Eric M. (spiderman) -
This first (and flawed) look at the .44 caliber killings during the "Summer of Sam" was not really worth the effort. While reading it, I found myself "drinking the Kool-Aid", so to speak: Berkowitz had a poor upbringing, he heard voices, he bought guns, he shot dogs, he set fires and then he shot & killed people - a deranged "lone nut". It's all so simple - after all, he confessed, right? Case closed!
Well, case not actually closed. According to some other reading I've done since reading this book, the case was reopened in the early 1980's and (I believe) still remains open. Mr. Klausner obfuscates much of the story; for example, glossing over real problems with the police sketches and conveniently not reproducing some of them. Those omitted just happen to bear no resemblance to Berkowitz whatsoever. There's a lot Mr. Klausner never mentions in his book: i.e., the "scrawling" on the walls of Berkowitz's apartment that Yonkers police acknowledge was done all at once shortly before his arrest, and the fact that the Carr's dog wasn't shot with a .44 caliber bullet (he does, however, imply that it was a .44). Also never mentioned is the fact that the real "Son of Sam" Carr, John Carr, who Berkowitz knew & associated with (and who was in New York at the time of several of the shootings and closely resembles one of the police sketches) was found dead within weeks of Berkowitz's arrest under suspicious circumstances.
Even before I found out much of the information Mr. Klausner omitted from his treatise (intentionally? unintentionally?), I wondered what the "diary pages" at the end of the book were reproduced for. They really had nothing to do with anything contained in the text - except (of course)to make Berkowitz look even nuttier.
Maury Terry's "The Ultimate Evil" is a much better book on the subject. While certainly not flawless either, Mr. Terry's (an investigative reporter) book does seem to be more thoroughly researched & goes into much greater detail.
P.S. - I also found a citation on the internet (http://www.altereddimensions.net/crime/SonOfSam.aspx)that Mr. Klausner has claimed ownership of all of Berkowitz's letters, even those which have appeared in print, which turned out to be false. How much else has Mr. Klausner claimed that is also false?
Well, case not actually closed. According to some other reading I've done since reading this book, the case was reopened in the early 1980's and (I believe) still remains open. Mr. Klausner obfuscates much of the story; for example, glossing over real problems with the police sketches and conveniently not reproducing some of them. Those omitted just happen to bear no resemblance to Berkowitz whatsoever. There's a lot Mr. Klausner never mentions in his book: i.e., the "scrawling" on the walls of Berkowitz's apartment that Yonkers police acknowledge was done all at once shortly before his arrest, and the fact that the Carr's dog wasn't shot with a .44 caliber bullet (he does, however, imply that it was a .44). Also never mentioned is the fact that the real "Son of Sam" Carr, John Carr, who Berkowitz knew & associated with (and who was in New York at the time of several of the shootings and closely resembles one of the police sketches) was found dead within weeks of Berkowitz's arrest under suspicious circumstances.
Even before I found out much of the information Mr. Klausner omitted from his treatise (intentionally? unintentionally?), I wondered what the "diary pages" at the end of the book were reproduced for. They really had nothing to do with anything contained in the text - except (of course)to make Berkowitz look even nuttier.
Maury Terry's "The Ultimate Evil" is a much better book on the subject. While certainly not flawless either, Mr. Terry's (an investigative reporter) book does seem to be more thoroughly researched & goes into much greater detail.
P.S. - I also found a citation on the internet (http://www.altereddimensions.net/crime/SonOfSam.aspx)that Mr. Klausner has claimed ownership of all of Berkowitz's letters, even those which have appeared in print, which turned out to be false. How much else has Mr. Klausner claimed that is also false?
