Kill Em All: A True Story of Abuse, Revenge and the Making of a Monster by Ryan Green

Kill Em All: A True Story of Abuse, Revenge and the Making of a Monster Reviews

• 
  Misty Marie Harms

  “I have no desire whatever to reform myself. My only desire is to reform people who try to reform me. And I believe that the only way to reform people is to kill 'em. My motto is, Rob em all, Rape em all and Kill em all.” - Carl Panzram
  
  This is the graphic, true story on how a child turned into a brutal monster. In 1902, 11 year old Carl, was caught breaking into a neighbor's house. He is sent to the Minnesota State Reform School. During his two-year detention, Carl was repeatedly beaten, tortured, humiliated and raped by the school staff. It warped his impressionable mind into believing all human beings are evil and would inflict pain if they get close enough. As an adult Carl was a one man crime spree. He abused his victims without a second thought. He killed without remorse. The only reason he came on the radar of the police is when he killed a little boy. Very chilling, creepy read. Green did an excellent job getting into the mind of serial killer.
  
  😻😻😻😻
• 
  Shainlock

  He truly was the saddest, most evil person that I have ever heard about....
  I also think that he was made. It is possible he could have turned out completely different had his early childhood and adolescence gone a different way. Truly disturbing true crime.
• 
  Lyn❤Loves❤Listening #AUDIOBOOKADDICT

  Audio 5 Stars
  Story 5 Horrifying Stars
• 
  MadameD

  Story 5/5
  Narration 5/5
• 
  Miriam on hiatus

  5 stars audio
  5 grisly heartbreaking stars story
• 
  Armand Rosamilia

  Crazy, brutal and out of control is the only ways to describe the subject of this unflinching story. More perverse than any horror fiction, no Hollywood sappy ending for our antihero, and a compelling read.
• 
  Alyce Alexander

  Ryan Green really made this serial killer come vividly to life. I truly couldn't imagine how one man could do such things to other men! I got so entranced into this book that I definitely couldn't put it down. Every single True Crime book that Ryan Green writes is very well written and truly gives you an up close and personal look into the mind and life of the serial killer! I recommend all his work if you are as interested in the life and mind if serial killers. I give this book a huge thumbs up and will tell you that you will not be disappointed. I want to personally thank Ryan Green for his remarkable books on so many different serial killers.
• 
  Bettye McKee

  This is how to make a monster
  
  Fictional horror stories cannot compare to the real-life horror that was Carl Panzram. From his earliest days, Carl was not destined to live a normal life. His whole life was filled with pain and brutality. And he spent his whole life returning the favor.
  
  Ryan Green presents the entire, no holds barred story of Carl Panzram and his monstrous crimes. Grab this book and read it if you think you can handle it.
  
  10
• 
  Michael

  Quick read. Very nasty dude. There was much more to Panzram's story than I thought. I'm interested in reading a more detailed book about this looney. A great true crime series book for a good, quick read.
• 
  Emily Ross

  This was a really good book. It was informative, and relatively easy to follow, though it is quite gruesome and graphic. It makes you want to dig a bit deeper into the man to know more.
• 
  L J Field

  The most remarkable serial killer book I’ve ever read
  
  This book was written as if it were a novel. Carl Panzram himself wrote his own autobiography just prior to his execution and the writer, Ryan Green, acknowledges that he used that document to write this book. What Green achieved here is wondrous. The story itself is an horrendous account of one man’s sinister life. But Green has surpassed accounts written by others to really tell the story as if it were a man reminiscing about his evil life, and it just pulls you in. What is remarkable is that the reader actually comes to feel some sympathy for this killer.
• 
  Zelda

  The more I read this book, the further my jaw dropped. The many and gruesome acts of violence committed by this one human being almost beggar belief. There is always the argument of nature versus nurture: are monsters born or made ? With Carl Panzram, it seems like it might be a bit of both. Yes, his childhood was very hard and abusive, including his time in boy's homes, and later, extremely hard and violent treatment in prisons. But, as the author later points out, there are plenty of people who had similar backgrounds, who did not later turn out to become rapists and murderers, who committed their crimes in the increasingly horrific manner in which Carl did.
  
  I really like the way the author has such a keen insight into his subjects. He seems to see right into their souls. He shows, bit by bit, how Carl builds a hard shell around himself and becomes more and more of a vicious, cold blooded monster. Even so, there are moments when he shows his humanity, even though he doesn't want to.
  
  I found this book very absorbing and interesting, even though the acts of violence depicted in it were very gruesome. The end of the book is very fitting. Although the details in this book were very graphic and almost hard to believe, like the author states; this book was based on the extensive notes written by Carl Panzram himself.
• 
  Deborahanndilley

  Overall this was an easy read but I have no desire to read anything from this author again. This book reminded me a lot of the de Sade’s Justine, where you read about one horrible thing after one horrible thing happening....each thing more horrible than the thing before it. There is no time to stop and reflect on the inhumanity of what is happening. Because of that it reads like a list of crimes that smacks of trauma porn. There were places in the text that the author hinted at but never fleshed out that could have made this book an incredible exploration of history around an individual. The abuse in the prisons could have easily been expanded to talk about the history of the prison system. The Angola section about capitalism and colonialism. The constant homelessness of Carl and the ease at the beginning of his career of movement versus the change in transportation options towards the end.... all of these factors could have been expanded upon. The author hints at a lesson in his subject’s life, but fails to share that. This book could have been so much more.
• 
  Kayla Krantz

  Carl Panzram was a real example of what happens when someone loses faith in all humanity. And it’s terrifying.
  
  He didn’t have an easy life. As a child, he pretty much suffered through every atrocity that a person could. He was humiliated and hurt at every turn. Despite it, Carl did what he could to try and survive. As life continued to kick him down though, he gave up more and more on caring about those around him. After being kicked out of the military, he let his dark desires take hold of him. Eventually he became a monster who robbed, raped, and killed as much as he wanted.
  
  His life motto: “I have no desire whatever to reform myself. My only desire is to reform people who try to reform me. And I believe that the only way to reform people is to kill 'em. My motto is, Rob em all, Rape em all and Kill em all.”
  
  Narration was spot on.
  
  This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
  
• 
  Hannah Edmonds

  Ryan Green definitely writes true crime well. The story of Carl Panzram reads almost like fiction, I can't believe it's all true. He was one of the most vile, evil men, and yet I barely knew anything about him.
  
  Some passages were very hard to read as they documented the abuse of children, particularly boys.
  
  Very good overall, but it probably could've been a bit longer.
• 
  Ronnie Cramer

  Grim but fascinating account of a murderous rapist.
• 
  Lisa Leonard

  An intense true crime tale about a little known serial killer.
  
  I had listened to a podcast Carl Panzram and was fascinated. They had gotten a lot of their information from this book. Mr Green did not disappoint. Telling this story in an unvarnished and straightforward way made it all the more frightening. The abuse Carl suffered from his parents, the church/“reform” schools, his fellow man and finally the penal system, created the monster he became. And as outraged and angry as I am about his early experiences, it still doesn’t excuse his culpability for the monstrous acts he committed. If you enjoy true crime, this is a great book to read.
• 
  Vicky Peplow

  Murderer in the making
  
  From a young age he was the product of his environment. If you are sensitive to graphic details then this book is not for you.
  I am fascinated with the inner workings of a serial killers mind but he was much, much, more than that.
  In most parts you feel sorry for him and at other times it makes you think he got what he deserved and he eventually thought so too but still went out swinging. Great book.
• 
  Caz Freeman

  True story written more like a story than a documented account
• 
  Jessica

  “A product of a harder time and harsh punishments.”
  
  I have such empathy for the child he was before the man he became. No child should live through the stuff he did before he was 15. And I do think A LOT of that played into who he became. But like the author said, “...there were hundreds of men imprisoned right alongside Carl who never became the monster that he was. There were thousands who lived through the same horrifying childhoods.”
  
  I like this authors writing and will definitely be looking up more books by them but damn this was a hard book to read, a hard book to stomach. This man was a true psychopath, no remorse for anything. And it wasn’t just the acts he committed that were hard to stomach but the attacks committed to him as well. God, humankind is f*cking horrible to one another.
• 
  Sena

  A look into the creation of criminally insane people?
  
  As a small boy, Carl Panzram was molested both sexually and physically by a hypocritical warden in a reform school. When he was kicked out of his house at age 14, he was made to lie with older men as a woman by predatory tramps. Let's add into the mix what was commonly known as 'discipline' from his father in the 1890's. Was this what led to his infamous rampage in later life? This book leads you to think a lot about the Nature V. Nurture debate.
• 
  Ashley Hedden

  Kill 'Em All: A True Story of Abuse, Revenge and the Making of a Monster was another good true crime story by Ryan Green. At eleven years old, Carl Panzram stole a revolver from a neighbor. He was sent to a reform school where he was beaten, humiliated and raped. At fifteen, he lied about his age to join the army. He stole army supplies and was not only dishonorably discharged but also sent to military prison. After he left military prison, he started his reign of terror. This was another good book for any true crime fan. I can't wait to read more by Ryan Green.
• 
  Diana

  A tragic, incredibly difficult tale that I had to put down several times because the details were too gruesome. The terrible things that happened to him, and that he inflicted on others as a result of a lifetime of abuse, are almost impossible to comprehend.
  
  While I thought the book was well-written, it would have easily been boosted to five stars with a little more historical context, as others have noted. The victims are only briefly touched on, then never mentioned again except in passing when Panzram's long rap sheet inevitably comes back to haunt him. One of his crimes, for instance, is noted to have "made headline news, not only in the local papers but the nationals, too." Excerpts from those headlines seem like an obvious inclusion, so their absence is particularly noticeable.
  
  In the same vein, some follow-up as to what happened to his family would have been satisfying, as they're never mentioned again once Panzram leaves home despite playing such a large role in his descent into a life of crime. An even more awkward omission is that of Jimmie Benson, his first partner-in-crime: the author reveals that he was caught and sent to prison while trying to fence some of their stolen goods, then ends his story with the cryptic, "He would never see the light of day again," without going into any detail about what that means. Did he get sentenced to life? Did he die during a shorter prison sentence? When? How? If the author is so confident about his outcome, why not include it?
  
  Despite a few weak spots, the book is a surprisingly thorough and detailed read for its short length. I'd recommend it to those looking to delve into how a relentless killer is shaped, but enough can't be said about how potentially upsetting and triggering it can be, so proceed with caution.
• 
  laito

  I had to take a long break after reading about one of his crimes in Africa. I’ve read endless amounts of articles about this man and listened to podcasts about Carl Panzram because his life fascinates me in the worst way. The author managed to find details I had not heard of before (have not read Panzram’s entire autobiography just yet) and I was not prepared. I have never read something that made my stomach turn, but it did.
  
  It is tragic that we will never know how many victims there were and all of their names. It is tragic that Panzram’s childhood lacked love or any kind of normalcy. At the end of the book, the author writes this: “There were thousands who lived through the same horrifying childhoods. Deep inside Carl there was a seed of darkness that blossomed through his torments, something absent from normal men who merely broke when confronted with such insurmountable pain.” Nature vs. nurture is something I will never be able to solve with Panzram.
  
  
  Carl Panzram was a thief, arsonist, sadist, rapist, murderer, fugitive, and even a pirate. He hated humanity and it did not matter how old you were or what class you were in. Carl Panzram would find a way to get what he wanted. He was sexually and physically abused by a priest at a “reform school.” He robbed President Taft, he became a yacht pirate, he killed a crew of crocodile hunters then fed them to the crocodiles. The only man to ever give him consensual s*x betrayed him later on. He attempted to escape a prison, and when he broke his legs and spine he was brought in for surgery a year later! The doctor was ordered to take off a testicle, thinking he’d calm down like a neutered dog. (This did NOT work.) Skip to death throw and his final words:
  
  “Hurry it up, you Hosier bastard. I could’ve hung ten men in the time it took you to tie that knot.”
  
  May he rot in hell.