The Mad Sculptor

The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation

By: Harold Schechter

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Beekman Place, once one of the most exclusive addresses in Manhattan, had a curious way of making it into the tabloids in the 1930s: SKYSCRAPER SLAYER, BEAUTY SLAIN IN BATHTUB read the headlines. On Easter Sunday in 1937, the discovery of a grisly triple homicide at Beekman Place would rock the neighborhood yet again - and enthrall the nation. The young man who committed these murders would come to be known in the annals of American crime as the Mad Sculptor.

Caught up in the Easter Sunday slayings was a bizarre and sensationalistic cast of characters, seemingly cooked up in a tabloid editor’s overheated imagination. The charismatic perpetrator, Robert Irwin, was a brilliant young sculptor who had studied with some of the masters of the era. But with his genius also came a deeply disturbed psyche; Irwin was obsessed with sexual self-mutilation and was frequently overcome by outbursts of violent rage.

Irwin’s primary victim, Veronica Gedeon, was a figure from the world of pulp fantasy - a stunning photographer’s model whose scandalous seminude pinups would titillate the public for weeks after her death. Irwin’s defense attorney, Samuel Leibowitz, was a courtroom celebrity with an unmatched record of acquittals and clients ranging from Al Capone to the Scottsboro Boys. And Dr. Fredric Wertham, psychiatrist and forensic scientist, befriended Irwin years before the murders and had predicted them in a public lecture months before the crime.

Based on extensive research and archival records, The Mad Sculptor recounts the chilling story of the Easter Sunday murders - a case that sparked a nationwide manhunt and endures as one of the most engrossing American crime dramas of the 20th century. Harold Schechter’s masterly prose evokes the faded glory of post-Depression New York and the singular madness of a brilliant mind turned against itself. It will keep you riveted until the very end.

©2014 Harold Schechter (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Sculptor?

Tooooo looong! Story drones on endlessly. Narrator also has a droning delivery. Book rated 3 stars because of historical interest.

What a waste of words

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Better more coherent reception of the crimes

What was most disappointing about Harold Schechter’s story?

Boring

What does Peter Berkrot bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Sadly, Mister Berkrot had no story to tell, I bet with a good story this narrator could suceed

What character would you cut from The Mad Sculptor?

ALL

Any additional comments?

If this book was written on paper, what a waste of trees!

Awful!

The story jumps around so much you never know who is being discussed. I tried listening for about 3 hours and I still had no idea what the plot line was supposed to be. Don't waste your time or money

Horrible!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Maybe someone more interested in the details than the story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Harold Schechter again?

Maybe

What didn’t you like about Peter Berkrot’s performance?

Very dry with no emotion.

Any additional comments?

I couldn't get through it.

Not my preferred true crime story presentation

The book contained a lot of information but a lot of it seemed irrelevant to the main story (stories?). By the end, I couldn't even say what the main focus of the book was supposed to be given all of the extra info. Was it about the Mad Sculptor himself? Was it about the media's handling of crime at the time? By jumping all over the place and going in depth into people who seemingly had little to do with murder itself, I had a hard time staying engaged.

Some other readers may find the four additional murder cases interesting (two at the beginning, one briefly in the middle of the narrative, and one in the epilogue) but the depth of the descriptions was unnecessary to the primary story. There wasn't much information on the victims of the The Mad Sculptor himself; two of the three were really only discussed in context of the investigation after their murders. There was information about the media sensationalism at the time, information following police investigations to identify and apprehend the murderers, information about the defense attorneys and prosecutors and judges and courtroom processes at the time, information about psychology and treatments. Yet all of it is hodgepodge in the narrative with no clear character or topic focus and, as a result, I found myself ignoring entire chapters that seemed distracting or irrelevant to the parts of the story that I wanted to hear. And I do wish there was more information on the victims. I actually resent the focus on so many side characters and topics since it seems unfair to have, comparatively, so little about the actual Mad Sculptor's victims in a book nominally about Bob Irwin and his crime. At times, even Bob Irwin was an afterthought in this book as it follows other crimes or events that were defended/prosecuted/investigated/treated/reported by the other people that had sidebar narratives.

The voice actor did pretty good for the material. He has a detective noir style voice with just enough NY/NJ accent slipping in every so often to be entertaining instead of distracting. The narrative slips between dry narration, presumed internal monologue, occasional dialogue from records, and scene-painting stylistic narration. The actor handled each section of the narrative well and transitioned cleanly between them.

Long, disheveled, poorly organized storytelling

I struggled to finish this book. Frankly, it's not organized in a way that would appeal to a true crime aficionado, as I've seen other reviewers state. I would go so far as to state that the book is so disheveled in its storytelling, that it reminds me of a child recounting a story in fits and starts.

I couldn't finish it, as even after reading 85% of the book, the author had exhausted my will to go on with unimportant nonsense and non-related stories. He could have take a page from Truman Capote on this one, as the story of the crime is fascinating. Alas, I preferred the read up on Wiki more than this book.

Decent Experience, but rather jumbled

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If I had to recommend this to a group of people it would be history/crime buffs who will listen to this with their undivided attention. If you give this book any less than 100%, at least in my experience, you quickly become lost.

What could Harold Schechter have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

While to subject itself was rather interesting the actual book itself seemed to try and cover two related, but different topics. An extremely large portion of this book was focused on one murder case where to book gets most of it's title "The Mad Sculptor", but then there are random off shoots to other crimes that happened in one particular building. While I enjoyed them it made this book extremely jarring one minute I'm following a killer and then BAM something else is going on.

What didn’t you like about Peter Berkrot’s performance?

It was okay, the entire performance seemed really angry though which was off putting. Maybe it was just the genre?

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

My main reaction was disappointment, it really seemed like this should have been two separate books. One focusing on the "Mad Sculptor" case and the other either an over view of all these cases or a book dedicated to all the murders that happened in that complex.

AWFUL!

Would you try another book from Harold Schechter and/or Peter Berkrot?

One of the worst books in a long time. Bought it on sale, NO bargain. Production is flawed and annoying. There is no story really.

Has The Mad Sculptor turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes, Yes, Yes

How could the performance have been better?

Very much so.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

NONE

Any additional comments?

If you like this genre try another book.

too disconnected

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone from New York, or older than me.

What was most disappointing about Harold Schechter’s story?

It did not hold my attention, I felt like it was a few stories held together by a thin thread.

Which scene was your favorite?

none comes to mind

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

history of New York true crime story

Any additional comments?

it wasn't horrible just not engrossing enough to keep my attention.

Wasted money

I honestly am not sure how I made it thru the entire book. I waited and waited for it to improve, to my disappointment it didn't.