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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I wrote about this killing, and Gingerich contacted me, June 29, 2000
This review is from: Crimson Stain: The Shocking True Story of the Only Amish Man Ever Convicted of Homicide (Berkley True Crime) (Paperback)
I was living in Erie, Pa., at the time of this killing and took Jim Fisher into the settlement to first introduce him to the Brownhill Amish where the killing occurred. I had studied, written and lectured on Amish society for more than 20 years prior to this killing. I wrote accounts of the killing for several large newspapers. Jim Fisher did a very good job in researching the information; I know he had compiled a lot of research well before the book was published, and I'm curious why it took so long to get the book out. This was a fascinating story for me to cover; the Brownhill Amish were the most unusual and difficult Amish settlement I had encountered in my years of involvement with the Amish. As Fisher indicates in his book, everything that could go wrong did within this Amish settlement, setting the stage for this tragic killing. I call it a killing and not homicide because he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter but mentally ill in Katie's death. Eddie Gingerich has contacted me three or four times recently; he is in a halfway home and said that his counselor was reading one chapter to him at a time. After my stories, several hundred Amish wrote me asking for latest information on modern day treatments for mental illness. I made it a mission of sorts in memory of Katie Gingerich to educate as many Amish as possible about mental illness and modern treatments. She above all in her heavenly rest understands why it happened and what I tried to do for her husband and Amish. If you like, you can email me at timamish@msn.com
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Could Not Put It Down, June 3, 2000
This review is from: Crimson Stain: The Shocking True Story of the Only Amish Man Ever Convicted of Homicide (Berkley True Crime) (Paperback)
Author Jim Fisher is not only a fine and careful journalist and social historian, he's a first-class storyteller. I just finished his latest book, "Crimson Stain", and I could not put it down! Fisher skillfully takes the reader into the darkest shadows of Amish life. No writer, to the best of my knowledge, has ever been able to probe so deeply into the lives of these fascinating and mysterious people--and since no Amish person has ever been accused of murder, Fisher's book is a one of a kind read. And what a read it is, brutal in its reality but written with the haunting, imaginative touch of a top notch novelist. "Crimson Stain" is a complex, artfully layered tale of desperation, secrecy and fear. On one level Fisher tells the gripping story of progressive madness erupting into deadly violence. On another plane Fisher shows how ill-equipped the criminal justice system is in dealing with paranoid schizophrenia and murder. There is more: a Fisher wild card, subtle yet powerful, involving a zealous evangelical connection, allows, as well, the possibility of an indirect casualty in an ongoing holy war. And finally, Fisher challenges the reader to reconsider the unholy relationship between serious mental illness and criminal homicide. Is it the madness that kills or the person beneath it? Regarding murder, is madness an association or cause? These are big questions worthy of consideration and it's obvious the Fisher knows this. On this point alone "Crimson Stain" is an important and timely book. Jim Fisher's relentless, brutally accurate and insightful presentation of violence and sudden death as it really is--dangerous and evil--will reshape our thinking of the rampage killers America seems to be breeding at an alarming rate. This is true crime at its best with Fisher at the top of his game. A must read with this warning: don't start the book on a bus, if you do you'll miss your stop. Even so, it will be worth the ride. Trust me on this one.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought Provoking and Compelling!, August 24, 2000
This review is from: Crimson Stain: The Shocking True Story of the Only Amish Man Ever Convicted of Homicide (Berkley True Crime) (Paperback)
Jim Fisher's "Crimson Stain" provides a fascinating look at Amish culture and customs while weaving together the tragic circumstances and events concerning the first Amish man accused of murder in the United States. He also poses some excellent "big questions" concerning Amish culture, as opposed to "English" culture, and a possible cultural clash that may or may not have influenced Ed Gingerich's thinking prior to the death of his wife Katie. However, I do agree with several other reviewers, who were disappointed that Mr. Fisher did not "finish" the story by providing details concerning what happened after Edward Gingerich was released. A few reviewers mentioned Ann Rule's style...and I agree that her epilogues provide a most satisfactory conclusion to True Crime tales. Mr. Fisher's book would have benefitted had it ended with an epilogue providing some detail concerning the aftermath of Ed Gingerich's release. Thanks to reviewers Brenda and Tim Moriarty for providing some details! When all's said and done however, Mr. Fisher still tells a compelling tale, and tells it very well. This book is well worth reading...and reviewer Dan Barber is right...don't read it on the bus...or on a plane as I did...the first time. "Crimson Stain" is well worth reading (and re-reading.) Despite the somewhat anticlimactic conclusion, Mr. Fisher raises excellent questions concerning Amish culture and "English" culture; the conflict therein is both timely and thought provoking. This is not a story of simply right and wrong...or good and evil. "Crimson Stain" forces one to notice, and then examine, all the compelling shades of grey in between.
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