Rating: 
Summary: Astounding.
Review: I could not put this book down once I had picked it up. Though covering a terribly bloody topic, it is lyrically and beautifully written by Capote, describing everything to the last detail, though without the tedium that accompanies many other books that attempt to do so.It is obvious that Capote would have for years looked at all the information he could, studying it in detail, to create such a consistent masterpiece. This book can be appreciated by people of all ages (I am 13) for the genius required to pull it off. It is the book's structure, though, that was astonishing. The book, divided into four sections, each ended in a haunting climax, or deep revelation that leaves you terrified, but wanting more. Buy this book today.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth It
Review: Truman Capote delivers a truely amazing (and shocking) look into the minds of killers. Although the content was sometimes hard to swallow, it was well worth it. Capote doesn't fail to leave out any details of any kind, and this is what makes the book so great. Capote creates great suspense and it's easy to read the book in one sitting. The only warning to give is that this book hits you really hard. Some parts are truly horrifying and seem so real that it feels like you're in the book. You befriend the victims...and the killers. But it's a book you'll never forget.
Rating: 
Summary: A Superb Non-Fiction Thriller
Review: This docu-novel has been compared to Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and with good reason. This book, too, centers on a mysterious murder perpetrated in a kindly community. However, there are several notable differences, the most striking being that while Midnight gets into more of the deep-seated intrigues present in Savannah, In Cold Blood centers on the psyches of the killers themselves, and the tireless investigation to catch them. Little local color is really included, and that which is seems quite out-of-place, dull and sedentary, the book's only downfall. The Clutter Family is clearly, cleanly portrayed, and though the outcome of the work is never in doubt, Capote makes a marvelous showing by giving the reader a solemn roller-coaster as the authorities chase the blindly-running criminals. This is an excellent book, and I would certainly recommend that any reader interested look into both this book and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Check 'em out and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A slice of American Pie that is hard to digest
Review: I believe that the unlived lives' of Nancy and the rest of the Clutters will haunt me everytime I hear the phrase "It could never happen to me . . ." forever. The reader cannot help but to acknowledge the reality that this kind of vagabond psychosis is as much a part of an all-american landscape as Mom, baseball, and apple pie. In the hands of a lesser wordsmith, this account could be yet another violent antecdote serving to desensitize the populous-- but from the pen of Truman Capote it causes us confront the unheard of fears and demons that live within us all. The profiles' of Perry and Dick's neighbors on Death Row chill the bone as much as the vision of Nancy's pleas before the point-blank 12-gauge. I don't think I will soon forget this book. As much as it disturbs and provokes one to check the locks on their doors one extra time before turning in, I can't reccomend it highly enough. Overall, a riveting cross-section of the American psychotic impulse. I was horrified, ashamed and strengthened by this story.
Rating:
Summary: Writing Clarity
Review: How is it possible to be thrilled by the description of landscape in western Kansas? When it's done by a master writer, every word and phrase is a treat to read. And that's only the first page! Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD is a thoroughly nourishing book.
Rating:
Summary: It Just Doesn't Get Any Better
Review: The magnificence of "In Cold Blood" doesn't lie in the subject matter but in its treatment. There are--unfortunately--more depraved criminals and more elaborate police investigations detailed in a great many "true crime" accounts. But I doubt that any of them is as well written as "In Cold Blood." I haul my copy out every 2-3 years just to remind myself how wonderful the rhythms and nuances of the American language can be at the hands of a master. I am totally drawn into the lives of the prosperous and completely unsuspecting Clutter family of western Kansas and the two drifters, Perry and Dick, who by themselves didn't amount to much but together proved lethal that fall night in 1959. A trivia note: Capote's research assistant on this book was Nell Harper) Lee, who shortly after would become famous as the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird." I'd recommend Gerald Clarke's excellent biography "Capote" to learn about this one-of-a-kind book, its creation, reception, and how it affected the author's life.
Rating:
Summary: In Cold Blood
Review: Capote's depiction of the Cutter tragidy from the third person piont of view truly shows the horror of crime in our violent society. Many of the ideas including child abuse creating a violent crimmal where devloped before many criminal phsycologists had begun to research them. He has the ability to make the reader feel sympothetic of the stuggles of Perry's life and like him for his love of the arts and dreams of life, yet still creates a hatered for the man who killed four people for no reason. The image of the Nancy and the boy slaughtered is truely chilling after learning of there kindness and aspirations for life. Finally, his ability to show how the crime haunts some many people yet sadly and truthfully becomes forgotten in a society where violence is an all to comman occurance.
Rating:
Summary: It Just Doesn't Get Any Better
Review: Truman Capote happened upon a brief newspaper story about the Clutter family murders in late 1959 and his life--and American letters--were changed forever. I was first exposed to IN COLD BLOOD in high school and haul it out every 2-3 years to reread it and remind myself that our language can be that good. Nothing fancy, just plain midcentury American English, no vocabulary beyond the reach of an eighth grader. But I don't think I've ever encountered anything else so perfectly written and constructed. Capote gets us into the minds of the killers--and the victim Clutters--and his tale takes on the dimensions of a Greek tragedy. There have been hundreds of more elaborate "true crime" accounts published since 1965, but I know of none more gripping. I was sad when IN COLD BLOOD barely squeaked in at no. 98 in a recent list of the 20th century's best nonfiction books--some purists still had trouble with the fact that Capote had to use conjecture and invention to recreate scenes between the Clutters, etc. A little trivia: Capote's research assistant in writing IN COLD BLOOD was (Nell) Harper Lee of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD fame (this was before she became). Gerald Clarke's biography of Capote devotes a healthy amount of space to the writing of IN COLD BLOOD and its thunderous reception.
Rating:
Summary: A masterful performance
Review: This is an excellent book, in spite of the author's partiality in favor of one of the murderers. It reads like a thriller, providing excitement, but also an interesting analysis of the social environment and of the minds of the main actors. Not convincing, however, as an argument against capital punishment. Quite the contrary. Recommended to all people interested in quality journalism. I read it as an assignment, and am grateful to the professor. I wish I had read it years ago.
Rating:
Summary: This book masterfully portrays the human condition.
Review: I just finished this book and read all the reviews to see what others were saying about it. I read a handful of reviews, however, that said that what the killers did was so inhumane (or inhuman) that they themselves were not human. This view is denial of simple compassion. If we cannot feel unconditional compassion for one another sometimes, how human are we? And the silly, impish idea that "what they did was bad - they can't be human!" is a denial of human failure. If you can't handle grey areas - which this book embraces and details so masterfully: don't read it. And feel pity for Perry, if nothing else because he was one of us.
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