Black Dahlia - by William J Mann (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Illuminating and captivating, New York Times bestselling author of Tinseltown and Bogart offers the first definitive account of the Black Dahlia murder--the most famous unsolved true crime case in American history--which humanizes the victim and situates the notorious case within an anxious, postwar country grappling with new ideas, demographics, and technologies.

The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short--better known as the Black Dahlia--in 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published.

Short has been mischaracterized as a wayward sex worker or vagabond, and--like the seductive femme fatales of film noir--responsible for and perhaps deserving of her fate. William J. Mann, however, is interested in the truth. His extensive research reveals her as a young woman with curiosity and drive, who leveraged what little agency postwar society gave her to explore the world, defying draconian postwar gender expectations to settle down, marry, and have children. It's time to reexamine the woman who became known as the Black Dahlia.

Using a 21st-century lens, Mann connects Short's story to the anxious era after World War II, when the nation was grappling with new ideas, new demographics, new technologies, and old fears dressed up as new ones. Only by situating the Black Dahlia case within this changing world can we understand the tragedy of this young woman, whose life and death offer surprising mirrors on today.

Mann has strong opinions on who might've killed her, and even stronger ones on who did not. He spent five years sifting through the evidence and has found unknown connections by cross-referencing police reports, District Attorney investigations, FBI files, court documents, military records, and more, using the deep, intense research skills that have become his trademark. He also spoke with the families of the original detectives, of Short's friends, and even of suspects, and relied on advice from experienced physicians and homicide detectives.

Mann deftly sifts through the sensationalized journalism, preconceived notions, myths, and misunderstandings surrounding the case to uncover the truth about Elizabeth Short like no book before. The Black Dahlia promises to be the definitive study about the most famous unsolved case in American history.

Review Quotes

Praise for BLACK DAHLIA

"I've read nearly all the Black Dahlia books and this is by far the most balanced, thoughtful and sweeping one and, thankfully, it clears up countless myths and untruths about Elizabeth Short and restores her to the status of a real person, a young woman much loved by friends and family." --Megan Abbott, author of El Dorado Drive

"A meticulous study of an infamous murder, and a debunking of its conspiracy theories. . . . A sober, well-researched study of a case whose notoriety obscured its subject." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The empathetic Mann does an excellent job of humanizing Short, the 22-year-old murder victim, in the context of postwar Los Angeles... Mann's Black Dahlia book may have just replaced John Gilmore's nonfiction volume Severed and James Ellroy's fictionalized take The Black Dahlia in the true crime canon." --Library Journal (starred review)

"A meticulous and humane reconsideration of one of America's most sensationalized unsolved murders. . . . Mann sets out to restore complexity and dignity to a woman long reduced to tabloid caricature. . . . For true crime devotees and Black Dahlia obsessives, this is a must."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Impeccable . . . [Mann] draws from all manner of official records, interviews with people who personally knew the original case investigators and suspects, contemporary news reports, and previously published theories. He applies rigorous logic and common sense to the mountain of evidence and theories, arriving at a conclusion that sounds very much like it might be what actually happened." --Booklist

"Illuminating and captivating . . . Readers get a clearer picture of WHO Elizabeth was instead of WHAT HAPPENED to her...she has been portrayed as a Hollywood starlet, a "loose" woman . . . Mann breaks down those misconceptions bit by bit." --Bargain Sleuth Reviews

ADDITIONAL PRAISE FOR THE WORK OF WILLIAM J. MANN

TINSELTOWN

"A true-crime classic." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A whodunit tour de force, revealing the dark heart of Hollywood." -- Patrick McGilligan, author of Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, an Edgar Award finalist

BOGIE & BACALL

"Engrossing. . . . Mann delivers a spirited narrative that's hard to put down. . . . Film buffs will eat this up." --Publishers Weekly

KATE

"One of the best books ever written about a movie star." -- Patrick McGilligan, author of George Cukor: A Double Life and Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light

"A sprawling salute to an awe-inspiring, world-class actor." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

THE CONTENDER

"A story that covers not only his behind-the-scenes persona but the way in which he led the charge for a merging of Hollywood and protest culture."-- Entertainment Weekly

"Deeply engaging and perceptive from page one."--Library Journal (starred review)

About the Author

William J. Mann is a New York Times bestselling author of The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, for which he was granted access to Brando's private estate archive, as well as Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn (named a Notable Book of the Year by the Times); Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand (praised by USA Today for its "meticulous research and insightful analysis"); Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger, for which he worked closely with the Oscar-winning director; and The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury America. His book Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Mann is a professor of film and popular culture at Central Connecticut State University.