A great way to discover and discuss new an d classic true crime writing&mdash\;from murder\, to robbery\, heists and arson&mdash\;we touch on every aspect of humanity's darker instincts.
\ nFor December we will read The Road Out of Hell: Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders \;by Anthony Flacco.
\ nFrom Amazon
\n"And you wonder: How the hell did this guy go on to be a loving father and grandfather? How did he bury all that crap? That's a story in itself." &mdash\;Clint Eastwood\, director o f THE CHANGELING
\nThe film story of young Sanford Clark and his for ced participation in the Wineville Murders was covered in Clint Eastwood's movie\, The Changeling\, but for answers to the questions Eastwo od posed after completing the project\, turn to the true story of the Wine ville murders: Anthony Flacco's The Road Out of Hell. The hell pa rt isn't what makes the story important\; it's the road out that does.
\nFrom 1926 to 1928\, Gordon Stewart Northcott committed at least 20 mu rders on a chicken ranch outside of Los Angeles. His nephew\, Sanford Clar k\, was held captive there from the age of 13 to 15\, and was the sole sur viving victim of the killing spree. Here\, acclaimed crime writer Anthony Flacco&mdash\;using never-before-heard information from Sanford's son\, Je rry Clark&mdash\;tells the real story behind the case that riveted the nat ion.
\nForced by Northcott to take part in the murders\, Sanford car ried tremendous guilt all his life. Yet despite his youth and the trauma\, he helped gain some justice for the dead and their families by testifying at Northcott's trial&mdash\;which led to his conviction and execution. It was a shocking story\, but perhaps the most shocking part of all is the e xtraordinarily ordinary life Clark went on to live as a decorated WWII vet \, a devoted husband of 55 years\, a loving father\, and a productive citi zen.
\nIn dramatizing one of the darkest cases in American crime\, F lacco constructs a riveting psychological drama about how Sanford was able to detoxify himself from the evil he'd encountered\, offering the ultimat ely redemptive story of one man's remarkable ability to survive a nightmar e and emerge intact.
\nWe meet on the third Monday of every other month starting in January. View and print the list of books and check out WPPL's Book Discussion page for more book and movie clubs!
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