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katzreads's review against another edition
1.0
I kind of assumed, from the title, that this would have something to do with the Sherlock Holmes tales, but other than a quote from a Sherlock Holmes tale at the beginning of each section of the book, it had nothing (or very little) to do with the famous sleuth. A huge disappointment. I attempted to read several of the tales, but they just didn't hold my interest at all.
julieschein's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
What a delightful series of investigative reporting essays! Highly recommend.
keniwi's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
2.75
Short stories from early 2000s. Mostly related to crime or exploration/adventure.
justanotheremily's review against another edition
3.5
I probably should have read the synopsis before reading this book. What I thought it was going to be was not what it was. That being said, I found many of the sections to be interesting. Some gripped my attention more than others. Overall an enjoyable collection.
paperbacksandpines's review against another edition
3.0
All of the stories contained in this book center around entertaining nonfiction topics but not necessarily entertaining enough to span the length of an entire book. I found the story about the NYC sandhogs to be especially interesting.
If you have picked up this book based on the name and the titular story, you'll probably be disappointed that only one of the stories within this book have anything to do with Sherlock Holmes. The title of this book is extremely misleading.
If you have picked up this book based on the name and the titular story, you'll probably be disappointed that only one of the stories within this book have anything to do with Sherlock Holmes. The title of this book is extremely misleading.
emromc's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Some of the essays were fascinating and fun. He's a good writer, and I love reading about random stuff I wouldn't have even known I wanted to know.
I didn't read the last section all the way through because all of the essays were pretty graphic murder/crime stories, and I was too disturbed with the violence. But the first 3/4 of the book was fun.
I didn't read the last section all the way through because all of the essays were pretty graphic murder/crime stories, and I was too disturbed with the violence. But the first 3/4 of the book was fun.
cl224's review against another edition
5.0
Every story in here is interesting. It covers a wide range of topics that are all super enthralling. Grann is a great writers and his style helps the reader gain context to the facts he shares later. Great reporting.
jwsg's review against another edition
4.0
I’d just finished John McPhee’s Draft No. 4 before picking up David Grann’s The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. The connection between the two being their writing for The New Yorker. 9 out of the 12 stories in this collection were published in The New Yorker previously (the other 3 having been published in The Atlantic, The New Republic and the NYT Magazine). I don’t read The New Yorker regularly but what I’ve read, I’ve enjoyed. So naturally, I whizzed through Grann’s collection.
McPhee writes on a wide and eclectic range of topics but there’s a strong emphasis on the natural world. Grann’s collection is equally eclectic but has a much more obvious human interest angle – the “strange death of a Sherlock Holmes fanatic”; a story on arson investigation and whether shoddy science led to the execution of an innocent man in Texas; the story of Frederic Bourdin, a con artist who impersonated missing and exploited children; the story of a fireman who survived 9/11 but lost his memories of the event and was haunted that the only reason he survived was because he ran to save his skin while the rest of his team perished trying to save others; the story of Forrest Tucker, the robber who wouldn’t and couldn’t retire; the story of how Toto Constant, a Haitian war criminal, was allowed to immigrate to and walk free in the US; and the story of how the US Marshals tried to take down the Aryan Brotherhood, “the most dangerous prison gang in America”.
Most of the stories were compelling reads but my favourite was perhaps City of Water, a fascinating 2003 piece Grann wrote for The New Yorker on the vulnerability of New York City’s aging infrastructure and the group of men – the sandhoggers – tasked to build a new water Tunnel No. 3 to ensure that New York City’s taps don’t run dry even as the population grows and demand for industrial, commercial and residential use rises.
Eye opening.
McPhee writes on a wide and eclectic range of topics but there’s a strong emphasis on the natural world. Grann’s collection is equally eclectic but has a much more obvious human interest angle – the “strange death of a Sherlock Holmes fanatic”; a story on arson investigation and whether shoddy science led to the execution of an innocent man in Texas; the story of Frederic Bourdin, a con artist who impersonated missing and exploited children; the story of a fireman who survived 9/11 but lost his memories of the event and was haunted that the only reason he survived was because he ran to save his skin while the rest of his team perished trying to save others; the story of Forrest Tucker, the robber who wouldn’t and couldn’t retire; the story of how Toto Constant, a Haitian war criminal, was allowed to immigrate to and walk free in the US; and the story of how the US Marshals tried to take down the Aryan Brotherhood, “the most dangerous prison gang in America”.
Most of the stories were compelling reads but my favourite was perhaps City of Water, a fascinating 2003 piece Grann wrote for The New Yorker on the vulnerability of New York City’s aging infrastructure and the group of men – the sandhoggers – tasked to build a new water Tunnel No. 3 to ensure that New York City’s taps don’t run dry even as the population grows and demand for industrial, commercial and residential use rises.
Eye opening.