A Special Kind of Evil


Book Description

In the late 1980s, a predator stalked the Tidewater region of Virginia, savagely murdering his carefully selected his prey. He, or they, demonstrated a special kind of evil, and to this day have evaded justice. This is the first comprehensive look at the Colonial Parkway Murders and sheds new light on the victims, the crimes, and the investigation.




The Colonial Parkway


Book Description

The Colonial Parkway is a living timeline to the critical beginnings of our nation. Connecting a historic triangle of cities, the parkway winds along the James River overlooking Jamestown Island, where the first permanent English colony was established; through Williamsburg, the Colonial seat of government for the new country; and arrives in Yorktown, where the fledgling nation won independence from the British at the end of the Revolutionary War. The vision of the early directors of the U.S. National Park Service became the foundation for getting the approval to construct a road that would allow visitors to move from one historic place to the next without the disruptions of the modern world. Construction began in the early 1930s, and the final phase was finished in 1957 for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. While the parkway is a marvel in engineering, the area it covers also serves as a recreational locale for biking, fishing, and hiking.




Building the National Parks


Book Description

The Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency, was founded in 1942 by William 'Wild Bill' Donovan under the direction of President Roosevelt, who realized the need to improve intelligence during wartime. A rigorous recruitment process enlisted agents from both the armed services and civilians to produce operational groups specializing in different foreign areas including Italy, Norway, Yugoslavia and China. At its peak in 1944, the number of men and women working in the service totaled nearly 13,500. This intriguing story of the origins and development of the American espionage forces covers all of the different departments involved, with a particular emphasis on the courageous teams operating in the field. The volume is illustrated with many photographs, including images from the film director John Ford who led the OSS Photographic Unit and parachuted into Burma in 1943.




Creating Colonial Williamsburg


Book Description

In Creating Colonial Williamsburg, Anders Greenspan examines the restoration and re-creation of the structures and gardens of Virginia's colonial capital beginning in 1926. The restoration was undertaken by the Rockefeller family, whose aim was to promote a twentieth-century appreciation for eighteenth-century ideals. Ironically, those ideals, including democracy, individualism, and representative government, were often promoted at the expense of a more complete understanding of the town's true history. The meaning and purpose of Colonial Williamsburg has changed over time, along with America's changing social and political landscapes, making the study of this historic site a unique and meaningful entry point to understanding the shifting modern American character. In recent years, financial struggles and declining attendance forced a new interpretation of the town, extending the presentation into the period of the American Revolution, while adding new interpretive approaches such as street theater and a greater emphasis on technology. Over its eighty-year history, says Greenspan, Colonial Williamsburg has grown and matured, while still retaining its emphasis on the importance of eighteenth-century values and their application in the modern world.




Best of the Spingola Files, Vol. 1 and 2 (Print Edition)


Book Description

Retired lieutenant with the Milwaukee Police Department and current criminal justice instructor, the author has compiled anecdotes from his blog on topics concerning law enforcement, organized crime, individual privacy, alcohol use among college students and more.




Colonial Parkway


Book Description




The Colonial Parkway


Book Description

The Colonial Parkway is a living timeline to the critical beginnings of our nation. Connecting a historic triangle of cities, the parkway winds along the James River overlooking Jamestown Island, where the first permanent English colony was established; through Williamsburg, the Colonial seat of government for the new country; and arrives in Yorktown, where the fledgling nation won independence from the British at the end of the Revolutionary War. The vision of the early directors of the U.S. National Park Service became the foundation for getting the approval to construct a road that would allow visitors to move from one historic place to the next without the disruptions of the modern world. Construction began in the early 1930s, and the final phase was finished in 1957 for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. While the parkway is a marvel in engineering, the area it covers also serves as a recreational locale for biking, fishing, and hiking.




All that Remains


Book Description

Medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta struggles to find leads to the identity of a serial killer who has murdered five couples in Richmond, Virginia, meticulously leaving no clues behind.




Written in Bone


Book Description

Bright white teeth. Straight leg bones. Awkwardly contorted arm bones. On a hot summer day in 2005, Dr. Douglas Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution peered into an excavated grave, carefully examining the fragile skeleton that had been buried there for four hundred years. "He was about fifteen years old when he died. And he was European," Owsley concluded. But how did he know? Just as forensic scientists use their knowledge of human remains to help solve crimes, they use similar skills to solve the mysteries of the long-ago past. Join author Sally M. Walker as she works alongside the scientists investigating colonial-era graves near Jamestown, Virginia, as well as other sites in Maryland. As you follow their investigations, she'll introduce you to what scientists believe are the lives of a teenage boy, a ship's captain, an indentured servant, a colonial official and his family, and an enslaved African girl. All are reaching beyond the grave to tell us their stories, which are written in bone.




When a Killer Calls


Book Description

From John Douglas—the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show Mindhunter—comes a chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him. On May 31, 1985, two days before her high school graduation, Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina. Based on the crime scene and the abductor’s repeated and taunting calls to the family, law enforcement quickly realized they were dealing with a sophisticated and highly dangerous criminal. A letter arrived the next day entitled “Last Will & Testament,” in which Shari, knowing she was to be murdered, wrote bravely and achingly of her love for her parents, siblings, and boyfriend, saying that while they would miss her, she knew they would persevere through their faith. The abduction rocked her quiet town, triggering a massive manhunt and bringing in the FBI, which enlisted profiler John Douglas. A few days later, a phone call told the family where they could find Shari’s body. Then nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her yard, confirming the harsh realization that Smith’s murder was no random act. A serial killer was evolving, and the only way to stop him would be to use the study of criminal behavior to anticipate his next move before he could kill again. Douglas devised a risky and emotionally fraught strategy to use Shari’s lookalike older sister Dawn as bait to draw out the unknown subject. Dawn and her parents courageously agreed. One of the most haunting investigations of Douglas’s storied career, this case details how the eerily accurate profile he created—alongside his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer’s psychology—combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror. As Shari’s family took incredible personal risks to lure her killer from the shadows, Douglas and the FBI pushed criminal profiling to its limits, culminating in one of his most dramatic and effective confrontations with a sadistic and remorseless killer.