The 1964 murder of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese has become a defining moment in American social history. Early reporting described how she was stabbed to death on the front stoop of her New York City home in full view of 38 neighbors who “didn’t want to get involved.”

Fifty years after that notorious crime, Kevin Cook argues in his new book that much of what we think we know about the incident is just plain wrong.

Cook writes for Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Men’s Health, and other magazines and has appeared on ESPN, Fox Television, and CNN.