How William F. Buckley Learned That Evil Is Real

The literati sometimes look down on the genre of “true crime,” but it remains enormously popular (In Cold Blood was by far Truman Capote’s best-selling work) and, if done well, can teach us important lessons about human nature, the criminal justice system, and the foibles of celebrity. Sarah Weinman’s Scoundrel recounts the tale of Death Row inmate Edgar Smith and his unlikely friendship with William F. Buckley. Smith, then 23, was convicted of brutally murdering a 15-year-old New Jersey girl, Victoria Zielinski, in 1957, so the saga also serves as a period piece set in post-WWII America. Scoundrel is fascinating, and instructive, on several different levels.