“I have no desire whatever to reform myself. My only desire is to reform people who try to reform me. And I believe that the only way to reform people is to kill ‘em. My motto is, Rob em all, Rape em all and Kill em all.” – Carl PanzramIn 1902, at the age of 11, Carl Panzram broke into a neighbour’s home and stole some apples, a pie, and a revolver. As a frequent troublemaker, the court decided … the court decided to make an example of him and placed him into the care of the Minnesota State Reform School. During his two-year detention, Carl was repeatedly beaten, tortured, humiliated and raped by the school staff.
At 15-years old, Carl enlisted in the army by lying about his age but his career was short-lived. He was dishonourably discharged for stealing army supplies and was sent to military prison. The brutal prison system sculpted Carl into the man that he would remain for the rest of his life. He hated the whole of mankind and wanted revenge.
When Carl left prison in 1910, he set out to rob, burn, rape and kill as many people as he could, for as long as he could. His campaign of terror could finally begin and nothing could stand in his way.
Kill ‘Em All is a chilling and gripping account of one of the most brutal and gruesome true crime stories in American history. Ryan Green’s riveting narrative draws the reader into the real-live horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic thriller.
CAUTION: This book contains descriptive accounts of abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to read any further
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Crazy, brutal and out of control is the only ways to describe the subject of this unflinching story. More perverse than any horror fiction, no Hollywood sappy ending for our antihero, and a compelling read.
A True-Life Horror Story…
This account detailing the exploits of Carl Panzram, often referred to as one of the most sadistic serial killers in history, is absolutely horrifying in its stark characterization of Carl’s life and of his crimes. There can be no denying that Carl suffered horribly during his childhood. Poverty, neglect, and abuse were his constant companions as a child so it is not too hard to understand how he strayed down a path leading to trouble early in life. At only eleven years of age he was sent to a reform school where he was brutalized and mercilessly tortured. These experiences only served to further cement his skewed views of the world. His path continued to venture further into the darkest corners of depravity as he grew to manhood. Never having encountered kindness or compassion, he became a hardened soul incapable of comprehending such qualities and, as such, had no qualms about inflicting pain and humiliating cruelties on others. His criminal endeavors included a wide range of offences from petty theft to arson, rape and, ultimately, murder. He was incarcerated many times and endured horrific treatment at the hands of the justice system in an era when the concept of prison reform was in its infancy. Ryan Green has once again penned a riveting biography of an individual you might feel defies any understanding by a sane and rational person yet, somehow, given all Carl’s hardships and horrifying experiences, you can almost appreciate how he may have been driven beyond the influence of rational behavior. There can be no excuses for his abominable actions, of course, but perhaps there are identifiable underlying reasons for someone to become so antithetical to societal norms. This book explores such possibilities using Carl’s own autobiography as one item of source material. For those interested in true crime, this is truly a fascinating story. Congratulations to the author, Ryan Green, and the narrator, Steve White, on a job well done.
I was given an audio copy of this story by the author and I am voluntarily offering my honest and unbiased review.
A riveting tale about a man filled with inexplicable rage, deep-seated hate and a burning desire for revenge against all of mankind. An interesting study into a man whose nature received the wrong kind of nurture.
This is one for anyone who reads true crime. This also gives insight as to what can affect the nature of ones personality when faced with such horrible adversity.
I enjoyed this book because I’ve never heard of another man as evil as this man Carl. He had no conscience and was totally depraved.
It was an interesting study of how the mind of the subject worked. It was easy and fast to work. I rated it as a 4 out of 5 just to try and catch the attention of the possible reader only to let them know that there are some rather detailed and gruesome passages that may be off turning.
Carl Panzram was a real example of what happens when someone loses faith in all humanity. And it’s terrifying.
He didn’t have an easy life. As a child, he pretty much suffered through every atrocity that a person could. He was humiliated and hurt at every turn. Despite it, Carl did what he could to try and survive. As life continued to kick him down though, he gave up more and more on caring about those around him. After being kicked out of the military, he let his dark desires take hold of him. Eventually he became a monster who robbed, raped, and killed as much as he wanted.
His life motto: “I have no desire whatever to reform myself. My only desire is to reform people who try to reform me. And I believe that the only way to reform people is to kill ’em. My motto is, Rob em all, Rape em all and Kill em all.”
Narration was spot on.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
It was extremely morbid.
My favorite genre is romance. However, I’ve been dipping and dabbing within other genres, cause let’s be real, romance isn’t what it once was. Since I enjoy watching true crime shows, and following certain cases, mainly when they focus on couples, I’ve decided to read true crimes books. While I enjoyed Kill ‘Em All, I can’t say I loved it. Some sections of the story lost my attention, and some parts were gruesome as hell, and my mouth hit the floor as I wondered how humans are capable of committing such gruesome acts. The crime books I’ve enjoyed most, are the books when the authors digs deep into the cases, voice their opinions on the case, create arguments, and get the readers wired up. For me, this felt more like a story, a rehash, and not like a case.
Wow! This is an extremely well researched and written book. Carl is an example of everything gone wrong from parenting to a religious juvy lockup, in a era where few cared about what happened to children who slipped through the cracks. It’s amazing that there weren’t more children/adults like Carl in the end of the 19th to the early 20th centuries. Protection for children was pretty much nonexistent during Carl’s reign of terror.
This is a fascinating, unputdownable read. If you like true crime reading, you will really like this book. I sure did.