-
Hell's Half Acre
- The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier
- Narrated by: Lee Osorio
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
American Predator
- The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century
- By: Maureen Callahan
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enforcement.
-
-
Why you shouldn’t listen to Reviews
- By jofi00 on 10-23-19
By: Maureen Callahan
-
All That Is Wicked
- A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer—some have called him a “Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter”—whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity.
-
-
PLEASE STOP The Politicizing of Everything
- By Anonymous on 10-15-22
-
The Forever Witness
- How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Edward Humes
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In November 1987, a young couple on an overnight trip to Seattle vanished without a trace. A week later, the bodies of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend Jay Cook were found in rural Washington. It was a brutal crime, and it was the perfect crime: With few clues and no witnesses, an international manhunt turned up empty, and the sensational case that shocked the Pacific Northwest gradually slipped from the headlines.
-
-
Compelling
- By MLB on 01-17-23
By: Edward Humes
-
Damnation Island
- Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
- By: Stacy Horn
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today it is known as Roosevelt Island. In 1828, when New York City purchased this narrow, two-mile-long island in the East River, it was called Blackwell's Island. There, over the next hundred years, the city would build a lunatic asylum, prison, hospital, workhouse, and almshouse. Stacy Horn has crafted a compelling and chilling narrative told through the stories of the poor souls sent to Blackwell's, as well as the period's city officials, reformers, and journalists (including the famous Nellie Bly). Damnation Island re-creates what daily life was like on the island....
-
-
Fascinating!
- By tamborine on 08-06-18
By: Stacy Horn
-
Bone Deep
- Untangling the Betsy Faria Case
- By: Charles Bosworth, Joel Schwartz
- Narrated by: Gary Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russel Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home to find his wife, Betsy, dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She had been stabbed 55 times in a brutal murder that would set off a chain of events leading to one man's wrongful conviction and imprisonment, another man's death, the revelation of a diabolical scheme, and an astounding miscarriage of justice left unresolved for another 10 years.
-
-
One of the Best
- By V. Orner on 03-01-22
By: Charles Bosworth, and others
-
Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Greeks and Romans
- By: Garrett Ryan
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why didn't the ancient Greeks or Romans wear pants? How did they shave? How likely were they to drink fine wine, use birth control, or survive surgery? In a series of short and humorous essays, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants explores some of the questions about the Greeks and Romans that ancient historian Garrett Ryan has answered in the classroom and online. Unlike most books on the classical world, the focus is not on famous figures or events, but on the fascinating details of daily life.
-
-
Garret Ryan delivers an accessible and thoroughly entertaining deep dive
- By Rafael on 11-03-21
By: Garrett Ryan
-
American Predator
- The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century
- By: Maureen Callahan
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enforcement.
-
-
Why you shouldn’t listen to Reviews
- By jofi00 on 10-23-19
By: Maureen Callahan
-
All That Is Wicked
- A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer—some have called him a “Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter”—whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity.
-
-
PLEASE STOP The Politicizing of Everything
- By Anonymous on 10-15-22
-
The Forever Witness
- How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Edward Humes
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In November 1987, a young couple on an overnight trip to Seattle vanished without a trace. A week later, the bodies of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend Jay Cook were found in rural Washington. It was a brutal crime, and it was the perfect crime: With few clues and no witnesses, an international manhunt turned up empty, and the sensational case that shocked the Pacific Northwest gradually slipped from the headlines.
-
-
Compelling
- By MLB on 01-17-23
By: Edward Humes
-
Damnation Island
- Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
- By: Stacy Horn
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today it is known as Roosevelt Island. In 1828, when New York City purchased this narrow, two-mile-long island in the East River, it was called Blackwell's Island. There, over the next hundred years, the city would build a lunatic asylum, prison, hospital, workhouse, and almshouse. Stacy Horn has crafted a compelling and chilling narrative told through the stories of the poor souls sent to Blackwell's, as well as the period's city officials, reformers, and journalists (including the famous Nellie Bly). Damnation Island re-creates what daily life was like on the island....
-
-
Fascinating!
- By tamborine on 08-06-18
By: Stacy Horn
-
Bone Deep
- Untangling the Betsy Faria Case
- By: Charles Bosworth, Joel Schwartz
- Narrated by: Gary Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russel Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home to find his wife, Betsy, dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She had been stabbed 55 times in a brutal murder that would set off a chain of events leading to one man's wrongful conviction and imprisonment, another man's death, the revelation of a diabolical scheme, and an astounding miscarriage of justice left unresolved for another 10 years.
-
-
One of the Best
- By V. Orner on 03-01-22
By: Charles Bosworth, and others
-
Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Greeks and Romans
- By: Garrett Ryan
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why didn't the ancient Greeks or Romans wear pants? How did they shave? How likely were they to drink fine wine, use birth control, or survive surgery? In a series of short and humorous essays, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants explores some of the questions about the Greeks and Romans that ancient historian Garrett Ryan has answered in the classroom and online. Unlike most books on the classical world, the focus is not on famous figures or events, but on the fascinating details of daily life.
-
-
Garret Ryan delivers an accessible and thoroughly entertaining deep dive
- By Rafael on 11-03-21
By: Garrett Ryan
-
140 Days to Hiroshima
- The Story of Japan’s Last Chance to Avert Armageddon
- By: David Dean Barrett
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki comes this heart-pounding account of the war-room drama inside the cabinets of the United States and Japan that led to Armageddon on August 6, 1945. Here are the secret strategy sessions, fierce debates, looming assassinations, and planned invasions that resulted in history’s first use of nuclear weapons in combat, and the ensuing chaotic days as the Japanese government struggled to respond to the reality of nuclear war.
-
-
Never Giving Up
- By Rick B on 07-11-20
-
On Desperate Ground
- The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle
- By: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: David Pittu
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hampton Sides' superb account of this epic clash in the Korean War relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunt's-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.
-
-
typical armchair critic armed with hign site
- By Brent on 10-03-18
By: Hampton Sides
-
The Minds of Billy Milligan
- By: Daniel Keyes
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 15 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Out of control of his actions, Billy Milligan was a man tormented by twenty-four distinct personalities battling for supremacy over his body—a battle that culminated when he awoke in jail, arrested for the kidnap and rape of three women. In a landmark trial, Billy was acquitted of his crimes by reason of insanity caused by multiple personality—the first such court decision in history—bringing to public light the most remarkable and harrowing case of multiple personality ever recorded.
-
-
Overly sympathetic
- By kristin on 04-19-23
By: Daniel Keyes
-
The Complete Jack the Ripper
- By: Donald Rumbelow
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laying out all the evidence in the most comprehensive summary ever written about the Ripper, this book, by a London police officer and crime authority, has subjected every theory - including those that have emerged in recent years-to the same deep scrutiny. The author also examines the mythology surrounding the case and provides some fascinating insights into the portrayal of the Ripper on stage and screen and on the printed page. More seriously, he also examines the horrifying parallel crimes of the Düsseldorf Ripper and the Yorkshire Ripper.
-
-
catch the facts if you can
- By Alexandra on 11-17-19
By: Donald Rumbelow
-
Royal Witches
- Witchcraft and the Nobility in Fifteenth-Century England
- By: Gemma Hollman
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Until the mass hysteria of the seventeenth century, accusations of witchcraft in England were rare. However, four royal women, related in family and in court ties - Joan of Navarre, Eleanor Cobham, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, and Elizabeth Woodville - were accused of practicing witchcraft in order to kill or influence the king. In Royal Witches, Gemma Hollman explores the lives and the cases of these so-called witches, placing them in the historical context of 15th-century England, a setting rife with political upheaval and war.
-
-
Hard to listen to
- By donna bahr on 12-10-20
By: Gemma Hollman
-
The Wonders
- Lifting the Curtain on the Freak Show, Circus and Victorian Age
- By: John Woolf
- Narrated by: Gavin Osborn
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 23 March, 1844, General Tom Thumb, at 25 inches tall, entered the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace and bowed low to Queen Victoria. On both sides of the Atlantic, this meeting marked a tipping point in the 19th century - the age of the freak was born. Bewitching all levels of society, it was a world of astonishing spectacle - of dwarfs, giants, bearded ladies, Siamese twins and swaggering showmen - and one that has since inspired countless novels, films and musicals.
-
-
Wonderful book - A real eye opener.
- By Islandgirl on 12-21-19
By: John Woolf
-
The Main Enemy
- The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
- By: Milton Bearden, James Risen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
-
-
A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
-
We Don't Know Ourselves
- A Personal History of Modern Ireland
- By: Fintan O'Toole
- Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In We Don't Know Ourselves, Fintan O'Toole weaves his own experiences into Irish social, cultural, and economic change, showing how Ireland, in just one lifetime, has gone from a reactionary "backwater" to an almost totally open society - perhaps the most astonishing national transformation in modern history. O'Toole narrates the once unthinkable collapse of the all-powerful Catholic Church, brought down by scandal and by the activism of ordinary Irish. He relates the horrific violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which led most Irish to reject violent nationalism.
-
-
Relentlessly Negative
- By John on 06-02-22
By: Fintan O'Toole
-
Greek Mythology Explained
- A Deeper Look at Classical Greek Lore and Myth
- By: Marios Christou, David Ramenah
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A fascinating take on classical Greek stories: Discover six classic Greek myths in this exciting retelling that paints both famous and lesser known characters in a whole new light. Follow the likes of Odysseus, Lamia, Bellerophon, Icarus, Medusa, and Artemis as their fates are revealed through bloody trials, gut-wrenching betrayals, sinister motives, and broken hearts.
-
-
Adults only
- By Morgen La on 01-21-22
By: Marios Christou, and others
-
On the Natural History of Destruction
- By: W. G. Sebald, Anthea Bell - Translator
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the Natural History of Destruction is W.G. Sebald's harrowing and precise investigation of one of the least examined "silences" of our time. In it, the acclaimed novelist examines the devastation of German cities by Allied bombardment, and the reasons for the astonishing absence of this unprecedented trauma from German history and culture. This void in history is in part a repression of things - such as the death by fire of the city of Hamburg at the hands of the RAF - too terrible to bear.
By: W. G. Sebald, and others
-
Dirtbag, Massachusetts
- A Confessional
- By: Isaac Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Isaac Fitzgerald
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Isaac Fitzgerald has lived many lives. He's been an altar boy, a bartender, a fat kid, a smuggler, a biker, a prince of New England. But before all that, he was a bomb that exploded his parents' lives—or so he was told. In Dirtbag, Massachusetts, Fitzgerald, with warmth and humor, recounts his ongoing search for forgiveness, a more far-reaching vision of masculinity, and a more expansive definition of family and self.
-
-
Ultimately Life Affirming
- By Anthony Lorenzen on 09-09-22
By: Isaac Fitzgerald
-
Four Lost Cities
- A Secret History of the Urban Age
- By: Annalee Newitz
- Narrated by: Chloe Cannon
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes listeners on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii in Italy, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today.
-
-
What really happened to four "lost" cities
- By Elisabeth Carey on 04-12-21
By: Annalee Newitz
Publisher's summary
One of NPR's "Books We Love"
New York Times Book Review's "The Best True Crime of 2022"
"Rich in historical perspective and graced by novelistic touches, grips the reader from first to last.”—Wall Street Journal
A suspense filled tale of murder on the American frontier—shedding new light on a family of serial killers in Kansas, whose horrifying crimes gripped the attention of a nation still reeling from war.
In 1873 the people of Labette County, Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried by a trailside cabin beneath an orchard of young apple trees were the remains of countless bodies. Below the cabin itself was a cellar stained with blood. The Benders, the family of four who once resided on the property were nowhere to be found. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for decades, sparking an epic manhunt for the Benders.
The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders—one among the thousands relocating farther west in search of land and opportunity after the Civil War—were capable of operating "a human slaughter pen" appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree and whether justice ever caught up to them is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Set against the backdrop of postbellum America, Hell’s Half-Acre explores the environment capable of allowing such horrors to take place. Drawing on extensive original archival material, Susan Jonusas introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, many of whom have been previously missing from the story. Among them are the families of the victims, the hapless detectives who lost the trail, and the fugitives that helped the murderers escape.
Hell’s Half-Acre is a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact and an entire family of criminals can slip through a community’s fingers, only to reappear in the most unexpected of places.
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Fred271 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
-
-
Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
- By: Phil Mason
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon's Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason's many revelations, you'll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You'll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield.
-
-
They just throw the facts too fast
- By Concerned_llama on 12-11-20
By: Phil Mason
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
-
-
it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
-
The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean
- By: M. Doreal
- Narrated by: John Marino
- Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The history of the tablets translated in the following book is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years. The writer is Thoth, an Atlantean Priest-King, who founded a colony in ancient Egypt after the sinking of the mother country. He was the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, erroneously attributed to Cheops. In it he incorporated his knowledge of the ancient wisdom and also securely secreted records and instruments of ancient Atlantis.
-
-
Excellence...
- By Light Worker on 04-21-18
By: M. Doreal
-
The Art of War
- By: Sun Tzu
- Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.
-
-
The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary
- By Fred271 on 12-31-19
By: Sun Tzu
-
Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
-
-
Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
- By: Phil Mason
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon's Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason's many revelations, you'll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You'll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield.
-
-
They just throw the facts too fast
- By Concerned_llama on 12-11-20
By: Phil Mason
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
- As Told to Alex Haley
- By: Malcolm X, Alex Haley
- Narrated by: Laurence Fishburne
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
-
-
it's Nearly perfect
- By Kerry on 09-16-20
By: Malcolm X, and others
-
The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean
- By: M. Doreal
- Narrated by: John Marino
- Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The history of the tablets translated in the following book is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years. The writer is Thoth, an Atlantean Priest-King, who founded a colony in ancient Egypt after the sinking of the mother country. He was the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, erroneously attributed to Cheops. In it he incorporated his knowledge of the ancient wisdom and also securely secreted records and instruments of ancient Atlantis.
-
-
Excellence...
- By Light Worker on 04-21-18
By: M. Doreal
-
The Undertow
- Scenes from a Slow Civil War
- By: Jeff Sharlet
- Narrated by: Jeff Sharlet
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An unmatched guide to the religious dimensions of American politics, Jeff Sharlet journeys into corners of our national psyche where others fear to tread. The Undertow is both inquiry and meditation, an attempt to understand how, over the last decade, reaction has morphed into delusion, social division into distrust, distrust into paranoia, and hatred into fantasies—sometimes realities—of violence.
-
-
I'm just not feeling this one....
- By J. Richmond on 08-04-23
By: Jeff Sharlet
-
Curse of Riches
- By: Claire Prentice
- Narrated by: Claire Prentice, Hillary Huber
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did the Wendels, one of New York’s most famous Gilded Age families, disappear from history? The Wendels built a fortune from New York real estate, and rubbed shoulders with the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Stuyvesants. But as the 19th century came to an end, the Wendel family tore itself apart. Following six years of painstaking archival research, Claire Prentice has prised open the door of the Wendels’ Fifth Avenue mansion—dubbed “the house of mystery” by the press—to reveal a fascinating and dysfunctional family imprisoned in a gilded cage.
-
-
Kept Waiting for it to be Interesting
- By Mary on 06-23-23
By: Claire Prentice
-
The Right Stuff
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Dennis Quaid
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of words have poured forth about man's trip to the moon, but until now few people have had a sense of the most engrossing side of the adventure: namely, what went on in the minds of the astronauts themselves - in space, on the moon, and even during certain odysseys on earth. It is this, the inner life of the astronauts, that Tom Wolfe describes with his almost uncanny empathetic powers that made The Right Stuff a classic.
-
-
Righteous Book, Righteous Narrator, Righteous MEN!
- By Gillian on 02-08-18
By: Tom Wolfe
-
Mythology: Mega Collection
- Classic Stories from the Greek, Celtic, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, Chinese, Mesopotamian and Egyptian Mythology
- By: Scott Lewis
- Narrated by: Madison Niederhauser, Oliver Hunt
- Length: 31 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you know how many wives Zeus had? Or how the famous Trojan War was caused by one beautiful lady? Or how Thor got his hammer? Give your imagination a real treat. This Mega Mythology Collection of eight audiobooks is for you....
-
-
An interesting set of introductions.
- By Kevin Potter on 05-30-19
By: Scott Lewis
-
The Hidden History of the Boston Tea Party
- By: Adam Jortner, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Adam Jortner
- Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The history of the Boston Tea Party is a hidden one. Why? Since it was a clandestine operation, all sorts of rumors and legends grew up around the event—many collected decades after the American Revolution had ended. At its core, however, the night of December 16, 1773, when colonials dumped tea from British ships into Boston Harbor, was more than a fight over tea and taxes. It was a struggle over the very nature of democracy and self-governance.
-
-
How nuanced this event actually was
- By Cody T. on 12-17-23
By: Adam Jortner, and others
-
Helter Skelter
- The True Story of the Manson Murders
- By: Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 26 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the 20th century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Now available for the first time in unabridged audio, the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime is brought to life by acclaimed narrator Scott Brick.
-
-
Everything I remembered about the case was wrong..
- By karen on 06-22-12
By: Vincent Bugliosi, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Starkweather
- The Untold Story of the Killing Spree That Changed America
- By: Harry N. MacLean
- Narrated by: William DeMeritt
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 21, 1958, nineteen-year-old Charles Starkweather changed the course of crime in the United States when he murdered the parents and sister of his fourteen-year-old girlfriend (and possible accomplice), Caril Ann Fugate, in a house on the edge of Lincoln, Nebraska. They then drove to the nearby town of Bennet, where a farmer was robbed and killed. When Starkweather’s car broke down, the teenagers who stopped to help were murdered and jammed into a storm cellar. By the time the dust settled, ten innocent people were dead and the city of Lincoln was in a state of terror.
-
-
solid
- By Patrick on 11-30-23
By: Harry N. MacLean
-
On the Farm
- Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women
- By: Stevie Cameron
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Verteran investigative journalist Stevie Cameron first began following the story of missing women in 1998, when the odd newspaper piece appeared chronicling the disappearances of drug-addicted sex trade workers from Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside. It was not until February 2002 that pig farmer Robert William Pickton would be arrested, and 2008 before he was found guilty, on six counts of second-degree murder. These counts were appealed and in 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its conclusion.
-
-
zzzz
- By Michael on 05-16-22
By: Stevie Cameron
-
The Man from the Train
- The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
- By: Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
-
-
Repetitive and Frustrating
- By Heather L. on 02-22-18
By: Bill James, and others
-
All That Is Wicked
- A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer—some have called him a “Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter”—whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity.
-
-
PLEASE STOP The Politicizing of Everything
- By Anonymous on 10-15-22
-
Hell's Half-Acre
- A Novel
- By: Nicholas Nicastro
- Narrated by: Aven Shore
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on true events, this unforgettable novel tells the story of the Bloody Benders, a family of grifters and thieves running an isolated feed store on the Kansas plains, boarding travelers along the Great Osage Trail. Beautiful Kate Bender was mysterious and well-versed in the dark arts; Ma and Pa were quiet and foreboding, speaking in guttural tones; and young John Bender was thought to be insane. On land soaked with the blood of conflict, the Benders made their home.
-
-
Macabre Story of the Benders
- By Midwestbonsai on 07-27-18
-
Twelve from Hell
- The Ultimate True Crime Case Collection
- By: Ryan Green
- Narrated by: Ernie Sprance, Steve White
- Length: 37 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Ultimate True Crime Case Collection contains disturbing accounts of some of the most brutal and bizarre true crime stories in history. Often told from the killer’s perspective, Green’s riveting narratives draw the listener into the real-life horror experienced by the victims with all the elements of a classic thriller. This collection includes the stories of Harold Shipman, Fred and Rose West, the Kurim case, the Mockingbird Hill massacre, the Truro Murders, Herb Baumeister, Katherine Knight, Henry Lee Lucas, and Nannie Doss.
-
-
HeLLa GooD Listening!
- By SisterSeven on 10-22-22
By: Ryan Green
-
Starkweather
- The Untold Story of the Killing Spree That Changed America
- By: Harry N. MacLean
- Narrated by: William DeMeritt
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 21, 1958, nineteen-year-old Charles Starkweather changed the course of crime in the United States when he murdered the parents and sister of his fourteen-year-old girlfriend (and possible accomplice), Caril Ann Fugate, in a house on the edge of Lincoln, Nebraska. They then drove to the nearby town of Bennet, where a farmer was robbed and killed. When Starkweather’s car broke down, the teenagers who stopped to help were murdered and jammed into a storm cellar. By the time the dust settled, ten innocent people were dead and the city of Lincoln was in a state of terror.
-
-
solid
- By Patrick on 11-30-23
By: Harry N. MacLean
-
On the Farm
- Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women
- By: Stevie Cameron
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Verteran investigative journalist Stevie Cameron first began following the story of missing women in 1998, when the odd newspaper piece appeared chronicling the disappearances of drug-addicted sex trade workers from Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside. It was not until February 2002 that pig farmer Robert William Pickton would be arrested, and 2008 before he was found guilty, on six counts of second-degree murder. These counts were appealed and in 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its conclusion.
-
-
zzzz
- By Michael on 05-16-22
By: Stevie Cameron
-
The Man from the Train
- The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
- By: Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
-
-
Repetitive and Frustrating
- By Heather L. on 02-22-18
By: Bill James, and others
-
All That Is Wicked
- A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer—some have called him a “Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter”—whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity.
-
-
PLEASE STOP The Politicizing of Everything
- By Anonymous on 10-15-22
-
Hell's Half-Acre
- A Novel
- By: Nicholas Nicastro
- Narrated by: Aven Shore
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on true events, this unforgettable novel tells the story of the Bloody Benders, a family of grifters and thieves running an isolated feed store on the Kansas plains, boarding travelers along the Great Osage Trail. Beautiful Kate Bender was mysterious and well-versed in the dark arts; Ma and Pa were quiet and foreboding, speaking in guttural tones; and young John Bender was thought to be insane. On land soaked with the blood of conflict, the Benders made their home.
-
-
Macabre Story of the Benders
- By Midwestbonsai on 07-27-18
-
Twelve from Hell
- The Ultimate True Crime Case Collection
- By: Ryan Green
- Narrated by: Ernie Sprance, Steve White
- Length: 37 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Ultimate True Crime Case Collection contains disturbing accounts of some of the most brutal and bizarre true crime stories in history. Often told from the killer’s perspective, Green’s riveting narratives draw the listener into the real-life horror experienced by the victims with all the elements of a classic thriller. This collection includes the stories of Harold Shipman, Fred and Rose West, the Kurim case, the Mockingbird Hill massacre, the Truro Murders, Herb Baumeister, Katherine Knight, Henry Lee Lucas, and Nannie Doss.
-
-
HeLLa GooD Listening!
- By SisterSeven on 10-22-22
By: Ryan Green
-
The Teacher's Pet
- By: Hedley Thomas
- Narrated by: Hedley Thomas
- Length: 18 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you thought you knew the story of The Teacher's Pet, get ready to be shocked. Hedley Thomas takes you behind the scenes with a blow-by-blow account of one of the most intriguing and enduring murder mysteries of our time - the crime, the podcast investigation, the sexual exploitation of teenage students, the courtroom drama - and how justice was finally delivered.
-
-
Very well done.
- By Mary Katherine Lobel on 01-15-24
By: Hedley Thomas
-
The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist
- A True Story of Injustice in the American South
- By: Radley Balko, Tucker Carrington, John Grisham - foreword
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist, Radley Balko and Tucker Carrington write a true story of Southern Gothic horror - of two innocent men wrongly convicted of vicious crimes and the legally condoned failures that allowed it to happen. Balko and Carrington will shine a light on the institutional and professional failures that allowed this tragic, astonishing story to happen, identify where it may have happened elsewhere, and show how to prevent it from happening again.
-
-
Gothic Horror-Show, With A Few Digressions
- By Gillian on 03-01-18
By: Radley Balko, and others
-
The Forever Witness
- How DNA and Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Edward Humes
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In November 1987, a young couple on an overnight trip to Seattle vanished without a trace. A week later, the bodies of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend Jay Cook were found in rural Washington. It was a brutal crime, and it was the perfect crime: With few clues and no witnesses, an international manhunt turned up empty, and the sensational case that shocked the Pacific Northwest gradually slipped from the headlines.
-
-
Compelling
- By MLB on 01-17-23
By: Edward Humes
-
Unmasked
- My Life Solving America's Cold Cases
- By: Paul Holes, Robin Gaby Fisher
- Narrated by: Paul Holes
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I order another bourbon, neat. This is the drink that will flip the switch. I don’t even know how I got here, to this place, to this point. Something is happening to me lately. I’m drinking too much. My sheets are soaking wet when I wake up from nightmares of decaying corpses. I order another drink and swig it, trying to forget about the latest case I can’t shake. Crime solving for me is more complex than the challenge of the hunt, or the process of piecing together a scientific puzzle. The thought of good people suffering drives me to the point of obsession.
-
-
I gave it the old college try
- By Hobbes on 05-06-22
By: Paul Holes, and others
-
Damnation Island
- Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York
- By: Stacy Horn
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today it is known as Roosevelt Island. In 1828, when New York City purchased this narrow, two-mile-long island in the East River, it was called Blackwell's Island. There, over the next hundred years, the city would build a lunatic asylum, prison, hospital, workhouse, and almshouse. Stacy Horn has crafted a compelling and chilling narrative told through the stories of the poor souls sent to Blackwell's, as well as the period's city officials, reformers, and journalists (including the famous Nellie Bly). Damnation Island re-creates what daily life was like on the island....
-
-
Fascinating!
- By tamborine on 08-06-18
By: Stacy Horn
-
The Killer's Shadow
- The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer
- By: John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker
- Narrated by: Holt McCallany
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Worshippers stream out of an Midwestern synagogue after sabbath services, unaware that only a hundred yards away, an expert marksman and avowed racist, antisemite and member of the Ku Klux Klan, patiently awaits, his hunting rifle at the ready. A riveting, cautionary tale rooted in history that continues to echo today, The Killer's Shadow is a terrifying and essential exploration of the criminal personality in the vile grip of extremism and what happens when rage-filled speech evolves into deadly action and hatred of the “other" is allowed full reign.
-
-
A relevant and important read.
- By Alyson on 12-25-20
By: John E. Douglas, and others
-
Hell's Princess
- The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana “murder farm". Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace.
-
-
Can a book about a serial killer be entertaining?
- By Lori Hanson on 05-08-18
By: Harold Schechter
-
Blood & Ink
- The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime
- By: Joe Pompeo
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy.
-
-
Great Story!
- By Kimberly Soper on 09-21-22
By: Joe Pompeo
-
American Predator
- The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century
- By: Maureen Callahan
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enforcement.
-
-
Why you shouldn’t listen to Reviews
- By jofi00 on 10-23-19
By: Maureen Callahan
-
American Demon
- Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper
- By: Daniel Stashower
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 5th, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland’s Lake Erie: the lower half of a female torso, neatly severed at the waist. The victim, dubbed “The Lady of the Lake,” was only the first of a butcher’s dozen. Over the next four years, twelve more bodies would be scattered across the city. The bodies were dismembered with surgical precision and drained of blood. Some were beheaded while still alive.
-
-
Not what I expected at all
- By Iceboxannie on 11-10-22
By: Daniel Stashower
-
The Panzram Papers
- By: John Borowski, Carl Panzram
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Carl Panzram's complete autobiography, written in 1928.
By: John Borowski, and others
-
Death in the Air
- The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A real-life thriller in the vein of The Devil in the White City, Kate Winkler Dawson's debut, Death in the Air, is a gripping, historical narrative of a serial killer, an environmental disaster, and an iconic city struggling to regain its footing. In winter 1952, London automobiles and thousands of coal-burning hearths belched particulate matter into the air. But the smog that descended on December fifth of 1952 was different; it was a type that held the city hostage for five long days.
-
-
Interesting
- By irene on 11-27-17
Love Books? You'll Love Audible.
Transform your day
Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.
Listen everywhere
Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.
Carry your entire Library
Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.
Listen and learn
Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.
Reach your reading goals
You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.
Find your niche
WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.
What listeners say about Hell's Half Acre
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Erin and Michael
- 12-31-22
A lot local history, not a lot about the Benders
I was hoping this story would focus more on the Benders- possibly dive in their history before their crimes and more about what happened to them, but whether by lack of research or lack of its existence, it just isn’t there. A bit disappointing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin
- 10-06-23
I want a Time Machine..
I want a Time Machine to go back and see where the family actually ended up! A great comprehensive story that does elaborate a bit much at times. However! I couldn’t pull myself away from this book until it was finished…thank you for the dedication to this topic!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrea
- 03-15-22
Fascinating book for true crime lovers
If you enjoyed THE MAN FROM THE TRAIN, then this book, with crimes that occurred in 19th Century Kansas, will be right up your alley.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rebecca Hill
- 06-14-22
Murder Most Foul.. Enduring Through Time
The history of the Bender's has been the talk of lore, myth, and loose facts for more than 100 years. The crimes that were uncovered on the Bender farm not only sparked a massive manhunt, but it showed a darker side to humanity, that anyone could be taken advantage of on the prairie.
In Hell's Half-Acre, Susan Jonusas takes us through the story of the family, the crimes that were committed, and the search that went on for decades for the family that became known as the first serial killer family in America.
Kate Bender was the most well-known of the family, but it was because was the more outgoing, the one who was the more likeable of the family in and around the community, but her easy going ways did not still the rumors that began to swirl about her before the crimes were uncovered. It was her spiritualism side that began the darker rumors, sparking stories and fear among some who had gone through séances in her home, or were being hounded to allow her to conduct a séance to reach a newly departed family member. There were stories of people feeling afraid in the cabin, and more than one fled from the cabin after feeling that something was not right. Fleeing might have just saved their lives.
As the crimes were uncovered, the horror spilled throughout the community. It was not uncommon for people to head west and disappear, but the large number of those who were disappearing around the small area in Kansas started to cause consternation. As more and more bodies were uncovered, anger grew, and a party went off in search of the Bender's. Unfortunately, they had a head start, and were able to disappear into the outlaw gang territories, evading justice.
As I read through this book, it was hard for me to put down. I absolutely LOVED it. There are sections that were harder to read, but the story of the Bender's has been one that has captivated readers time and time again. With their escape, evasion of justice, and the sheer number of crimes (not to mention one was a child), anger and fascination with the family has endured.
For true crime lovers, this is a must read, can't stop reading, oh I have a book hangover volume. Take my word for it - get a copy now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 12-29-23
Bender. Family for life
Enjoyed it very much. Definitely would recommend to the true crime nut. Gonna try to hit the museum next time
Out that way.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alexis Smith
- 03-18-24
LOVED IT!!!
As someone who was born/lives in Labette County I really enjoyed this book! It painted a picture of what Labette County and surrounding areas were like back when the Benders were around! I think it’s a great listen even if you have no clue about the Bender family or their story, but it also gives a lot of perspective for those that know all about the Benders and their story! Would 100% recommend it to anyone!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cory Shute
- 12-06-23
interesting subject.
Writing was too focused on the authors version of how people felt versus the facts of the events. Parts seemed like a bad romance novel versus a true crime story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael Hancock
- 03-02-22
VERY difficult to listen to
I am by no means a grammar Nazi. I KNOW it's not a grammatical rule but when a narrator or speaker pronounces phrases such as 'the onion'...or 'the object', it is very difficult to listen to what they are saying when they pronounce it as 'thuh onion' or 'thuh object' instead of using 'thee onion' or 'thee object'. I found myself focusing more on the awkward use of grammar than the actual story. I will end up purchasing the book and reading it as i found the story fascinating but the narration horrible.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael A Minor
- 12-10-22
Great detail!
This story put you there beside each character, good and bad. Left you with a understanding of the times. Even if we don’t know exactly what happened to the Bender’s, your not left feeling incomplete.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- HouseJack
- 04-23-24
Epic true crime story
crazy true story about a family of killers on the prairies around the turn of the century
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!