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duparker's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyable book. The story, characters and takeaways are well directed and thought out. The author researched the topic and understands its impact on modern policemen & police work.
mattleesharp's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for feedback and review.
This book is great. Definite shades of Lawrence Wright. Cannell really expertly weaves the facts and reporting of the case of the Mad Bomber into an easy to follow narrative. I really appreciated how many perspectives you get: from the newspapers to the police to the profiling psychiatrist.
I was attracted to this book because I didn't really know the story of the Mad Bomber, and this was about as comprehensive a look at him and the time period as I could have asked for. Solidly sourced and incredibly thorough.
A couple years ago I read a book called Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. A major point made there was that a lot of the power of a bomb is not in the destruction, but in the noise. A bomb, especially in the period of time this book covers, acts as a microphone for bombers. This book does a really good job of fairly covering the grievances George Metesky was trying to amplify while placing them in the context of his psychology.
The only issue I really had with the book was its epilogue, which ran a bit too long and tried to cover too much of the "after" part of the story. It was great to have so many perspectives inform the main thrust of the book, but there's a lot more time than necessary spent making sure every one of those individual storylines gets a neat little bow tied on it. Overall I definitely recommend this book highly to anyone though. It was a great read.
This book is great. Definite shades of Lawrence Wright. Cannell really expertly weaves the facts and reporting of the case of the Mad Bomber into an easy to follow narrative. I really appreciated how many perspectives you get: from the newspapers to the police to the profiling psychiatrist.
I was attracted to this book because I didn't really know the story of the Mad Bomber, and this was about as comprehensive a look at him and the time period as I could have asked for. Solidly sourced and incredibly thorough.
A couple years ago I read a book called Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb. A major point made there was that a lot of the power of a bomb is not in the destruction, but in the noise. A bomb, especially in the period of time this book covers, acts as a microphone for bombers. This book does a really good job of fairly covering the grievances George Metesky was trying to amplify while placing them in the context of his psychology.
The only issue I really had with the book was its epilogue, which ran a bit too long and tried to cover too much of the "after" part of the story. It was great to have so many perspectives inform the main thrust of the book, but there's a lot more time than necessary spent making sure every one of those individual storylines gets a neat little bow tied on it. Overall I definitely recommend this book highly to anyone though. It was a great read.
radbear76's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting story but a the style is a little too melodramatic for my taste.
morgaine816's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting book since it was based on a real case but it was a slow read. I never got into it as far as it keeping my attention. It took me a couple of months to read it which hardly ever happens to me. It was just that I kept putting it down and wanting to read something else. But if you like true crime and want to read it as more of a non-fiction style, give it a try.
courthompson's review
4.0
A little bit of a slow start, jumping around a bit, but then I was hooked. I hadn't heard of the Mad Bomber and the whole investigation was incredibly interesting. I'm a big fan of true crime and thoroughly enjoyed this one!
thuglibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
This book is the history of criminal profiling in America and how it became an art form. Who knew that the art of criminal profiling came from 3 men working together to try to identify a serial bomber in NYC, in the 1950's? In the 1950's, in NYC, a mad man was setting off bombs in public places such as movie theatres, train stations and libraries. At that time there was no such thing as criminal profiling and the NYPD didn't have the skills necessary to identify the bomber, or more importantly, to stop him. Desperate to halt the bombings that occurred, (seemingly at random) the police took the unprecedented step to ask a Psychiatrist to help identify the bomber. This seems routine to readers today, but it was extraordinary at that time. Readers of true crime and history will appreciate this book for what is it...a snapshot of America and true crime.
a_ma_n_da's review against another edition
3.0
The subtitle mentions "the invention of criminal profiling," but even in the epilogue the author describes the work and conclusions of Dr Brussel as magical and inexplicable. The reader still doesn't actually know how it's done, just that it produced results in these cases.
statguy's review against another edition
5.0
An engaging and skillful account of the Mad Bomber who terrorised New York in the 1950s and the long and increasingly desperate effort to bring him to justice. Author Michael Cannell presents his wide-ranging and thorough research in a fast-paced and engrossing page-turner. Among many fascinating aspects of the story is the contentious change in the legal understanding of insanity that played a key role in the outcome of the case. This book is an example of true-crime writing at its best.
(I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.)
(I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.)