In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Apr 2026 on My First Million.
The general take
Charles Duhigg calls In Cold Blood one of his favorites and credits Truman Capote's work with creating the true crime genre. He speaks positively about the book, going so far as to hunt down and purchase an original New Yorker magazine printing of it online.
About
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The most famous true crime novel of all time "c hills the blood and exercises the intelligence" ( The New York Review of Books ) — and haunted its author long after he finished writing it. On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. In one of the first non-fiction novels ever written, Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, generating both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.
Who said what
Charles Duhigg👍 Recommends
…charles duhigg discussing his practice of buying classic literature and journalism
“So I buy old copies of magazines. I just bought In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, right? Which kind of created the true crime genre. Yeah. One of my favorites. Yeah. It's wonderful. I found a copy of the original New Yorker magazine that it was printed in and I bought it online from eBay.”
My First Million — #1 Habit Expert: Here's how you become dramatically betterat 47:02
Listener reviews
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