allanvdh's review against another edition
4.0
Racism in America is so deep rooted
Racism in America is so deep rooted and the brutality of the police force goes back to its inception.
Although the book does not prove the case of the murders the underlying racism that brought many young black people to their deaths through ill conceived confessions and police brutality still has not been resolved in America.
Racism in America is so deep rooted and the brutality of the police force goes back to its inception.
Although the book does not prove the case of the murders the underlying racism that brought many young black people to their deaths through ill conceived confessions and police brutality still has not been resolved in America.
nikkideeley's review against another edition
4.0
The Brick Slayer recounts the true crimes of a serial killer who murdered their victims in their homes or hotel rooms using a brick. It subsequently details the arrest of Robert Nixon who was convicted for these crimes and the racism involved within the case.
This was a very informative, unbiased book which examined both the brutal murders but also the racial implications within the case. This was a good, quick introduction to the case, however I do feel with all the complexities it deserved a lot more in-depth coverage.
This was a very informative, unbiased book which examined both the brutal murders but also the racial implications within the case. This was a good, quick introduction to the case, however I do feel with all the complexities it deserved a lot more in-depth coverage.
teriboop's review
4.0
This is the true-crime story of Robert Nixon, known as the Brick Slayer, a serial killer in the mid-1930s who killed a number of women in Los Angeles and Chicago by beating them with a brick. Nixon was a 19-year-old African American man who likely had a learning disability or at the very least was immature, homeless, and from a broken family. Schechter follows the story through newspaper articles and sheds some doubt on whether Nixon was the actually killer or was simply tortured by police into confessing to the murders.
It would be interesting to check DNA today to see if Nixon was the killer or not. Likely all evidence has since been destroyed, but Schechter makes a case for Nixon to possibly be innocent.
This is a quick read and is fun to read as a "Kindle in Motion" that should be read via the Kindle app on an iPad or Kindle Fire to check out the fun moving graphics at the beginning of the book.
It would be interesting to check DNA today to see if Nixon was the killer or not. Likely all evidence has since been destroyed, but Schechter makes a case for Nixon to possibly be innocent.
This is a quick read and is fun to read as a "Kindle in Motion" that should be read via the Kindle app on an iPad or Kindle Fire to check out the fun moving graphics at the beginning of the book.
futurepres13's review
2.0
Short account of the murders that Robert Nixon seemed to have committed in Chicago and Los Angeles in the 1930s and also about police torture. I bought the bundle from Amazon, this one was fine, the other ones seemed more intriguing.
iggystar71's review
3.0
A little thin on information.
This was too brief. It skims the very surface of the case even for a short story. Not enough material to make a decision as to the guilt of the subject merely focusing on one aspect of this crime, if the interrogation was handled improperly.
This was too brief. It skims the very surface of the case even for a short story. Not enough material to make a decision as to the guilt of the subject merely focusing on one aspect of this crime, if the interrogation was handled improperly.