Starkweather: The Untold Story of the Killing Spree That Changed America

MacLean (The Joy of Killing) offers a chilling account of a killing spree that shocked the nation and shook the town of Lincoln, NE. Charles Starkweather was 19, and Caril Ann Fugate was 14 at the time they committed these heinous crimes in 1958. Eleven innocent people lost their lives. Lincoln was in a state of terror, with schools closed and the National Guard patrolling the streets. Starkweather’s and Fugate’s arrests and convictions brought worldwide coverage and inspired the movie Natural Born Killers and Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska album. MacLean gives an in-depth account, detailing the results of his investigations and, as he himself grew up in Lincoln, his own recollections of the murders. He questions whether Fugate was frightened into submission or was an actual accomplice. Narrator William DeMeritt provides a captivating reading, drawing listeners in with his embodiment of the author’s tone.