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Summary: A study in time. A study of a crime.
Review:
I am a huge fan of Harold Schechter. Schechter profiles historical, American watershed serial killers. And his books are as much of a study of the environment and society of the time as they are of the killers themselves.
These aren't run-of-the-mill serial killers. Deranged is about Albert Fish, an elderly gentleman who preyed on young children. The year, 1928. We are almost numbed by constant stories of abduction and cruelty in today's society, a constant barrage on CNN or Amber Alerts on highway overheads. But nearly 100 years ago, such atrocities were nearly unheard of, at least in the media. The concept of psychiatry was still in it's infancy and insanity was an unheard of plea. In reading Schechter we realize what comes around goes around and at a basic level, society and humanity changes very little as years go passing by.
Being a true crime book, I don't want to give anything away as far as the events unfolded. Schechter has a writing style that literally walks the reader through the time period, the landscape, the moments of horror and into the killer?s mind. The writing style is very easy to read and the book not only reads fast, it is almost impossible to put it down. And as fascinating as the mind of a killer is, I found even more fascinating Schechter's descriptions of the life and landscape of early 1900's rural New York City.
If you are a history buff, you can?t go wrong reading any of Schechter's books. He makes the times periods come alive, not to mention the villains. A fascinating study in history, criminology and psychology.
For more details, go to www.aj.huff.org. Thanks.
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Summary: MUST READ
Review: A book I could not put down. And have found myself reading it over again. Very good details. He is truely a very sick man. How can one person be so evil. Amazes me that he is able to commit these crimes at his age. A MUST READ. I loved the book.
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Summary: Spellbinding in it's depravity
Review: Albert Fish considered himself a devout Catholic, and thusly punished himself after each of his horrifying crimes. A seemingly benign "old man" - frail-looking and generally cheerful, Fish betrayed that exterior by having one of the most twisted minds ever. The focus of this book is on Fish's killing and dismemberment (and cannibalism) of young Grace Budd. He may very well have gotten away with it, except he felt a need to write a letter years later to Grace's mother - describing in lurid detail how he killed (and ate) her daughter.
Hard to put down, and hard at times to believe that this is real, and not some Hannibal Lechter-type novel, it is wise to remember this criminal activity took place in the 1920s, and without the influence of modern media. Sick minds will do their dirty work, with or without the exposure to other influences. As the oldest person ever executed, Fish has a "record" of sorts. And, in terms of the twisted and deranged mind of Albert, it is hard for a reasonably sane person to even fathom how? why? There have been other killers over the years with bizzarre fetishes (Dahmer, Gacy, Speck), but it is hard to establish that they were any worse than one Albert Fish.
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Summary: Great book to eat...I mean Read!!!1
Review: Albert Fish is one of those characters, that no matter how many times I read about, I can't seem to believe that such an evil person existed outside the walls of mythology. Along with the likes of the Ottis Tooles, Ted Bundys, and John Wayne Gaceys, Albert Fish was (as the book so adequately describes), deranged! The author of this book,Harold Schecter, does an excellent job on the research. Not only does Schecter tell the tragic story of Fish's kidnapping of little Grace Budds from her parent's home on West 54th street in New York City, but he tells of the horrific child abductions that took place in Staten Island at the hands of Fish. This book even takes into account of a trolley drivers observation of the old pervert Fish trying to calm a terrifiedchild while taking him to his death. Please read this book with caution. It is not for the faint in heart, and it will open your mind to the evil that is out there in this world.
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Summary: Deranged: revealing but slightly unsatisfying.
Review: Albert Fish was a compelling giant in the realm of perversion. In Schechter's book he is revealed as the complete nutjob, well-versed in every exhisting act of depravity and a pioneer in those previously unknown. However, Schechter spends too little time examining the family and personal history of the man/monster, and too much time dealing with the trivial details of his arrest. The few anecdotes revealed about Fish's family are informative and tantalizing, and I wish Schechter would have shared more information of this kind. Perhaps such revalations about his crazed clan would lead to a better understanding of Fish's proclivities. But Schechter's book is an easy read, not devoid of humor, and it plainly illustrates the depths to which a man can plummet. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title
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Summary: Wow....that's it....unbelievable
Review: Amazing....i have read many crime books, non-fiction, and fiction; nothing comes close to the content of this book. if this was fiction, it would seem too crazy, to far fetched to actually believe that something so grotesque could actually happen. But, it is true and truly disturbing. Must read.
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Summary: this book made my neck hairs stand up.
Review: An old man who is not very nice and a story which is hard to forget, this one made my neck hairs stand up. Just picture that sickly "Grey Man" stalking young children in the woods... The imagery in this book will haunt you, enough said.There may be a reason why few people care to know about the horror known as Albert Fish. Regardless Mr. Schechter digs up this monster and gives us a grand tour of pure deranged evil. True crime books are all about satisfying that "sick internal curiosity" we all have. This one more than accomplishes this! two thumbs up Mr. Schechter; please keep on writing!
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Summary: Shocking!!
Review: As I read this book, I would often put it down in disgust and fright, and ponder how a madman such as Albert Fish could commit the crimes he did. But 5 seconds later I was reading again, to see what would happen. This book is a must for true crime afficianados and proves there never was any "good old days" when you could walk the street without fear.
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Summary: Excellent, thorough account of a truly bizarre killer
Review: Calling Albert Fish bizarre or even deranged is almost an understatement. Fish is the strangest murderer [possibly serial murderer] that I have read about in eight plus years of reading true crime exclusively. Indeed, one of my crime references describes him wonderfully as a "polymorphous pervert." One of the defense's psychiatrists listed all of Fish's perversions as a exhibit for trial; the list contained 17 items. He was also a religious fanatic, very probably delusional, and looked like everyone's favorite elderly uncle. One example of Fish's perversions was his habit of inserting sewing needles into his groin and rectal areas. There is a photo of an X-ray of Fish's pelvic region in this book that is just stunning; you can count many of the needles and even discern the eye holes! This is not a book for the squeamish or easily upset; it was hard for me, a long-time reader of true crime, to read some of these things. Regardless, it is an excellent, thorough work of true crime. Schechter discovered that Fish's attorney was still alive, secured his cooperation, and was given access to the lawyer's documents, which, he states, "proved invaluable in my reconstruction of the case." Schechter's reconstruction of the case is full, detailed, beautifully organized, and well written. I was struck several times during my reading of this book how contemporary this case seems, even though the kidnapping and murder Fish was tried for happened in 1928 [he wasn't caught until 1935]. The media coverage was sensational and pervasive. Fish's trial hinged on the question of his sanity on insanity and there were elements that I see regularly on CourtTV: dueling expert witnesses; the "is he mad or just bad" question that surrounds an insanity plea; and the defense's attempt to shift blame to Bellevue Hospital, where Fish had been committed twice for short periods of time, and even an ill-advised attempt to place some blame on the parents of Grace Budd [the child he kidnapped and killed] for letting a stranger take their daughter on an alleged outing! Fish was only tried for Grace Budd's murder and kidnapping, but Schechter found two cases, kidnappings in 1924 and 1927, that may well have been committed by Fish. Schechter has done something that was not easy in this book: he has taken a horrible crime and an even more horrible criminal and made both understandable.
Rating:
Summary: As frightening as it can get
Review: Deranged is both extraordinary and disgusting at the same time. Extraordinary because no one I've ever read about before, not even in fiction books, are as deranged as Albert Fish in Harold Schetcher's book. If you have any interest of serial killers at all, I recomend you to read this book.
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