Rating: 
Summary: Novel Killers make Killer Novels
Review: In Capote's "true" account of a multiple murder, the definitive example of a genre that wasn't, (Journalistic Fiction) the author masterfully grasps tone and diction to consistently set a complex scene in "a few perfect details." Whether describing the 1959 murder scene or a quirky hitchhiker, a vocabulary rivaled by few in addition to a deep empathy for his "characters" (one hesitates to label real people "characters") pervade the otherwise objective, journalistic style. The six years that Capote spent collecting information by interviewing countless witnesses and friends of the murdered Clutter family (relying only on his photographic memory, never taking notes or making recordings) paid off by unearthing some long-buried secrets. Confessions such as, "not only had he known the murdered family, he knew very well who had murdered them," fill the text as the mystery, not a whodunit, but a whydunit, is slowly and tantalizingly revealed. Layer by layer, Capote digs toward a motive by fishing red herrings and half-truths from the minds of the accused. His incredible understanding of both killings and killers exemplifies itself throughout the novel, "Perry's expression, his look of unflawed fulfillment, of beatitude, as though at last, and as in one of his dreams, a tall yellow bird had hauled him to heaven." The technique of the author doubtless turns off fans of Holmes and the Hardys because there is never a standard mystery encompassing the plot of what often seems like a 348 page newspaper article. However, Capote rewards those who stick with the book and wade through his verbose, sing-songy style by presenting an engrossing character study; a better subtitle for the book may be "Glimpses into the lives and minds of cold-blooded killers." The text also serves the purpose of serving as a seemingly quiet and innocuous examination of the corruption that false hope in the American Dream festers in the hearts of both the haves and the have-nots. This commentary, however subtle, sticks in the mind of the reader and forces one to examine how much faith one puts on archaic promises and expectations. Always critical of traditional values, Capote weaves and intriguing web of prose which will ensnare the reader's imagination and never allow his book to be put down.
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: In Cold Blood, an undeniable classic.
Review: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is a celebrated meld of fact and inference. In it Capote pioneered the genre of the nonfiction novel. Using the real-life murder of the Clutter family in 1959 Holcomb Kansas, Capote spins a story that impresses and engages everyone who reads it. The original way Capote uses scenes creates a specific and lasting impression. His take on the Clutter murders is all-encompassing. It's informative, accurate and saturated with details. Capote transforms a news article into a creative work and makes history doing it. I thoroughly enjoyed In Cold Blood. Even though the Clutter family was murdered 50 years ago, when I read it the story it felt immediate and pertinent. The psychological insights Capote made in the book, especially when looking at the killers, were phenomenal and ahead of his time. In Cold Blood read like a romance novel with the added intensity of knowing that the content was real; that it actually happened. The connection Capote makes to the Perry is so deep that it left me feeling that Perry was almost the good guy, and although it was inevitable, he wouldn't end up being executed. I suppose that is the real difference between fiction and nonfiction: in nonfiction that author can't twist the plot to create a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: Capote's Classic
Review: Mr. Capote did us a great service in probing every facet of the tragic murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. But for his careful research and lucid prose, the courage of the Clutters, and the savagery of their murder, made all the more tragic by the quality of the family's character, might well have gone unrecognized. Although our era scarcely needs another shocking crime about which to read, In Cold Blood is worth re-visiting. At one level, Capote's book reminds us just how much has changed in a relatively short span of time. It is almost impossible in today's world to imagine reporters waiting anxiously in Holcomb for the return by car of the accused killers; now, even cities of modest size would have dispatched any number of helicopters to hover over the vehicles in transit and the footage would be delivered to our living rooms, and we would find ourselves addicted to the sound of the copters and the chatter of reporters. At another level, the book shows how little has changed. The murder of the Clutters is a modern story, a sad precursor to our own violent times. Capote knew that Holcomb, Kansas was a tale of innocence lost after the passing of the Clutter family. Now we know it was not just Holcomb's loss.
Rating:
Summary: A true story of a murder
Review: Author Truman Capote wanted to write a book by applying "techniques of fiction to a fact-based story" and the result is arguably Truman Capote's most famous work, In Cold Blood. The book is the fascinating account of an actual murder of an innocent family in southwestern Kansas. Four members of the unsuspecting Clutter family were methodically and viciously murdered on their farm in mid November back in 1959. The crime was a mystery as no one had seen the murderers nor could a motive be discovered. Eventually two men are found to most likely be involved. The story is not a who-dun-it but rather an analysis of a crime and the mystery as to why two men would drive over 400 miles to kill four people who they did not know. It is this last point that provides the greater context of the story. Capote was attempting to explore the criminal mind and find some psychological motivation for criminal behavior. In Cold Blood is considered an American classic and it rightfully deserves that accolade. It was one of the first books of its kind - a novel of a true incident - and it is still one of the best books of any genre. Capote's style is leisurely, straightforward and informative and yet somehow provides the reader with enormous tension at all the right places. Furthermore, while reading the book I just couldn't help but keep thinking that this is a true story, which makes the book more horrifying.
Rating:
Summary: Just perfect!
Review: There are only a handful of "perfect" books out in the world. You know what I mean: Books that have a great dramatic arc; books that make "sense;" Books that bring everything together; Books that seem "Classic" even though they might have been written only a few years ago. A few come to mind. Steinbeck's EAST OF EDEN is one. McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD is another. And, yes, IN COLD BLOOD is yet a third. There are a few more, but then, everyone has their opinion, so I'll leave it at that. Suffice it to say that this Capote book will NOT disappoint you with its great yet disturbing story. And lest you think that we're (as a society) numb to murder, violence, and the workings of a sick mind, think again, for Capote's brilliant work will still make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It sounds cliche to say "Classic" but that's just what it is.
Rating:
Summary: One of the five all-time great reads
Review: This book is still holding its own after all these years, and with good reason: It's a well-crafted piece of literature by one of the last century's great American writers. Without a doubt, this is one of the top five books that everyone should read and keep. Not only did Capote develop a new hybrid of book, but he managed to couch the tale in such wonderful prose that it's still haunting and harrowing, even today after all we've seen and been through. But this is the essence of Capote--his ability to get down to the bones of the story, yet give us enough details that make the telling come alive with a fresh horror. And as if this book were not enough of a legacy for him to leave, consider how he changed all literature that came after "In Cold Blood." So many writers have taken their cue from Capote with regard to hybridizing genres (think Berendt's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," or Jackson McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood") that it is impossible to ignore the contributions this brilliant and damaged man has made to the cannon of American literature. But don't be put off by the fact that "Blood" is now a classic--read it for the brilliant story it is. On another note, the movie is equally as harrowing, shot in black and white, with Robert Blake. The scenes in which the Clutter family is killed are some of the most disturbing footage ever to be seen on film. Bottomline: Great book, great movie, great writer.
Rating:
Summary: Capote at his best
Review: To call "In Cold Blood" a "true-crime" story is to diminish Truman Capote's enormous talent as a writer. Capote wanted to create a new form of writing which he termed the "non-fiction novel": a work of historical or contemporary fact writting in the form of a novel. To an extent, he succeeded. Rather than a dry recitation of the story of a multiple murder, "In Cold Blood" sweeps us up in the narrative much as a good work of fiction does. Except the events in this book are all too real. Capote tells us the story of the Clutter family murders in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas in 1959 from all angles: the Clutters themselves, the lowlife killers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, and the detectives of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation who brought them to justice. We meet the Clutters first: Herb Clutter, a pillar of the community and his sensitive wife Bonnie, suffering from bouts of depression; and their two children, the popular, outgoing Nancy and the introverted Kenyon. Then there are Smith and Hickock, two small-town, small-time criminals who hit the big time in one horrendous night when they murder the entire Clutter family. And there is the KBI team that followed each slender lead to bring them to justice. Capote's narrative of the trial which lead to the conviction and execution of Hickock and Smith is as fascinating as his telling of the events which lead to their capture. We can attempt to understand what drove Smith to kill, growing up in a chaotic family; Hickock is more of an enigma. Capote presents the senior Hickocks as two caring and conscientious parents whose son rejected the principles they tried to instill in him. Can good parents raise a bad kid? Certainly the Hickocks did. Smith at least had a conscience, something Hickock never bothered about. Did they deserve to die for their crime? Capote seems to have been leaning against the death penalty in general. He emphasizes that the judge chose the strictest possible interpretation of the mental incapacity statues which might have applied to Perry Smith. The conclusion of the trial was almost foregone; the detectives had carefully built an airtight case. Hickock and Smith end up on the gallows. The book's ending is a wistful scene between the leading KBI investigator and Nancy's best friend, Susan, now a young woman entering college; just such a young woman, Capote says, that Nancy might have been had she lived to grow up. In that final scene, we see, as Capote meant us to see, the waste of six lives -- the Clutters, and the killers' own.
Rating:
Summary: In Cold Blood
Review: In the story "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote, I found that this man's version of the story was quite interesting to me. He was very descriptive in detail of all the characters of the book by being very meticulous in his writing style. He also performed such extensive research of Holcomb by describing every little detail about the town. This book was unique because of how Truman would talk about Perry Smith and Dick Hickock in one paragraph and then the next paragraph he would switch over to the Clutter family and what they were doing. He had so much information about the Clutters that he even described how the daughter Nancy was helping a little girl learn to bake a pie. By explaining in detail of what happened the day of the murder made this book so interesting that I could not put it down until I read the whole thing. When a writer explains all of the details in this way, someone who reads this book can understand what must have happened and how surprised the town was to have this happen to such a nice family in the community. I was very impressed with how Truman was so particular in his details of the murder itself. Truman identified every piece of the murder and by doing this, I felt like I got to know every character in the book. I know that with forensics today some murders do not take as long to solve, but back in 1959 murders were very rare. This murder case was so intriguing because the police did not have all of the technology of today to help solve this murder. The murder was solved with simple police tactics and this is partially what made the book so interesting for me to read. I would recommend that anyone who likes to read books of this nature, "Cold Blood" would be of interest to them.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: A spectacularly written true account of the 1959 murders of the Klutter family. Taking the reader to the lives of the killers and victims before the murder, the subsequent events, arrest, and executions, Capote allows the readers to empathize with everyone involved in the senseless act of violence. Gripping and an excellent example of non-fiction writing. Highly recommended.
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