Scan barcode
lurker_stalker's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting but very slow. And if there was a drinking game for everything Schechter mentioned the small man or some other term relating to Gein's stature, I'd have died from alcohol poisoning.
I don't regret listening to the book but I could have dropped it halfway through and been fine.
Meh.
I don't regret listening to the book but I could have dropped it halfway through and been fine.
Meh.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
The subtitle is all the synopsis anyone needs: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, the Original “Psycho”.
The residents of Plainfield Wisconsin were more than a little concerned when the owner of a local tavern disappeared in December 1955. She was a middle-aged woman with a no-nonsense attitude and a somewhat mysterious past, but who would want to kill her? Yet the evidence was clear: a pool a blood on the floor, a spent .32-caliber cartridge nearby, and a bloody trail indicating the body had been dragged out the door to a spot in the parking lot where presumably it was loaded into a truck.
Nearly two years later another middle-aged store-owner disappeared from Plainfield. But this time authorities quickly honed in on the mild-mannered little man whom everyone thought of as odd but harmless. What they found at Ed Gein’s farmhouse, however, would shock not only the residents of Plainfield, but the entire nation. The gruesome case captured the attention of a novelist, who wrote Psycho based on Gein’s story, and that captured the attention of Alfred Hitchcock.
Schechter writes a detailed account of Gein’s upbringing (as best as he could re-create it), the events and suspicions of the townspeople, his trial and his life in a mental institution. I was too young to know the details at the time the crimes were committed, but I vividly remember the renewed interest when Gein passed away. I’ve always like “true crime” books, and this is a pretty good, though not great, example of the genre.
The residents of Plainfield Wisconsin were more than a little concerned when the owner of a local tavern disappeared in December 1955. She was a middle-aged woman with a no-nonsense attitude and a somewhat mysterious past, but who would want to kill her? Yet the evidence was clear: a pool a blood on the floor, a spent .32-caliber cartridge nearby, and a bloody trail indicating the body had been dragged out the door to a spot in the parking lot where presumably it was loaded into a truck.
Nearly two years later another middle-aged store-owner disappeared from Plainfield. But this time authorities quickly honed in on the mild-mannered little man whom everyone thought of as odd but harmless. What they found at Ed Gein’s farmhouse, however, would shock not only the residents of Plainfield, but the entire nation. The gruesome case captured the attention of a novelist, who wrote Psycho based on Gein’s story, and that captured the attention of Alfred Hitchcock.
Schechter writes a detailed account of Gein’s upbringing (as best as he could re-create it), the events and suspicions of the townspeople, his trial and his life in a mental institution. I was too young to know the details at the time the crimes were committed, but I vividly remember the renewed interest when Gein passed away. I’ve always like “true crime” books, and this is a pretty good, though not great, example of the genre.
larry_yonce's review against another edition
3.0
The Plainfield Ghoul
Luridly fascinating account of "Eddie" (as he's called throughout the book) Gein. Well researched, but a tad too sensationalistic in presentation.
Luridly fascinating account of "Eddie" (as he's called throughout the book) Gein. Well researched, but a tad too sensationalistic in presentation.
books_n_cats_1973's review against another edition
5.0
This is the real life account of Ed Gein of whom was the inspiration for the Psycho books and movies. Other movies such as The Texas Chainsaw massacre found inspiration from Ed Gein as well. I will not go into the horrifying accounts of the story so as to not spoil the story for potential listeners. I would like to mention why I find this so sad. Ed Gein was a very troubled and isolated mentally ill man. This stems from an overbearing, controlling mother who used religion to control her 2 boys. I somewhat identify with Ed in this regard and deal with my own psychosis (of course my own situation was not as severe as Ed’s as I do not see myself dealing the same atrocities upon mankind as Ed did) with therapy, medication and even greater steps pertaining to things conducive to better mental health. What I mostly gained from this book is how my own mother who was severely abused, created a childhood for me of severe dysfunctional rearing with the added toxicity of religion. I would encourage others who may have had a dysfunctional or abusive childhood to to give serious consideration of what a story of this regard may do to help, or hinder their own mental health.
posies23's review against another edition
4.0
woah. A well-researched telling of the Ed Gein story. I read it in a day and learned several things I didn't know about the case. Still, what a sick guy!