
Popular Crime
Reflections on the Celebration of Violence
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $26.24
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kyle Tait
-
By:
-
Bill James
About this listen
From the one-of-a-kind mind of Bill James, famous for revolutionizing the way we think about baseball, comes a “thought-provoking meditation” (Seattle Times) and epic tour through American crime.
The man who revolutionized the way we think about baseball examines our cultural obsession with murder—delivering a unique, engrossing, brilliant history of tabloid crime in America.
Celebrated writer and contrarian Bill James has voraciously read true crime throughout his life and has been interested in writing a book on the topic for decades. With Popular Crime, James takes listeners on an epic journey from Lizzie Borden to the Lindbergh baby, from the Black Dahlia to O. J. Simpson, explaining how crimes have been committed, investigated, prosecuted and written about, and how that has profoundly influenced our culture over the last few centuries—even if we haven’t always taken notice.
Exploring such phenomena as serial murder, the fluctuation of crime rates, the value of evidence, radicalism and crime, prison reform and the hidden ways in which crimes have shaped, or reflected, our society, James chronicles murder and misdeeds from the 1600s to the present day. James pays particular attention to crimes that were sensations during their time but have faded into obscurity, as well as still-famous cases, some that have never been solved, including the Lindbergh kidnapping, the Boston Strangler and JonBenet Ramsey. Satisfyingly sprawling and tremendously entertaining, Popular Crime is a professed amateur’s powerful examination of the incredible impact crime stories have on our society, culture and history.
©2023 Bill James (P)2023 Simon & Schuster AudioPeople who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Man from the Train
- The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
- By: Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
-
-
Repetitive and Frustrating
- By Heather L. on 02-22-18
By: Bill James, and others
-
Shrunk
- Crime and Disorders of the Mind
- By: Dr. J. Thomas Dalby et al, Lorene Shyba PhD - editor
- Narrated by: Gerald Gibson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shrunk: Crime and Disorders of the Mind is a collection of powerful chapters by eminent forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who write about mental health issues they face and what they are doing about it. Unlike any other book within the genre of True Crime, Shrunk is the first book that delves deeply into the disturbed human psyche to help build a solution to the problem of understanding mental illness within the criminal justice system.
-
-
it's A text book
- By Martin See on 04-21-23
By: Dr. J. Thomas Dalby et al, and others
-
Obsessed
- A Survivor's Quest to Find the Lost Boys of New England
- By: David McGrath
- Narrated by: Dean Michaels
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tranquil towns of New England during the 1970s, a sinister mystery unfolded when several boys vanished without a trace, and the community’s peace was shattered. One boy’s body was found years later, but what happened to the others remained a mystery. In 2013, author David McGrath, a former host on the Law Enforcement Today Network and an investigator with a relentless drive for justice, watched a documentary about the missing boys.
By: David McGrath
-
Demons in the Golden Empire
- Gonzalo Pizarro During the Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire (Hispanic American Heritage Stories)
- By: Marcos Antonio Hernandez
- Narrated by: Giancarlo Herrera, Hannah Schooner
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Realm of the Four Parts, 1532. Gonzalo Pizarro craves the recognition received by his brother Francisco. When the young Spaniard helps capture the Incan Emperor against overwhelming odds, he’s convinced that God himself smiles on their expedition.
-
A People's History of the Supreme Court
- The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution
- By: Peter Irons, Howard Zinn - foreword
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 28 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A comprehensive history of the people and cases that have changed history, this is the definitive account of the nation's highest court.
-
-
Really enjoyed this book
- By Paul on 02-19-20
By: Peter Irons, and others
-
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
- By: Baltasar Gracian
- Narrated by: John Riddle
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"The Art of Worldly Wisdom" is a timeless guidebook to navigating life's challenges with wisdom and prudence. Composed of 300 concise aphorisms, this work by Spanish Jesuit philosopher Baltasar Gracián offers practical advice on topics ranging from social interaction to personal development.
By: Baltasar Gracian
-
The Man from the Train
- The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
- By: Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
-
-
Repetitive and Frustrating
- By Heather L. on 02-22-18
By: Bill James, and others
-
Shrunk
- Crime and Disorders of the Mind
- By: Dr. J. Thomas Dalby et al, Lorene Shyba PhD - editor
- Narrated by: Gerald Gibson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shrunk: Crime and Disorders of the Mind is a collection of powerful chapters by eminent forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who write about mental health issues they face and what they are doing about it. Unlike any other book within the genre of True Crime, Shrunk is the first book that delves deeply into the disturbed human psyche to help build a solution to the problem of understanding mental illness within the criminal justice system.
-
-
it's A text book
- By Martin See on 04-21-23
By: Dr. J. Thomas Dalby et al, and others
-
Obsessed
- A Survivor's Quest to Find the Lost Boys of New England
- By: David McGrath
- Narrated by: Dean Michaels
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the tranquil towns of New England during the 1970s, a sinister mystery unfolded when several boys vanished without a trace, and the community’s peace was shattered. One boy’s body was found years later, but what happened to the others remained a mystery. In 2013, author David McGrath, a former host on the Law Enforcement Today Network and an investigator with a relentless drive for justice, watched a documentary about the missing boys.
By: David McGrath
-
Demons in the Golden Empire
- Gonzalo Pizarro During the Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire (Hispanic American Heritage Stories)
- By: Marcos Antonio Hernandez
- Narrated by: Giancarlo Herrera, Hannah Schooner
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Realm of the Four Parts, 1532. Gonzalo Pizarro craves the recognition received by his brother Francisco. When the young Spaniard helps capture the Incan Emperor against overwhelming odds, he’s convinced that God himself smiles on their expedition.
-
A People's History of the Supreme Court
- The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution
- By: Peter Irons, Howard Zinn - foreword
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 28 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A comprehensive history of the people and cases that have changed history, this is the definitive account of the nation's highest court.
-
-
Really enjoyed this book
- By Paul on 02-19-20
By: Peter Irons, and others
-
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
- By: Baltasar Gracian
- Narrated by: John Riddle
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"The Art of Worldly Wisdom" is a timeless guidebook to navigating life's challenges with wisdom and prudence. Composed of 300 concise aphorisms, this work by Spanish Jesuit philosopher Baltasar Gracián offers practical advice on topics ranging from social interaction to personal development.
By: Baltasar Gracian
What listeners say about Popular Crime
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sean
- 03-30-24
Interesting ideas
A very thoughtful and well written book. Straightforward style without being preachy. A very objective look at how crimes and their notoriety. Start in the first place and have an effect on society. Very worthwhile read in my opinion.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Manny
- 03-21-24
Pretty entertaining
Well worth a listen if you are into true crime, as someone who is well versed in true crime this is worth a listen. Not your typical “ Ted bundy was a bad guy he did this and that.” I do find it funny that James shits on a ton of writers and their books in this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful