About the Author:
Ann Larabee is the author of Decade of Disaster and teaches American Studies at Michigan State University. She lives in East Lansing, Michigan.
Review:
"LUCK and good instincts led American historian Ann Larabee to uncover the story of one of the 19th-century's notorious mass murderers."--The Winnipeg Free Press
"Larabee packs a tremendous portrait of an outsized personality on a turmoil-laden stage into a slim and readable volume."--Edmonton Journal
"...a gilded age tale of greed, corruption and the advent of modern terrorism."--Columbus Dispatch
"Ann Larabee chanced upon the case of the dynamite fiend while doing research on Confederate terrorists...she found one of the strangest, most twisted tales of deceit and daring that the 19th century had to offer."--New York Times Book Review
"Evocative...Though parts of this story, especially its climax, have been well documented, Keith's aliases kept investigators from connecting all the dots. Larabee does so in this book...will appeal to those curious about the antecedents of modern terrorism."--Publishers Weekly
"Engrossing...Detailed but never dull, Larabee's account sets the investigative facts with the look of Keith's haunts and with his amoral bonhomie in a high-quality historical addition to the true-crime genre."--Booklist
"Ann Larabee has rescued an astonishing piece of forgotten history. The story of Alexander Keith is well worth preserving, and her account is skillfully woven and brilliantly researched.''--Mike Dash, author of Batavia's Graveyard and Tulipomania
"Detailed but never dull, Larabee's account set the investigative facts with the look of Keith's haunts and with his amoral bonhomie in a high-quality historical addition to the true crime genre." --Gilbert Taylor, Booklist
"While the book is non-fiction, Larabee weaves a tale that rivals any mystery novel. It grabs the reader in chapter one with a description of the panic and terror felt by the innocent travellers on the Mosel. She brings Keith to life with descriptions of his attempts to achieve social grandeur, doomed to failure by his buffoonish behavior. Even the ending provides a ghoulish tingle, as Keith's corpse is decapitated so his head and brains can be studied for clues to explain his nefarious acts."--The Chronicle Herald
"Ann Larabee has written a book with all the intrigue, cliff-hangers and name-dropping of any current popular historical thriller."--Michel Basilieres, theglobeandmail.com
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.