Jay Robert Nash

Jay Robert Nash (November 26, 1937 – April 22, 2024) was an American author of more than 80 true crime books once called the "world's foremost encyclopedist of crime." Among Nash's crime anthologies are Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen and Outlaws, Look For the Woman, Bloodletters and Badmen, and The Great Pictorial History of World Crime. He also compiled his exhaustive research of criminal behaviour into a CD-ROM entitled Jay Robert Nash's True Crime Database.

While Nash's books won a number of "Best Reference" citations from the American Library Association, his works were also criticized for including misinformation or wrong data.

Biography Born in Indianapolis to Jay Robert Nash II and Jerrie Lynne (Kosur), Nash grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Nash's father was a newspaperman who died fighting in the Pacific during World War II while his mother was a cabaret singer in her youth. Reviewers noted that in his books, "many quotes and scenarios are not clearly substantiated." Richard Maxwell Brown, writing in the Journal of American History, noted that one of Nash's books contained "numerous errors, omissions, inconsistencies, and anomalies."

Nash also admitted his books are "seeded with information to detect any unauthorized use or duplication." According to Nash, the precise nature of these copyright traps may include incorrect information in otherwise factual entries, or wholly fictitious entries. Because of this and other errors found in his books, the Library Journal called Nash's work "fascinating yet flawed" and recommended that it be used only for background research.

Legal threats against Wikipedia In 2006, Nash claimed that Wikipedia has violated his copyright by either copying or plagiarizing his content for many of Wikipedia's crime-related articles. At the time Nash said he was compiling a list of examples in which Wikipedia allegedly infringed on his work, although such a list was not made public.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said that he would be happy to remove any instances of copying if pointed out. He added that, in reference to the concerns that others have raised about Nash's research, that Nash's books are unfit as sources for Wikipedia regardless of any legal issues. "Nash's work should not be relied upon," Wales concluded, on the grounds that the deliberate insertion of errors "makes it unsuitable as a reference anyway."

Selected bibliography Hustlers and Con Men: An Anecdotal History of the Confidence Man and His Games published by M. Evans & Company (1976) Darkest Hours: A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present published by Pocket Books (1977). Among the Missing: An Anecdoctal History of Missing Persons from 1800 to the Present (1978), Rowman and Littlefield. Ballistics Look for the Woman: A Narrative Encyclopedia of Female Poisoners, Kidnappers, Thieves, Extortionists, Terrorists, Swindlers and Spies from Elizabethan Times to the Present published by M. Evans & Company (1986). The Mafia Diaries published by Dell Publishing Company (1986) The Motion Picture Guide published by Cinebooks during the 1970s and early '80s. This was a twelve volume reference work. The Motion Picture Guide published by Cinebooks beginning in 1985, this is an annual book. Murder Among the Rich & Famous published by Random House (1988) People to See The Dark Fountain published by Signet (1988). World Encyclopedia of 20th Century Murder published by Paragon House Publishers (1992) World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime published by Paragon House Publishers (April 1992) Dictionary of Crime: Criminal Injustice, Criminology, & Law Enforcement published by Marlowe & Company (1994). The Dillinger Dossier Bloodletters and Bad Men: Lucky Luciano to Charles Manson; A Who's Who of Vile Men (and Women) Wanted For Every Crime in the Book published by M. Evans and Company, Inc., revised and updated edition (1995). Citizen Hoover Concise Encyclopedia of the Civil War Crime Movie Quiz Book Crime Scene Investigations Cyber Crime Spies: A Narrative Encyclopedia of Dirty Tricks and Double Dealing from Biblical Times to Today published by M. Evans and Company, Inc. (1997) Terrorism In The 20th Century: A Narrative Encyclopedia from the Anarchists, Through the Weathermen, to the Unabomber The Great Pictorial History of World Crime published by Scarecrow Press (2004) Encyclopedia Of Civil War Battles published by Scarecrow Press (2005). Encyclopedia of Western Lawmen & Outlaws Fingerprint Identification And Classification Forensic Anthropology Forensic DNA Analysis Forensic Psychology Forensic Serology Forensic Toxicology Forensic Pathology