At 11:47 pm on January 14, 2019, I parked my black Accord on Salem Street, in front of the ironically-named Brookline Bank; behind where I sat was the rotary where one accesses I-93 from MA-60—or continues along MA-60 into Medford Center. The drive from Brookline, including stops at an ATM and my old Star Market … Continue reading Her name was Elizabeth Short…
Category: Crime
Was Jack the Ripper Jewish?
“In saying that he was a Polish Jew I am merely stating a definitely ascertained fact.” [1]. Sir Robert Anderson wrote this sentence on page 138 of his 1910 memoir The Lighter Side of My Life. Its context may be found in a preceding paragraph: “And the conclusion we came to was that he and … Continue reading Was Jack the Ripper Jewish?
And for my 100th post…100 random facts (about me)
This is post #100; thank you for continuing to “just bear with me.” December 19 is also the two-year anniversary of this site’s launch (so I should gift myself either cotton or china, and it should be red). To honor this symmetry, and to lighten the mood from my previous three posts (dealing—however obliquely—with the … Continue reading And for my 100th post…100 random facts (about me)
Why I chose…Naked City and More Than Night
My matriculation at Yale must have been even more formative than I realized because I have referenced my time there in four consecutive posts—five counting this one. One reason my college years have been so front-of-mind is that my 30-year reunion was held this past weekend (May 24-27, 2018). I put off deciding whether to … Continue reading Why I chose…Naked City and More Than Night
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.
Two worlds collided…
(with apologies to INXS). One of the unanticipated pleasures of writing my book is that I get to spend hours reading old newspapers. This is an amateur historian’s idea of heaven. Last August, I introduced a key character in my book: a powerful Philadelphia attorney named Herman M. Modell. Modell, who knew my father and … Continue reading Two worlds collided…
What if Dewey HAD defeated Truman…
This is one of the most iconic photographs in American history. Easy as it is now to mock the editors of the Chicago Tribune for jumping the gun on the 1948 presidential election, they were merely anticipating what Americans thought was going to happen: incumbent Democratic president Harry S Truman (who had become president in … Continue reading What if Dewey HAD defeated Truman…
Just Bear With Me... 