In Cold Blood
by: Truman Capote
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Amazon.com Review:
"Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, fewAmericans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like thewaters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like theyellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shapeof exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." If allTruman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with thelanguage and structure of literature--this "nonfictionnovel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by twowould-be robbers would be remembered as a trail-blazing experimentthat has influenced countless writers. But Capote achieved more thanthat. He wrote a true masterpiece of creative nonfiction. The imagesof this tale continue to resonate in our minds: 16-year-old NancyClutter teaching a friend how to bake a cherry pie, Dick Hickock'sblack '49 Chevrolet sedan, Perry Smith's Gibson guitar and his dreamsof gold in a tropical paradise--the blood on the walls and the final"thud-snap" of the rope-broken necks.
Product Description:
With the publication of this book, Capote permanently ripped through the barrier separating crime reportage from serious literature. As he reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Capote generates suspense and empathy.
"Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, fewAmericans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like thewaters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like theyellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shapeof exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." If allTruman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with thelanguage and structure of literature--this "nonfictionnovel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by twowould-be robbers would be remembered as a trail-blazing experimentthat has influenced countless writers. But Capote achieved more thanthat. He wrote a true masterpiece of creative nonfiction. The imagesof this tale continue to resonate in our minds: 16-year-old NancyClutter teaching a friend how to bake a cherry pie, Dick Hickock'sblack '49 Chevrolet sedan, Perry Smith's Gibson guitar and his dreamsof gold in a tropical paradise--the blood on the walls and the final"thud-snap" of the rope-broken necks.
Product Description:
With the publication of this book, Capote permanently ripped through the barrier separating crime reportage from serious literature. As he reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Capote generates suspense and empathy.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Not True Crime
I like honesty in my books, and when one purports to tell the truth, I have high standards.So when I found out that this book was hardly true, it soured me on it.If it was a fictional account, it would be good reading, but it's not so it isn't.
First, Capote took no notes when he interviewed the men, yet he chronicles highly detailed conversations.I guess he must be special, unlike the 99.99 of journos who take notes.Moreover, Capote fell in love with Smith.And his book is ... Read More
Rating: 
- pretty darn good
Capote has painted a vivid picture of a brutal murdering of innocent and wholesome family. It is creepy to readat parts. The book jumps around to different characters showing their perspective. Including the murderers. Some reviewers have said Capote is very sympathetic to the killers but I did not read that into the text. Yes, he does show up who they were and that necessarily humanizes them but does not show admiration for them and their dirty deeds. If anything, Capote shows an admiration for ... Read More
Rating: 
- Third time around "In Cold Blood"
This was my third copy - thanks to lending and forgetting to reclaim.Every so often I re-read it, making it my own "cult classic".What a story - still grim but exciting after all these years.This time around, I also had to re-purchase "To Kill a Mockingbird" - lost from the same causes as "In Cold Blood".I enjoyed a week of reading both books and delving into more research regarding the long relationship between Capote and Lee.
Rating: - Must have been quite significant at the time
Murder in small town, homosexual overtones, graphic descriptions - must have really shook up the world in 1966.Even today is a captivating read.Capote has a way with words and that makes this story probably more entertaining than it should be.He paints the time very well and as the reader you go back to a much different time.
Rating: - What a great novel this would be...
...if it only were one! I would feel so much better liking it. It is a brilliant piece of borderline writing, mixing 'fiction' and journalism.
Unfortunately it also seems to have done something highly immoral, if the story as told by the movie 'Capote' is correct: it seems that Capote deceived the killers, who are his subject of observation, into seeing him as 'on their side', ie supporting their defense. He befriended them, including unclear levels of personal attraction,and made one ... Read More
- Not True CrimeI like honesty in my books, and when one purports to tell the truth, I have high standards.So when I found out that this book was hardly true, it soured me on it.If it was a fictional account, it would be good reading, but it's not so it isn't.
First, Capote took no notes when he interviewed the men, yet he chronicles highly detailed conversations.I guess he must be special, unlike the 99.99 of journos who take notes.Moreover, Capote fell in love with Smith.And his book is ... Read More
- pretty darn goodCapote has painted a vivid picture of a brutal murdering of innocent and wholesome family. It is creepy to readat parts. The book jumps around to different characters showing their perspective. Including the murderers. Some reviewers have said Capote is very sympathetic to the killers but I did not read that into the text. Yes, he does show up who they were and that necessarily humanizes them but does not show admiration for them and their dirty deeds. If anything, Capote shows an admiration for ... Read More
- Third time around "In Cold Blood"This was my third copy - thanks to lending and forgetting to reclaim.Every so often I re-read it, making it my own "cult classic".What a story - still grim but exciting after all these years.This time around, I also had to re-purchase "To Kill a Mockingbird" - lost from the same causes as "In Cold Blood".I enjoyed a week of reading both books and delving into more research regarding the long relationship between Capote and Lee.
- Must have been quite significant at the timeMurder in small town, homosexual overtones, graphic descriptions - must have really shook up the world in 1966.Even today is a captivating read.Capote has a way with words and that makes this story probably more entertaining than it should be.He paints the time very well and as the reader you go back to a much different time.
- What a great novel this would be......if it only were one! I would feel so much better liking it. It is a brilliant piece of borderline writing, mixing 'fiction' and journalism.
Unfortunately it also seems to have done something highly immoral, if the story as told by the movie 'Capote' is correct: it seems that Capote deceived the killers, who are his subject of observation, into seeing him as 'on their side', ie supporting their defense. He befriended them, including unclear levels of personal attraction,and made one ... Read More
