Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade

I bought this book when it came out but for some reason or another -- most likely because I was watching "Up In The Air" on HBO for the hundredth time -- only got to reading it within the past week. It's a quick read, easily worth accomplishing over the course of three hours or so. Not because it lacks depth or anything, more so because it's written in a very breezy style. It hums along, pages quickly whizzing by. You'll be done before you even notice it. I wasn't especially knowledgeable about Clark Rockefeller before diving in, which to me, is important. If you are knowledgeable, you might find the book less interesting, almost pointless. Because it is far more memoir than true crime. It is, in effect, Walter Kirn's story of coming to know Clark Rockefeller. How they met, what those interactions were like, what they meant in the larger scheme of who Clark Rockefeller turned out to really be. The best parts of the book, in my opinion, were Kirn's wry observations, his sort of point blank affirmations -- this is how life is, this is what certain people are like, this is how certain people act, this is what it all means. I didn't find that he was ever too particularly preachy about how he, himself, fit into that narrative, although the story is ostensibly about him. He's in there, but not too far in there that it's off-putting. I say those are the best parts because the finer details, you can pick those up from reading other books. You could even dive into something as simple as a Wikipedia entry. But these parts, they suggest that Kirn thinks and feels and observes -- he is not content to merely do the work and state the facts. He is a person with opinions, and they are interesting ones. I recommend the book, for sure.

This book did turn out to be a very good and interesting read. It was much deeper than just the story and by the end, you've run up on just what the underlying story really is. Only complaint was the frequent shifts between present and past within the same chapters and at times the seeming intrusion on the main story line of too much qualitative background, which tendended to make one lose that sream of thought that you were following at the time. Kirn is without a doubt, a gifted writer and may well be good and psycho-analysis now, given the degree of exposure gleaned from his association with "Clark Rockefeller" during the 15 years of time this story spans. Thought that "Girardot", the reporter at the trial, must be a real "hoot" to be around; crusty, jaded and observantly humorous! I do recomend this book!

BS is the most powerful force in the world, and "Clark Rockefeller" had it in abundance. However, after reading this book I still didn't quite understand how he pulled it off for so long. The author focuses on his own gullibility. I don't quite understand that either - surely there were enough red flags to indicate that is was not a good friend to have. While it's an interesting story and it's well written, I would have liked to know more about how he managed to get into fancy establishments, etc., without having a great deal of money. Yes, he probably sold a few forged paintings and mooched off his wife, but that will take you only so far. What the heck was his wife thinking? Perhaps we'll never know - Clark is such a liar that any explanation from him would be highly suspect. Three stars because it's interesting reading but it leaves some questions unanswered.

This fascinating book is deceptive - it is not really, as the title may indicate, the story of the liar Clark Rockefeller. Rather, it is the story of how Rockefeller turned the author, Walter Kirn, into a liar to himself. By successfully decoding what makes Kirn tick, Rockefeller convinced him to believe, or at least accept, the most outrageous deceptions. Were this told from a third-person perspective, it would be merely another 'Lifetime' sob story. Instead, Kirn catalogs his own vanities, insecurities, and deeply hidden desires, all with radical honesty. A lesser book, and less honest explorer of his own psyche, would hide attempt to mask these deep, albeit common, character flaws. Instead, the author names them for what they are and then shows exactly how Rockefeller turned them to his advantage. Blood Will Out lays bare the essential fact that we all trade in the currency of casual lies, told and believed, in order to help us believe that we, our lives, and our friends, are more magical than they really are. It is a fundamental vulnerability in human nature, and Kirn exposes it in the only way possible - by exposing it in himself. This could be a brutal experience, were it not for the wit and precision of the writing, and the essential empathy of the narrative. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it. What troubles me most, is that I can't honestly say that I would see the liar in Rockefeller - but I'm pretty sure that Rockefeller would see the liar in me.

This well written account of the life of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter (aka "Clark Rockefeller") by the novelist Walter Kirn -- with whom Kirn formed an actual friendship -- is a fascinating case study in how one man can fool so many people, and many ways, even fool himself. In that sense, it's a little bit like "Catch Me If You Can," the 1980 book by con man Frank Abagnale. The difference between the two cases is stark as well: Abagnale was a con man who did it for the money, and now advises companies on how not to get conned by someone with his skill set, while Gerhartsreiter is clearly just a narcissistic sociopath. The most fascinating part of the story is how Sandra Boss, the $1 million per year management consultant from McKinsey & Company, who could not figure out, in seven years of marriage, that her husband was an imposter, had no money, and was not a Rockefeller! Kirn doesn't do much to answer that question, although he does shine a light on the way he himself, a novelist, was fooled by Rockefeller for years and years. Kirn's background as a novelist is both the strength and weakness of this book. It makes for a easy, entertaining read, but sometimes the account is too fanciful, the writing too obscure. I would have appreciated something a little bit more straightforward, and perhaps with a little more investigation into the formal psychology of how we allow ourselves to be fooled.

The story of Clark Rockefeller is very interesting, as are some of the anecdotes about Clark in his everyday life, as experienced by the author. However, the author appeared to use his story as platform to talk about how interesting and successful he is. He frequently inserted tangents to drop names (e.g., I was hanging out with George Clooney) or tell stories I guess he thought would make the story more interesting (Clark's dog's previous owner's dad...something something) but these tangents made the story really obnoxious to read. Also, the book was very irritating to read for two literary reasons. 1) He frequently wrote run-on sentences that were ambiguous (is he talking about that woman or her husband there?) or just confusing and I had to re-read a few to try to figure out what he was talking about. 2) The story is not written in chronological order and I think it would flow better if it was. Was the author going for suspense? (no, the verdict is still at the end) Grouping content from the trial and past? (maybe, but it made it hard to follow and more like he is telling annoying commentaries about the trial, which in itself is interesting and from which I didn't want to be distracted). I am pretty easily entertained and like most stories. However, when I was mostly through this one I was so annoyed that I resorted to Wikipedia to see how the story ended. My husband bought this for me after hearing a story on the book on NPR- I recommend you just listen to that story.

The negative reviews seem to forget that this book is a memoir, not a biography. That said, So beautifully written. I've read (and tried to read) tons of memoirs, and a lot of the time their story is sold short by poor writing. Not only is the story incredible, Walter Kirn being a bestselling author of fiction comes through loud and clear. Sometimes I had to step back from the (incredibly interesting) plot to reread sentences that were constructed with such artistry that can only come from so many years' experience and a true love for the written word. I wish I could write like him. But the actual story, underpinned by his mastery of compelling prose, is just incredible. Fascinating, evocative, surprising as well as soul-baring from Kirn's perspective, I savored it toward the end. Read it. If you like peering under the skin of the human condition, for better or worse, read it.

Not a huge fan of this book. I was looking forward to it since I had watched the documentary on Clark Rockefeller multiple times on Netflix and love these kind of stories/documentaries. I felt the book concentrated a bit too much on the writer and not enough on Clark himself. I was expecting the author to delve further into his relationship with Clark for the reader since he had such an insider's look at the entire thing. The first 1/3 - 1/2 of the book was the author outlining himself and his family which if it was not a great deal of the book would've been fine in my opinion; However, when one buys a book about a specific topic or person, they expect the author would take them into that world in more detail than they are able to be involved in having not known the individual themselves. The author did do a good job talking about Clark when he did get into it, the book however felt more like an autobiography at points than it was more about who I came to read about which is why I only give it 3 stars. I will still check into Walter Kirn's other books and give him another chance.

Super Lieferung, auch guter Zustand und alles ist wie beschrieben angekommen. Vom Preis her natürlich unschlagbar, aber das wusste ich ja vorher. Vielen Dank!

An extremely creepy tale told by an excellent writer. Kirn is brilliant at pointing out human foibles. The psychological aspects of this true story are so well observed and one is left questioning many things about human interactions. Entertaining and thought-provoking

Kirn’s staggering lack of personal regard is the key to his telling of this astonishing story. He spares himself no indignity, no privacy in revealing quite how thoroughly he was taken in by a con man, and how complicit he was in his own deception.

Glänzend geschriebenes Psychogramm eines obsessiven Hochstaplers und seiner Opfer, gleichzeitig ein spannender Krimi. Der Erzähler ist eines der Hauptopfer. Der Fortgang der Handlung beschreibt einen Weg der Selbsterkenntnis. Auch eine kritische Darstellung des American way of life.

I was drawn to the story after listening to an interview with Kirn, who was promoting his new book. I vaguely recalled hearing about the character whose exploits are the excuse for writing this memoir, and I believed this book would provide a detailed account of the events and some insight into the mind and motives for the crimes. Instead this is a story about Walter Kirn, who became acquainted with a criminal by happenstance and inflated his own negligible role in the crimes into that of a major player in the drama. Not especially well written either, ridden with cliches and amateur psychologizing. After finishing the read I found some succinct, detailed and informative magazine articles that satisfied my curiosity about the subject far better than this book did. Hint: just google Clark Rockefeller.