On this date in American literary history – July 4, 1855, Walt Whitman’s first edition of Leaves of Grass was published. Whitman was born in West Hills, Long Island, and raised in Brooklyn. He left school at the age of 14 to become a journeyman printer and later worked as a teacher, journalist, editor, and carpenter to support his writing. In 1855, he self-published Leaves of Grass, which carried his picture but not his name. He revised the book many times, constantly adding and rewriting poems. The second edition, in 1856, included his “Sundown Poem,” later called “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” one of his most beloved pieces. Whitman sometimes took long ferry and coach rides as an excuse to talk with people, and was also fond of long walks and cultural events in Manhattan. In 1862, Whitman’s brother was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and Whitman went to care for him. He spent the rest of the war comforting both Union and Confederate soldiers. After the war, Whitman worked for several government departments until 1873, when he suffered a stroke. He spent the rest of his life in Camden, New Jersey, and continued to issue revised editions of Leaves of Grass until shortly before his death in 1892.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books and includes America’s Literary Legends: The Lives and Burial Places of 50 Great Writers.

On this date in American literary history – June 30, 1936, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, was published. The book caused a sensation in Atlanta and went on to sell millions of copies throughout the world. While the book drew some criticism for its romanticized view of the Old South and its slaveholding elite, its epic tale of war, passion and loss captivated readers far and wide. In 1926, Mitchell was forced to quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal to recover from a series of physical injuries. With too much time on her hands, Mitchell soon grew restless. Working on a Remington typewriter, a gift from her second husband, John R. Marsh, in their cramped one-bedroom apartment, Mitchell began telling the story of an Atlanta belle named Pansy O’Hara. In tracing Pansy’s tumultuous life from the antebellum South through the Civil War and into the Reconstruction era, Mitchell drew on the tales she had heard from her parents and other relatives, as well as from Confederate war veterans she had met as a young girl. While she was extremely secretive about her work, Mitchell eventually gave the manuscript to Harold Latham, an editor from MacMillan Publishing. Latham encouraged Mitchell to complete the novel, with one important change: the heroine’s name. Mitchell agreed to change it to Scarlett, now one of the most memorable names in the history of literature.

By the time Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937, a movie project was already in the works. The film was produced by Hollywood giant David O. Selznick, who paid Mitchell a record-high $50,000 for the film rights to her book. After testing hundreds of unknowns and big-name stars to play Scarlett, Selznick hired British actress Vivien Leigh days after filming began. Clark Gable was also on board as Rhett Butler, Scarlett’s dashing love interest. Plagued with problems on set, Gone with the Wind nonetheless became one of the highest-grossing and most acclaimed movies of all time, breaking box office records and winning nine Academy Awards out of 13 nominations. Though she didn’t take part in the film adaptation of her book, Mitchell did attend its star-studded premiere in December 1939 in Atlanta. Tragically, she died just 10 years later, after she was struck by a speeding car while crossing Atlanta’s Peachtree Street.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that include America’s Literary Legends: The Lives and Burial Places of 50 Great Writers.

What happened on this week June 30-July 6 in crime history: NBA star Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault (July 1, 2003); old west gunslinger Clay Allison died in freak wagon accident (July 1, 1887); President James A. Garfield was shot (July 2, 1881); Martha Ann Johnson was arrested for killing her four children (July 3, 1989); murder of Marilyn Sheppard inspires television show (July 4, 1954); Black Sox trial begins (July 5, 1921); old west outlaw Bill Doolin escapes jail (July 5, 1896); mobster George “Bugs” Moran was arrested for bank robbery in Kentucky (July 6, 1946).

Highlighted crime of the week –

On July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard is beaten to death at her home in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, claimed to have fallen asleep in the family’s living room and awakened to find a man with bushy hair fleeing the scene. The authorities, who uncovered the fact that Dr. Sheppard had been having an affair, did not believe his story and charged him with killing his pregnant wife. Creating a national sensation, the media invaded the courtroom and printed daily stories premised on Sheppard’s guilt. The jurors, who were not sequestered, found Sheppard guilty. Arguing that the circumstances of the trial had unfairly influenced the jury, Sheppard appealed to the Supreme Court and got his conviction overturned in 1966.

The Sheppard case brought to light the issue of bias within the court system. Jurors are now carefully screened to ensure that they have not already come to a predetermined conclusion about a case in which they are about to hear. In especially high-profile cases, jurors can be sequestered so that they are not exposed to outside media sources. However, most judges simply order jurors not to watch news reports about the case, and rely on them to honor the order. Sheppard’s case provided the loose inspiration for the hit television show The Fugitive, in which the lead character, Richard Kimble, is falsely accused of killing his wife, escapes from prison, and pursues the one-armed man he claimed to have seen fleeing the murder scene. In 1998, DNA tests on physical evidence found at Sheppard’s house revealed that there had indeed been another man at the murder scene. Sheppard’s son, who had pursued the case long after his father’s death in order to vindicate his reputation, sued the state for wrongful imprisonment in 2000, but lost.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that include the award winning, Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949 (2012, Schiffer Publishing). The book was the WINNER of the 2012 International Book Awards and a FINALIST in the 2012 Indie Excellence Book Awards for True Crime.

On this date in American literary history – June 26, 1892, Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl Buck was born in West Virginia. Her parents were on furlough from their missionary work and soon returned to China, where Buck lived for many years. Ad a child she learned to speak Chinese before English. She returned to the U.S. to attend college, then married an American agriculture specialist in China. In 1930, Buck created a literary sensation with The Good Earth. Her novel won the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes and was translated into 30 languages. In the ’30s, The Good Earth and other novels and stories by Buck were more widely read in Europe than those of any other American author. Buck created several charitable foundations for Asian-American children abroad, including an adoption agency. She spoke strongly against the internment of Japanese during World War II and wrote a letter of protest to The New York Times in 1954 that helped change immigration policy. She received many awards for her humanitarian activities. Buck died in 1973.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous book that include America’s Literary Legends: The Lives and Burial Places of 50 Great Writers.

This week in crime history – June 23-29: Klaus Fuchs, Soviet spy was released from a British prison (June 23, 1959); Yale professor David Gelernter was injured by a bomb sent by the Unabomber (June 24, 1993); Congress passes the Mann Act (June 25, 1910); Serial killer Melvin Rees claims another victim (June 26, 1957); Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro was assassinated (June 26, 1541); Mormon leader Joseph Smith was murdered (June 27, 1844); Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated (June 28, 1914); Boston doctor Dirk Greineder was found guilty of murdering his wife (June 29, 2001).

Highlighted crime of the week –

On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie were shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The killings sparked a chain of events that led to the outbreak of World War I by early August. Five years later on the same day, Germany and the Allied Powers signed the Treaty of Versailles, officially marking the end of World War I.

The archduke traveled to Sarajevo in June 1914 to inspect the imperial armed forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908. The annexation had angered Serbian nationalists, who believed the territories should be part of Serbia. A group of young nationalists hatched a plot to kill the archduke during his visit to Sarajevo, and after some missteps, 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip was able to shoot the royal couple at point-blank range, while they traveled in their official procession. The assassination set off a rapid chain of events, as Austria-Hungary immediately blamed the Serbian government for the attack. Because Russia supported Serbia, Austria asked for assistance from Germany. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the fragile peace between Europe’s great powers collapsed, beginning the devastating conflict now known as World War I.

After more than four years of bloodshed, the Great War ended on November 11, 1918, after Germany, the last of the Central Powers, surrendered to the Allies. The Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919, tragically failed to achieve its objective of eliminating global war. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s grand dreams of an international peace-keeping organization faltered when put into practice as the League of Nations. Even worse, the harsh terms imposed on Germany, the war’s biggest loser, led to widespread resentment of the treaty and its authors in that country, a resentment that would culminate in the outbreak of World War II twenty years later.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that include the award winning, Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949 (2012, Schiffer Publishing). The book was the WINNER of the 2012 International Book Awards and a FINALIST in the 2012 Indie Excellence Book Awards for True Crime.

How many more tragedies must we endure before stricter gun control laws are enacted? Since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting on December 14, 2013 which took the lives of 20 children and 6 adult school workers there have been 74 school shootings in the United States and our politicians have done nothing to stop the epidemic. The most recent mass shooting near U.C. Santa Barbara in Isla Vista, California on May 23, 2014 is reviving the debate about harsher gun control laws, but gun advocates, including the NRA and other pro-gun lobbyists in Washington D.C., are continuing to spread false and deceptive facts about gun use, ownership and murder rates associated with firearms. Here are 7 misconceptions that pro-gun advocates are publicizing:

1. Additional guns will bring less homicides.  Untrue. There is a solid link between high levels of gun possession and greater murder rates. A November 2013 study in the American Journal of Public Health found that despite not finding a connection, they discovered “states with higher rates of gun ownership had disproportionately large numbers of deaths from firearm-related homicides.” After considering data from all 50 states from 1981 to 2010, the journal found that firearm ownership is a “significant predictor” of gun related murder rates, so that each time ownership increases by a percentage point, the murder rises by 0.9%.¹

2. Nobody supports gun control. Incorrect. A May 2014 national study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Center found that 78% of Americans favor tougher gun control laws, including more stringent background checks and psychological testing of gun purchasers. Regrettably, gun lobbyists have unlimited financial resources for preventing gun laws from being passed and have a strangle hold on law makers.²

3. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids stringent firearm laws. Untrue. In the U.S. Supreme Court ruling District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). The high court found that gun ownership bans were unconstitutional, but they also noted that state and federal agencies had flexibility in how they each can control gun ownership. For example – this meant that subjects such as forbidding guns in public places, could be part of firearm control laws without contradicting the constitution.

4. There are no links between gun control and less violence. Wrong. In 2011 Economist Richard Florida refuted this theory by finding a strong link between harsh regulations and fewer deaths. He said, “States which have one of three gun control restrictions in place such as assault weapons bans, trigger locks or safe storage requirements. Firearm deaths are significantly lower in states with stricter gun control legislation. Though the sample sizes are small, we find substantial negative correlations between firearm deaths and states that ban assault weapons, require trigger locks and mandate safe storage requirements for guns.”³

5. If more people have guns, there will be fewer mass shootings. False. Firearm ownership in America may be increasing, but most of the mass shootings in the U.S. have occurred since 2007 and includes Virginia Tech, the Aurora shooting, and the Newtown tragedy.⁴

6. Having a gun makes you safe.  Untrue. In a 2009 study published by the American Journal of Public Health, scholars discovered that those that those who possess firearms are more likely to get shot than people who do not have guns. The study determined, “Although successful defensive gun uses occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas. Such users should reconsider their possession of guns or, at least, understand that regular possession necessitates careful safety countermeasures.” The study also found that the odds of an assault victim being shot if he was carrying a gun were 4.5 times greater, and the chances of him getting killed were 4.2 times greater. And in 2011, almost 10 times more people were shot and killed in quarrels than by citizens trying to prevent a crime.⁵

7. Countries such as Israel and Switzerland have high levels of firearm ownership, yet they have low rates of gun related violence and we should pattern ourselves after these nations. Incorrect. Gun advocates point to Israel and Switzerland as proof that fewer mass shootings are the result of allowing guns and encouraging armed civilians to intercept shooters. Janet Rosenbaum, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center School, researched firearm ownership and access in Israel and Switzerland. Her study found that gun ownership in both countries is rigorously controlled and is not encouraged. Compared with the U.S., Israel and Switzerland have lower gun ownership rates. Israel, where radical reforms for gun ownership were put into place in 2006, saw a decrease of 40% of suicide among soldiers. Consider that alongside the fact that Israel sends almost all of its youth to the army. Rosenbaum wrote that since gun ownership regulations have gotten more severe, “the lack of guns promotes the lack of firearm violence.” Israelis may still be committing acts of violence, but they are certainly not using lethal firearms to do so.⁶

There is no doubt that the gun debate is being spotlighted in the new media right now and is a highly controversial subject, but with all this data and facts at our disposal, we have to wonder why our elected officials are still sitting on their hands and doing nothing to support change. We as a nation need to rise up and make sure something is done. If we sit back and do nothing, nothing will be accomplished. It begins with one person and one vote. We the silent majority can no longer afford to be mute. Action begins now, contact your local congressmen and voice your concerns. You can also support and join organizations such as The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (www.smartgunlaws.org) or The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (www.bradycampaign.org). Start local and think global to make a change.

Notes – ¹Michael Siegel, Craig S. Ross, and Charles King III. “The Relationship Between Gun Ownership and Firearm Homicide Rates in the United States, 1981–2010.” American Journal of Public Health. November 2013. Accessed 18 June 2014.   http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301409?journalCode=ajph&&&.

²Johnson, Patrick. “UMass – Lowell Survey Shows Most Americans Support Increased  Gun Restrictions.” Masslive.com, November 2013. Accessed 18 June 2014. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/05/umass-lowell_survey_shows_most.html.

³Florida, Richard. “The Geography of Gun Deaths.” The Atlantic, 13 January 2011. Accessed 18 June 2014. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-geography-of-gun-deaths/69354/.

⁴Washington Post. “Deadliest U.S. Shootings.” Washingtonpost.com, 23 September 2013. Accessed 18 June 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/deadliest-us-shootings/.

⁵Charles C. Branas, Therese S. Richmond, Dennis P. Culhane, Thomas R. Ten Have, and Douglas J. Wiebe. “Investigating the Link Between Gun Possession and Gun Assault.” American Journal of Public Health, November 2009. Accessed 18 June 2014. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2008.143099?journalCode=ajph.

⁶Rosenbaum, Janet. “Gun Utopias? Firearm Access and Ownership in Israel & Switzerland.” PMC U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, 17 November 2011.  Accessed 18 June 2014. ^{http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267868/.}

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of numerous books that includes Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. The book was the winner of the 2012 International Book Awards and finalist in the 2012 National Indie Excellence Awards.

What happened on this week in crime history, June 16 – June 22; SLA member Kathleen Ann Soliah was arrested after 20 years on the run (June 16, 1999); Watergate burglars were arrested (June 17, 1972); O.J. Simpson was arrested after his infamous slow speed Bronco chase (June 17, 1994); radio talk show host Alan Berg was shot to death (June 18, 1984); convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed (June 19, 1953); mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was shot to death (June 20, 1947); John Hinckley, Jr. was found not guilty by reason insanity in the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan (June 21, 1982); Boston mobster Whitey Bulger was arrested (June 22, 2011).

Highlighted crime of the week – 

On June 20, 1947, mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was shot and killed at his mistress Virginia Hill’s home in Beverly Hills, California. Siegel had been talking to his associate Allen Smiley when three bullets were fired through the window and killed him instantly. Siegel’s childhood had been pretty similar to that of other organized crime leaders: Growing up with little money in Brooklyn, he managed to establish himself as a teenage thug. With his pal Meyer Lansky, Siegel terrorized local peddlers and collected protection money. Before long, they had a business that included bootlegging and gambling all over New York City. By the late 1930s, Siegel had become one of the major players of a highly powerful crime syndicate, which gave the okay to set up in Los Angeles. He threw himself into the Hollywood scene, making friends with some of the biggest names of the time. He also started up a successful gambling and narcotics operation to keep his partners back east happy. In 1945, Siegel had a brilliant idea. Just hours away from Los Angeles sat the sleepy desert town of Las Vegas, Nevada. It had nothing going for it except for a compliant local government and legal gambling. Siegel decided to build the Flamingo Hotel in the middle of the desert with $6,000,000, a chunk of which came from the New York syndicate. The Flamingo wasn’t immediately profitable and Siegel ended up in an argument with Lucky Luciano over paying back the money used to build it. Around the same time that Siegel was murdered in Beverly Hills, Luciano’s men walked into the Flamingo and announced that they were now in charge. No one was ever charged in Siegel’s murder.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that include the award winning, Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949 (2012, Schiffer Publishing). The book was the WINNER of the 2012 International Book Awards and a FINALIST in the 2012 Indie Excellence Book Awards for True Crime.

On this date in American literary history – June 14, 1811, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut. She was the seventh child of Congregationalist minister Lyman Beecher. Stowe studied at private schools in Connecticut and worked as a teacher in Hartford for five years until her father moved to Cincinnati in 1832. She accompanied him and continued to teach while writing stories and essays. In 1836, she married Calvin Ellis Stowe, with whom she had seven children. She published her first book, Mayflower, in 1843. While living in Cincinnati, Stowe encountered fugitive slaves and the Underground Railroad. Later, she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in reaction to recently tightened fugitive laws. The book sold some 300,000 copies and did much to galvanize public opinion in the North against slavery. Stowe traveled to England in 1853, where she was welcomed as a literary hero. Along with Ralph Waldo Emerson, she became one of the original contributors to The Atlantic, which launched in November 1857. Stowe continued to write throughout her life and died on July 1, 1896 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous book that include America’s Literary Legends: The Lives and Burial Places of 50 Great Writers.

This week in crime history- Heidi Fleiss, the “Hollywood Madam” was arrested (June 9, 1993); first Salem witch trial hangings (June 10, 1692); mobster Henry Hill was born (June 11, 1943); Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered (June 12, 1994); Medgar Evers was assassinated (June 12, 1963); Miranda Rights were established (June 13, 1966); TWA Flight 847 was hijacked (June 14, 1985); police search home of Joran van der Sloot in search of evidence in disappearance of Natalie Holloway.

Highlighted crime of the week –

On June 9, 1993 – Heidi Fleiss was arrested as part of a vice sting operation run by the Los Angeles Police and Beverly Hills Police Departments and the U.S. Justice Department. In the 1980s, Fleiss’ then-boyfriend introduced her to the leading Beverly Hills madam Elizabeth (Alex) Adams, who, according to Fleiss, taught her the tricks of the trade. Before long, Fleiss started a competing business, and when Adams was arrested in 1988, Fleiss took her spot as the leading provider of high end escorts in Hollywood. As her business grew, she enjoyed the perks of celebrity, even as her rising profile attracted the attention of local authorities. On June 9, 1993, after she sent four of her employees (along with a quantity of cocaine) to fulfill an arrangement made with three “clients” (actually undercover agents), Fleiss was arrested and charged with pandering, pimping and narcotics possession.

Fleiss’ trial, during which she refused to name any of her agency’s high-profile clients (though testimony did reveal at least one of them, actor Charlie Sheen), was the talk of Hollywood. She pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and her lawyers argued that the authorities had entrapped her. In December 1994, she was found guilty on three of five pandering counts and not guilty on the narcotics charge; she was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. Fleiss also went on trial before a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, money laundering and tax evasion. She was convicted in August 1995 on eight of the 14 counts and sentenced to 37 months in prison. All told, Fleiss served three years in prison, and was released in the fall of 1999. She later began a two-year relationship with the actor Tom Sizemore, star of films such as Heat, Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down. Fleiss, who has also struggled with drug abuse, has attempted to profit from her infamy by authoring several non-fiction books, including Pandering (2003).

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that include the award winning, Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949 (2012, Schiffer Publishing). The WINNER of the 2012 International Book Awards and a FINALIST in the 2012 Indie Excellence Book Awards for True Crime.

On this date in American literary history – June 3, 1936, novelist Larry McMurtry was born in Wichita Falls, Texas. McMurtry was raised by his grandparents, first-generation pioneers who settled Archer City, Texas. He read nothing but drugstore paperbacks growing up, attended Rice University in Houston, where he became a voracious reader of literature. He later studied writing at Stanford. McMurtry published his first novel, Horseman, Pass By (1961), at the age of 25. His 1966 novel, The Last Picture Show, explored the isolation of small-town society, and his 1975 novel, Terms of Endearment, became an award-winning movie in 1983. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for his bestseller Lonesome Dove (1985). In 1992, McMurtry had open-heart surgery and experienced a year or more of profound depression as he recovered in Tucson at the home of his companion and colleague, Diana Ossana. While struggling to overcome depression, he wrote Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Lonesome Dove. He has written roughly two dozen books. In the late 1990s, he began a massive attempt to turn Archer, Texas, into a haven for book lovers by buying abandoned buildings and filling them with hundreds of thousands of used books for sale. In recent years, McMurtry has published a number of additional books and worked with Ossana to adapt Annie Proulx’s short story Brokeback Mountain into a film. The duo won an Academy Award for their screenplay in 2006.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of numerous books that includes America’s Literary Legends: The Lives and Burial Places of 50 Great Writers. The book will be released in January 2015, but can be pre-ordered on Amazon.