In Cold Blood | 
|  | | | Title: | In Cold Blood | | Author: | Truman Capote | | Publisher: | Vintage | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 01 February, 1994 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0679745580 / 9780679745587 | | List Price: | $14.00 | | You Save: | $2.80 | | Amazon Price: | $11.20 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.
Amazon.com
"Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." If all Truman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with the language and structure of literature--this "nonfiction novel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by two would-be robbers would be remembered as a trail-blazing experiment that has influenced countless writers. But Capote achieved more than that. He wrote a true masterpiece of creative nonfiction. The images of this tale continue to resonate in our minds: 16-year-old Nancy Clutter teaching a friend how to bake a cherry pie, Dick Hickock's black '49 Chevrolet sedan, Perry Smith's Gibson guitar and his dreams of gold in a tropical paradise--the blood on the walls and the final "thud-snap" of the rope-broken necks.
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Customer Reviews:
• Shoddy Printing Will Give You Motion Sickness 07 June, 2008
Wanted my own copy of this book that passed around the neighborhood and my teenaged friends in paperback form in the 1960s. UNFORTUNATELY, the botched print job with its lines slanting below the horizontal and its v-shaped interior margins make me nauseated. It's not even a decent pinchbeck. I'd rather have our old creased, rumpled, greasy, coming loose paperback.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3YWN07407CQH
• Compelling And Engrossing 08 June, 2008
From beginning to end, I found this book to be one of the most compelling stories I've ever read. Truman Capote reconstructs this true life story in a way only a master storyteller can. He weaves the plot together in sequential order, allowing the reader to experience the crime and its aftermath just as the Kansas community did. Further, his character development is utterly flawless. I found myself haunted by the book long after I closed its cover. This account demonstrates Capote's immense talent as a writer, and it is a must read for those wishing to become familiar with Capote and those who enjoy true crime accounts or engrossing non-fiction.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A23Y0HWHVVNCET
• A "tru Man" Capote 27 May, 2008
After viewing "Capote", the biographic film of Truman Capote's coverage of the horrendous slaughter of a Kansas family, we wanted to review the book and film of the murder. Even after all these years, the book still holds up as the hallmark for True Crime Novels. Capote certainly succeeded in capturing an audience for this type of novel.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2NUKX0A68PK5U
• Still Haunting 43 Year Later 11 April, 2008
Strange to think how, in this post-Manson, post-9/11 world, Capote's account of murder in rural Kansas can still have such emotional resonance and power.
Where to begin with praise for this work. The writing is sublime. Capote's style is economical yet profoundly evocative. He manages to convey so much of the people, the places, the events and the emotions without an excess of prose.
Having learned some of the back story thanks to biographies and recent films, I am amazed at Capote's light touch - how he allowed the characters and events to bring out the story. True, an author always leads the reader's eyes to particular events and impressions. But Capote's deft compositional choices deepen the narrative and bring forth greater complexity and emotional facets. In some instances, he seems to share only portions of what he knows or suspects leaving the rest to the reader's intelligence and imagination. Given today's seemingly insatiable desire to be shown every lurid outrageous detail, I doubt that a contemporary "true crime" author would have written this story with the same level of restraint.
Of course, the most fascinating, and the most controversial, aspect of In Cold Blood is the characterization of the murderers: Perry Smith and Richard Hickock . Were they brutal killers? Without question. Were they complex human beings as well? Yes. And that is the most disturbing aspect of this book for many readers - being shown the faces of evil and feeling empathy as well as horror.
I've read criticisms that take Capote to task for being sympathetic towards the murderers or for having an anti-capital punishment bias. There may be some truth in that, but I believe that readers are given ample opportunity to make up their own minds. Smith and Hickock's human sides are often brought forth, but they are even more frightening and monstrous for that. With the executions, Capote notes some of the troubling and ambiguous aspects that are inevitably part of the process when the state puts an individual to death.
Of course, hanging over the tragedy of the story is the tragedy of it's writing. In the opening chapter, Capote notes "four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives". He couldn't have known that he would also become a victim as his obsession with the project and more specifically with Perry Smith would precipitate an early end to his literary career and a downward spiral into self destruction.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AY7F5TVCC5TNZ
• Typographical Bloodletting 06 May, 2008
Step into the murmuring heart of tragedy, the intoxicating effects of American crime--Capote envelops the reader in a suffocating, looming fear like no one else can.
He paints such a vivid picture with his descriptive prowess. He pulls you in closely to the innocent lives that were wiped away so coldly that fall day in Holcolm, Kansas. With masterful precision he helps paint the dark picture of the utmost evil, forcing you to become emotionally attached to some complete strangers. And ultimately, you'll feel a piece of the pain this entire small town felt back in 1959.
I have seen the movie Capote, and was aware of the effect this writing project had on Capote himself. It illustates the hopelessness that followed the brutal, random murders. Clues, leads, everything but ideas were scant surrounding this crime. It needed a miracle to be solved.
This really is such a perfect book. It even pulls you in close to the killers, makes you wonder how humanity can fall so far down. This book develops at such a determined, controlled pace. It can make you anxious and nervous, even though you already know the outcome. Capote delves so deep into the case, he won't let you escape. It's harrrowing, heart-breaking, and even a fascinating read.
A nonfiction account of the epitome of evil, the alarming magnitude of personal suffering, and even the extent of compassion.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A6DOCZ10B7JAJ
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