Library Journal: Schechter (American literature, Queens Coll., CUNY; The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century ) has put together a sweeping anthology covering the history of crime in America and showcasing some of the best American crime writing. Arranged by publication date, the selections are mostly magazine-length retellings of American crimes, including Puritan execution sermons, murder ballads, and cringe-worthy heinous accounts. The authors selected vary from the colonial (e.g., Benjamin Franklin) to the literary (e.g., Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Truman Capote) to current best-selling experts (e.g., Dominick Dunne, Ann Rule, Calvin Trillin, James Ellroy). The all-too-familiar tales are here-Leopold and Loeb, Charles Manson, Son of Sam-but Schechter also includes some stories that received less press and may be new to readers, like the 1930s case of the Cleveland "butcher" and the 1873 axe murders on Smutty Nose Island, NH. Readers will find it difficult to put down this delightful treasury encompassing some of the best crime writing from colonial times to today. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.-Karen Sandlin Silverman, Library Svcs., Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia