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The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America
W. W. Norton
March 2014
On Sale: February 18, 2014
256 pages
ISBN: 0393239284
EAN: 9780393239287
Kindle: B00DX5X93Y
Hardcover / e-Book
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True Crime
At last, the true story of a crime that shocked the world. New York City, 1964. A young woman is stabbed to death on her front stoopβa murder the New York Times called βa frozen moment of dramatic, disturbing social change.β The victim, Catherine βKittyβ Genovese, became an urban martyr, butchered by a sociopathic killer in plain sight of thirty-eight neighbors who βdidnβt want to get involved.β Her sensational case provoked an anxious outcry and launched a sociological theory known as the βBystander Effect.β Thatβs the narrative told by the Times, movies, TV programs, and countless psychology textbooks. But as award-winning author Kevin Cook reveals, the Genovese story is just that, a story. The truth is far more compellingβand so is the victim. Now, on the fiftieth anniversary of her murder, Cook presents the real Kitty Genovese. She was a vibrant young womanβunbeknownst to most, a lesbianβa bartender working (and dancing) her way through the colorful, fast-changing New York of the β60s, a cultural kaleidoscope marred by the Kennedy assassination, the Cold War, and race riots. Downtown, Greenwich Village teemed with beatniks, folkies, and so-called misfits like Kitty and her lover. Kitty Genovese evokes the Villageβs gay and lesbian underground with deep feeling and colorful detail. Cook also reconstructs the crime itself, tracing the movements of Genoveseβs killer, Winston Moseley, whose disturbing trial testimony made him a terrifying figure to police and citizens alike, especially after his escape from Attica State Prison. Drawing on a trove of long-lost documents, plus new interviews with her lover and other key figures, Cook explores the enduring legacy of the case. His heartbreaking account of what really happened on the night Genovese died is the most accurate and chilling to date.
 Media BuzzAll Things Considered - April 5, 2016
All Things Considered - March 3, 2014
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