6 Best Investigative Journalism Books – Mike Deeson

Best Investigative Journalism Books | Criminal

The Best Investigative Journalism Books Of All Time - Book Scrolling

All the President's Men

Todos los Hombres del Presidente

On a crisp morning in November 1959, Herbert Clutter oversees his expansive ranch while across Kansas, Perry Smith rendezvouses with Dick Hickock. The Clutters carry on with their routines, unaware of the impending danger as Smith and Hickock prepare their car for a long journey. By the end of the day, they arrive at the Clutter residence, armed with deadly intentions.

The following morning, the grim discovery of the Clutter family's lifeless bodies stuns two of Nancy Clutter's friends. The local authorities are initially perplexed, with Bobby Rupp, a friend of the family, briefly considered a suspect. The lead investigator, Alvin Dewey, theorizes that the culprit must be someone familiar with the family, setting the community into a whirlwind of speculation and fear. In the meantime, Smith and Hickock, the true culprits, have returned to Hickock's home in Olathe. After committing check fraud, they flee to Mexico, where they engage in frivolous spending and dream of a life of luxury. Perry, reminiscing about his troubled upbringing, knows the money won't last.

As the investigation stagnates, a prisoner named Floyd Wells, incarcerated in the Kansas state prison at Lansing, recognizes Hickock's involvement in the crime. He contemplates revealing what he knows to the authorities. Concurrently, Smith and Hickock, now penniless in the American desert, attempt car theft unsuccessfully. Wells eventually confesses, prompting Dewey to initiate an extensive manhunt. The duo manage to avoid capture for a while, even returning to Kansas City and Miami, before their luck runs out in Las Vegas when their stolen vehicle's license plate is identified. Following intense interrogation, both men confess and are sentenced to death. They spend the following five years on Death Row, enduring the company of other hardened criminals, while their appeals are processed. As their execution approaches, Dick's demeanor is clumsy, while Perry expresses regret.

In Cold Blood

A Sangre Fría

Fear and Loathing, Book 1

Miedo y Asco, Libro 1

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Miedo y Asco en Las Vegas

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

La Prueba del Ácido del Kool-Aid Eléctrico

The Best Journalism Books of All Time, According to Experts

The Journalist And The Murderer

El Periodista y el Asesino

In 1951, a woman of African American descent, Henrietta Lacks, found herself diagnosed with an aggressive form of cervical cancer. The chief gynecologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, keen on studying this disease, had reached out to George Gey, the leader of tissue culture at the hospital, with a request for both healthy and cancerous cell tissue cultures. As part of this, Henrietta's tissue samples were taken. Henrietta's cancer cells labeled HeLa, surprisingly, survived against all odds in the laboratory. While Henrietta battled her disease and eventually passed away, leaving behind her family, her cells continued to live, unbeknownst to her family. It was only in 1973, when a family friend who happened to be a researcher mentioned his work with HeLa cells, that her family found out that part of Henrietta was still alive.

George Gey's cultivation of HeLa cells paved the way for revolutionary research on diseases and genetics, and the development of new medical treatments and vaccines. Gey generously shared HeLa cell samples with any researcher who needed them. Eventually, for-profit labs began to mass-produce HeLa cells to cater to the research demands. However, due to their rapid growth, HeLa cells could contaminate other cell cultures. This led to geneticists devising ways to identify genetic markers within HeLa cells to distinguish them from the rest. Amidst all this, Henrietta's children were asked for blood samples, without adequate explanation, leading Henrietta's daughter Deborah to believe she was being screened for cancer.

The story of the "immortal" cell culture and the unknown woman behind it started making waves in media, leading to a mix-up with Henrietta's name, which was widely reported as Helen Lane. The truth was eventually uncovered by Michael Rogers, a journalist from Rolling Stone, who contacted the Lacks family. The family was shocked to learn that Henrietta's cells were being profited from by others, which sparked memories of unethical practices by white doctors on black patients. The family continued to be approached by journalists, which included a BBC documentary team in 1996, and had an unfortunate encounter with a conman posing as a lawyer. Henrietta's daughter Deborah hoped that the documentary would shed light on her mother's story and also help her understand her mother better. The family's journey took many more twists and turns, culminating in a visit to the lab at Johns Hopkins where Henrietta's cells were kept, and the shocking revelation about the abuse suffered by Henrietta's other daughter, Elsie, at a mental institution. Despite the emotional toll, Deborah remained determined to learn and understand more about her mother's life and her contribution to science.


The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

La Vida Inmortal de Henrietta Lacks

A Strange and Terrible Saga

Una Extraña y Terrible Saga

Hell's Angels

Los Ángeles del Infierno

7 Great Investigative Journalism Books to Read This Fall | Hachette Book Group

The Dark Side of Camelot

El Lado Oscuro de Camelot

The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production

La Guía de NPR para el Periodismo de Audio y Producción

Sound Reporting

Informando con Sonido

How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb

Cómo la Controversia de la CIA sobre Crack-Cocaína Destruyó al Periodista Gary Webb

11 Best Investigative Journalism Books of All Time

All the President's Men

In Cold Blood

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing, Book 1

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

The Journalist And The Murderer

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Hell's Angels

A Strange and Terrible Saga

The Dark Side of Camelot

Sound Reporting

The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production

Kill the Messenger

How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb

The Elements of Journalism

What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

Sources

What To Read Next

11 Best Investigative Journalism Books of All Time

All the President's Men

In Cold Blood

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing, Book 1

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

The Journalist And The Murderer

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Hell's Angels

A Strange and Terrible Saga

The Dark Side of Camelot

Sound Reporting

The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production

Kill the Messenger

How the CIA's Crack-Cocaine Controversy Destroyed Journalist Gary Webb

The Elements of Journalism

What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

Sources

What To Read Next

Share this page