- Paperback: 264 pages
- Publisher: Simon and Schuster (1 Oct 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671025457
- ISBN-13: 978-0671025458
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 891,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The true story of the uniquely repellent and shockingly callous killer, Albert Fish, and the New York murders of the 1920s.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Harold Schechter is Professor at Queen's College, The City University of New York. Renowned for his true-crime writing, he is the author of five non-fiction books: BESTIAL, DEVIANT, DERANGED, DEPRAVED and THE A TO Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERIAL KILLERS.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.
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.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The story behind Albert Fish is unbelievable. He remains one of the most shocking serial killers of all time. The whole history surrounding his life is just incomprehensible. This book is definitely NOT for the weak hearted or anyone that may offend, not easily, but at all.
Schechter really sets the scene of the times throughout this book, maybe a little too much in my opinion. As the reader you do feel the aura surrounding this era but I felt that Schechter went into too much detail of the times and not enough on Fish. The subject material is extremely interesting and is the only thing that kept me reading to be honest. There are chapters that seem to neglect Fish and focus merely on the period and other events. The first half of the book is all about the police hunt over the years for the man. Don't get me wrong, the hunt is very compelling, it is just that by the half way point of the book I felt that Schechter wasn't telling the story of Fish, more the story of the surrounding events. When Fish is eventually caught I can remember looking at how many pages were left and thinking that I hope the Fish story wasn't going to be rushed. Unfortunately, it was. I have read some other accounts of Albert Fish which deal with the character himself, which is what I wanted out of the book. The passages above each chapter I have to say were very good though. They set the chapter off and there were some very interesting quotes.
If you want to read about as much of the time as of the man, then this is the book for you. If you want to learn about one of the most shocking killers of all time, and the analysis that should accompany that, well I would have to say that you should look for a different account.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I've been looking for a book about Albert Fish ever since I learned of his existence. A religiously-inspired, senior citizen canibal who professed to have practiced every deviancy in the book should make a very interesting subject. Unfortunately,"Deranged" by Harold Schecter is nowhere as interesting as I hoped. Too much time is spent on the investigation and the dozens of false leads that produced absolutely nothing. (About half the book is seemingly concerned about false leads.) And when the book is finished, Albert Fish, a man who kidnapped, cooked and ate a little girl and then wrote a letter to her parents to tell them how delicious she was, seems less like the embodiment of absolute evil and more like a pathetic old man who can't control his impulses. Perhaps the material wasn't nearly as interesting as it first appeared, but a subject this lurid shouldn't produce a book this boring.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The story of one of America's most notorious but least-known killers
The story of Albert Fish, kidnapper, killer and very little-known.
Most will recognise the names of the Americans Bundy and Gacy and the British Sutcliffe, Nielson and... Read more
Most will recognise the names of the Americans Bundy and Gacy and the British Sutcliffe, Nielson and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Claptonian
Padded ?
Like many books of this type wherein the author is describing the perpetration of a crime and the subsequent manhunt and trial there is a need to pad out the story to fill an... Read more
Published 3 months ago by RR
A great read
First of all, as some of the other reviews have shown, this book isn't for everyone. Schechter's writing style - depending on who you ask - can either be boring or engaging. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Josh
Much to be desired
2.0 out of 5 stars Much to be desired., 7 Mar 2007
It is a great shame, but this is a most disappointing book. Read more
It is a great shame, but this is a most disappointing book. Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2006 by S. M. Williams
Gripping and Thought Provoking
Schechter is magnificent!! The research and detail provided on this "psychiatric phenomenon" -- Albert Fish -- is outstanding. Read more
Published on 29 Jun 1999
a shocking read
had me hooked from the first page, a well writen book. Fish must be the most deranged human ever to walk the earth.
Published on 21 May 1999
Excellent
Schecter is one of, if not THE finest writer of the genre
Published on 15 Jan 1999
Awesome
This is one of the best books I ever read at first it started out talking about kids I never heard of but then later on in the book I understood. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 1998
I can't believe the other reviews!!!!
This book is one of the worst written books I have EVER read. It is slow and boring. It took everything I had to force myself to finish the book, thinking I would finally find a... Read more
Published on 15 Jun 1998
Riveting, harrowing and un-putdownable
This book is definitely not for the squeamish! It tells, in harrowing detail, the story of Albert Fish, America's most perverted killer. Read more
Published on 24 April 1998
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