Book
Black Dahlia : Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood.
In 'Black Dahlia', William J. Mann offers the first definitive account of the Black Dahlia murder - the most famous unsolved true crime case in American history - which humanizes the victim and situates the notorious case within an anxious, postwar country grappling with new ideas, demographics, and technologies.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781668075906
- Physical Description: 464 pages ; 2 x 15 cm
- Publisher: Canada : Simon & Schuster, 2026.
Content descriptions
| General Note: | LA |
| Immediate Source of Acquisition Note: | Library Bound Incorporated |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women TRUE CRIME / Historical TRUE CRIME / Murder / General |
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- 0 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
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- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
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| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | ON ORDER | pr08194103 | NONFIC | On order | - |
- Simon and Schuster
Illuminating and captivating, New York Times bestselling author of Tinseltown and Bogart offers the first definitive account of the Black Dahlia murderâthe most famous unsolved true crime case in American historyâwhich humanizes the victim and situates the notorious case within an anxious, postwar country grappling with new ideas, demographics, and technologies.
The brutal murder of Elizabeth Shortâbetter known as the Black Dahliaâin 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published.
Short has been mischaracterized as a wayward sex worker or vagabond, andâlike the seductive femme fatales of film noirâresponsible for and perhaps deserving of her fate. William J. Mann, however, is interested in the truth. His extensive research reveals her as a young woman with curiosity and drive, who leveraged what little agency postwar society gave her to explore the world, defying draconian postwar gender expectations to settle down, marry, and have children. Itâs time to reexamine the woman who became known as the Black Dahlia.
Using a 21st-century lens, Mann connects Shortâs story to the anxious era after World War II, when the nation was grappling with new ideas, new demographics, new technologies, and old fears dressed up as new ones. Only by situating the Black Dahlia case within this changing world can we understand the tragedy of this young woman, whose life and death offer surprising mirrors on today.
Mann has strong opinions on who mightâve killed her, and even stronger ones on who did not. He spent five years sifting through the evidence and has found unknown connections by cross-referencing police reports, District Attorney investigations, FBI files, court documents, military records, and more, using the deep, intense research skills that have become his trademark. He also spoke with the families of the original detectives, of Shortâs friends, and even of suspects, and relied on advice from experienced physicians and homicide detectives.
Mann deftly sifts through the sensationalized journalism, preconceived notions, myths, and misunderstandings surrounding the case to uncover the truth about Elizabeth Short like no book before. The Black Dahlia promises to be the definitive study about the most famous unsolved case in American history.
