No comments about Horoscope of murder: A study of David Berkowitz "Son of Sam".

1 comments about My Search for the Son of Sam.

1. I think that I can sum up my advice for someone wanting to read this book in four words... Read the bible instead. I think that George Calohan wanted to be a preacher rather than a cop because he spent the entire book quoting scripture and describing his own spiritual growth and trials rather than discussing the actual hunt for the Son of Sam. I purchased the book in hopes of understanding the ins and outs of a police investigation or learning about the ways in which the police caught this famous serial killer, but instead got a sunday school lesson. I would highly recommend buying any book other than this one. Something by Dr. Seuss would be more relevant to the subject...

No comments about Ultimate Evil: The Truth About the Cult Murders Son of Sam & Beyond (Updated Edition).

5 comments about Son of Sam: Based on the Authorized Transcription of the Tapes, Official Documents and Diaries of David Berkowitz.

1. Maybe you, dear reader, can remember 1977 and all the things that happenned. Perhaps, like some, you get all the info you need from books and film.

   Let me say this and I'll leave you to your lattes and precious consumer goods: 1. If Berkowitz did not act alone, why the widely varying descriptions given of "the killer" ? 2. There was a fellow running from the park on one occaision, what of him?? The tall, thin guy, remember??

   3. Berkowitz DID belong to an organization(a satanic cult no less) whose members started mysterously dying in the year after Sam was caught. 3 in all.

   4. The charter arms .44 special that was used was part of a shipment stolen in 1976 (over 100 just like it). Does this explain the ever-so-subtle differences in ballistics between bullets the F.B.I. pointed out??

   People, i won't bore you with forensics, but my last statement is the most important of all because while it does not exonerate Berkowitz, it raises the question of why more than one of the same gun??

   These people are things that you and I will never see in the light of day. Killers who don't necessarily stick to one M.O. and call it quits or stop if they get caught. This is something thats been going on since the Manson days and possibly before, the major players move on when the heat comes down and pop up someplace else a few years later.

   I highly recommend reading up on the Zodiac killer as well as Manson's "family", I think the similarities speak for themselves.

   On that note, I will leave you all to your own devices to educate and enlighten yourselves. Adios!! :-) zipper




2. You want to learn the real NON-exploitative story of the Summer of 1977 and how David Berkowitz terrorized us here in NYC?

   Then read this book: It's straightforward, painstakingly researched, fast-paced, and provides extremely sympathetic portraits of the police, the politicians, the victims, and even the killer himself.

   As the True Crime genre goes, this book is up there with the best of them: Helter-Skelter and Fatal Vision.

   My only quibble: I wanted to know more about the legal process after Sam's arrest...Mr Klausner is there an unedited version of the book?

   NOTE TO CONSPIRACY THEORISTS: I tried reading the updated version of "The Ultimate Evil." After a terrific opening about the Arlis Perry murder and summarizing the earlier events of the "Sam" terror, the author goes into some far-out detail about the Stacey Moskowitz murder...the story lost me there it was so convoluted and complicated. I felt as if alternate events were "fitted" into the real time-frame to make the event more interesting.




3. Did David act alone? After hearing a number of different things about the Son of Sam crimes, I decided to do my own research. I read many articles and accounts of "what really happened", including this book.

   Now, after all this research...I'm more confused than ever.

   The author of 'Son of Sam' is obviously bent on the fact that David was, as the theory says, another "angry lone nut". I have a hard time believing this theory in any case, so of course I had a hard time believing it here.

   Was David really part of a Satanic cult? (Namely the Process - Church of the Final Judgement, a name that, curiously, has come up in a few criminal investigations, including the Manson murders. Though generally described as "non-violent", a number of newspaper and internet articles have associated David Berkowitz and the Son of Sam murders with this cult.) If so, why doesn't Klausner mention this? Surely he seemed to focus on David's spirituality, but even in the exerpts from the diaries at the back of the book, I'm pretty sure I read something about a "church group". If it wasn't there, I'm sure I read comments David made in a number of other articles.

   In defense of the book, David's psychosis definately suggests that he was capable of committing these crimes alone. He did know the specific details, and nothing directly implies that anyone else was involved.

   Yes, David is given to exagerration, childish bragging and self-empowering lies. He reminds you of a confused child in a man's body. In other words, he's a paranoid schizophrenic. He has often blamed unseen forces, specifically demons and the devil, for his actions. He thought he was a victim of demonic possession, that he and the "Son of Sam" were different people. As anyone who has read the book will remember, David considered himself to be a "good" person. Could he have lied about the church group, consciously of unconsciously, to shift blame from himself? It's definately possible. But did he?

   Also, was there new evidence, after the book written, that Klausner didn't know about? I've heard a bit about this, though I don't know the specifics.

   After what I've read, I'm not sure what to believe, except that Berkowitz committed the actual crimes alone. However, all we get from that conclusion is that he deserves life imprisonment. (365 years, whatever.) It doesn't offer us any guidance as to the actual motive, which, in my opinion, is the most important part of any crime, so we can ensure that something this horrible wouldn't happen again. There are no reasons for crimes like this, just contributing factors. Like I said, I'm still confused.

   As for the book itself, it's quite good, though at times it reminded me of a novel based on a movie, adding melodramatic little touches and outstanding, supposedly "shocking" statements. Recently having read Helter Skelter, I probably would have appreciated Klausner to include more facts and make this less "entertaining". Entertainment is good, but to see a story that carefully introduces characters, charts their progress with small yet memorable details, and ends in emotional payoff...well, that's why I go to the movies. The reason I read true crime is to know the little things: the details of the crimes, the investigation, lie detector tests, complete interviews... I greatly appreciated the pages from David's diary at the back, though I wonder about the author's intent on including it.

   I realize that I'm the first person to give this book any less than five stars, but I'm not going to lie; that's simply how I feel about it.

   Anyone with any comments about David Berkowitz, his involvement in this crime, any theories (however outlandish they may be, I keep an open mind)...any comments about my review, or anything related to this book can e-mail me at

   guelph@canada.com

   Thank you to anyone who actually read all of this. Lisa.




4. This is an excellent account of the Son of Sam murders. The author writes from the point of view of the detectives, victim and Berkowitz. The reader will feel at times as if they are part of the investigation. Very well written and factual account. Please don't believe the garbage in Maury Terrys' book. Berkowitz acted alone and was not part of a world wide cult. He was, in reality, just an anti-social, fat, loser who held a city in fear for a few months in the late 1970s.



5. His book is painstakingly detailed. There is no coincidence that John and Michael Carr died within 2 years Mr. Terry's investigations. The different police sketches prove more than one person was at the scenes, let alone were the shooters. This case is extremely disturbing in the fact the Yonkers police still list it as an "open" case. Books like this one only further the NYCPD and certain DA's office's attempts to stifle a true investigation. They got their man is much easier to settle the public but it doesn't prove anything to the "lone crazy" one man killer. Berkowitz himself has stated that there were more than one cult member at each shooting. Read books that aren't "state sanctioned" and find the real truth behind this case. It is yet to be solved completely. Maury Terry's, "Ultimate Evil" is the definative book to read on this case.

3 comments about Son of Sam: The .44-Caliber Killer.

1. The best account of another brutal chapter in urban Amerikan history.Carpozi captures the nagging nausea of fear which tugged at the entrails of the residents who found themselves potential prey in a predator's hunting ground. A must-have for any true-crime voyeur's library of dementia!



2. Anyone that has picked up a newspaper in the last 10 years can see through the massive misinformation, and half truths in this book. Written almost immediately after Berkowitz's arrest this book does nothing but spout out the fabricated tale that Berkowitz told to keep the truth covered up.

   If you want to get a feel for the 'real' Son of Sam reign of terror pick up a copy of Maury Terry's Ultimate Evil.




3. Bah! This is perhaps the worst book I have ever read in full. Written before David Berkowitz's trial, it is a cheap cash-in work that you must never read. I hope what I write here will make you sure of this.
   
   For the first 240 pages you have an account of each crime, the letters received and a limited view of the police investigations. The shootings are detailed with the depth of a small town newspaper, only the basic facts are given. To great irritation each page is littered with author George Carpozi Jr's laughable remarks about how the police could've captured the killer here and there, or how this or that should have been done, or how this connection should have been made at this time, etc. The most amusing of these is where Carpozi says that the killer would have been identified sooner if the police had released their witness sketches quicker. It is widely aknowledged that the six sketches look absolutely nothing like Berkowitz or even like each other. Yet Carpozi, comparing the sketches to the captured Berkowitz, says, "Leonardo da Vinci would have been hard-pressed to come up with a more accurate likeness."
   
   Another point of annoyance are in Carpozi's repeated snide remarks about Jimmy Breslin. When it comes time for Carpozi to tell us about a letter Berkowitz sent to Breslin, a reporter at the New York Daily News (a rival paper of the New York Post, where Carpozi worked at the time), we are treated to ten or fifteen pages about why Breslin is "the last person in the world the .44-caliber killer should have written." In the pages that follow we are told of Breslin working for two papers that folded early in his carreer, of how he was a "guy who hadn't given [New York City] a minute of service in his whole life" when he made an unsuccessful run for Council President and so on. All of this seems based on a personal dislike of Breslin, but Carpozi goes on to justify it as a "forewarning" to those considering buying Breslin's own book on Berkowitz, which at the time he was reported as receiving either $150,000 or $350,000 to write. Jealousy may have been a greater motivation for this ridiculous chapter and the many other cracks that feature from here on. At the end of Carpozi's book we are shown another letter from Berkowitz to Breslin, this one after his capture. In his letter, Berkowitz seems to be agreeing to participate in a book about his life, this is in reply to a request from Breslin. It can be imagined that Carpozi himself wrote Berkowitz a similar request but did not receive the same positive reply.
   
   It is worth noting that while a Google search for Breslin returns various articles by and about him, and shows that he continues to work with notice (including a Pulitzer Prize), a search for Carpozi reveals only an obscure career.
   
   The first section ends with Berkowitz's capture. After this there is "Book Two: Son of Sam's Own Story," 50 pages detailing the life of Berkowitz, with numerous reports from childhood friends, neighbours and teachers, as well as the girlfriend he had in his mid-teens. During his time in the Army, Berkowitz frequently wrote home to her. The letters she kept and later sold. Many of them are re-printed here. This section of the book is readable and almost without Carpozi's irritating injections. What follows, "Book Three: After The Fact," a brief (30-page) detail of Berkowitz's confession and stay in hospital as he was being evaluated for trial, is similarly interesting.
   
   Near the center of the book there can be found 16 pages of black and white photos. None are of note.
   
   I cannot say enough bad things about this book. Reading it was often infuriating, similar to reading the worst of the tabloids. You will drop your head into the book many times because you wont be able to carry on. You must trust me and not pay the $9.95 and upwards the Amazon Marketplace store are currently asking.

1 comments about Confessions of Son of Sam.

1. First off, I did not pay this outrageous price. I ordered one off of a rare-book site for eight bucks. I have another half to read, but I have been so engrossed. It is a must have for any true crime buff or student of psychology. It isn't the same narrative about David Berkowitz; rather; it tries to explain what caused him to become the famed serial killer that stalked New Yorkers in the late 70's. It explains the rough childhood, his learning he was adopted, the crushing blow of learning his true parents didn't want him and, without a doubt, the most fascinating part: STALKING. It is terrifying. He tells of other people he wounded in attempted murders, people who escaped being murderd, and the crimes that placed him behind bars. I strongly reccomend this book (I ALSO RECCOMEND THAT YOU TRY TO GET TIM CAHILL'S BURIED DREAMS, ABOUT GACY. IT IS JUST AS FASCINATING).

5 comments about A Serial Killer: David Berkowitz Son of Sam/Son of Hope.

1. quote: berkowitz is so smart he can MAKE people believe what he wants them to believe

   David Berkabum still doesn't understand WHY he SLAUGHTERED HIS VICTIMS.

   You're saying this guy's reformed and yet he still doesn't know why he slaughered his victims. You're saying the space shuttle's safe to fly but you can't understand why the Columbia broke apart? Doesn't repentance involve taking the time to examine your conscience? Taking the time to understand why you made mistakes?

   There are also many lies and inconsistances in his testimony.For example, did any of you born agains know that he was a born again christian long before he slaughtered? Yeah that's right, he was baptized in a baptist church in 1974. Attended church services regularly. Was an active member.

   I hope not all born again christians consider this slaughter boy their hero...To do so is to advocate what he's done.




2. There is only one way for anyone to crawl up inside the mind of another, and that MUST come from the horses mouth, so to speak, and that's all we've tried to do here. .. in his own words and thougts.
   The book has not been written yet (!) that knows or understands the mind of David Berkowitz. Like all he does NOW is to project a new image that has respectable Ministries vying his attention> He is frighteing!!! aside from being a great actor. I have sixteen years of him in my mind, and don't know ow to get it out???



3. I believe that Berkwoitz is really a born again christian. He may have been baptized before the killings but he was not born again. Being born again is something that happens in your heart. If he really was pretending im sure he would have taken parole but he said he deserves to be in jail for what he has done, isnt that proof enought that he he is sincere?



4. the poems written by david berkowitz in prison show a warmth and sensitivity that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that david has had a deep change of heart. they could not have been written by that raving maniac who called himself "son of sam". Jesus said out of the heart the mouth speaks. the writer of these poems is a tender hearted, sensitive man. "son of sam" is dead.



5. Worst book ever, this is a rip off! It's not at all what is described...

5 comments about The Ultimate Evil : The Truth about the Cult Murders: Son of Sam and Beyond.

1. Everybody knows that David Berkowitz is the Son of Sam and he is held responsible for the senseless murders and shootings in the summer of 1977. The author does an excellent job in bringing about the era as well as explaining the circumstances regarding all the victims. Apart from this book, I barely read the Son of Sam case since it didn't interest me as much as others. The author also tries to tie Son of Sam murders with a bizarre murder case at Stanford chapel in Palo Alto, California in 1974 involving a young wife from North Dakota whose husband was a student at the famed university. The book is a heavy read and there is a lot of information to sort out but the author does write clearly and well regarding the possible connections between satanic cults and the murders and deaths of so many others as well. I am one for conspiracies anyway so I am beginning to believe Maury Terry's argument that there is more than meets the eye.



2. Being from Western Queens not far from where some of the murders were commited I have heard many conspiracy theories. After reading Maury Terry's book I have realized that those theories were fact.
   The scariest part is that the cults that Maury Terry writes about appear to still be organized and practicing and their present day sacrifices (almost 100% of their present day victims are minorities and poverty stricken) continue uninhibited.



3. This has to be one of the dumbest books ever written. There is absolutely NO evidence for the existence of a "satanic network" involved in ritualistic or other killings. To claim that the acts of seriously disturbed individuals, such as Berkowitz and Manson, were actually murder-for-hire and connected to the immoral behavior of the victims is an insult to the victims. The author should be ashamed of himself. Or, maybe, he just needs a psychiatric evaluation.



4. I purchased and read this book. It is well written and attempts to present David Berkowitz as part of an evil cult whose members participated in some of the shootings. The reason I know this is not true is because I personally knew David Berkowitz for eleven years after his incarceration while I was involved in ministry. I questioned David about his crimes and he told me that he and he alone was the one who hurt and killed the victims. The Ultimate Evil presents a story that misleads people. Yes, David Berkowtiz did know some of the people in the book, but he was the one who murdered the people. This book is filled with fiction. If you want to read the truth, read the 44 Caliber Shooter.



5. I remember this book from many years ago. From the seemingly unrelated death of a new, young wife in a Church in Palo Alto (never solved) to the shootings in New York City and the capture of David Berkowitz, this is a most riveting "can't put it down" book. The pictures are gruesome. True or not, it appears to be very well researched and you learn alot about the victims that summer, what they were doing, where they were, and how the killings occured, in depth. You will learn more about the actual victims, thier families, and the days up to their deaths that you learned from any other source. The tie-ins to that long ago murder in the Church to the strange shotgun killing of "Sam's" son seem plausible, if not troubling. And even you don't connect the dots in the same way, it's obvious that this book is well researched, as to actual events, because the events happened even if one still believes them to be unrelated -- it's a mystery within several mysteries. It's also obvious that not all has been revealed about David Berkowitz who still stands smug like a cat with a bird in his mouth. Definately, a good read. It is one of the scariest books I've ever read.