What do You think about Deviant: The Shocking True Story Of Ed Gein, The Original "Psycho" (1998)?
Hard to rate a book like this really. I did a 14-page PsyCrim profile on Edward Gein for my Forensic psychology class in May 2014. A PsyCrim profile is basically a in depth report written after intense research into a criminal's personal and criminal history. This particular book was one of my primary source materials for my report. The book itself seems to be very well researched and written much like a story. There are quotes, legal documents, medical reports and anecdotal stories sprinkled throughout, as well as a section of photographs. To be honest it was endlessly fascinating to me from a psychological standpoint. As a human I was horrified by Gein's crimes but as a clinician it was educational to see the correlation between things I had learned in class and how they impacted a person and their actions. I'll give this book 4 stars, but please realize it's not from a personal sense of enjoyment but from both an academic and clinical standpoint. It truly helped me draw a picture in my head that I was able to translate into report form in both written words and for an oral presentation. I ended up with a A+ on my report and a deep sense of respect for people who muck about in the brains of psychotic people for a living.
—Tina_K
I liked true crime, so I liked this. But it's one of those books you just don't want to read twice. I like author Harold Schechter's work, but I've kind of gotten myself out of this genre for now, so I won't be reading more by him anytime soon. Nor will I become a fan of his on GR because I'm stepping away from this type of stuff.This was the first book I read on Ed Gein, so I can't say whether or not this book shed more light on him or not. I just don't know. It was well-written and edited but I felt like it wasn't a "deep" book, like it didn't really try to get into Gein's head to see wtf was wrong with this dude. also, there was a part about his older brother but the book didn't offer much information on their relationship (or at least not as much as I would've liked). His brother interested me because obviously he had the same parents as Gein & was raised the same way, but turned out normal from all accounts. But like I said: not enough information. I bought this in paperback several years ago. Maybe try to get this in Ebook if you can because at least it won't take up shelf space. You could get the paperback and sell it but only for a dime these days from what I gather. Or get this from the library. Good deal!Happy reading!
—Alshia Moyez
This is the story of the guy who inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs. Like Dahmer, a little pitiful man named Ed Gein, raised by a dominant mother and abusive father, drifted into insanity after the death of his mother and proceeds to murder two women, rob the graves of several others and uses their body for multiple goulish ends. Easy read, well written, but overly simple; this book does not delve significantly in depth into the mind of Gein but just explains the facts that overwhelmed Plainfield, WI in 1957. I read it in two sittings and feel confident I know enough of what happened. Pretty good book, but not really worthy of my library for the long term, as Capote's "In Cold Blood" which was outstanding.
—Bryn Dunham
