I think the last non-fiction book that I literally couldn't put down was "THE LOST CITY OF Z." Now comes Mark Seal's true-life account of German born Christian K. Gerhartsreiter's metamorphosis through several identities until he adopted the lock-jaw, Boston Brahmin accented Clark Rockefeller. He dressed the preppie part and charmed people along the way with his wide knowledge and wit. He was clearly an eccentric but people longed to associate with a "Rockefeller" even if he was vague about the family connection.
I was kind of sympathetic to "Clark" because he was a self-made man who actually was able to get several prestigious jobs on Wall Street. He also got married to a high-powered business consultant and had a daughter.
Oh yes, he may have also killed two young people in San Marino and drove their truck to the East Coast where he tried to sell it. The book alludes to a third missing person.
If, after the bitter divorce (his wife finally had him investigated), he had not kidnapped his daughter and made international headlines, he may have been able to continue his serial impersonations.
Today he is being held on murder charges as well.
What amazes me is the incredible ability of "Clark" to make up stories people eagerly "bought." I wonder if he had chosen a fiction writer's life, would he have been as successful conjuring stories as say Steven King, who obviously has a compulsion to create artificial lives.
This is a terrific book. Seal has put together many missing pieces with over 200 interviews. There are many unanswered question that remain. Far beyond what a master of fiction might conjure, this incredible story will leave you slack-jawed.
We are indeed a wild and crazy species. The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter
People can be so stupid.
And I don't mean politicians who don't know enough to use throwaway cell phones when communicating with women who aren't married to them.
I mean the citizens of Milford, Connecticut, who met a 17-year-old German exchange student named Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter in the fall of 1978 and believed him when he said his father was an industrialist who had something to do with Mercedes-Benz.
And I mean the citizens of San Marino, California, who believed that Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter ---- now Christopher Chichester --- was related to Lord Louis Mountbatten, cousin of the King of England.
And I mean the citizens of Greenwich, Connecticut, who believed that Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter --- now Christopher Crowe --- was the same Christopher Crowe who produced the Alfred Hitchcock television series.
And I mean Stan Phelps, who was once smart enough to have given the young Mike Milken his first job, and who now hired Crowe to trade bonds, never checking the Social Security number that Crowe provided, which actually belonged to David Berkowitz, the serial killer known as Son of Sam.
And I especially mean Sandra Boss, a 26-year-old in her final year of Harvard Business School, who met Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter --- now operating as Clark Rockefeller --- in 1993. She believed his parents had died in a car crash. That he started Yale at 14. That he lived, alone, in a townhouse on Sutton Place. That he settled a $50 million lawsuit, leaving him broke, so that she wouldn't be at financial risk if they got married. And that, on the eve of their wedding, he disinvited his distinguished family.
In fact, it wasn't until shortly before "Clark Rockefeller" assaulted a social worker and fled with their young daughter that Sandra Boss --- now a management consultant making a fortune as one of the youngest partners ever at McKinsey --- began to wonder who her husband was. Until then, she thought it was merely eccentric that her husband had no Social Security number and no checking account. Why, he was just about to be named to the board of the Federal Reserve Bank!
All this and more is presented in Mark Seal's exhaustively researched "The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter." Seal did 200 interviews on two continents for this book, and it shows. He did not get to interview Sandra Boss and Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, and it also shows. But still, the record is vast, the story a jaw-dropper --- this is a book that true-crime and high society buffs will devour like crab cakes at a yacht club cocktail party.
How did Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter fool Sandra Boss? Many say he was charming and brilliant, that he looked and dressed like the Real Thing. And Sandra Boss --- could she have been so bright at work and so blind in her marriage? Or did she put up with her husband's "eccentricities" because his name gave her a business advantage?
"The Man in the Rockefeller Suit" is a perplexing book. After the fact, "everyone" knew Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter was a fraud. Before he was unmasked, he fooled almost everyone. I'm sure I would have seen through him. And you're sure you would have. But if we're honest, we have to wonder if a con man using a fancy name might not have fooled us too. And then we have to ask ourselves.... why?
When Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter was a child, he dreamed of getting out of his small village. A poor immigrant, he wanted to be educated, classy and have a life of adventure. He knew that to pursue his dreams, he must go to America.
He lives with many host families but wears out his welcome in Boston. So, he changes his identity and enrolls in another college in Wisconsin. There, he secures a green card through a quickie marriage and divorce, which doesn't trigger anything with immigration. Quite odd and something I believe would be harder to pull off in our present day.
From there, he moves into the guesthouse of Ruth Sohus, but her son and his wife vanish after a few months. He, once again, changes names and identities, and manages to get a high-profile job on Wall Street - a job he wasn't qualified for.
When a detective arrives asking him questions about the Sohus', who are missing, he disappears once again. This time, he emerges in New York City as Clark Rockefeller, who has an extensive art collection. There he meets and marries Sandy Boss, a wealthy socialite. They remain married for years, even having a daughter. But when Sandy realizes that she has been married to an imposter, she asks for a divorce.
Clark decides to kidnapp his daughter and that seemed to be his undoing. When captured, a thorough investigation takes place, following his crime of deceit. Along his journey, he always made sure to join the church - from there, he could gain entrance to many social circles and clubs. From there, people didn't question his identity.
A man who would stop at nothing for identity and fame, and by the time he admitted it, he had people convinced he was Rockefeller. He was very intelligent and devious. Mark Seals has definitely done his homework, this novel is filled with many details, including pictures. A man who desired wealth and class, a man who desired the American Dream, is now serving a sentence for kidnapping and wanted for murder. A compelling and astonishing read. - Imposter - California'
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