Kitty Genovese : the murder, the bystanders, the crime that changed America /
At last, the true story of a crime that shocked the world. New York City, 1964. A young woman is stabbed to death on her front stoop--a murder the New York Times called "a frozen moment of dramatic, disturbing social change." The victim, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese, became an urba...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Edition: | First edition. |
| Imprint: | New York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2014] |
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| Summary: | At last, the true story of a crime that shocked the world. New York City, 1964. A young woman is stabbed to death on her front stoop--a murder the New York Times called "a frozen moment of dramatic, disturbing social change." The victim, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese, became an urban martyr, butchered by a sociopathic killer in plain sight of 38 neighbors who "didn't want to get involved." Her sensational case provoked an anxious outcry and launched a sociological theory known as the "Bystander Effect." That's the narrative--but as author Kevin Cook reveals, the story is just that, a story. The truth is far more compelling--and so is the victim. Now, on the fiftieth anniversary of her murder, Cook presents the real Kitty Genovese. She was a vibrant young woman--a lesbian, a bartender working (and dancing) her way through the colorful New York of the '60s. Downtown, Greenwich Village teemed with beatniks and so-called misfits like Kitty and her lover. The book evokes the Village's gay and lesbian underground with deep feeling and colorful detail. Cook also reconstructs the crime itself, tracing the movements of Genovese's killer, whose disturbing trial testimony made him a terrifying figure, especially after his escape from Attica State Prison. Drawing on a trove of long-lost documents, plus new interviews with her lover and other key figures, Cook explores the enduring legacy of the case.--From publisher description. In 1964 a woman was stabbed to death in front of her home in New York, a murder The New York Times called "a frozen moment of dramatic, disturbing social change". The victim, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese, became an urban martyr, butchered in sight of thirty-eight neighbours who "didn't want to get involved". Her sensational case provoked an outcry and launched a sociological theory known as the "Bystander Effect". On the fiftieth anniversary of her murder, Kevin Cook presents the real Genovese. "Gripping" (The New York Times) and "Provocative" (The Wall Street Journal), Kitty Genovese evokes the gay and lesbian underground of Greenwich Village with feeling and detail. Cook reconstructs the crime, and drawing on lost documents and new interviews, explores the legacy of the case. His account of what happened is the most accurate and chilling to date. |
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| Physical Description: | 242 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780393239287 0393239284 |
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