Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Depraved: The Shocking True Story of America's First Serial Killer by Harold Schechter ISBN: 0-671-02544-9 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.05 (22 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Interesting and entertaining
Comment: "Depraved" tells the story, at least so far as it can be known (and perhaps a little farther than it can be known) of Harold Mudgett, alias H.H. Holmes (among others), who the book jacket will tell you was "America's first serial killer." I seriously doubt that he was, but the story is fascinating nevertheless. Holmes was a career con man who, using credit only as a source of financing, built a strange and imposing edifice in suburban Chicago ca. 1890 called "The Castle." He was a relentless schemer, dreaming up numerous quack inventions along with real-estate and insurance scams. His more sinister crimes, however, included at least nine murders, usually of his mistresses but including one of his co-conspirators and three of the man's children. This alone makes for an amoral monster, but the odd architecture of "The Castle"--with its airtight safe, asbestos-lined rooms, and greased chutes to a cellar containing vats of chemicals and a furnace fit for cremation, hinted at even more sinister deeds. Unfortunately, most of these crimes must remain the subject of speculation, as Holmes was an inveterate liar whose confessions were wholly unreliable, and little evidence of any additional murders actually exists. This naturally has not stopped Schechter from noting that some writers have estimated Holmes' body count at more than 100 people.
Like all of Schecter's books, this one refrains from a dry or staid recitation of the facts as they are known. Although these are woven into the narrative skillfully enough, it is clear that Schechter is of the school of biographers/historians who freely mix fact with "re-creation," or to put it more honestly, "fiction." Although he steps back now and then to note that we cannot know what was going through his mind at such-and-such time, a great deal of extrapolation went into this book. Nevertheless, I would hesitate to say that anything here is falsified or sensationalized. The writing is nothing inspired by muses, but chugs along at a breezy pace. Perhaps the most surprising fact to me is that Holmes is not as notorious today as he was then, or as other serial murderers are now. Overall, an interesting and entertaining bit of crime history.
Rating: 4
Summary: A GOOD READ!
Comment: First of all I'd like to say that Mudgett (H. H. Holmes) killed his partner and 3 of his children in that demented insurance fraud. Two of the previous reviewers got it wrong. He killed 2 of his partner's 4 daughters and his only son (2 + 1 = 3). Tried to kill the rest of the family, but the nitro didn't blow. This book was pretty good, but I'd like to know more about that castle of horrors he constructed. This book concentrated mostly on the the insurance fraud scheme that brought him to the gallows. I would of prefered to of had a more indepth look at the goings on in this 1890's, so called, castle of death. The book was also poorly illustrated in my opinion. The only picture of Mudgett it contained was a sketch. Well, I haven't read another book on the topic of this particular maniac, so my 4 star rating was based on enjoyment, period. It is a good read. This book did accomplished one thing for me: I want to know more about this guy's utterly DEPRAVED life. So, I'm now searching for another
Rating: 4
Summary: The book is better than the killer
Comment: I do agree with some of the things said before, one may be slightly disappointed by the book, but that is if you expect much about the "Castle" and the other stuff Holmes is known for. On the other hand you can hardly blame Schechter for it, he does a most excellent job of research, as usual, and I guess that book must have been and endless maze to write. Holmes' frauds and manipulations and lies become so messy that it's hard to follow all acurately even as a reader.
The weak spot of the book, in my experience of it, is that there is a whole part of it that, according to me, is maybe too "novelised", that would be the trips with the children and family on which some reader had some complains to make. I never had that impression before on a Schechter book but maybe this time the "novelisation" goes too far and there might be too much direct speech and other such things. It's not bad but it may surprise readers as the passage extends in its number of page.
Hopefully, this doesn't last till the end of the book and soon enough you're back to Schechter at his best. The rest of the book is as excellent as could be. Again, Harold Schechter has done the best job one could possibly make on the matter.
Now, as far as the killer is concerned, I do despise him a great deal, as any serial killer should, but Holmes was really some soulless machine. Even Albert Fish would get more sympathy from me, at least he was "passionate", he didn't sleep well at night, which never seems like Holmes' case. He's like the incarnation of materialism and utilitarism's dark side. A capitalist to the core (and to the core of others). He's most despisable because he is totally unreliable and lies constantly till the bitter end. Odds are you will be more shocked at his mean tricks than at his "Castle". The latter which is not dealt much with in the book, although it was not possible to do more about it, so again don't blame Schechter, he's innocent!
Personally, Holmes is not the most interesting serial killer I read about so far. Not that he is devoid of interest, but he seems so inhuman, in the sense of a machine. I mean, you can have sympathy for even a monstrous psychopath like Fish, because even in his incredible deeds there was still something human, too human maybe, about it. But Holmes! He is capitalism's terminator. He'd insure on your life, kill you, sell your bones, steal your jewels to sell them afterwards, same with your clothes, and when he's cornered he'll write a book of his life, not without tonloads of lies and fabrications.
It is a very good book, apart from the weak spot I mentionned earlier, although I don't think everyone would agree with me on that. Schechter again did a great job, considering the matter he dealt with, however, if you never read a Schechter book before, I'd advise another one to start with, like Deviant, or even Deranged.
 |
Title: Deranged: The Shocking True Story of America's Most Fiendish Killer! by Harold Schechter ISBN: 0671025457 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original Psycho by Harold Schechter ISBN: 0671025465 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Fiend: The Shocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer by Harold Schechter ISBN: 067101448X Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 03 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Bestial: The Savage Trail of a True American Monster by Harold Schechter ISBN: 0743483359 Publisher: Pocket Star Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
 |
Title: Fatal : The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer by Harold Schechter ISBN: 0671014501 Publisher: Pocket Star Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
