the electric chair, and a police department that needed to be whipped into shape by a young man by the name of Teddy Roosevelt. Like so many news stories today, the media became the star and the actual players in the murder mystery took a back seat.

In fairness to those players, The Murder of the Century involved a twisted love affair. The principle suspects in the murder were Augusta Nack and Martin Thorn. Mrs. Nack was a mid-wife rumored to have performed hundreds of abortions. Thorn was a barber who had a fling with Mrs. Nack and killed her husband with her help. Or so the story went. Thorn ultimately died in the electric chair and Mrs. Nack lived like a celebrity in prison for a few years before living out the rest of her life in New York City where she had grown famous.

How the papers covered the story and millions followed it is all but incredible. The papers invented color pictures just for the trial. They even created their own version of Twitter in a telegraph age. Champion homing pigeons were brought from Europe to relay court room artist's sketches back to the news rooms for mid-day extras.

Collins masterfully immerses the reader into a New York City both foreign and amazingly similar to today. Instant news punctuated by sound bites for the masses hungry to be told what to think abounded. In the end, it is likely the real mastermind of the murder walked the streets of New York free for years to come. Mr. Thorn was not so lucky.

This book sort of has two parallel stories: the thirst to be first of William Randolph Hearst (I really did not plan that. Seriously!), and a murder mystery.

It shows the battling papers of New York, especially Pulitzer and Hearst, doing virtually everything to get the story first, and resorting to making up 'news' when there wasn't any. You see the beginnings of rags instead of quality reporting that unfortunately continues today in print and televised 'news.'

The story begins with a dismembered body and outlines the work done to identify first the body and then who committed the crime. The reader also sees the beginnings of forensic science (fingerprints weren't considered evidence at that time)---how bits of evidence can lead you to the truth.

A very absorbing read, I couldn't put it down.

It is a very interesting story. It parallels an interesting case and the beggining of forensic techniques with the beggining of the press wars and the manipulation they make in order to sell more papers. The comments here regarding lose stories, are in my opinion, not well foundamented. It is true that the author does not follows the history of each person they mention, but the main story is there. It is also a trick used by the author to create suspense. It does not have the beautiful writing and description of Erik Larson; regards, it is a very good and enjoyable book. Highly reccomended

Wonderfully researched and brilliantly written, this book is about a true-life murder in New York City at around the turn of the 20th century. The book tells two stories; the murder, capture and trial of the accused and how publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst battled for the attention of the readers. The story of the tabloid wars is as interesting (if not more so) then the actual murder story. You'll find yourself caught up in both stories - a brilliant book.

In 1897, some boys swimming in Manhattan's East River found a floating package covered with oil cloth and secured with rope. It turned out to be part of a man's torso. The police first thought that it was a prank of the local medical students, notorious for leaving bits of their study cadavers about, but more bits of the same body, some packaged in the same cloth, turned up. The head of the desceased was never found. A media frenzy, led by William Randolph Hearst's Journal and Evening Journal newpspaers, closely but somewhat ineptly followed by Joseph Pulitizer's World resulted, with the papers generally somewhat ahead of the police in finding clues.

Fairly quickly it was deemed likely that the deceased was one Christian W. Guldensuppe, a masseur who had gone missing. The powerful build of the torso, combined with soft hands (so not a laborer) and an unusual circumcision (that part not mentioned in the press) was the basis of the identification. It became evident that Guldensuppe had been in conflict with Martin Thorn, a barber, for the favor of August Nack, a well-dressed abortionist. Probably what had happened is that Nack and Thorn had acted jointly to murder Guldensuppe in a rented house on Long Island; but only Thorn was executed. Nack escaped by confessing to some involvement with the crime but claiming that Thorn did all the killing, saying she went along out of fear of Thorn (the prosaic option of telling the police that she feared Thorn was of course never considered). The author tells the story in way that keeps the reader's interest.