Jim StovallWilliam Roughead, founder of modern true-crime booksNo one that I know of has the title of Founder of Modern True-Crime Literature (or some such), but if such a title existed, the leading…Mar 30, 2020Mar 30, 2020
Jim StovallIda Tarbell — the sharp, powerful arrow of her words (part 1)When Ida Tarbell fired an arrow of words at a target, she aimed with the accuracy and power of a book full of facts.Mar 25, 2020Mar 25, 2020
Jim StovallJack Higgins, aka Harry PattersonWhen The Eagle Has Landed was published in 1975, it was an immediate and huge hit for its author Harry Patterson, who was writing under the…Mar 9, 2020Mar 9, 2020
Jim StovallIs American football dying? Not yet, but the longterm outlook is unclearFootball is still the most popular sport on American television, but the thrill of the game seems somehow diminished.Mar 24, 2019Mar 24, 2019
Jim StovallThe Belfast Project tapes and the murder of Jean McConvilleThe Troubles is how everyone refers to it — the violence that wracked Northern Ireland for much of the latter half of the 20th century.Mar 23, 2019Mar 23, 2019
Jim StovallMarie Owens, America’s first female police officer — and othersAmerica’s first female police officer was, for nearly a century, lost to us for nearly a century because of a historian’s mistake. In the…Mar 22, 2019Mar 22, 2019
Jim StovallThe college admissions scandal: a modest proposalWhat has practically every story you’ve read or heard during the last couple of weeks about the college admissions scandal had in common?Mar 21, 20194Mar 21, 20194
Jim StovallDick Francis, a top jockey and an even better mystery authorWhen Dick Francis took his horse Devon Loch up over the last hurdle at the 1956 Grand National Steeplechase, he was on top of the British…Mar 21, 2019Mar 21, 2019
Jim StovallEmma Lathen: a dual force in mystery literatureIf you were an avid reader of mystery novels in the 1960s, you were probably aware of three female mystery writers more than any others…Mar 21, 2019Mar 21, 2019
Jim StovallDan Jenkins, 1928–2019, RIPBack in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, if you had a sacred cow — particularly if it had to do with sports or anything connected — Dan Jenkins…Mar 21, 2019Mar 21, 2019