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Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook

Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook

List Price: $19.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Highly, highly disturbing BUT...
Review: A one-of-a-kind exploration into the darkest of realms and fears: What death really is when examined in the "scientific" real world. Definite "proof that there were no 'good old days.'" I normally do not disturb/scare easily, so when I encountered this book, I had to buy it. NOT for the faint of heart/stomach but an important book nonetheless. We are forced to glimpse man's inhumanity to man, while along the way experiencing the ironically humorous captions enscribed by the detective. I actually had to burn this book during a dark period of my life (just to indicate to you, the potential reader, how deeply affecting it is). Inevitably, though, I had to purchase it again. Unique and important (for a specific audience, that is). I will never forget it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: At death's door
Review: Already an underground favorite, this "monument to death, depravity and human foible" is a startling book. Jack Huddleston was a Los Angeles police officer between the 1920's and 1950's and collected these graphic pictures in order to "show the work of the peace officer and his problems." And thanks to wonderful restoration, The Detective's Homicide Scrapbook can now be purchased and placed on your coffee table, hehe.......Jack Huddleston accompanies the pics with blunt observations illustrating the detachment someone has to have when working with slashed and stabbed, crushed and brutalized bodies. And the thing is, this lovely little book get's worse and worse with each passing page until you reach the end. Have fun, kids.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Just plain Good Gore
Review: Ever since I was a kid growing up in Mexico I was interested in grotesque scenes of dead people. I came across this book by sheer coincidence and it is just amazing. It has superb, eye catching, well defined images and despite the fact that the pictures are in black and white, it does not for a minute lessens the impact of the photos. This book is just FANTASTIC and INTERESTING.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice b & w shots...even if it was enhanced with color.
Review: Great pictorial book, great shots even but then they were shot in b & w being they were homicide shots done in the early 20s and 30s. Imagine if the shots were enhanced with color. There are two ways of looking at this book. One way is to look at it at the era in which these shots were taken, how they were taken, and the situation it was taken in. Book was divided into several sections on how people died: auto accident, crime, suicide, and sickness. Its a good collection of homicide shots. The other way to look at this book is simply to just go thru the pages and scan each picture out of curiosity. No need to have a strong gut to view these pictures. They're not that gory. If you are looking for gore, this is not the book you want to see. Lots of blown off heads, decaptitated bodies, open and slashed up bodies, decomposed bodies, things you will normally see on gore movies. The only thing which separates it is the knowledge that these are REAL LIFE pictures. I enjoyed reading/looking at this book. Nothing really eye-catching here. Pictures are all b & w. Shots made in the early to late 30s. Mostly are homicide shots. That's it. I admire the guy who made this collection. Quite a collection too. But to say it's going to make you lose sleep, nope not this one; I've seen worse.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice b & w shots...even if it was enhanced with color.
Review: Great pictorial book, great shots even but then they were shot in b & w being they were homicide shots done in the early 20s and 30s. Imagine if the shots were enhanced with color. There are two ways of looking at this book. One way is to look at it at the era in which these shots were taken, how they were taken, and the situation it was taken in. Book was divided into several sections on how people died: auto accident, crime, suicide, and sickness. Its a good collection of homicide shots. The other way to look at this book is simply to just go thru the pages and scan each picture out of curiosity. No need to have a strong gut to view these pictures. They're not that gory. If you are looking for gore, this is not the book you want to see. Lots of blown off heads, decaptitated bodies, open and slashed up bodies, decomposed bodies, things you will normally see on gore movies. The only thing which separates it is the knowledge that these are REAL LIFE pictures. I enjoyed reading/looking at this book. Nothing really eye-catching here. Pictures are all b & w. Shots made in the early to late 30s. Mostly are homicide shots. That's it. I admire the guy who made this collection. Quite a collection too. But to say it's going to make you lose sleep, nope not this one; I've seen worse.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disturbing and provacative
Review: I admit I bought this book out of a sense of curiosity more than anything else. What I got was the printed equivalent of a nasty car accident - you know it's going to give you nightmares but you just have to slow down and look anyway. I gave this book three stars beause I can't honestly say I "enjoyed" it, but I was very unsettled by it. Warning - there are several pictures here of murdered infants and children; wish I had known this in advance, as I am pregnant and I can't get those painful images out of my mind.

If you want the unglossed truth about what violent death looks like, this is the book to buy. It doesn't need to be in color to be graphic - the b&w is detailed enough. Good documentation, but with too much emphasis on the shock value.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great photo album for any desk!!
Review: I am a Crime Scene Investigator and this is a great addition to my desk-top books. Always draws attention and everyone loves it. Be warned, however, the scenes are graphic and not for the sqeamish. The all-black-and-white format takes alot of the reality away as full color can be real gruesome. The historical aspect is great in this book for the historical buff. Got a sick side? Like those gruesome shows? This book is a must! Squeamish? Weak stomach? Try another.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: strange, yet oddly compelling
Review: I am not a sicko, and in response to one users review, "prepared to dance with the devil". I study the human mind and bought this book for a paper I wrote. In looking at these pictures, I could feel what it must have been like for the officers to come onto the scene of the crime. I could stomach most of the pictures (but had a hard time with the child photos). I got a small glimpse of how sick the human mind can be. No sane person would commit these acts. Not for the fragile human.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Depressing, Grotesque, NO THANKS.
Review: I bought it. I looked at it. I returned it for a credit. This book is just a compilation of photos of chopped up people, babies and the like. Don't expect notes or text outlining the investigations, it is just pictures, designed to shock. It is a portrait of the dregs of society and what they do to themselves and others. A little too much negativity for the few who looked over my shoulder. Even my cop friend wasn't interested. No educational value whatsoever, unless you wan't to learn what butchered people look like. And, don't let anyone sensitive see it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A real page turner
Review: I found this book in a shop near my house. It was the first time something 'gross' had ever made me queasy. i went back time after time to flip through the pages, until finally, i bought it.

It is gorgeous and nicely put together. A true labor of love. There is something SO compelling about these real images of people. This is no hollywood re-enactiment, no CG showcase- this is the real thing, in all its gory fascinating detail.

Yum.


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