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The Zebra Murders
- A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights
- Narrated by: Dave Courvoisier
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
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The Zebra Murders
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Publisher's Summary
On October 20, 1973, in San Francisco, a White couple strolling down Telegraph Hill was set upon and butchered by four young Black men. Thus began a reign of terror that lasted six months and left 15 Whites dead and the entire city in a state of panic. The perpetrators wanted nothing less than a race war.
With pressure on the San Francisco Police Department mounting daily, young homicide detectives Prentice Earl Sanders and his colleague Rotea Gilford - both African-American - were assigned to the cases. The problem was: Sanders and Gilford were in the midst of a trail-blazing suit against the SFPD for racial discrimination, which in those days was rampant. The backlash was immediate. The force needed Sanders’s and Gilford’s knowledge of the Black community to help stem the brutal murders, but the SFPD made it known that in a tight situation, no White back-up would be forthcoming. In those impossible conditions - the oppressive white power structure on one hand, the violent Black radicals on the other - Sanders and Gilford knew they were sitting ducks. Against all odds, they set out to find those guilty of the Zebra Murders and bring them to justice. This is their incredible story.
What the critics say
What listeners say about The Zebra Murders
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Langer MD
- 2022-03-28
Admirably Fair
Bennett Cohen's exposé on a largely forgotten series of murders in 1970s San Francisco is fascinating. Detective Prentice Earl Sanders - one of two largely ostracized black investigators that solved the case - paints a clear picture of the horrifying racially-motivated Domestic Terror crimes while simultaneously battling a systemically racist Old-Boys Network in the SFPD.
Cohen/Sanders's narrative tackles subjects that could easily become contentious & political.. but both authors take a considered view. The result is a thought-provoking, informative chronicle that avoids being inflammatory.
Unfortunately, the book is let down somewhat by subpar narration. Dave Courvoisier reads with adequate diction, cadence, and tone - but with an occasionally uncomfortable nasal timbre, poor pacing, weak voice-acting, and loud frequent deep breaths. The production is hence professional but "passable" at best.
Altogether, this fascinating look at - ultimately - Race conflicts in America in the early Civil Rights Era is worthy of 6 stars out of 10. I admit that when I downloaded it, I was more attracted to the True Crime elements than the Sociological mandate, but don't regret giving it a shot. You may be better off getting 'The Zebra Murders' in a text format (Paper or eBook) if you're intensely interested, but if you can get this one for free (as I did), go for it. If they ask for a Credit, however, there are better listening options available.
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