Six new books to check out in May
Punk in the age of Reagan, American outlaws, the history of axe murder, and more.
Good excuse this week to upload a Dead Kennedys photo. Plus: mid-century London serial killings, CIA mind control, “Western lore and nasty desperadoes,” and one infamous “bootlegging, bank-robbing, husband-wife duo.”
From the publisher: “The tale of two journalists competing to solve the notorious Christie murders in postwar London.” From my interview with Kate Summerscale: “It’s a story about a serial killer, how he operated, how he got away with it for so long, but also about this very politically charged possible miscarriage of justice.” (Penguin Press, May 6)
From the publisher: “A riveting, deeply researched, blood-on-the-spurs biography of Belle Starr, the most legendary female outlaw of the American West.” Kirkus Reviews: “Journalist and author Huckelbridge has conjured up one heck of a Wild West tale about a ‘whiskey-drinking, horse-thieving, gunslinging double widow’ that is chock-full of Western lore and nasty desperadoes.” (William Morrow, May 13)
From the publisher: “A brilliant and bloody examination of the axe’s foundational role in human history, from prehistoric violence, to war and executions, to newspaper headlines and popular culture.” Publishers Weekly: “Little here feels revelatory, but James keeps the pages turning. It’s a bit of macabre fun.” (St. Martin’s, May 13)
From the publisher: “The inside story of the CIA’s secret mind control project, MKULTRA, using never-before-seen testimony from the perpetrators themselves.” Publishers Weekly (starred): “Declining to delve into conspiracy (the mind control experiments were not successful, he reassures), Lisle instead pinpoints institutional failures that led to a feedback loop of secrecy. It’s a stark portrait of horrifying government abuse.” (St. Martin’s Press, May 20)
From the publisher: “Few politicians produced the musical reaction that Ronald Reagan did. … Punk bands across the United States took aim at the man, his presidency, and the idea of America he was selling to voters nationwide. … In candid detail, Fitzgerald shows how these lyrics illustrated what young adults felt and how they reacted to one of the most influential and divisive leaders of the era.” (University of North Carolina Press, May 27)
From the publisher: “Gangsters. Lovers. Legends. Meet the Kellys—the bootlegging, bank-robbing, husband-wife duo known as ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly and Kathyrn Thorne—who masterminded one of the most infamous kidnappings in American crime.” Kirkus: “This propulsive and thoroughly researched true-crime account will especially please fans of Depression-era gangster stories as it helps to elevate George and Kathryn to the same iconic strata as Bonnie and Clyde.” (Citadel, May 27)