From the Publisher
The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night
New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to
the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr.
Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished
Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an
adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan''s infamous
brothels.
The newly appointed
police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox
move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on
the reserved Kreizler''s intellect and Moore''s knowledge of New
York''s vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a
brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police
department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging
discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism
at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary
effort in criminology-- amassing a psychological profile of the man
they''re looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their
dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind
of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the
hunt is over.
Fast-paced and
gripping, infused with a historian''s exactitude, The
Alienist conjures up the Gilded Age and its untarnished
underside: verminous tenements and opulent mansions, corrupt cops
and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills.
Here is a New York during an age when questioning society''s belief
that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and
mortal consequences.
From the Paperback edition.
About the Author
CALEB CARR was born in Manhattan and grew up on the Lower East
Side, where he still lives.
From the Paperback edition.
About the Book
Now back in print--this fast-paced, convincing "New York Times" bestselling thriller is set in New York City in 1896, where two men and a brave, determined woman embark on a quest that takes them into the tortured mind of a barbaric serial killer.
Format: Trade Paperback
Published: October 24, 2006
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Language: English
The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10: 0812976142
ISBN - 13: 9780812976144
