Violent death in the city

Title	Violent death in the city : suicide, accident, and murder in nineteenth-century Philadelphia
Author	Roger Lane
Call Number	HN80.P5 L36 1979
Location	2nd Floor Social Sciences
Rating	Somewhat Recommended
Book Review	As edgy as the title of this book is, it is nonetheless a very dry study study of unnatural death in the 1800s.  Pieced largely from obituaries and records from the era, the book is more of an exercise in semantics (what constitutes an accident as compared to manslaughter when based off of inconclusive records) than a morbid reference map of my hometown.   One of the more interesting takeaways of the book was the astounding number of people that drunkenly fell into the Schuylkill River in the 19th Century, but for the most part it was an arduous read. While local historians and those interested in 19th century record-keeping might enjoy this book, I don't know how appealing this would be to a casual reader.
Submitted By	Cotton Coslett
Department or Major	Leatherby Libraries
Status	Faculty
Chapman Email	coslett@chapman.edu