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37 reviews for:
Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences
Catherine Pelonero
3.68 AVERAGE
37 reviews for:
Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences
Catherine Pelonero
3.68 AVERAGE
Definitely recommending the audio version of this book! Incredibly detailed and throughly researched, Pelonero captures not only who Kitty Genovese was, but also that of her neighborhood and the man who killed her. The writing is a little clunky and repetitive in parts, but the narration made it less noticeable (I also listened at 2x speed). I knew a lot about Kitty prior to this bookn but I had little knowledge of the police investigation and the man who committed the crime.
I really vacillated between a 3 and 4 star rating. I appreciated the thoroughness of the author's research and her commitment to telling the whole truth (or as much as one can in this situation). At times, however, it felt stylistically flat and seemed as if comments from sources were copied and pasted directly from an email rather than woven in. I also would have loved more focus on Mary Ann Zielonko, although I understand that the author may have had limited information to work with in that respect. I found the Karl Ross angle fascinating, and I think the author did a decent job of revealing the complexity of his situation. On one hand it was horrific to imagine him hearing his friend crying out for help and not going downstairs to save her, and on the other I wonder how much his actions were motivated by fear of persecution. Would the police or public been quick to pin the blame on a gay man? Was he worried that it was a domestic situation between Kitty and Mary Ann, which might have raised suspicions? Nonetheless, it was hard to stomach the realization that if Ross and Greta Schwartz had gone downstairs when Kitty first cried out, they might have saved her life. At that time Moseley was looking for her on the opposite side of the building. Based upon the rest of his criminal history, I don't think at that point he would have attempted to attack Ross and Schwartz. I think it's likely he would have fled. But, I digress. All around this was a fascinating read and I would recommend.
Recommended via Twitter; fascinating account of a horrific crime and a chilling statement on apathy and ability to come to aid. You read this and feel for Kitty, and maybe relieved it didn't happen to you, and perhaps worried you might stand by during a crime as well.
This book started strongly, and Kitty sounded like such a wonderful person. But the book drags on and is very repetitive. It would have been more interesting to read the news articles about the story rather than the author summarising them.
Disclaimer: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.
I am not quite old enough to have any firsthand memories of the coverage of the March 13, 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, a quiet neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Certainly my parents would not have discussed the more sordid details of the case where I could hear. By the time I graduated high school, I knew the vaguest outline of the case, as it demonstrated the “bystander effect.”
It was, and is a notorious case precisely because of that bystander effect; the crime was committed in the hearing and sight of many of Ms. Genovese’s neighbors, and the final assault was in the hallway leading to a friend’s apartment, a friend who refused to open the door. For various reasons, many understandable, the witnesses did not intervene beyond one person shouting at the man, and the police were not properly called until much too late.
The first chapter is a description of the crime itself, as pieced together from the murderer’s confession, witness testimony and police investigation. This is followed by an account of the initial investigation, then the book moves to biographies of both Kitty Genovese and her killer, Winston Moseley. After that, the account moves forward in a more linear fashion through the police investigation, and the press pieces that exploded the case onto the world stage.
The section on Mr. Moseley’s trial is perhaps the least interesting part–it’s largely repeating of testimony saying things already covered in earlier chapters. The defense tried to get an insanity verdict, but although Winston Moseley clearly had something wrong with him, the jury decided he knew what he did was illegal and could have chosen not to kill.
There’s a bit of excitement when Mr. Moseley escapes from Attica in 1968 and Buffalo is terrorized for three days.
The remainder of the book is about the continuing legacy of the Kitty Genovese case, including the institution of the 911 system to make it easier to call the police when you suspect a crime or other emergency is happening. One thing not mentioned in the book is that the case plays a role in the Watchmen comic book series; it spurs Rorschach to take an active role fighting crime, and his mask is cut from cloth meant for Kitty’s dress.
Much of this material has been covered in previous books, but this volume includes the revisionist view that emerged in the 1990s that the stories of the witnesses’ apathy were deliberately exaggerated by the police and media. The author finds this view suspect, more of an attempt to shift blame than an honest rethinking.
Other issues also are discussed. The possible effects of racism on Winston Moseley’s psyche, for example (he was black, Kitty Genovese was white.) For those who are easily triggered, rape and domestic violence are discussed.
There’s a spread of black and white photographs in the center (be aware some of the building photos are much more recent and may be slightly misleading.) There is a bibliography (and some other media sources), and an index.
Due to the nature of the content, I would recommend this to no lower than senior high students, although younger teens with morbid tastes (like mine at that age) will find it interesting as well. I would most recommend this book to true crime readers who don’t already have a volume on Kitty Genovese, and students of psychology.
I am not quite old enough to have any firsthand memories of the coverage of the March 13, 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, a quiet neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Certainly my parents would not have discussed the more sordid details of the case where I could hear. By the time I graduated high school, I knew the vaguest outline of the case, as it demonstrated the “bystander effect.”
It was, and is a notorious case precisely because of that bystander effect; the crime was committed in the hearing and sight of many of Ms. Genovese’s neighbors, and the final assault was in the hallway leading to a friend’s apartment, a friend who refused to open the door. For various reasons, many understandable, the witnesses did not intervene beyond one person shouting at the man, and the police were not properly called until much too late.
The first chapter is a description of the crime itself, as pieced together from the murderer’s confession, witness testimony and police investigation. This is followed by an account of the initial investigation, then the book moves to biographies of both Kitty Genovese and her killer, Winston Moseley. After that, the account moves forward in a more linear fashion through the police investigation, and the press pieces that exploded the case onto the world stage.
The section on Mr. Moseley’s trial is perhaps the least interesting part–it’s largely repeating of testimony saying things already covered in earlier chapters. The defense tried to get an insanity verdict, but although Winston Moseley clearly had something wrong with him, the jury decided he knew what he did was illegal and could have chosen not to kill.
There’s a bit of excitement when Mr. Moseley escapes from Attica in 1968 and Buffalo is terrorized for three days.
The remainder of the book is about the continuing legacy of the Kitty Genovese case, including the institution of the 911 system to make it easier to call the police when you suspect a crime or other emergency is happening. One thing not mentioned in the book is that the case plays a role in the Watchmen comic book series; it spurs Rorschach to take an active role fighting crime, and his mask is cut from cloth meant for Kitty’s dress.
Much of this material has been covered in previous books, but this volume includes the revisionist view that emerged in the 1990s that the stories of the witnesses’ apathy were deliberately exaggerated by the police and media. The author finds this view suspect, more of an attempt to shift blame than an honest rethinking.
Other issues also are discussed. The possible effects of racism on Winston Moseley’s psyche, for example (he was black, Kitty Genovese was white.) For those who are easily triggered, rape and domestic violence are discussed.
There’s a spread of black and white photographs in the center (be aware some of the building photos are much more recent and may be slightly misleading.) There is a bibliography (and some other media sources), and an index.
Due to the nature of the content, I would recommend this to no lower than senior high students, although younger teens with morbid tastes (like mine at that age) will find it interesting as well. I would most recommend this book to true crime readers who don’t already have a volume on Kitty Genovese, and students of psychology.
Great first half of a book and then the last half was just boring newspaper crap. This guy wrote this thing in this newspaper and this other guy wrote this other thing in this other newspaper. Very little of the "Consequences" part of the title, which I had taken to mean the start of the 911 system and the new sociology terms and ideas about the bystander effect and deflection of responsibility.
An excellent book that delves deeper into the murder of Kitty Genovese. It goes into a lot of different sides of what happened before, during, and the aftermath of the murder. I also really liked the addition to what was happening historically, during the time period that was being described.