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Reviews
Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer by Harold Schechter
tallerthanblue's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
2.75
mwgerard's review
3.0
While I enjoyed what was in the book, it felt unfinished. There were multiple strands of narrative that didn't ever get tied together. For example, the Charles Lindbergh tangent could have been braided in to the discussion of eugenics, but it is left dangling. Instead there are chapters about his Atlantic crossing with no understanding of why they are included, other than to show it was a popular new item at the time.
nrsr2011's review against another edition
5.0
Well written
Excellent account on the Bath School Bombing. Well researched and written with connection to other mass murder incidents throughout American history.
Excellent account on the Bath School Bombing. Well researched and written with connection to other mass murder incidents throughout American history.
seang81's review against another edition
4.0
Serial Killer. A term that brings to mind such 'luminaries' as Bundy, Gacy, Shipman etc. However, this book brought home a much older serial killer, nay, mass murderer, a vicious man called Andrew P. Kehoe. This factual book takes you through the build up to a horrific event in which 38 children and six adults passed. I found this book to be really interesting as it was compiled with news from the time, which provides a unique insight into how people saw the build-up and the incident itself. Andrew ain't a nice man. This is recommended for those who enjoy reading true crime, finding out about the darker side of life and, as this is a 'lesser known' incident, all the more interesting for it.
moviebuffkt's review against another edition
4.0
Ooooph what a tragedy. This was a well researched piece that moved at a really fast clip. Schechter tells the story of a disgruntled farmer who took out his financial woes by bombing out a school and killing 45 people.
It’s a heartbreaking and gruesome story that does not draw out needless details. I’d read another of this author ‘s true crime anthologies earlier this year and a few of the summaries repeat so the last chapter is nearly skippable.
It’s a heartbreaking and gruesome story that does not draw out needless details. I’d read another of this author ‘s true crime anthologies earlier this year and a few of the summaries repeat so the last chapter is nearly skippable.