Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer - The Ice Man

This was a frightening biography about Richard Kulkinski, a monstrous human being who killed with impunity and joy. It was a book both difficult to read because of the horrific acts of this "man" yet impossible to put down. It makes one into a voyeur of the devil's perfect man who purportedly killed innocent people for sport, or to test a new lethal weapon.

Couple of points - the book was way to sympathetic to Barbara Kulkinski. It is difficult to understand how she didn't know, or inquire, as to how Richard "earned" money for their lavish lifestyle. She enabled him to remain abusive toward her and, if not physically, then emotionally toward her kids. The author was also overly sympathetic toward Richard. He was and always should be considered a monstrous person who is now paying for his crimes in a place like Hell - where hourly, he gets eaten alive by rats. Save your sympathies for his innocent victims.

Another note - the book could have used some editing. Information about family life was annoyingly repetitive.

Still, an engrossing (gross?) book by a good author.

best 1st hand detailed accounts of heinous puts you right there at the seen as events take place. i've read a few other true crime books and i realized the author can only write based on information from personal interviews. phillip carlo was very fortunate to have richard share with him all first hand accounts best book ever by far no other true crime books authors are not as fortunate and have to go off snitches testimonies police statements and public knowledge not the villian or villains himself. very good book best true crime book ever. i give it 12 stars

This version of Kuklinski's life is much more interesting and delves more into the mind of an ice cold killing machine. Total absence of empathy or sympathy. He does his job with calculation and efficiency. Like one of the lines in the book says, "Most people only meet him once." If you ever need a reason to carry, this is it. He didn't handle road rage very well.

Quite simply, I loved it. There's been criticism that Carlo was too sympathetic to the Ice Man, blah, blah, blah, but it's Carlo's story and it's great. It seemed far more like a novel than a biography but since I love Mafia stories (fact or fiction) it didn't matter to me. This is the story of a cruel, evil killer who may or may not have gotten his due but even if only parts of the book are completely true it's a story that needs to be told. It's a page-turner so be prepared to stay up longer than you may have planned if you're reading at night...it not a book that you can put down for a while and go back to...well worth the time it took to read it!

Good at times and bad at times & repeats storylines as if the reader just opened randomly on any chapter to start the book or maybe this was all done so the senile readers won't get lost. More of a who's who of underworld assassins or bum killers.

I had never read anything before about the mafia hit men. I found this to be very interesting. It is just one more example of how much your childhood plays such a big part of what you grow up to be and the love or in this case the loveless of a parent plays a huge part in a child's life.

Omg! So unbelievable that some one can be this way. Very well written and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. Wow, so sorry for his family. This is a must have. Five stars. I hope there is only 1 ice man.

5 stars
Great read and a page turner. I have always been amazed how the world of organized crime works under the noses of the police and go for decades untouched More attention to true crime and less concern for speeding tickets would make the world a safer place. BUT wait there's no money in catching killers

I think we're mostly nature, then nurture, then opportunity. Kuklinski and his brother had all three going full bore. This is a good read, though chilling. Just the fate of his first wife, who was not killed, leaves you stunned. There's a few things in the book I don't buy, but it seems credible. Back then I was young and naive, I wouldn't have believed it was going on not too far where I grew up. I could have run into him. Stood in line with him at Disney World. Clueless. It only takes one man on the loose to wreak havoc and it was one man who would not live with that who ended it.

Unreal story about a very unusual individual who undoubtedly was greatly influenced by his childhood. Could not put it down and was looking forward to the next time I could pick it back up to continue. Highly recommend!

Just a small sampling of the author's bias against the church. These direct excerpts are not quotes from persons interviewed, but stated as facts the author somehow has personal insight into.

Location 574: "Anna, who had become a flaming religious zealot..."
Location 575: "...he had come to loathe the church and its hypocritical teachings. Much of that had to do with how brutal the nuns and priests were""
Location 579: "Sometimes the bitter-faced austere nuns yanked his ears"
Location 3632 "Richard understandably had no use for the church or its hypocritical teachings"

DAJ

I had happened to flip through the channels and caught about a half hour of the HBO special of The Iceman and got really hooked on his experinces as a hitman or a serial killer as some called him.

I am not even half way through the book and love the story of this man, even if some people think it's weird that I am reading about a man who killed people as a job.

But this is a great book to read.

Well written and holds your interest throughout the entire book. The author has captured the shocking cruelty Kuklinski dished out to anyone who crossed his path. Kuklinski had no empathy for anyone. He was one horrible person. A good read from front to back.

Gripping story about the mob world and murderers for hire. How oblivious a family can be to what is going on around them and secrets. How Richard could remember every fact about each of his contracts or his out right anger killings.

The Ice Man was perhaps the most chilling account of crime I have ever read. The author was very adept at giving the reader the sequence of events in an orderly convincing manner.

The very fact that such a killer even existed is enough to make shady surroundings very uncomfortable for weeks after reading.

This book is not for the faint of heart

I found this was a interesting insight to how the law operated during the time the ice man was killing virtually without fear of being caught and at random in cases, or simply at the word from his Mafia bosses.

Although Carlo has been criticized for not verifying each detail, common sense dictates that much carried out by a Mafia Contract Killer is going to be without a trace. Richard Kuklinski, the Ice Man was one of the most dangerous individuals who ever lived. He would kill you for any perceived slight or offense even if you weren't aware you committed it and I do mean YOU if you are a man reading this. People like Hitler and Stalin had many more people ordered killed from afar. But Kuklinski would kill without remorse upclose and personal. Indeed, it would relax him and help him sleep. After 15 minutes he wouldn't even think about someone he murdered. He enjoyed torturing his marks for extra money. He never asked questions about what they had done to have a contract put on them. But if he was told it was a rape or a crime against a child he would gladly torture and kill them for free. This was an anomaly. Kuklinski would accept any job and never failed to carry out a contract by any imaginable means BUT he would refuse to ever accept a contract on a woman or child. Having killed probably over 200 men Kuklinski may have saved more people than he ever murdered when he murdered hitman Robert Pronge(Mr. Softee) because Pronge was planning to poison a reservoir to carry out a contract on a family who used the water supply. Kuklinski was concerned that women and children would be killed by Pronge's poisoning of the reservoir. Indeed, Kuklinski once murdered a whole group of drug dealers to save children who were to be sold into the sex trade. If you are curious about a stone cold killer who would kill a stranger without remorse and then have a neighborhood barbeque or attend a daughter's school activity, then you will love this book. I never got bored. Even though I knew that Kuklinski was ultimately arrested I felt the tension of the undercover officers who were minutes from being his next marks when he was arrested. Look for the trained rats, "Oh my God!"

The man himself was fascinating but I was disappointed with how often the author repeated himself. I honestly think the book could have been 150 pages shorter without all of the repeats. Also, as with most biographies that I have read, I was hoping for some pictures similar to the HBO special.

what a brilliant book,for anybody that is into true facts about about killers and there
life as a hired hit man this is the book,the best i have ever read and i have read a good few i am keeping it on my kindle to read again and again.

The man himself was fascinating but I was disappointed with how often the author repeated himself. I honestly think the book could have been 150 pages shorter without all of the repeats. Also, as with most biographies that I have read, I was hoping for some pictures similar to the HBO special.

what a brilliant book,for anybody that is into true facts about about killers and there
life as a hired hit man this is the book,the best i have ever read and i have read a good few i am keeping it on my kindle to read again and again.