The Man from the Train
Discovering America's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Published on 9. October 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
480 pages
978-1-4767-9626-0 (ISBN)
Description
An Edgar Award finalist for Best Fact Crime, The Man from the Train is an "impressive...open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America" (The Wall Street Journal). In this groundbreaking work of historical true crime, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical genius to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
Between 1898 and 1912, families across the United States were brutally murdered in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Valuables were left untouched, bodies were staged, and faces covered. Some cases, like the infamous Villisca Axe Murders in Iowa, gained national attention-but few believed the crimes were connected. Fewer still noticed that every family lived within walking distance of a train line.
Digging through thousands of newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, James and his daughter Rachel uncovered a chilling truth: these murders were the work of one man, traveling by rail, who would go on to become one of America's most prolific yet largely forgotten serial killers.
Riveting and immersive, The Man from the Train offers a vivid portrait of turn-of-the-century America, exposing how cultural blind spots, flawed investigations, and opportunistic detectives allowed this killer to operate undetected. Blending meticulous research with narrative drive, this modern classic of true crime nonfiction will fascinate readers of Devil in the White City, My Favorite Murder, and fans of unsolved mysteries and historical crime investigations.
Between 1898 and 1912, families across the United States were brutally murdered in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Valuables were left untouched, bodies were staged, and faces covered. Some cases, like the infamous Villisca Axe Murders in Iowa, gained national attention-but few believed the crimes were connected. Fewer still noticed that every family lived within walking distance of a train line.
Digging through thousands of newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, James and his daughter Rachel uncovered a chilling truth: these murders were the work of one man, traveling by rail, who would go on to become one of America's most prolific yet largely forgotten serial killers.
Riveting and immersive, The Man from the Train offers a vivid portrait of turn-of-the-century America, exposing how cultural blind spots, flawed investigations, and opportunistic detectives allowed this killer to operate undetected. Blending meticulous research with narrative drive, this modern classic of true crime nonfiction will fascinate readers of Devil in the White City, My Favorite Murder, and fans of unsolved mysteries and historical crime investigations.
Reviews / Votes
"Impressive . . . an open-eyed investigative inquiry wrapped within a cultural history of rural America."-Wall Street Journal "[An] incredible book . . . one of the most readable works of non-fiction I've ever picked up . . . James has a conversational style of writing that draws the reader in, even when he departs from murders to offer short history lessons on 19th century detectives-for-hire (pretty bad), 19th century newspapers (not great) and mob justice (truly horrifying) . . . Even more remarkable than the exhaustive research and addictive narrative, the [authors] actually seem to solve the case and reveal the identity of The Man From the Train. Skeptics may balk, but I'm convinced."
-Raleigh News & Observer "Truly spectacular . . . The book shines when we get to see the Jameses' thinking. Like the recent Netflix documentary 'The Keepers,' it's fun to watch these amateur detectives solve a puzzle. And solve it they do - after 400 pages, when Rachel discovers the killer's first crime way back in 1898. Did they get it right? I'm pretty sure they did. Either way, the final twist in the story-set 10 years after the Villisca murders on the other side of the Atlantic-gave me chills."
-Minneapolis Star Tribune "The Man from the Train is a beautifully written and extraordinarily researched narrative of a man who may have killed 95-or more-people, dating back more than a century, mostly in small-town Middle America . . . This is no pure whodunit, but rather a how-many-did-he-do."
-Buffalo News "[A] suspenseful historical account . . . The strength of the book hangs on [the authors'] diligent research and analysis connecting crimes into the closing years of the 19th century. Even those skeptical at the outset that one man was responsibile for so much bloodshed are likely to be convinced."
-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Bill James, with his daughter, Rachel, has done something truly extraordinary. Not only has he solved one of the most tantalizing mysteries in the annals of American crime--the sensational case of the 1912 "Villisca Axe Murders"--but he has tied it to a long string of equally savage, though completely obscure, atrocities. The result is his discovery of a previously unknown serial killer who roamed--and terrorized--the country a century ago. Brilliantly researched and written in James' snappily conversational style, The Man From the Train is a stunning feat of detection, an un-put-downable read, and a major contribution to American criminal history."-Harold Schechter, author of The Serial Killer Files and The Mad Sculptor "I began The Man on the Train a skeptic. Could the notorious Villisca Murders of 1912, an unsolved crime so well-chronicled over the past century, really be the work of a killer whose victims numbered well into the dozens? But by the end, Bill James & Rachel McCarthy James totally sold me on their reasoning, exhaustive research, and their sly, sober portrait of a justice system totally overmatched by the techniques and monstrosities of a man fitting the serial killer prototype we know almost too well. That they also fingered the culprit and name him is an even more shocking bonus. Don't even think about missing out on this beautifully brilliant, bananas book."-Sarah Weinman, editor of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 1950s
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Simon & Schuster
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 139 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
380 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4767-9626-0 (9781476796260)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Bill James | Rachel Mccarthy James
The Man from the Train
The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
E-Book
09/2017
1st Edition
Scribner
€15.81
Available for download
Persons
Bill James made his mark in the 1970s and 1980s with his Baseball Abstracts. He has been tearing down preconceived notions about America's national pastime ever since. He is currently the Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox, as well as the author of The Man from the Train. James lives in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife, Susan McCarthy, and three children.
Rachel McCarthy James lives in Lawrence, KS with her husband Jason. She studied creative writing at Hollins University, and her work has previously been featured in publications including Bitch, Broadly, and The New Inquiry. The Man from the Train is her first book.
Rachel McCarthy James lives in Lawrence, KS with her husband Jason. She studied creative writing at Hollins University, and her work has previously been featured in publications including Bitch, Broadly, and The New Inquiry. The Man from the Train is her first book.