There were times at home when Richard would have one of his outbursts and break things and then lock himself in his office. Merrick would... read full description
reviews
Sep 01, 2008
Geoff
rated it: 
If you're into Mafia stories or just true crime stories in general then this is definetly a book you should check out. This book tells the story of Richard Kuklinksi who was perhaps one of the most disturbed individuals who ever lived. This man started out as a serial killer but then he crossed paths with guys who were in the Mafia. Since he had previously been killing just for his own personal enjoyment, the Mafia guys started offering him contracts to kill and he began to make his living from
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Jan 05, 2010
RNOCEAN
rated it:
Carlo (The Night Stalker) has written another captivating true-crime book. This one tells the spine-chilling story of Richard Kuklinski, a.k.a. "the Ice Man" because he liked to freeze his victims to throw off forensic investigators. Born into an abusive family, Kuklinski claimed to have killed for the first time at age 14. After a run-in with the Gambino family, he became a hit man for the mob, managing to live the double life of a professional assassin and devoted family man. The aut
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Dec 27, 2011
Bianka
rated it:
Richard is a normal everyday guy. As a child, he was always made fun of, bullied, and was never truely loved. As his life went on, he began to realize he can get his revenge on all the people that hurt him as a child. He began to go crazy and became a very known mafia killer. He was married and had kids of his own, but he killed all the boys. Every man that ever hurt him or says anything rude, he would go after them and kill them. He said himself in the book that he would never try to hurt any w
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Dec 13, 2011
Graham
rated it: 
Another book club book. A brutal story tracking the life of a serial killer/mafia hitman. I thought the story of his childhood provided a good foundation for his later behaviour. A brutal, abusive father followed by harsh corporal punishment at a Catholic school at the hands of nuns and priests really set the tone.
I think the story told by Richard Kuklinski to Philip Carlo tried in some ways tried to ameliorate his 'career choice'. I acknowledge he had a terrible childhood and early More...
I think the story told by Richard Kuklinski to Philip Carlo tried in some ways tried to ameliorate his 'career choice'. I acknowledge he had a terrible childhood and early More...
Dec 11, 2011
Snake
rated it: 
Ever since I saw the HBO documentary on Richard Kluklinski I wanted to read the book. With plans to attend Clinical PhD programs in psychology naturally I was drawn to find out what could make such a monster like Richard tick. I read this book years later almost forgetting what was mentioned in the aforementioned documentary. Because of this I was unable to realize the inaccuracies of information that was being told in the book. Don't get me wrong, the book is extremely entertaining and offers
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Oct 16, 2011
Fritz
rated it: 
My experience reading this book was the same as my experience reading A Million Little Pieces: amazement at first, turning slowly to mild disbelief, then later outrage at having had my time wasted. There's no way that half of what's in this book is true, and I'm not the only one to think this: see extensive debunking references in negative reviews on amazon.
No doubt Kulkinski was a bad dude, but he's also a bad liar. I'm not sure what part of this story pushed me into total disbelief, More...
No doubt Kulkinski was a bad dude, but he's also a bad liar. I'm not sure what part of this story pushed me into total disbelief, More...
Apr 16, 2010
Brett
rated it:
Great book about one of the most notoriously unknown killers of all time!
Richard Kuklinski was a very interesting man to say the least, his family life, his secret life of murder and his long list of petty crimes and schemes!
When you finish "The Ice Man", you'll feel as if you know the guy. The book starts off talking about Richard's horrible childhood and how/when he committed his first murder and takes you through his early days of crime and his association More...
Richard Kuklinski was a very interesting man to say the least, his family life, his secret life of murder and his long list of petty crimes and schemes!
When you finish "The Ice Man", you'll feel as if you know the guy. The book starts off talking about Richard's horrible childhood and how/when he committed his first murder and takes you through his early days of crime and his association More...
Dec 23, 2009
Melissa
rated it:
This was one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time. I could not put it down.
Carlo shows us the real Richard and then let's us choose how we see him.
Richard had my sides, a wonderful work ethic, a torn family man with a hair trigger and I'm sure Park Dietz gained much insight into human behavior from Richard.
This is true life, this is how it done. Carlo does not sugar coat any part of Richard.
As I read the book I was able to see More...
Carlo shows us the real Richard and then let's us choose how we see him.
Richard had my sides, a wonderful work ethic, a torn family man with a hair trigger and I'm sure Park Dietz gained much insight into human behavior from Richard.
This is true life, this is how it done. Carlo does not sugar coat any part of Richard.
As I read the book I was able to see More...
Sep 18, 2009
Trevor
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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May 05, 2010
Shawn
rated it:
Unbelieveable story about the entire life of one of the most infamous and violent hit men of the 20th century. Very well written. Takes you through every aspect of his life from birth to death making sure not to leave out any of the good parts. If this is the kind of thing that your into...excellent read. If you become offended easily or have a weakness for violence. Skip this one...
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May 24, 2011
Ravis
rated it: 
This is probably the worst written book I've ever had the misfortune of reading. To start with there are only perhaps 50 pages of actual content in the book, rephrased so many times, over and over and over for 400+ pages that at some point you'll start to wish a real hitman would show up and put you out of your misery. Which brings us to wether any of this is true, and if so how much. There does not appear to have been any research done by the author. He just repeats the words of a criminal who
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Aug 02, 2011
This book has to be one of the most intriguing biographies of a convicted criminal that I have read to date. However, the book itself is not particularly well written and if the author had has a less meaty subject to write about, I doubt I would have felt so compelled to read the book so quickly. On several occasions the author seemed to be repeating himself, as if he'd thought of a good phrase and was determined to get as much mileage out of it as possible. With so much material and great detai
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Apr 25, 2009
Cole
rated it:
This book was poorly written. However, I couldn't put it down. The man it is written about is incredibly interesting. This makes for good light reading. I just wish the author would have taken the time to read the crap he was scratching down on the pages. It was irritating to read the same thing over and over again. I don't know if he ever read it after he finished typing it. He likes to tell you the same thing five or six times over throughout the book. I almost thought a couple of time
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Dec 10, 2009
Stefanie
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I was in between classes one day on campus and decided to go into the bookstore and look around. I ended up in the biography section and stumbled across this. I am majoring in Criminology (GO NOLES!) so I was very excited when I saw this book! I definitely knew who the "Ice Man" was!
This was definitely one of the best I have read. Richard Kuklinski was a cold, heartless man...yet...the book made me have compassion for him in a way. He was ALMOST likable. Being that I am a C More...
This was definitely one of the best I have read. Richard Kuklinski was a cold, heartless man...yet...the book made me have compassion for him in a way. He was ALMOST likable. Being that I am a C More...
Nov 20, 2008
William Thomas
rated it:
The book often repeats itself and is far longer and more drawn out than it should be, but could have been an epic of monster proportions if a btter writer had touched it. The only reason it gets three stars is because of the content and what this man has done with his life, before he was incarcerated, a 47 year killing spree that came to a much deserved end. This man bound people and fed them to rats. je killed a man with one punch, breaking his neck. He flew to brazil to kill a couple of drug l
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Oct 15, 2011
Joe
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I liked this book, very intense and intriguing. But in the book Richard claims to have participated in Paul Castellano murder, and as I have read in other books on this particular killing, Richard is not mentioned as a participant . So I have doubts on the credibility of the research in this book. The way he commits some of the crimes are unbeleivable. In all, it is a well written book, but in research I give it a low rating. Maybe the book was written on the validity of the words of Richar
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Jan 14, 2009
Josh
rated it:
Enter New Jersey, mid-19th century. There are immigrants coming from all over the world to America searching for a new job or opportunity to be successful. In this society lived two young "lovers", Stanely and Anna Kuklinski. Together, they had 4 kids, one of whoms name was Richard. Richard Kuklinski. This man would live to become one of the most successful and ruthless contract killers that the world had ever known.
Born into a family of extreme poverty and abuse, he was beaten r More...
Born into a family of extreme poverty and abuse, he was beaten r More...
Jun 13, 2011
Mackenzi
rated it:
I just finished reading a book called "The Ice Man", confessions of a mafia member. This story is about a seeming to be "ordinary" family-man, but is actually a mafia member, and the main killer. Thoughout this story, the man named Richard while in jail, tells the story of every murder and crime he did for the mafia. His family knew nothing about him being in the mafia, but his family also tells how they suspected something was going on with him, but could never figure out an
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Oct 03, 2011
Tony
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This is the very in depth, very detailed and gory story of The Ice Man, one of the most notorious paid assassins and serial killers of the 20th Century. It's based on a series of interviews with the man himself while he was in prison and will chill you to the bone. This was one evil motherf**er. The story is very interesting, digging deep into how a child from an abusive home became the man that he eventually became, how he hid it from his family, how he improved his trade over time and finally
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Dec 11, 2008
Vassi
rated it:
Okay...I have to say, I don't go out of my way to read books about contract killers. As a matter of fact, when my husband was reading this book, I swore I wouldn't touch the thing. That said, once I got into it, I couldn't put the thing down. To delve into the mind of someone so crazy and so psychotic just blew me away. The things this man has done to people is unfathomable and yet you feel a sort of sorry for him. He was abused as a child and wanted to give to his family what he never had.
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Sep 09, 2009
Brittany
rated it:
This book was very fascinating. It tells the sotry of a mafia-hired hit man who felt nothing for his voctims which made him an excellent candidate for hire. His tales of gruesome murders like feeding people that are still alive to rats and capturing the event on camera for the person whoo hired him for proof keep the reader intrigued the whole way though. I have also watched the "Ice Man Interviews" which are obviously just interviews with him after being incarcerated and he is very un
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May 17, 2011
Dan
rated it:
Really liked this book, scary glimpse into the mind of a very demented individual, but C'mon...a lot Kuklinski's claims are just plain B.S. I mean your gonna tell me that one guy was involved in the death's of Jimmy Hoffa, Paul Costellano, and Carmine Galante! We're talking some high profile crimes here, people. I think the Iceman has bought into the hype of his own evil persona and is just adding to the notorious myth surrounding it. Still a great read if you can see through this murderer's lie
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Nov 17, 2010
Virginia
rated it:
Very intense book.
Why do we find such things facinating?
I loved the Valachi Papers Years ago (read twice) so I
chose this book "The Ice Man".
I couldn't put it down (IPOD/Audible.
Not for everyone, but I've always been facinated with the Mafia
and also Psychological issues like Serial Killers. Love
Forensic Files on TV. If you like these things this book is one
you should read. It pulls no punches though. VERY graphic and
dis More...
Why do we find such things facinating?
I loved the Valachi Papers Years ago (read twice) so I
chose this book "The Ice Man".
I couldn't put it down (IPOD/Audible.
Not for everyone, but I've always been facinated with the Mafia
and also Psychological issues like Serial Killers. Love
Forensic Files on TV. If you like these things this book is one
you should read. It pulls no punches though. VERY graphic and
dis More...
Aug 23, 2011
Kaisa
rated it:
It's kind of hard to review a book like this, cuz it's... a biography, basically. Your thoughts and feelings on the book are based on your thoughts and feelings towards the person it's about.
Before reading this I saw some kind of interview with Richard Kuklinski (The Ice Man) where he talked openly about all the things he'd done and how he wanted forgiveness from his family. Having seen waaay too many gangster movies I kind of glorified him in my head, branding him as "cool" More...
Before reading this I saw some kind of interview with Richard Kuklinski (The Ice Man) where he talked openly about all the things he'd done and how he wanted forgiveness from his family. Having seen waaay too many gangster movies I kind of glorified him in my head, branding him as "cool" More...
Nov 13, 2008
Julie
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 13, 2007
fleegan
rated it:
This is a really great read that sucks you in, and you can't put it down, and you feel really weird about not wanting to put it down, and you feel ashamed for being so interested in this serial killer.
What's interesting about the killer is that he killed more than 200 people and HIS WIFE AND TWO KIDS HAD NO IDEA HE WAS A MURDERER!
i know!
The killer's name is Richard Kuklinski, and he grew up in New Jersey. He had a shitty childhood and he grew up and killed tons of More...
What's interesting about the killer is that he killed more than 200 people and HIS WIFE AND TWO KIDS HAD NO IDEA HE WAS A MURDERER!
i know!
The killer's name is Richard Kuklinski, and he grew up in New Jersey. He had a shitty childhood and he grew up and killed tons of More...
Jul 27, 2011
Jono
rated it:
Great at the start, I literally couldn't put it down, but as it goes on I think it becomes very repetitive. Way too long, after the fourth or fifth time reading that he was a man who behaved so normally but had the capacity to feed people to rats I began to turn off. Turns from a very interesting piece into a he went here, picked up a cheque, shot a man, drove about, then went home, beat up his wife, sort of list. I should have stopped reading it just before the photos in the middle.
Sep 26, 2011
Shaun
rated it:
Superbly researched and written. Philip Carlo does it again, revealing the life and death of one of America's most chilling murderers, as well as a glimpse into this remorseless killer's mind. Richard Kuklinski was one bad dude, and after spending over two-hundred hours interviewing him, Carlo paints a gruesome portrait and shows what it means to be cold as ice.
Top notch, as usual. Highly recommended but not for the squeamish. I'll miss Mr. Carlo and his riveting books.
Top notch, as usual. Highly recommended but not for the squeamish. I'll miss Mr. Carlo and his riveting books.
Jun 21, 2008
Steve
rated it:
I got the book because of the HBO interview with this guy. He had a similar dark sense of humor as me and thought this guy might have been interesting to read about. He was, but he was far more horrible a guy than I thought and a hypocrite in that he wouldn't kill women or children, yet beat his wife regularly and his children lived in fear of him. I guess what more could I expect from a sociopath? It was interesting seeing that somewhere there was a thread of humanity in him, but growing up
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Mar 28, 2011
Racheltd
rated it:
the ice man is a sick psycho serial killer. the first of the book was grabbing...this man living this double life...a screwed up childhood...but near the middle i was kind of bored...it got to where he killed so many people that i forgot they were people...cold hearted like the iceman. and yes like most serial killers he became sloppy and well got caught.
the moral lines are schewed. he was totally against killing women and children ...but yet he was okay with killing a stranger for cut More...
the moral lines are schewed. he was totally against killing women and children ...but yet he was okay with killing a stranger for cut More...
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