April Reads-Tim Emmel

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen 

I liked this book as a fictional version of the life, crimes, and death of the famous outlaw Jesse James. It goes into great depth of the thoughts and actions of all the members of the James gang.

 336 Pages

Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer by Harold Schechter 

A sad tale of the bombing of a school by an angry school board member. This book does a great job of tying in newspaper articles, survivor interviews, and other reports on this incident to weave a heartbreaking tale of this tragedy.

 254 Pages

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan 

One of my favorite podcasters (The History of Rome and Revolutions) writes a great story of how the expansion of the early Roman empire would plant the seeds for their future ruin. A great job of showing how emperors, generals, and common people interacted to expand (or repel) the might of Rome.

352 Pages

Read by Tim Emmel

March Reads - Tim Emmel

Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer 
by Harold Schechter
A look at the deadliest school massacre in American history. Really in depth look at this tragic (and under known) event  
254 pages

 

Ripped from the Headlines!  
by Harold Schechter 
From “Chicago” to “Rope,” from “The Hills Have Eyes,” to “Double Indemnity,” this book shows how actual crimes led to some of Hollywood’s greatest horror and suspense films. Really good book that added a bunch of movies to my list as well.
374 pages

 

Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball's Lunatic Fringe
by Sam Walker
My favorite book about baseball, a USA Today writer joins the nation’s most competitive fantasy league (Tout Wars) to see why/and who would compete in this sort of activity. Traces the history of fantasy sports and shows one man’s descent into madness during an MLB season.
368 pages