Popular Crime is a fun book, idiosyncratic and possibly just plain wrong at times, the author's voice shines through and makes it feel like you're having a conversation with a friend rather than reading a scholarly text. This isn't to say that lots of research wasn't done for this book, it is well stocked with interesting info and insights and will (hopefully) spark some discussions about our justice system.

Ok I love crime stories so this book I thought we be perfect. I was skipping pages, the rambling went on and on about the same things over and over. I felt more like I was reading a summary for books and what books I should read and what not to. By far not with the $13.99 I spent on it. Wish he would have left out his views on the justice system and his reviews on other books and maybe stuck more to the stories he was telling. I would not purchase this book or recommend it to anyone. The information he had about the crimes was pretty interesting.

Not having made the Moneyball connection before I finished reading this book, I actually enjoyed it that much more. The author is snarky, self important and entirely enjoyable to read - which made sense once I realized who he was. And, besides his clear and deliberate writing style he also manages to land several hilarious punches to the funny bone (hint for those that buy this book: search "gorilla and elephant"). I would recommend this book to any avid non-fiction reader that does not know why Bill James is well known. For those that do know, well, you probably don't care what I recommend.

Simply one of the worst books I have ever read. The author lacks self awareness and comes across as a self aggrandizing blow-hard. The book's flow is choppy and inconsistent, and reads more like a review of crime books that he's read.

At times fascinating, but often mired down in the author's own fascination of his catalogue system of the crimes. Some cases are breezed through in one scant paragraph,and others go on for ever. Enough of your thoughts on Lizzie Borden. Big yawn. Still, the historical march is a useful tool.

Pretty good. Although James said Michael Jackson was not one of the 100 most famous people in the world and this is simply an insane statement and makes me question the rest of the book, I'm not kidding.