The Ice Man

Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer

By: Philip Carlo

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 19 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski led a double life beyond anything ever seen on The Sopranos, becoming one of the most notorious professional assassins in American history while hosting neighborhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey. Now, after 240 hours of face-to-face interviews with Kuklinski and his wife and daughters, author Philip Carlo tells his extraordinary story.

Kuklinski was Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's partner in the killing of Paul Castellano at Spark's Steakhouse. John Gotti hired him to kill the neighbor who accidentally ran over his child. For an additional price, he would make victims suffer; he conducted this sadistic business with cold-hearted intensity, never disappointing his customers. By his own estimate, he killed over 200 men, taking enormous pride in his variety and ferocity of technique.

Kuklinski's story, once known, captivated the public and became the subject of three HBO documentaries about which the New York Times raved, "Few viewers are ever likely to forget this thoroughly chilling portrait. As for possible movie competition, it would work on the level of The Silence of the Lambs."

©2006 Philip Carlo (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Good as an omnibus resource on Kuklinski, this is a fine entry in the burgeoning field of works tracing the decline of the traditional organized crime families and their once impenetrable structures." (Booklist)

I liked all the info

nothing but what Richard did made me upset I liked the hole book, really good book

i'm calling BS

i've seen all the iceman interviews on HBO - super fascinated by this guy, however this book...seriously!?

SPOILER
they have a scene where richard is describing torturing some guy who he thinks gave up info on where a truck of goods was stored. per the book he burned the guys foot until they saw bone - the tortured guy denies everything...then they move onto his testicles - they get destroyed STILL NOTHING but all of a sudden when they head towards his penis, then this guy gives it up?! i don't buy it for a second.

Anyhow - for me, this seemed like a complete exaggeration of his life and crimes.

19 hours you wont you wont turn off or forget !!!

This book is incredible; Mr. Carlo has certainly grasped the essence of a serial killer and hit man.

I first heard about Richard Kuklinski in the late 90’s when he starred in two HBO specials, "Iceman Confesses" & "Iceman and the Psychiatrist". I was somewhat appalled but very intrigued. Since then he has been brought up in several documentaries on serial killers.

A few months back a late night radio show, Coast to Coast AM interviewed the author Phillip Carlo about his book (and soon to be audio book) The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer, and I was sold.

The book was a surprise to me in many ways, I found extreme sadness in his childhood and extreme love in his fatherhood (for his own children). Oddly enough I found myself actually cheering Richard on! I know this sounds absurd but on occasion this cold-blooded killer did a few good deeds.

In one case he happened to run across two men raping a teenage boy in an alley, promptly he put an end to this and them, possibly saving the youths life. Richard ran across several cases of child abuse that he quickly stopped in his own way, as well as performed a few completely brutal “hits” on rapists and molesters.

The brutality in this man’s life was worse than most fiction; from the day he was born to the day he first killed he was abused. On that day he went from hunted to hunter, and hundreds paid.

This download is 19 hours you wont you wont turn off or forget !!!

Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski

In this volume, Philip Carol tells us more about Richard Kuklinski - a serial killer for the mob. This is a very entertaining book and, perhaps, will engage individuals tangentially interested in "true crime." After the first few chapters, Carlo's reporting became somewhat repetitive. How many times can he describe Kuklinkski's alledged mistreatment of his wife for example? How often can he tell the reader that Kuklinski was jealous of his son? I hoped for more insight into how a mob hit man thinks. On the other hand, this was a listen that reallly makes a long drive pass more quickly. There are surprises on every page. The narration of Micahel Prichard is excellent. If you are looking for insight, you might be disappointed. If you are interested in being entertained, this audio book just might do it for you.

Disturbing

This book was a little difficult to listen to. Not because of the writing or the narrator but because of the actions of the "Ice Man". I listened to this book almost a year ago and I still can not get parts of it out of my mind. This book is definatley not for children in my opinion. This book is not for the soft hearted either.

Can't Finish

Although morbidly interesting, I'm unable to continue listening to this book. Every chapter is virtually identical: man beats wife, man gets contract to kill, man kills... there's really no variation or surprise to the story & i've gotten to the point at which i don't really care what happens in the end.

Could have been better

A real life horror story that could have been written better as the author is repetative and the narrator reads the story as if he is reading instructions.

Was Ok, Not great

This book was interesting sometimes a bit grusome but I think could have been shorter without losing much of the story, I started to get a little bored near the end. It also includes a live interview with the iceman at the end of the book

Different story from movie and way better.

Talk about a director changing the story. This book is way better then the movie.

The Ice Man-A Chilling Story

The inner workings of the Mafia and the details of the Ice Man's killings revealed in this story just how heartless and disturbed a hit man can be. Interesting and compelling reading.