Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America

by Kevin Cook

Hardcover, 2014

Status

Available

Publication

W. W. Norton & Company (2014), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 256 pages

Description

"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"--Provided by publisher.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Carolee888
Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime That Changed America by Kevin Cook is an outstanding analysis of the crime, perpetrator and victim. I picked this book to read because I remember reading about this crime in my Social Psychology Class. Little did I know that I have been
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physically close to the area where the crime was committed three months earlier. I had attended the New York World’s Fair in 1964 which was not far from where Kitty Genovese lived and later died.

Kevin Cook brings the victim, Kitty Genovese to life. Kitty was pretty, spunky, a hard worker, loved folk music and people. She was brought up in an Italian Catholic family in Brooklyn. Her family was not connected to the mob despite his last name. He wanted his family to be as American as possible. When her mother saw someone murdered, her dad decided to move his family to Connecticut. But Kitty loved the New York City so much that she refused to go. She found a job, later on a job as a barmaid and a place to stay and fell in love with Mary Ann Zielonko, a smart and pretty blonde. That was back when you didn’t dare to say that you loved the same sex. They lived together and went to underground clubs.

William Mosely’s mother abandoned him when he was young and his father was left to raise him. He didn’t make friends growing up and kept to himself. That was not the end of his bad experiences with women. He focused on his ant farm at home. When he got a job it was punching cards by machine for a company, a mind numbing job. He was a neat freak and didn’t seem to have feelings. A warning here about his crimes, prepared for graphic violence. I believe the details are necessary in this book to form an idea of what he had become.

This book is researched to lay out the precise details about the crime and who actually watched it without doing anything. This crime became famous because of the people who heard or saw the crime but did nothing. Kevin Cook tells the full story, the true story and takes it apart to find out why Kitty Genovese died instead of being rescued.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the full and correct details about this crime and the anti-crime measures that derived from this crime.

I received this book from FirstReads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in my review.
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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
A thorough look at the crime, the time, and the people involved in this horrible murder. I have known about this case since college, but never really knew the facts and details. Such a tragedy, and such a powerful story.
LibraryThing member JanaRose1
Murdered outside of her New York apartment, Kitty Genovese made headlines because none of her neighbors called the police. I thought this book was just awful. The author wrote more about the culture of the time and current events than Kitty. To describe her murder, he copy and pasted a newspaper
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article. I thought this book was a complete letdown.
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LibraryThing member Eliz12
Chilling.
Do not read alone at night.
LibraryThing member padmajoy
I was curious to read this since I was living in Queens, NY at the time Kitty Genovese was killed. My opinion of human nature (the neighbors) was improved by this book. My opinion of her killer is that he was totally insane, but not in the legal way and relentless in his determination to kill her.
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Good journalistic style. Clear explanation of what happened.
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LibraryThing member jguidry
This was an interesting account of the Kitty Genovese case.  Cook researched the case thoroughly and added lots of detail about the time-period surrounding the murder.  The main problem is Cook added too much detail about the time period.  It distracted from the main points of the case.  If
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some of the extra details had been edited out, the book would have moved at a much better pace. 
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LibraryThing member REINADECOPIAYPEGA
Two years ago or so, marked the 50th anniversary of the slaughter of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens, Queens. This book and one other came out around the same time, and I was fortunate that the Brooklyn Public library ordered both of them.

Depending on whom you believe, there seems to be an ongoing
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debate even after all these decades on why she was not helped and died a miserable death by an individual who left the house that night trawling for a victim to kill.

There is the camp that believes many of the people who heard her screams tried to help in various ways, though nobody actually came out or was successfully in having the police arrive. Camp two is very very much against the 38 witnesses in the building across the street from where she was walking and received her first stab to the back.

So this author sort of wants to let them off the hook, the other book which I liked more, is less forgiving of their actions, considering their were so many witnesses.

You will have to draw your own conclusions.
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Awards

Edgar Award (Nominee — Fact Crime — 2015)

Language

Original publication date

2014

Physical description

256 p.; 9.61 inches

ISBN

0393239284 / 9780393239287

Local notes

violence/crime
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