Book Review: The Man In The Rockefeller Suit
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit is the story of a German man named Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter who came to the United States in 1978. For the next thirty years, he assumed multiple identities. He eventually assumed the name Clark Rockefeller and was able to dupe scores of intelligent people into believing that he was a member of the Rockefeller family. He even married and had a child with a very successful woman who bought his story hook, line and sinker. Finally, after years of marriage, his wife started to see through his story and divorced him. He then devised an elaborate plan to kidnap his young daughter, which turned out to be his undoing.
This was a well-researched, fascinating story. It was really amazing to read how relatively easy it was for “Clark” to fool so many people for such a long time. I would have liked to get inside of Clark’s head to perform a little armchair psychology and know what he was thinking but the author wasn’t able to speak with him. He did interview a lot of people who knew Clark so there are glimmers of Clark’s motivations that come through.
Overall, this was a compelling read that fans of true crime will really enjoy.
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(I received this book courtesy of a giveaway at Devourer of Books. Thanks Jen!)
