I recently watched Michael Mann’s Public Enemies for the first time since its 2009 theatrical release. Based on Bryan Burrough’s excellent 2004 book of the same name, it narrows the focus of the sprawling book to the cat-and-mouse game played by bank robber John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis, special agent in charge of the Chicago … Continue reading Grappling With the Instinctive – and Unnecessary – Fictionalization of History
Category: Al Capone
Organizing by themes VIII: True crime
This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading "data-driven storytelling." In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically. Having written extensively about film noir and Charlie Chan films and detective fiction—and my maternal grandfather who … Continue reading Organizing by themes VIII: True crime
Why I chose…Murder, Inc.
In my last post, I described the Facebook seven-day book challenge I completed May 16 (seven covers over seven days, no explanations). Freed from the challenge rules governing, however, I now explain my choices. In this post, I explore my fascination with true crime by discussing… Fictional crime has fascinated me since I was seven … Continue reading Why I chose…Murder, Inc.
Just Bear With Me... 