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Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining as well as profoundly horrifying
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: Well-researched account of little-known killer
Review: Harold Schechter's books are great, and in my opinion Deranged is the best of them. 'True Crime' books tend to be overly-sensational or poorly written, this is neither. This is a very shocking book, I'm surprised that more people don't know about Albert Fish. After reading Deranged, I have looked for other books about Fish and have been unable to find a single one, yet his crimes are about the most brutal I've read about. The fact that he preyed on children makes this absolutely terrifying. As fascinating as it is horrific, this is a must-read for crime buffs.
Rating:
Summary: Schechter is a master in what he does
Review: I read DEVIANT over the summer and found it somewhat mediocre. I'm not sure if that's because I was anticipating a more gruesome tale of a cruel and demented killer or because the writing left much to be desired. In either case, Harold Schechter is a decent writer that can at times put too much emphasis on the medias reaction to crimes, rather than the killer and the crimes itself. With that said... Deranged is a bit different, but not much. The thing I do like about Schechters books is that they are truly non-biased. Instead of painting the picture of demonic Hanibal-like killers, he is honest in his decription of Albert Fish (and the others he writes about). So honest that I find myself seeing said killers as ill human beings rather than monsters. I only wish that more was told about these peoples' lives from childhood till death. I'd like a little bit more psychiatric analysis and background information that what is provided. But the most important thing is that the books read like novels for the most part and that keeps the story flowing without too much psychoanalyist crap to sift through. The book is worth a read if you're at all interested in the famous serial killers of the world. Read Shechters books for the story. Use the internet and your library to get details on the men themselves.
Rating:
Summary: deranged but good..
Review: I read this book while I was travelling around my country (Iceland) and I just gotta say that I highly recommend this book cause it's so realistic, it's like you feel you're back in those days..... it takes you as close as possible to the crime scene(s).... be sure to get a copy if you like reading a "shocking true story" but for those who are on the "fragile" notes... take one step at a time cause it contains lots of "evilness" from Mr.Fish.
Rating:
Summary: Schechter is a master in what he does
Review: I won't talk too much about the book itself (there are like 40 reviews about it already(, but I have comments about some of the reviews. First of all, Schechter does an extremely good and professional job about putting things in context. That is what some readers perceived as "uninteresting, boring things that have nothing to do with it" ,etc. Well, these readers are totally wrong. It is important and it is very relevent, as Schechter has understood, to have a context that what happens. The author, in every book I have read by him, contextualise the matter, and everytime it's very well done and very significant. Don't forget that Schechter deals with real stuffm, he's a historian. I find incredibly unfair some of the negative comments made on his work. Obviously some people just don't realise how truly horrid these things are or they stupidly expect things you cannot expect. Schechter cannot invent things that did not take place. Don't listen to anyone bashing his works because honestly he is a very good writer in what he does. His research job is a pure mastery, he is non-biased in everything I ever read of his, totally honest.
I'm telling this because I strongly upset at the, very few, reviews of people who obviously had never touched a book in their lives before. I can't conceive anyone finding Deranged annoying, the very thought makes me think that reviewer was a vegetable. You cannot judge Schechter's work as a work of "fiction" (I hate that word applied to literature anyway, none says paintings are "fiction" even when they depict things that never happened, but anyway) and, besides, his books are not at all boring or anything like that. His writing is great, and for those who still consider it as "poor" or whatever, I'll just remind you that Harold Schechter is a literature professor, not saying that makes a good writer, but obviously those who consider him a bad one, are not able to judge clearly. Deranged is a book you'll find hard to stop reading, I read it in two days and just wouldn't stop. If you're a honest reader, meaning you're seriously interested in serial killers and human psychology in general, that book will not disappoint you. Now, if you youre only interested in reading striclty "horror" stuff then you should try something else, although I do not understand how anyone could not consider what Fish did as horror, that's something I honestly just don't understand. I guess the bad reviewers of this book are simpliy idiots, that's all I can understand, so don't you listen to them. Anyway, if you just take a global look at the reviews, most of them give the book a 5 star rating, and it's well deserved. I therefore give it a 5 as well, and a 0 to negative reviews for their total lack of perspective and depth as well as incarnate idiocy.
Rating:
Summary: you must have a strong stomach to read this
Review: In my opinion Harold Schecter is in a league with Ann Rule on true crime, although each has written at least one novel. Albert Fish was a despicable, filthy old man who one would think was the embodiment of the "boogeyman" of all children's fears. He was a sexual pervert, multiple murderer, a pedophile, cannibal and masochist. The crime he was finally caught and punished for was the abduction, rape torture-murder and cannibalism of a 10-year-old girl named
Grace Budd. New York in 1928, a place where such things were unheard of. Fish answers a newspaper ad placed by a young boy looking for work to help out his poor family. When he arrives at the home of the family , a poor family who needed every cent they could get, he soon forgets the teenage son and focuses on the little girl, Grace. He soon finds a way to get her, he invites her to the "birthday party" of his niece. Her trusting parents let her go off with him, never to see her again. He takes her to "Wisteria Cottage", an isolated empty house and proceeds to take his self-named "implements of hell" to show her hell on earth. He rapes, murders, dismembers her and eats parts of her body. He remains free for some time before a clue from a note in a hotel room reveals his identity. Albert Fish also enjoyed torturing himself by impaling his own body with needles and other sharp objects. He would beat himself with a spiked paddle, eat his own feces, and when subjected to X-rays after his arrest he was found to have no less than 29 needles left inside his body. When he learned he would leave this world in the lap of "old sparkey" in Sing Sing Prison on January 16, 1936 he stated."That will be the supreme thrill of my life." If Grace were still alive she would be the age of my father, who I lost in 1996, 84 years old.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining as well as profoundly horrifying
Review: It's amazing that more people do not know who Albert Fish was. After reading this book, I'm convinced that the man (if one could call him that) had to be the most revolting serial killer in the history of America...it's hard to imagine someone much lower than he was. As far as gruesome reading goes, this book is worse than any work of fiction I've read ("American Psycho" is kind of close, but truth be told...) Shock value aside, this book is an excellent read. Although written about events from long ago, its retelling is so vivid that the reader feels like (s)he is witnessing the past rather than simply reading about it. Everything from law enforcement's efforts to find him, to quotes from many involved (including many from Fish himself), to detailed accounts of his arrest and trial are thoroughly recollected. If you like true crime, this book is a masterpiece. But if you consider pedophilia and cannibalism to be too extreme, don't say you haven't been properly warned.
Rating:
Summary: The Boogey Man Is Going to Get You If You Don't Watch Out
Review: When Schechter noted that at the time of writing Albert Fish's defense attorney was alive at 89 I realized that this story did not happen all that long ago as historical crimes run. It is possible that people who were victimized by Fish as children would be still living although Schechter doesn't deal with this one way or the other.
However, the world of Albert Fish, of trusting parents sending their daughter off with fatherly strangers, seems so distant that it might as well have been set on another world.
Albert Fish is the stuff of nightmares and Schechter does an excellent job of recreating the time in which he lived and preyed on young children. While the author does take literary license at time with recreating certain scenes he also makes no pretense to be writing anything other than a work of popular nonfiction. This is the only book length work about Fish and as such belongs on the shelf on all who are interested in historical murderers.
Anyway if you want to read about someone who clearly met the definition of the title and who is one of the less well known monsters who populated the world prior to WW II then this is your book.
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