---
product_id: 20819235
title: "Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American Cannibal"
brand: "harold schechter"
price: "A$10"
currency: AUD
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/20819235-man-eater-the-life-and-legend-of-an-american-cannibal
store_origin: AU
region: Australia
---

# Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American Cannibal

**Brand:** harold schechter
**Price:** A$10
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

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- **What is this?** Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American Cannibal by harold schechter
- **How much does it cost?** A$10 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.au](https://www.desertcart.com.au/products/20819235-man-eater-the-life-and-legend-of-an-american-cannibal)

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- harold schechter enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Images

![Man-Eater: The Life and Legend of an American Cannibal - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Hqdz3s0bS.jpg)
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Overuse of Sourced Material Bogs Down an American Yarn
  

*by D***Y on Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016*

I first discovered Harold Schechter with his series of engrossing books dedicated to serial killers.  Deviant (Ed Geins), Depraved (H.H. Holmes), Deranged (Albert Fish) were three of the most fascinating, disturbing, goose bump inducing non-fiction books I have read.  I recommend each very highly for the reader looking to scratch the morbid itch.Unfortunately I cannot do the same for Man-Eater....There was a spareness to those earlier works that really helped drive the abominable subject matter straight to the gut.  Here, though the subject matter is at least on par with those titles, Mr. Schechter seems to have lost his narrative line a bit.  Instead of storytelling we get reporting, instead of vivid images we get stilted accounts.  While these are not necessarily problems in a work of non-fiction the tendency to repeat facts over and over and the penchant of dropping every single name even remotely associated with the crime makes for an unnecessarily weighty read.The story told is that of Alfred G. Packer.  A man who at times seems like a swindler, at others a compulsive liar, who poses as a guide to lead a band of prospectors through the Colorado Rockies during the winter of 1873.  The group splits and after weeks of being lost in the blinding snow Packer emerges from the wilderness alone and none-the-worse for his ordeal.  Immediately suspicions of the other survivors force a search to be made and the inevitable discovery of cannibalism is realized.What follows is numerous re-tellings with little or no new information to justify the repetition.  Perhaps because Packer himself changed his tune so many times and tried numerous attempts within his testimonies over several trials both formal and informal at a sort of insanity by hunger plea, some of this can be excused.  But knowing Mr. Schechter's immense talents displayed in those other works, I felt time and again some of the later accounts could have been paraphrased considerably.  Even unchanging witness testimonies at each trial are presented again and again until I felt as if I was re-reading earlier chapters by accident.Perhaps if I was unfamiliar with Schechter I may not have been so confused by what seemed to be clumsy storytelling.  Perhaps if I was a history student needing to know transcript level details of the trials I may have been more appreciative of Mr. Schechter's scrupulous use of source materials.  Alas, I am just a reader who wanted to be fascinated by the dark tale with just enough historical accuracy to add to, not detract from the story.  As it is, the book became a chore by the time Packer is given the opportunity to meet with reporter Polly Pry to recount for the umpteenth time his version of events.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Highly recommended, as are all Schechter's works-Can't wait till his next work!
  

*by A***R on Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2015*

Schechter is now doing "narrative nonfiction" about famous (or once-famous) crimes and criminals, as opposed to his earlier  works which are  considered true crime nonfiction. The  difference between the two categories seems to be a wider focus on the times in which the crime(s) were committed, rather than a  focus  upon just the life and crimes of one criminal. The difference is slight though, as Schechter has always included long sections of social history in his works, which add immeasurably to their interest. Certainly despite the "narrative" in the description, he does not indulge in the creation  of dialogues and conversations , or pretensions of omniscience regarding his subject's private thoughts and emotions.Man-Eater does give a straight forward recounting of Packer's crimes, his escape, his years on the run , his trials and ultimate conviction, his long years in  prison culminating in a crusading reporter's efforts to win his release and pardon, followed by Packer's permanent entry into  pop-culture mythology. But what's really fascinating is the way the reader sees  "truth" not so much discovered as created: Packer's  multiple and differing confessions ,  his  evasions , his "penchant for self-serving fabrications" (p. 9), the utter loathing in which he was held by his  party even before  the crimes were  committed,  his "foul" letters to his own sister, his threats against witnesses and his own family members...All overlooked by his supporters,  who want to see a person who (at the very least) sounds like an anti social personality,  as a "dauntless embodiment of  American manhood" : The end of the Wild West era  made any relic of that period (even one as grisly as Packer) the object of sentimental sympathy. And so even Packer's most obvious lies wind up as the very "evidence" pointed to by his defenders : How can a man who was  (allegedly ...)a scout for General Custer NOT be , if not completely  innocent, than surely a man who was  driven to commit horrific acts  by sheer survival instincts alone?Man-Eater is probably about as definitive a work as we're likely to get about  criminal acts  committed almost 150 years ago. Schechter has persuaded me that his "considered belief" (p 290) is the correct one....But the actual truth is known only to Packer and the five murdered men....

### ⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Interesting
  

*by J***N on Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2022*

But very drawn out. Could have been shorter and still got all the info in.

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*Product available on Desertcart Australia*
*Store origin: AU*
*Last updated: 2026-02-23*