Thanks to an enhancement to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, several of my self-published titles are now available in hardcover: The Writing Master: The Story of the Gentleman-Thief and Forger, James B. CrosseThe American Prize Ring: Its Battles, Its Wrangles, and Its Heroes, 1812-1881King of Burglars: The Heist Stories of Max ShinburnA Boy Naturalist In the... Continue Reading →
The American Prize Ring : a history of bare-knuckle prizefights
I have been exposed to old issues of the National Police Gazette for many years, as I was researching the exploits of Nellie King; the forger James B. Crosse; and the hosts of criminals profiled by Thomas Byrnes. In doing so I noticed that issues in 1880 and 1881 contained a weekly column by William... Continue Reading →
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot: Exploring an American Folk Legend
I've completed a (third) blog project that once again looks at the traditions of infamous criminals in America. The previous two projects were: Professional Criminals of America--REVISED Asbury's The Gangs of New York -- Annotated In this new project I've gone back further in time and concentrated on two specific individuals: the highwaymen Captain Thunderbolt... Continue Reading →
204 Criminals Later…
Professional Criminals of America REVISED About a week ago, I finished researching and updating the last of the 204 criminal profiles included in Thomas Byrnes's 1886 edition of Professional Criminals of America. This had been a year-long project, and one that I undertook thinking that the result might be adapted to print format. However, after... Continue Reading →