Crime of Magnitude: The Murder of Little Annie (Wisconsin)

By Mark Lemberger

Book Overview

The most puzzling murder in Wisconsin history is finally solved. This thrilling story of a true crime that took place in Madison in 1911 will keep you captivated to the very end. Featured on the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1879483130
• ISBN13: 9781879483132
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Prairie Oak Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Compelling and exhausting!

I couldn't put this book down. I found the story very interesting, especially having lived in Madison for over 20 years. The author does a beautiful job of including historical facts, I especially enjoyed reading the newspaper articles and other court documents. The amount of time he must have spent digging all that up, especially from almost 100 years ago, must have been enormous. I was completely absorbed in the story and couldn't put it down until I read the last page! I did feel the amount of information bordered on overkill, but I'm not sure how the author could have written it any differently. The only negative is that it does leave many questions unanswered, as any really true story does when you can't interview the actual persons involved. I won't stop thinking about Ole Stolen and John A. Johnson for some time. If you like historical works, you'll LOVE Crime of Magnitude!

Tangled Webs in Early 20th Century Madison's Immigrant Neighborhood

I have lost 10 pounds reading this book! I have it on my exercise bike and the prospect of a good 45-minute read gets me up every morning. It may be a "crime of magnitude" for me to write this review while I still have a few pages to go, but I'm online to buy multiple copies for friends and I can't keep silent because I am so excited about this book. The Greenbush neighborhood, still known locally as just "The Bush," was Madison, Wisconsin's immigrant community in the early 20th century. The story of little Annie's disappearance is also the story of this fascinating neighborhood of Italian bootleggers and Norwegian, German, African-American and other new arrivals. Second, it is also a fascinating legal history of early Madison, with one of its two local judges playing the leading role in a tragic story of his own and a key prosecutor who became the state governor. Third, it is a fascinating true crime tale in the tradition of Ann Rule et. al. Fourth,as many true crime stories of high-profile cases must be, it is a fascinating panorama of the journalistic coverage of the crime and its courtroom aftermath, and the reporters and editors who perpetrated this coverage. Mark Lemberger crammed all of this into about 300 pages, and found a truth-telling style that belies his status as an intersted party. It will be an omission of magnitude if this book is not made into a movie.

Fun to share the author?s obsession

Though the crime being investigated here is nearly a century old, this book shows how little has changed. Rumors, speculation and personal prejudice still sway the press, the public and the law when it come to "unthinkable" and high-profile crimes. Annie was the Jon-Benet of the early 1900s, with her unsolved murder disinterred in the press on every anniversary. Especially interesting is the early role the polygraph played in this crime - 20 years after the fact, Lemberger and the other suspects basically became guinea pigs for the untested (and still controversial) lie detector. Though one reader here thought the wealth of detail bordered on overkill, it's easy to understand (and enjoy) the author's obsession.

Great true crime story

A good read and good detective story. Mr. Lemberger not only spun the yarn but solved the crime.Darn good work.

Fascinating!

All true crime buffs will be riveted to the twists and turns!