Bøger af Michael Benson

A tremendous history lesson and essential reading for everyone in the Rochester area. You'll recognize the locations and find interest in how those places looked 140 years ago. Book tells the story of five murders, all taking place in the City of Rochester, N.Y., during the latter decades of the nineteenth century. The first story, which takes up the first half of the book, is about the home invasion murder of a young wife and mother. Her body is found in the cellar, a flour sack tied tightly around her neck and her skirts hiked up. At first, of course, the husband was arrested, amid rumors that he and his wife, along with another couple, were swingers. But he was released in favor of a preferable suspect, a damaged young tramp who'd been floating around the Hayward Avenue neighborhood looking for food. In another story, the resort town of Charlotte (that's Cha'LOT to Rochesterians) where the rich went to play along the crystal clear waters of Lake Ontario. At night it was where the pick pockets and the thugs went to fleece drunks who still had money in their pockets. After our victim checks into a hotel for the night complaining he'd been mugged, he dies overnight from brain swelling. Who bonked him on the head. The answer seems to come the next day when a man is going around trying to sell the victim's watch. In another story, brother kills brother. Book spans the last years of the gallows in Monroe County, and the first of the new-fangled electric chair.

Rochester, N.Y., is known for many things, great food, lilacs, innovative supermarkets, minor league baseball, and-unfortunately-crime. This heavily-illustrated book covers some of the most spectacular crimes in the Rochester area's history, written by true-crime master Michael Benson, who grew up in the town of Chili. Read about serial killers Arthur Shawcross and Robert Bruce Spahalski, the savage murders of Kathy Bernhard and George-Ann Formicola, the all-in-the-family murders of Tabatha Bryant and Jim Tan, the hunt for Bucky Phillips, the disappearance of Flossie Wilbur, plus much more. Many shocking photos.

A compilation of six fascinating historical true crime stories, all geographically attached or close to the author's childhood home. There's Killer of the Cloth, The Baby in the Convent, Mosquito Point Road, Death of a First Baseman, The Blue Gardenia, and Pure/Evil. Three of the killers are female.

The sensational, lurid, and wickedly entertaining true story of the brothers who invented Hollywood to become the godfathers of cinema - movie moguls Nicholas and Joseph Schenck - studded with glamorous stars, scandals, mobsters, murders, and one legendary blond bombshell. . .Groundbreaking pioneers of the Hollywood Dream Factory, Joseph and Nicholas Schenck may not have been household names like the Warner brothers or Louis B. Mayer, but they were infinitely more powerful, influential—and ruthless. A pair of Russian immigrants with giant ambitions, the Schencks turned their small nickelodeon business in New York’s Bowery into a partnership with Loew’s movie theaters and a controlling interest in three major studios: MGM, 20th Century Fox, and United Artists. They painted the silver screen silver, laid the foundations for the all-powerful studio system, and ruled a global movie empire from their Gatsby-sized mansions on the East and West coasts. The Schencks had become moguls.Their story is the stuff of legends—and their scandals are among the greatest stories Hollywood never told. This riveting, behind-the-scenes account reveals the suprising truth about:The union-busting mob deal that landed Joe Schenck in federal prison for four years—on tax evasion charges including deductions for a menage a trois.The cutthroat and merciless political maneuvering that defined the Hollywood studio heads.The lurid murder charges against silent film star “Fatty” Arbuckle—whose legal defense was paid for by Joe Schenck.Joe’s secret infatuation with Marilyn Monroe, even though Marilyn’s mother named her Norma after Joe’s wife!The brothers’ ingenious creation of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the Oscars—and indomitable control over the entire film industry.From the earliest days of silent films and the swinging era of the Roaring Twenties, through the Golden Age of the studio system and the patriotic call of WWII, to the Red Scare paranoia of the McCarthy years, the history of the Schenck brothers is the story of Hollywood itself—and the endurng power of the American Dream. Moguls is a must-read for film fans, history buffs, and anyone who loves the movies.

Set in 1977, The Tenderloin tells the sometimes funny, sometime heartbreaking story of two naive young men who engage in a "social experiment" to "look for America." Journeying from Upstate New York to the San Francisco Bay, they discover the American Dream is more like an American Nightmare.

You probably know part of the Zodiac story. The guy killed five, wounded two, wrote letters in code, and drew tremendous press. There was a great movie about the case. But true crime veteran Michael Benson is taking a brand new look at that most-interesting of cold cases, coming from the mindset that the Zodiac's combination of diverse killing styles, codemaking, and letter writing means more than one guy was involved. The Zodiac has team-work written all over it. And so, perhaps, a Zodiac Club. Many Zodiac experts assume that, in later Zodiac letters when "he" wrote the San Francisco Examiner letters claiming a prolific kill count, that the guy responsible for the murders of Betty Lou Jensen, David Faraday, Darlene Ferrin, Cecilia Shephard, and Paul Stine (and maybe Cheri Jo Bates) was just bragging about the other forty or so. Benson looks at it another way. All of them could have been the Zodiac, if the Zodiac was a psycho squad not a lone nut. Each and every victim gets Benson's full attention and, as the body count grows, there is ongoing analysis involving hard and circumstantial evidence, commonalities between the murders, geographic profiling, and pertinent connections to known Zodiac suspects. Many murders are examined. It was the era of serial murder, an epidemic, especially bad in northern California where privacy, seclusion, dusty wilderness, and hitchhiking were prevalent. Some of these cases were found to be not the Zodiac at all, but perhaps a glimpse at the early work of a Ted Bundy, Ed Kemper, "Golden State Killer" Joseph DeAngelo, and other known killers, the next wave of psycho serial carnage.

There was a time when New York City was dying a fast death. The slums were warzones, the government bankrupt and sputtering. Mobsters disassembled one another nightly and dropped hefty bags off the Canarsie pier. Drug use was rampant, supplied by the most efficient black market since prohibition. Gangs rumbled in the city's playgrounds, each battle busted up by the sound of gunfire or a police siren. Co-eds from out of town were raped and sent home shattered. Large sections of real estate, former ghettos, were now ghost towns, abandoned, burnt, and left to the squatters. It was a city of vacant lots turned dumpsite, a city in which four murders a night was the norm, where pedestrians routinely dodged angel-dust timebombs and young savage baby boomers washed down black beauties with Rheingold out of a can, where each glance into the shadows was an assault upon civilized sensibilities, a derelict Big Apple, rotten at the core, with no signs of hope.And for a year, there was the scariest shadow of them all, Son of Sam, a terrifying spectre of sadism, and ritualistic blood sacrifice. From a new point of view, this book will take an unblinking look at the deadly events as they unfolded against a backdrop of a moribund metropolis. For the first time, using dozens of first-time interviews with terrorized victims, mostly women, The Wicked King Wicker will examine the psychology of fear mastered by the purported serial killer.

So you think you're smarter than a fifth grader? Well, as many contestants have already discovered on the smash hit TV show hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, you may have either forgotten more than you realize about "the three R's" or simply never learned in the first place! How much do you really know about third grade math? Fourth grade social studies? Fifth grade science? First grade spelling?You may have a high school diploma or a college degree hanging on your wall, but are you smarter than a fifth grader? You'll find out in this book, which includes brain-teasing ten-question quizzes (including million-dollar bonus questions) on information the average eleven-year-old is expected to know--plus there are great bits of fun and fascinating trivia sprinkled throughout. Go ahead--we dare you to prove you're as bright as that gum-chewing kid with the backpack who's waiting on the corner for that yellow bus every morning. School is back in session. And maybe you'll even learn a thing or two that you missed by not paying attention the first time around.

In Why the Grateful Dead Matter, veteran writer and lifelong Deadhead Michael Benson argues that the Grateful Dead are not simply a successful rock-and-roll band but a phenomenon central to American culture.

The stunning true story of the rise of Nazism in America in the years leading to WWII—and the fearless Jewish gangsters and crime families who joined forces to fight back. With an intense cinematic style, acclaimed nonfiction crime author Michael Benson reveals the thrilling role of Jewish mobsters like Bugsy Siegel in stomping out the terrifying tide of Nazi sympathizers during the 1930s and 1940s. Goodreads Top Nonfiction of 2022“[A] masterpiece. One of the most rivetingly relevant reads I’ve ever encountered.” —Jon Land, Providence JournalAs Adolph Hitler rose to power in 1930s Germany, a growing wave of fascism began to take root on American soil. Nazi activists started to gather in major American cities, and by 1933, there were more than one-hundred anti-Semitic groups operating openly in the United States. Few Americans dared to speak out or fight back—until an organized resistance of notorious mobsters waged their own personal war against the Nazis in their midst. Gangland-style. . . .In this thrilling blow-by-blow account, acclaimed crime writer Michael Benson uncovers the shocking truth about the insidious rise of Nazism in America—and the Jewish mobsters who stomped it out. Learn about:* Nazi Town, USA: How one Long Island community named a street after Hitler, decorated buildings with swastikas, and set up a camp to teach US citizens how to goosestep.* Meyer Lansky and Murder Inc.: How a Jewish mob accountant led fifteen goons on a joint family mission to bust heads at a Brown Shirt rally in Manhattan.* Fritz Kuhn, “The Vest-Pocket Hitler”: How a German immigrant spread Nazi propaganda through the American Bund in New York City—with 70 branches across the US.* Newark Nazis vs The Minutemen: How a Jewish resistance group, led by a prize fighter and bootlegger for the mob, waged war on the Bund in the streets of Newark.* Hitler in Hollywoodland: How Sunset Strip kingpin Mickey Cohen knocked two Brown Shirters’ heads together—and became the West Coast champion in the mob’s war on Nazis.Packed with surprising, little-known facts, graphic details, and unforgettable personalities, Gangsters vs. Nazis chronicles the mob’s most ruthless tactics in taking down fascism—inspiring ordinary Americans to join them in their fight. The book culminates in one of the most infamous events of the pre-war era—the 1939 Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden—in which law-abiding citizens stood alongside hardened criminals to fight for the soul of a nation. This is the story of the mob that’s rarely told—one of the most fascinating chapters in American history and American organized crime. “A must-read.” —Larry Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers “A fascinating and entertaining read.” —The Epoch Times

Brooklyn to Baghdad is the true story of a retired NYPD intelligence sergeant applying his street-cop tactics and interrogation skills against a lethal insurgency that had infected Iraq. A group of retired Special Forces soldiers and law enforcement experts came together to form the counterinsurgency group codenamed "e;Phoenix Team."e; Exposing the corruption of both the Iraqi and US governments, the team faced serious setbacks and challenges. Brooklyn to Baghdad shows the effectiveness of Phoenix Team, their ability to process forensic evidence and human intelligence gleaned through interrogations at the point of capture to provide direct targeting for follow-on missions. This memoir also illustrates the politics of Washington, DC, and the US Army in the war-fighting effort, which continually hampered complete success while simultaneously preserving career aspirations. Throughout are many humorous and emotional anecdotes that reveal the men behind the missions and the toll the theater of war takes on real human lives

The shocking true story of the most ruthless and deadly mob boss in the annals of the American Mafia. In the golden age of organized crime, Carmine "The Snake" Persico was the King of the Streets. The defacto boss of the Colombo Mafia family since the 1970s, he oversaw gang wars, murders, and major rackets, even from prison. He is suspected of personally murdering as many as 60 people and ordering the hits of hundreds more. Sentenced to 139 years in the fed, he continued to exert power over a vast criminal empire from behind bars. His brutal rise and bloody reign is the stuff of Mafia legend. In this blistering street-level account, "Mafia survivor" Frank Dimatteo teams up with true-crime master Michael Benson to take down one of the most notorious figures in the American La Cosa Nostra. This is the terrifying inside story of Carmine "The Snake" Persico, from his crime-filled childhood on the streets of Brooklyn to the longterm jail sentences that didn't stop him from controlling his criminal empire with the help of his brother, the equally kill-crazy Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico.

Synopsis coming soon.......

"It's all about sex. Good sex. When a client comes to me about a cheating wife or husband, that's my first question: 'How's your sex life?' People might get married for money, but they cheat because it feels good."--Vinny Television viewers know New York City private investigator Vinny Parco from his show Parco, P.I. on Court TV®. In real life, Parco owns a private investigation firm and for years, has caught numerous husbands in the act of cheating on their spouses--and sometimes wives cheating on their husbands. How does he manage to nail cheaters again and again on tape and film? Now this veteran P.I. shares the scoop on his most outrageous cases, and shows you how to get the truth--as well as the divorce settlement you deserve--by: Spotting the classic clues of an adulterous spouse, from changes in spending habits to changes in clothing. . .Identifying your spouse's partner-in-crime--they're often hiding in plain sight. . .What to look for when hiring a P.I. . . .The vital roles you can play in the investigation. . .Inside advice to anyone who's trying to get away with cheating. . .And much more! "Searing drama."--Entertainment Weekly on Parco, P.I. Vinny Parco is president of Intercontinental Investigations, Inc. and the star of the Court-TV® reality show Parco, P.I. He has appeared on ABC News, Inside Report, CNN, CBS News, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The Devil at Genesee Junction recalls the mutilation murders of George-Ann Formiciola and Catherine Ann Bernhard that happened in June 1966 in the backfields of Chili, NY. The author, along with the help of a mother of one of the victims and a private detective, heats up the cold case, and sends the investigation in a startling new direction.

An easy-to-understand guide to blackjack's basic strategy and card counting.

A comprehensive encyclopedia of the grounds, yards and stadiums used for organized baseball from the invention of the sport in the 1840s to the present. It includes entries that give the location of the park, who played there and when, home run dimensions, seating capacity, architectural comments, attendance records, and anecdotes.

This encyclopedic listing of every man who played on or coached the New York Knicks from the team's inception in 1946 to the present is jam-packed with details on everything from a player's careers statistics to his height, weight, and jersey number. Included is information about a player's life before and after the NBA, college career, and dates of birth and death. Relive the glory days of Bill Bradley, Walter "e;Cylde the Glide"e; Frazier, Patrick Ewing, Bob McAdoo, Dave DeBusschere, and all the other Knickerbockers in this comprehensive guide to Madison Square Garden's most famous denizens.