Billy the Axeman - Misplaced Pages

Unidentified American serial killer

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Billy the Axeman
Other names	Ax-Man Midwest Axeman Man from the Train

Capture status	Not captured
Details
Victims	24–30 (classic theory) 94 (revised theory)
Date	1911–1912 (classic theory) 1898–1912 (revised theory)
Country	United States
Weapon	Axe

Billy the Axeman (also referred to as the Ax-Man, the Midwest Axeman, and the Man from the Train) was the name of a suspected serial killer thought to be responsible for a series of family murders that occurred mainly in the U.S. Midwest between September 1911 and June 1912.

Attacks attributed to this killer are characterized by the slaying of a whole family in their beds by crushing their skulls with a blunt instrument, usually an axe. The families often lived in very close proximity to the rail road, which is assumed to be what the killer used for transportation. Possible signature characteristics include the destruction and covering of the victim's faces and the staging of one of the female victims in a manner that indicated lust murder.

The notion of such a killer was first introduced by the press in 1911, and over the past 100 years, many different theories have been advanced. Most theories focus on a series of crimes, which ranged from 1911 to 1912 and claimed between 24 and 30 victims depending on the crimes included. More recently the authors Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James published The Man from the Train, in which they argue for a much longer crime series spanning from 1898 to 1912. This revised theory attributes over 90 deaths to him, which would make him one of the most prolific serial killers in US history.

History

The idea that a roaming killer was behind a series of axe murders in the American Midwest was first introduced by the press in 1911, calling him Billy the Axeman. At the time, people noticed similarities like the use of an axe, the attack on whole families and the closeness of many sites to the railway. Many press articles and a number of law enforcement officers therefore considered the possibility that a single killer was responsible for a series of crimes across the Midwest.

The idea of such a killer was then used by Matthew Wilson McClaughry, a Special Agent of the Department of Justice, to connect the axe murders committed by Henry Lee Moore in 1912 with this series. This attempt proved ultimately unsuccessful and no one was ever prosecuted for more than one of the crimes in the series. However, the idea of such a serial killer remained popular with true crime authors, bloggers, and podcasters.

In 2015, author Todd Elliott substantially expanded the scope of possible murders. He initially focused on a series of axe murders that also took place between 1911 and 1912, but happened in the southern states of Texas and Louisiana. He noticed a number of similarities, such as whole families were killed in the middle of the night, typically by blows with the blunt side of an axe, and many crimes scenes being in close proximity to railroads. He concluded that the same person must have been behind them. One difference of the southern series was the fact that almost exclusively black and mixed race families were targeted.

In 2017, authors Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James published The Man from the Train, in which they further expanded this original idea. They propose that more murders should be expected given that even the earliest crimes that are usually considered already show a mature modus operandi, suggesting an experienced serial killer behind them. They claim that the murder series extends much farther back in time, and also present a suspect which had not been discussed before.

Identifying characteristics

This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material. (November 2023)

Axes were regular household tools in the early 1900s and a substantial number of murders were committed with this weapon. To distinguish crimes connected with the Midwest murder series from other axe murders, different authors have developed a list of characteristics that detail the modus operandi and possible signatures, and therefore point toward a single individual being behind them. The first to systematically describe such a set of similarities was Beth Klingensmith.

According to Klingensmith, the murders were typically committed on a Sunday night in a small town. The murderer would use train hopping to quickly approach the town. Once there, he would pick a house that met certain criteria, observe it and wait until the people inside would be fast asleep. The murder weapon, typically an axe, was always a weapon of opportunity taken either from the house or a neighboring premise. He would typically enter the house through an unlocked door or a rear window, by removing the screen and placing it against the wall. Once inside, he would use a lamp from the house to illuminate the crime scene. He would remove the chimney from the lamp, carefully place it (to avoid tripping over it), and bent the wick down. During the commission of the murders, the victims' faces were covered, possibly to reduce blood splatter. He committed the murders by smashing the victims' heads with the blunt side of the axe. The killings were done quickly. After the murders, the perpetrator remained at the crime scene, washed his hands, covered the windows, moved the bodies, staged them, mutilated them further and often covered them additionally. Both during and after the killing, he attacked only the heads and faces of the victims, leaving the rest of the body unharmed. When he left the crime scene, he cleaned the murder weapon of fingerprints, left it at the scene and jammed the house before leaving. He fled the town the same way he had come, jumping onto a carriage of a train that was passing by the nearby railway line.

Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James use the same basic structure but make a number of revisions. Unlike Beth Klingensmith, they also try to infer a number of signature elements that may reveal an underlying motivation of the crimes. First, they observe how often one of the female victims, typically a prepubescent girl, would be found pulled down toward the end of the bed and exposed in a sexually explicit manner. Although newspapers at the time avoided details, they often strongly implied that some form of assault on the victim had taken place after death. The crimes contain both necrophilic and pedophilic signature elements. In addition, the authors note a possible aversion of the killer to human faces. This is indicated by the killer often additionally targeting the victim's faces after the murders, covering their faces, covering mirrors, as well as covering telephones, which in the 1910s often had starkly human features. The authors observe a difference between the later crime series of 1909-1912 and the earlier crime series of 1900–1906. In the later crime series, the murders occurred in small towns and the houses were jammed shut after the murder. In the earlier crime series, on the other hand, most of the murders occurred in remote farmsteads, and the murderer burned the house down. The authors also proposed a different selection process by the murderer. In the early series, they suspect he would settle in a place for a while, get employment in a logging or mining business and carefully scout the area around his place of employment for potential attack sites. He would then commit his murders after his temporary contract would run out. In the later series, in particular during the Midwest series, he would simply hop off the train, walk into a small town and select a house after observing it shortly. They note a number of additional similarities. One is the proximity of many of the crime scenes to logging and mining operations, where someone experienced with handling an axe or pickaxe could find work. Another is the lack of a financial motive. The victims were either very poor, or if they were not, valuables were often left at the scene of the crime in plain sight. The murders were often committed in relative proximity to each other a few weeks apart. They note that murders that fit his modus operandi would occur in the northern states in summer and in southern states in the winter.

In addition, several authors have tried to infer personal characteristics of the killer. Some have suggested that the killer could not have been tall given he was able to swing an axe in often very confined in-door spaces. This notion is further substantiated by the detection of foot prints of size six at one crime scene. Analyzing the attack patterns, it has furthermore been claimed that the killer may have been left handed. Aaron Mahnke of the Lore podcast has also speculated whether the killer had wiped his fingerprints due to them being on record from a previous incarceration.

Classic theory

This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material. (November 2023)

Both back in the 1910s and in later publications, the number of crimes that are considered to be committed by the same axe murderer does vary. However, a series of six family murders that happened on five different occasion between September 1911 and June 1912 in the Midwest are always discussed within the context of these killings. Depending on the author, other murders preceding or following this series are sometimes included as well.

Timeline of the axe murders associated with the Northwestern and Midwestern crimes. Murders are marked with black marks. Inferred ranges of the murder period in the Northwest and Midwest are given as blue and green bars, respectively.

Early Northwestern murders

The two family murders that are most often also included happened in the summer of 1911 in Ardenwald, Oregon and Rainier, Washington. These Northwestern crimes preceded the main Midwestern series by two months. Back then, the press did connect these crimes with the Midwestern series but W. M. McClaughry later excluded them from his theory. Modern authors have likewise come to different conclusions with some arguing for a connection and others being skeptical.

Ardenwald

Rainier

The Coble family murders happened on the night of July 9 to 10, 1911, in Rainier, Washington. The victims were Archie Coble, 28, and his wife Nettie Coble, 18. They lived in a small house somewhat outside the town. Mr. Coble worked as a clerk at a store in Rainier and used the nearby railroad tracks to walk to work.

They were murdered in their beds with blows to their heads with the blunt side of an axe. The killer had covered the face of Archie Coble after the murders. Nettie Coble had been pulled down toward the end of the bed and assaulted after death. Blood was found on the chimney of the oil lamp, suggesting the killer had handled it. However, it had not been removed. Due to the similarities, the press did connect the two murders at the time. Several suspects were investigated. One was a Swedish immigrant who worked on the nearby railroad. Another one was his foreman at work, a man named George Wilson. Both implicated themselves during interrogation. Eventually, Wilson was convicted for the crime but doubts about his guilt remain until today.

Main Midwestern murder series

The main series of crimes happened in the American Midwest and lasted from September 1911 to June 1912. It started in Colorado Springs, Colorado with two families, the Burnham and the Wayne family, being murdered in the same night. It continued a few weeks later with the killing of the Dawson family in Monmouth, Illinois. Only a few weeks later, the Showman family was killed in Ellsworth, Kansas. After this, the series stopped during the winter. It resumed in the summer of 1912 with two family murders. First in June, 1912 the Hudson family was slain in Paola, Kansas. A few days later, the Moore family and two visiting girls were murdered in Villisca, Iowa.

With the exception of Colorado Springs, which had just under 30,000 inhabitants in 1911, all the towns were smaller but well connected to the railway network of the time. They were all located on major railway lines or at the intersection of at least two lines. In Colorado Springs, Ellsworth and Paola, the crime scene was directly next to the railway, whereas in Monmouth and Villisca, it was a couple of blocks away.

Colorado Springs

The first two family murders of the main series happened both during the night from September 17 to 18, 1911, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The victims were the Burnham family, consisting of May Alice Burnham, 35, and her two children Nellie, 7, and John, 2, as well as the Wayne family, consisting of Henry F. Wayne, 24, his wife Blanche Wayne, 22, and their eighteen-month-old daughter Lula. Both families had come to Colorado Springs to visit the local Sanatorium run by the Modern Woodmen of America. While the men were typically staying at the sanatorium, their families lived some distance away in cottage-style houses.

The murders were only discovered on the morning of September 20. In both cases, all the victims had their skulls smashed in with the blunt side of an axe and their faces were covered with bed sheets. The murder weapon itself was taken from one of the houses and left at the crime scene. Both houses had their windows covered and they had been jammed shut by the murderer before leaving. The killer had stayed at the crime scenes, washed his hands and cleaned the murder weapon of fingerprints. Both houses were right next to each other and only a few houses away from the railway line.

A robbery could be ruled out as a motive, as nothing valuable had been taken from either house. A personal motive could not be established either, as neither family had any known enemies in the town, where they had come to visit the local sanatorium only a few weeks earlier. Initial suspicion fell on Mr. Burham, the only surviving member of the Burnham family. However, it was quickly established that he had spent the night in the sanatorium and could not have committed the crimes as he was seriously ill with tuberculosis.

Monmouth

The next family murder happened on the night from September 30 to October 1, 1911, in Monmouth, Illinois. The victims were William Dawson, 56, his wife Charity, 52, and their teenage daughter Georgia, 12. They lived south of the railroad tracks in a neighborhood of Monmouth referred to as the "colored" part of town. The Dawsons themselves, however, were white. The father, William Dawson, worked as a janitor at the local First United Presbyterian Church.

The crime was discovered by members of his church congregation who went looking for him when he did not show up on Sunday morning to open the church as usual. They found all three family members in their beds, beaten to death with a blunt object. According to reports, the killer had covered the windows, covered the victims after death as well as pulled Georgia Dawson down the bed and staged her.

Initially, the murder weapon was believed to be an axe. However, authorities concluded that a gas pipe, which was found by blood hounds who followed the trail of the killer to a pond near a rail road, was the likely murder weapon. In addition, a pocket flashlight was found several weeks later, when a fence was removed that stood along the path the blood hounds had identified earlier. It had some writing being carved into it, containing the words "Loving", "Lovey" or a variant thereof, as well as the place name "Colorado Springs" and the date "Sept. 4, '11". This was connected by the press to the earlier murders in Colorado Springs. Authorities focused on revenge as a possible motive. Eventually two men, John Wesley Knight and Lovey Mitchell, were charged. This was based on a possible reading of the inscription on the flashlight as well as witness testimony. While Lovey Mitchell was ultimately acquitted after a series of trials, John Wesley Knight was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Ellsworth

The Showman murders happened during the night from October 15 to 16, 1911, in Ellsworth, Kansas. The victims were William Showman, 31, his wife Pauline Showman, 26, and their three children Lester, 6, Fern, 4, and Fenton, 1. Will Showman worked as a chauffeur in Ellsworth.

The victims were discovered in the afternoon of October 16. All five had their heads crushed with the blunt side of an axe. The family lived in a small cabin in very close proximity to a rail way. The killer had covered all the windows as well as the telephone. Nothing seemed to have been taken from the house. The body of Pauline Showman had been staged after death in a sexually explicit manner. The police found the murder weapon at the site of the crime, which was cleaned of fingerprints. They also found a lamp which had its chimney removed. The chimney was found under a chair in the kitchen. Bloodhounds followed a trail to a nearby intersection of two railway lines.

In addition to these murders, there was an attempted break-in into the home of the city marshal Morris Merritt. In the morning, he discovered that someone had removed the screen from his window and tried to pry it open. His house was directly next to the railroad and only two houses away from the house of the Showman family.

This murder was the first time the press began to connect the different crimes and labeled the suspected killer as Billy the Axman. Police, however, focused again on local suspects. One was Charles Marzyck, the former brother in law of Pauline Showman, who had made threats against the family. Police was able to apprehend Marzyck, but let him go after checking his alibi. Another suspect was a man named John Smith or John Smitherton, who had stayed at a local hotel during the night after the murders and left behind a bundle of clothes. Police was able to find him as well. He was, however, let go after providing a lengthy interview to the police. In the interview, he said that he found the bundle of clothes near the rail lines when he got off the train on the evening of the murders. Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James speculate whether he had found the escape clothes of the actual murderer.

Paola

The Hudson murders happened on the night of June 5 to 6 1912, in Paola, Kansas. The victims were Rollin Hudson, 21, and his wife Anna, 22. The couple had only moved to Paola in spring 1912 and reports state that the couple had marital problems due to Anna Hudson's perceived infidelity. They had initially lived with another family but soon moved into a house of their own.

The murders were discovered the next day when, prompted by the absence of Mr. Hudson from work a number of women forced their way into the Hudson's home and discovered the bodies of Rollin and Anna Hudson. The murderer had entered the house through a rear window by first removing its screen and putting it against the house. Inside, he lit a coal lamp, removed its chimney and placed it beneath the bed. He killed both occupants by crushing their skulls and covered their bodies afterwards. The murder weapon was never found but inferred to be a blunt instrument, possibly a pick axe or hammer. Nothing of value was taken, discounting robbery as a motive.

In the same night, another attempted attack was reported in the home of the Longmeyer family, which lived a few houses up in the same street. In that case, the attacker had also entered the house through a rear window by removing its screen and placing it against the wall. Inside the house, he had likewise lit an oil lamp and removed its chimney. The attack was, however, interrupted when Mrs. Longmeyer woke up to the sound of breaking glass. This in turn caused the attacker to flee the house. The broken glass turned out to be the chimney of the lamp. Both the house of the Hudson and of the Longmeyer family were only a few minutes walk away from the intersection of two rail lines.

Despite this second attempt, the public soon focused on the alleged infidelity of Anna Hudson suspecting local suitors as responsible for the murders. The Sheriff, however, did connect the murder with the earlier killings citing the similarities in the MO and apparent sophistication of the killer. No person was ever charged with the crime.

Villisca

Possible subsequent murders

A number of authors have speculated whether later crimes should be considered to be part of the series. One such crime are the Pfannschmidt murders, where on September 27, 1912, the Pfannschmidt family was murdered in their beds and their house being burned afterwards. The main suspect was the only surviving member, Ray Pfannschmidt, who in his defense blamed the murders on Billy the Axeman. Another example are the Kellar family murders, where on June 10, 1913, the Kellar family was murdered in their beds. The 1922 Hinterkaifeck murders in Germany are also speculated to have possibly committed by the same killer.

Extended theories

Mulatto Axe Murders (1911–1912)

Earlier family murders

Bill James and McCarthy James strongly divert from the theories discussed so far. They cite Klingensmith as a source but believe the crimes of early 1911 show a mature modus operandi, which may indicate an experienced serial killer active by that date. They, therefore, conducted an extensive literature search to find possible earlier axe family murders. Depending on how well the additional details in each case agree with the modus operandi established for the Midwestern axe murders, they then try to judge whether the same serial killer could have committed them.

Timeline of the axe murders that may have been committed by the Midwestern axe murderer according to the theory presented in The Man from the Train. Murders which are likely are marked with black marks and murders which were possibly committed are marked with gray marks. Inferred ranges of the murder period in the Northwest, Midwest, South, and Northeast are given as blue, green, red and yellow bars, respectively

In their research, they find a substantial number of murders that fit the modus operandi, but no definite candidates for the period between summer 1906 and summer 1909. They speculate this long pause may indicate that the axe murderer was imprisoned for other offenses, possibly a planned murder which was interrupted and sentenced as burglary. During the whole time frame from 1900 to 1910 they discuss eleven crimes which they conclude were likely committed by the same killer, and thirteen other crimes possibly committed by the same axe murderer. With the exception of the Lyerly case, these crimes had effectively been forgotten.

Suspects

Henry Lee Moore

Main article: Henry Lee Moore

Henry Lee Moore was convicted in Missouri in 1913 for the axe murder of his mother and grandmother and sentenced to life in prison. Due to some similarities in this murder as well as the fact that he was released just before the murders in Colorado Springs, special agent W. M. McClaughry suspected Moore to be the culprit behind the Midwest axe murders. More recently, several authors have argued against this identification.

Charles Marzyck

Charles Marzyck was the former brother in law of Pauline Showman and a suspect in the killing of her and her family. It was also alleged that he had connections to Monmouth and Colorado Springs which lead to speculations he might be connected to these murders as well. Police was able to apprehend Marzyck and bring him to Ellsworth. He could, however, provide evidence for his innocence and was ultimately released.

Lovey Mitchell

Lovey Mitchell was charged and tried two times for the Monmouth murders that happened in 1911. During the trial, he was connected by the press with the other murders in the series. Mitchell was ultimately declared innocent and released as a free man in 1918. In a review article on historical serial killers, Philip Jenkins again named Mitchell as being responsible for the Midwest axe murders.

George Kelly

Paul Müller

Paul Müller (or Mueller) was a German-born farmhand who became the main suspect in the 1898 slaying of the Newton family near West Brookfield, Massachusetts and the object of an extended manhunt afterwards. In their 2017 book The Man from the Train, authors Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James identify Mueller as the most likely candidate for being the axe murderer in dozens of incidents nationwide, based on the similarities in the crimes. This identification of Mueller was endorsed by professor Harold Schechter after their book came out, calling it the "most probable solution".

Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James believed the later crimes showed a mature modus operandi, indicating the crimes were likely committed by an experienced killer. Starting at the Villisca murders, they looked through newspapers for earlier crimes that had similar traits and believed the first crimes by this killer might not have been linked to him due to inexperience. According to the authors, the murders of the Newton family meet these criteria and was likely the first of many murders committed by Mueller.

References

Citations

^ Klingensmith 2006.
^ "Spring Ax Murders Laid To Negro Held For Thirty Deaths Since 1911". The Colorado Transcript. March 25, 1915. p. 2. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
^ James & McCarthy James 2017.
^ Young 2019.
^ Elliott 2015.
^ Brewster 2010.
^ Taylor 2012.
^ McQueen 2017.
^ Epperly 2021.
^ Newton 2021, chpt. 3 "Axe Men".
Mahnke 2018.
^ Taylor 2020.
Mahnke 2018, pp. 25-26: "Every reflective surface, every place where it might be possible to see eyes staring back at himself; he carefully and deliberately covered each of them".
Newton 2021.
Mahnke 2018, p. 27: "No fingerprints were found, though, suggesting a killer who was worried about being identified by prison records".
"Reward of $1770 Offered by Journal and Citizens for Capture of Slayer". The Oregon daily journal. June 12, 1911. p. 1.
^ Chandler 2013, chap. "An Enduring Mystery, 1911".
"Tighten Net on Murder Suspect". The Seattle Star. July 13, 1911. p. 1.
^ "Six Killed In Wholesale Murder - Man, Two Women, Three Children Meet Death At Hands Of Fiend With Ax". Colorado Springs Gazette. September 21, 1911. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
Emery, Erin (April 8, 2007). "Hot on the trail of cold 1911 ax murders". The Denver Post. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
^ "Three Slain in Bed by Fiend". Lincoln Evening News. October 2, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
^ "Charles Marzyck - Showman Family of Five Murdered". Ellsworth Reporter. October 19, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
"Entire Kansas Family Murdered". The Coffeyville Daily Journal. October 17, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
"Fiendish Double Murder". The Miami Republican. June 14, 1912. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
Dash, Mike (June 8, 2012). "The Ax Murderer Who Got Away". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
Lane 2012.
Newton 2009, p. 263.
Wells 2007.
"Man captured is Marzyck". The Salina Daily Union. May 10, 1912. p. 6. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
Jenkins 1989.
Faugno 2016, chap. "Axe Murderer on the Loose".
"Not Muller's - Clothing at New Haven Unidetified - Brookfield Men Return Home With No Light on Affair". The Boston Globe. January 14, 1898. p. 7. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
Briggs, Tracy (August 16, 2022). "Was a railroad-hopping serial killer responsible for the Midwest's most infamous ax murders?". Inforum. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
James & McCarthy James 2017, p. 436: "A serial killer must, of course, have a first crime, and it is common for the first crime to reveal information about him that in later crimes he will conceal"..

Bibliography

Brewster, Hank (2010). On the Road to Villisca: The Hunt for the Midwest Axemen. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1449980795.
Chandler, J. D. (2013). Murder & Mayhem in Portland, Oregon. HISTORY PR. ISBN 978-1609499259.
Elliott, Todd C. (2015). Axes of Evil: The True Story of the Ax-Man Murders. Trine Day. ISBN 9781937584733.
Epperly, Edgar V. (2021). Fiend Incarnate: Villisca Axe Murders of 1912. Westholme Publishing. ISBN 979-8463846457.
Faugno, Rachel (2016). Murder & Mayhem in Central Massachusetts. HISTORY PR. ISBN 978-1467119276.
James, Bill; McCarthy James, Rachel (2017). The Man from the Train. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4767-9625-3.
Jenkins, Philip (1989). "Serial murder in the United States 1900–1940: A historical perspective". Journal of Criminal Justice. 17 (5): 377–392. doi:10.1016/0047-2352(89)90048-2 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
Klingensmith, Beth H. (2006). "The 1910's Ax Murders - An overview of the crimes and the McClaughry theory" (PDF). HI815XA – Research Seminar: 20th Century Topics.
Lane, Beth (2012). Lies Told Under Oath: The Puzzling Story of the Pfanschmidt Murders and of the Surviving Son—Victim or Villain?. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1462076307.
McQueen, Keven (2017). Horror in the Heartland: Strange and Gothic Tales from the Midwest. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0253029041.
Mahnke, Aaron (2018). The world of Lore: Wicked mortals. Random House Worlds. ISBN 978-1-5247-9799-7. OCLC 1059143085.
Newton, Michael (2021). Extreme Killers: Tales of the World's Most Prolific Serial Killers. Union Square & Co. ISBN 978-0253029041.
Newton, Michael (2009). The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes. Facts On File Inc. ISBN 978-0816078196.
Taylor, Troy (2012). Murdered In Their Beds: The History & Hauntings of Villisca & The Midwest Ax Murders (Dead Men Do Tell Tales). Whitechapel Press. ISBN 978-1892523785.
Taylor, Troy (2020). Victims of the Ax Fiend: Mystery, Mayhem and the Church of Sacrifice Murders. Whitechapel Productions. ISBN 978-1732407992.
Wells, Susan Barringer (2007). A Game Called Salisbury: The Spinning of a Southern Tragedy and the Myths of Race. Infinity Publishing. ISBN 978-0741444257.
Young, Andrew (2019). Fingerprints: The Strange Case of Matthew McClaughry and Billy the Axeman. Westholme Publishing. ISBN 978-1594163081.

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