Fans pick 67 books like Chicago's Awful Theatre Horror- by the Survivors and rescuers

By Bishop Fallows,

Here are 67 books that Chicago's Awful Theatre Horror- by the Survivors and rescuers fans have personally recommended if you like Chicago's Awful Theatre Horror- by the Survivors and rescuers. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of The Female Offender

Judith A. Yates Author Of When Nashville Bled: The untold stories of serial killer Paul Dennis Reid

From my list on true crime books to keep on your shelf.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an award-winning true crime author, criminologist, and victims advocate who has written and presented on crime for over 30 years. I know that history teaches us how and why crime occurs and why it will happen again, but crime doesn't happen in a vacuum. History, personality, and human nature all play a part. There is always a "story behind the story." I appreciate true crime books that teach us rather than sensationalize. The faster we share knowledge, the easier it is to catch criminals.

Judith's book list on true crime books to keep on your shelf

Judith A. Yates Why did Judith love this book?

Why are female criminals "ugly"? Italian criminologist Professor Caesar Lombroso discusses crime causation, justice systems, penology, and the female offender. Lombroso rallied for humane treatment of inmates, advocating programs to reform the penal system, and believed both generated a better society. He argued that criminal behavior is inherited and categorizing offenders as: crimes of passion, aka "lunatics", occasional offenders, and born criminals. He also tried to identify them by physical attributes: the skull, features, and tattooing. 

Lombroso's atavistic theories initially seem outdated - and even laughable - but are still practiced today. "(S)he looks like a criminal" is something you commonly hear. Or, people instantly judge someone's tattoos. Lombroso's approach is still utilized in true crime media. The case becomes more interesting when perpetrators are attractive. Even the monikers for female criminals are modified: femme fatale, black widow, she-devil. Readers will enjoy the contrast/comparison to 1900s criminology. The Female Offender…

By Cesare Lombroso,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Female Offender as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been…


Book cover of Games Criminals Play: How You Can Profit by Knowing Them

Judith A. Yates Author Of When Nashville Bled: The untold stories of serial killer Paul Dennis Reid

From my list on true crime books to keep on your shelf.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an award-winning true crime author, criminologist, and victims advocate who has written and presented on crime for over 30 years. I know that history teaches us how and why crime occurs and why it will happen again, but crime doesn't happen in a vacuum. History, personality, and human nature all play a part. There is always a "story behind the story." I appreciate true crime books that teach us rather than sensationalize. The faster we share knowledge, the easier it is to catch criminals.

Judith's book list on true crime books to keep on your shelf

Judith A. Yates Why did Judith love this book?

Manipulation is a simple art.

I require all students and mentees to read this book and keep it on their shelves. It is an easy read and contains information that will keep future law enforcement officers safe from inmate behavior. Civilians can apply these skills to everyday life to protect themselves as well. We call it “the trick bag”, falling for a simple ruse and landing as a pawn in an inmate’s game in prison. The “game” is a series of manipulations over time that might lead to the target’s incarceration, loss of job, and public humiliation. 

This book is an effective tool for offender management and exposing criminal scams. The examples are accurate and anyone can use the tools it discusses. The authors discuss the anatomy of the setup, susceptibility profiles of both inmate and target, survival traits, and more. It can start with a pencil and end with…

By Bud Allen, Diana Bosta,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Games Criminals Play as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Games Criminals Play


Book cover of Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

Clara Silverstein Author Of White Girl: A Story of School Desegregation

From my list on memoirs from the front lines of standing up to racism.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a white child bused to African American schools in Richmond, Virginia in the 1970s, I unwittingly stepped into a Civil Rights experiment that would shatter social norms and put me on a path to learning history not taught in textbooks. At first, I never expected to look back at this fraught time. Then I had children. The more I tried to tell them about my past, the more I wanted to understand the context. Why did we fall so short of America’s founding ideals? I have been reading and writing about American history ever since, completing a master’s degree and publishing books, essays, and poems.

Clara's book list on memoirs from the front lines of standing up to racism

Clara Silverstein Why did Clara love this book?

One of nine Black students to integrate the high school in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, Beals faces threats to her life as well as constant cruelty not only from white people but also from members of her own community, who disapprove of her decision. Her book gives us an unflinching account of what it feels like to be inside the maelstrom. Education seems almost beside the point when she needs protection from the National Guard. Most resonant to me, Beals admits that being a warrior for social change is exhausting. “Sometimes,” she writes in her diary, “I just need to be a girl.”

By Melba Pattillo Beals,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Warriors Don't Cry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

In this essential autobiographical account by one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most powerful figures, Melba Pattillo Beals of the Little Rock Nine explores not only the oppressive force of racism, but the ability of young people to change ideas of race and identity.

In 1957, well before Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Melba Pattillo Beals and eight other teenagers became iconic symbols for the Civil Rights Movement and the dismantling of Jim Crow in the American South as they integrated Little Rock’s Central High School in the wake of the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown…


Book cover of Body In Question: Exploring the Cutting Edge of Forensic Science

Judith A. Yates Author Of When Nashville Bled: The untold stories of serial killer Paul Dennis Reid

From my list on true crime books to keep on your shelf.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an award-winning true crime author, criminologist, and victims advocate who has written and presented on crime for over 30 years. I know that history teaches us how and why crime occurs and why it will happen again, but crime doesn't happen in a vacuum. History, personality, and human nature all play a part. There is always a "story behind the story." I appreciate true crime books that teach us rather than sensationalize. The faster we share knowledge, the easier it is to catch criminals.

Judith's book list on true crime books to keep on your shelf

Judith A. Yates Why did Judith love this book?

This book is forensics for the layman. No mechanical component replaces education and knowledge. Electronics break down and computers are just machines. It is a good "old-fashioned" investigation work that solves crimes. This book explains how. It is easy-to-read, exciting for students, "couch cops," and even investigators. This book appeals to all types of learners with a thorough history of investigative processes filled with photos, charts, sketches, and maps. It also includes case studies of criminals and criminal behavior, manner of death, and profiling.

No, this book doesn't discuss the latest in lasers and it only briefly touches on DNA. It's about the natural investigative process: reasonable doubt, time and cause of death, criminal behavior, and courtroom proceedings. Want to read up on the future of orbiting satellites in investigative technology? Try another book. Want to see human eyelashes magnified by 50x in order to understand skin and hair samples?…

By Brian Innes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Body In Question as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Small tear and creasing to DJ. Some wear. Pages are clean and binding is tight. Solid Book.


Book cover of Mickie McKinney: Boy Detective, Troubles with Teamwork

Jon Glass Author Of Worcester Glendenis, Kid Detective

From my list on middle grade detective fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child I loved reading detective stories, and I still retain strong memories of Tintin and Sherlock Holmes, after which I graduated to Agatha Christie. As an adult my tastes changed and I lost interest in mysteries (with the exception of Edgar Alan Poe). However recently my interests have reversed, partly because I became a grandfather, and partly for the reason that I teach ethics to primary school children, as a volunteer. So it’s possible that Worcester Glendenis is a re-incarnation of me, but as the 12-year-old I wish I had been (as far as my memory can be relied upon to go back 60 years): more emotionally mature and more extrovert.

Jon's book list on middle grade detective fiction

Jon Glass Why did Jon love this book?

This is a less sophisticated mystery than the other four but doesn’t suffer for that reason.

Mickie Mckinney is a schoolboy detective and the setting is a school. I like the conceit that his office is in a cupboard under the stairs. The crimes are not sophisticated, which will suit some readers, and the humour is good.

Book cover of Quarry: The First of the Quarry Series

Eric Beetner Author Of The Last Few Miles of Road: A Carter McCoy Novel

From my list on down the dark road of revenge.

Why am I passionate about this?

Like many readers, I am drawn to stories of vengeance. Stories of someone seeking revenge have a built-in tension and narrative drive. But as the saying goes, when you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. Yes, these tales seldom go smoothly. The consequences of this and the violence that ensues are what I wanted to explore in my latest novel, but several books on my shelf make fascinating stories out of this desire for revenge.

Eric's book list on down the dark road of revenge

Eric Beetner Why did Eric love this book?

The start of a decades-long run of stellar crime novels about the eponymous main character—a hitman who does not suffer fools. Quarry takes his work seriously, and when the trust between the hitman and the handler is broken, he makes it his mission to track down the culprit.

Collins has spun the series into more than a dozen novels, comprising Quarry’s many assignments, his loves, and his struggles to find honor among criminals. What started in 1976 with this novel continues and shows no signs of letting up.

By Max Allan Collins,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Quarry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The assignment was simple: stake out the man's home and kill him. Easy work for a professional like Quarry. But when things go horribly wrong, Quarry finds himself with a new mission: learn who hired him, and make the bastard pay.

NOW A CINEMAX TELEVISION SERIES!

The longest-running series from Max Allan Collins, author of Road to Perdition, and the first ever to feature a hitman as the main character, the Quarry novels tell the story of a paid assassin with a rebellious streak and an unlikely taste for justice. Once a Marine sniper, Quarry found a new home stateside…


Book cover of The Smoke: Tales From a Revolution - New-York

Jean C. O'Connor Author Of The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution

From my list on bringing to life the American Revolutionary War.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in New England, I discovered a passion for the historical landmarks around me. My grandmother’s home in Andover, MA, had a plaque on the front door, declaring Lafayette made a speech from its front steps. In my grandmother’s journal, I discovered the story of the Lovells: Master John Lovell, Loyalist, of the Boston Latin School, and his son James Lovell, teacher at the school and patriot. Imagining the conflicts that must have brewed between them, I knew I had to write The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution. An English and history teacher, I wove historical background into study of literature.

Jean's book list on bringing to life the American Revolutionary War

Jean C. O'Connor Why did Jean love this book?

Part of a seven-book series, in this historical fiction novel, young soldier Joseph Killeen finds himself questioning the army’s treatment of the Haudenosaunee Confederation in the wilds of western New York. Under General Washington’s direction, his group scouts out an Iroquois village, Joseph and his group set fire to long houses and crops and capture the natives. But they themselves are overpowered and killed.

The last survivor, Joseph, is spared for his kindness to a tribal woman and becomes a member of the tribe. As his understanding and respect for the Haudenosaunee grow, he must decide whether to remain with them or return to his family. The conflict between colonial settlers and native peoples plays a significant role in the country’s history before, during, and after the Revolution. Practices and attitudes of the Iroquois are carefully depicted by the author, making this read interesting.

By Lars D. H. Hedbor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Smoke as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

They Should Have Been Enemies, But They Became Brothers

Joseph Killeen was sent to eliminate the threat of savage enemies in the forests of New-York, but when he meets Ginawo and his peaceful village of Skarure, he realizes that nothing is as simple as he was told. The Haudenosaunee Confederation is being torn asunder by the American Revolution, forced to choose sides in a fight that's not their own. Can Joseph and Ginawo bridge the divide between their peoples, when warfare threatens to destroy both societies?

The Smoke is the New-York volume in the Tales From a Revolution series, in…


Book cover of Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message

Patricia Newman Author Of Planet Ocean: Why We All Need a Healthy Ocean

From my list on nature to WOW! kids and teens.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a Sibert Honor author and write books for kids and teens about nature. Part biography, part science adventure, my books introduce readers to real scientists and the unexpected twists and turns of their discoveries. The more I research the more I discover hidden connections to our natural world that humble me and fill me with gratitude. I do my best to share these connections with readers in an accurate, truthful way to help them find their own “ah-ha” moments in life. I want them to say, “I can do this, too!”

Patricia's book list on nature to WOW! kids and teens

Patricia Newman Why did Patricia love this book?

I love the simple elegance of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Thanksgiving address because it considers nature a gift. The address, on which this book is based, is spoken before every ceremonial or governmental gathering of the Six Nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora). Children greet the world with the address each morning. They thank the people, the waters, the grasses, the plants, the animals, the winds, the rain, the Sun, the Moon, and the stars of the night sky. What a perfect way to stay connected to Nature!

Perfect for kids ages 5-11.

By Chief Jake Swamp, Erwin Printup, Jr. (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Giving Thanks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For as long as anyone can remember, Mohawk parents have taught their children to start each day by giving thanks to Mother Earth. Also known as the Thanksgiving Address, this good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift. The whole universe - from the highest stars to the tiniest blade of grass - is addressed as one great family.

Now readers of all ages can share in this tribute to the environment, adapted especially for children by Chief Jake Swamp, whose efforts to share this vision of thanksgiving take him…


Book cover of Sisters in Spirit

Anne B. Gass Author Of We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip

From my list on the amazing fight for women’s voting rights.

Why am I passionate about this?

My great-grandmother was a suffrage leader in Maine from roughly 1914-1920, and is the subject of my first book, Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine’s Fight for Woman Suffrage. Florence helped found and led the Maine branch of the Congressional Union, working closely with the indomitable Alice Paul. In 2015 I retraced the original route of an epic cross-country trip for suffrage; this led to my novel, We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip. I did extensive research for both books and have become passionate about women’s rights history. I speak frequently on suffrage to students, historical societies, libraries, book clubs, and other groups.

Anne's book list on the amazing fight for women’s voting rights

Anne B. Gass Why did Anne love this book?

This provocative book examines the role and status of women in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and how 19th-century white feminists used them as role models in beginning their own fight for rights, including suffrage. It’s a quick read and kind of a life-changing one, really, especially if (like me) you’re completely ignorant of Native history and its relation to US history.  

Among other things, Haudenosaunee women had the right to choose and advise tribal leaders, and had far more control over their persons and their children than Euro-American women did. Wagner argues that close relationships with the Haudenosaunee influenced people like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage leading up to the famous Seneca Falls Convention in 1848.

By Sally Roesch Wagner, John Fadden (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sisters in Spirit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) women sparked the revolutionary vision of early feminists by providing a model of freedom at a time when American women experienced few rights. Women of the Six Nations Confederacy possessed decisive political power, control of their bodies, control of their own property, custody of their children, the power to initiate divorce, satisfying work and a society generally free of rape and domestic violence. Historian Sally Roesch Wagner recounts the struggle for freedom and equality waged by early American women documenting how Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Matilda Joslyn Gage were influenced by their Indigenous women neighbors.


Book cover of The Creator's Game: Lacrosse, Identity, and Indigenous Nationhood

Jason Wilson and Richard M. Reid Author Of Famous for a Time: Forgotten Giants of Canadian Sport

From my list on the impact of sport on social history.

Why are we passionate about this?

Between the two of us, we have written over a dozen books and won numerous prizes. Wilson, when not writing critically-acclaimed music or explaining how to catch a haggis, has received the Ontario Historical Association’s Joseph Brant Award for King Alpha’s Song in a Strange Land. Reid, who wisely passed up the chance of a law career in order to play an extra year of soccer, received the C. P. Stacey Award for African Canadians in Union Blue. Both writers believe that sports offer a valuable lens by which to examine a society’s core values.

Jason's book list on the impact of sport on social history

Jason Wilson and Richard M. Reid Why did Jason love this book?

Most Canadians are likely unaware that Canada has an official national summer game and that it is lacrosse. Even fewer realize that the sport reflects a tangled story of appropriation and reappropriation that exposes complex relationships between European and Indigenous peoples.

In a provocative and creative book, Downey, an Indigenous historian, uses First Nations storytelling and his own rigorous research to follow the transformation of lacrosse by Anglophone Montrealers and their exclusion of Indigenous players.

By the end of the nineteenth century, lacrosse was the most popular sport in Canada, before giving way to hockey. Then, almost a century later, the sport was reclaimed by a new generation of Indigenous athletes and activists who used the game as part of a broader cultural and spiritual renewal.

For these athletes, the current goal is to have the Haudenosaunee Nationals recognized as an independent participant at the Olympic Games in 2028.

By Allan Downey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Creator's Game as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lacrosse has been a central element of Indigenous cultures for centuries, but once non-Indigenous players entered the sport, it became a site of appropriation - then reclamation - of Indigenous identities. The Creator's Game focuses on the history of lacrosse in Indigenous communities from the 1860s to the 1990s, exploring Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations and Indigenous identity formation. While the game was being appropriated in the process of constructing a new identity for the nation-state of Canada, it was also being used by Indigenous peoples to resist residential school experiences, initiate pan-Indigenous political mobilization, and articulate Indigenous sovereignty. This engaging and innovative…


Book cover of The Female Offender
Book cover of Games Criminals Play: How You Can Profit by Knowing Them
Book cover of Warriors Don't Cry: The Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,579

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Iroquois, Chicago, and crime?

The Iroquois 11 books
Chicago 401 books
Crime 1,791 books