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A review by tracey_s
Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer by Harold Schechter
3.0
At the start, this felt like reading a well researched episode of a true crime podcast - delving into the makings of a mass murderer in the early 20th century; interesting enough but somewhat surface level.
The recounting of the actual event is refreshingly dispassionate and removed (although of course, horrific).
The real interest for me comes with the social context - especially how such a horrific event (still referred to as one of the worst mass murders/school murders in US history) has been largely forgotten - it was overshadowed at the time by Charles Lindbergh's accomplishment of a non-stop flight from New York to Paris for example.
Interesting if somewhat dry true crime book.
3 stars. (less)
The recounting of the actual event is refreshingly dispassionate and removed (although of course, horrific).
The real interest for me comes with the social context - especially how such a horrific event (still referred to as one of the worst mass murders/school murders in US history) has been largely forgotten - it was overshadowed at the time by Charles Lindbergh's accomplishment of a non-stop flight from New York to Paris for example.
Interesting if somewhat dry true crime book.
3 stars. (less)