Wicked Adirondacks

by Dennis Webster

While the Adirondack Mountains are New York's most beautiful region, they have also been plagued by insidious crimes and the nasty escapades of notorious lawbreakers. In 1935, public enemy number one, Dutch Schultz, went on trial and was acquitted in an Adirondack courtroom. Crooks have tried creative methods to sidestep forestry laws that protect the flora of the state park. Members of the infamous Windfall Gang, led by Charles Wadsworth, terrorized towns and hid out in the high mountains until their dramatic 1899 capture. In the 1970s, the Adirondack Serial Killer, Robert Francis Garrow, petrified campers in the hills. Join local author Dennis Webster as he explores the wicked deeds and sinister characters hidden among the Adirondacks' peaks.

Genres: History

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2013

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume has a lot in common with other books of local lore. The writing and editing proved sketchy at times, and the more substantive sections of the book cover subjects that have been thoroughly explored previously. Add to that the inadequate maps, an odd rant on acid rain, and the steep price, and I'm left wishing I'd looked for this one in the library. The few interesting details weren't enough for my taste.

[Ace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because I am from the Adirondacks - the book had some interesting content. But that didn’t make up for the fact that it was poorly written and quite disorganized. I’m glad I got this from my library and didn’t pay for it.

[Diana McNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading local stories while touring an area, eye opening stuff in this, all true! Very entertaining, easy read, and each story is in it's own chapter so good for those times when you want a short read.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot of local history in this book. It was an interesting book.

[Nick Vantangoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!!

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the darker part of the Adirondacks! Great stories and well written.

[Amanda Stab · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to stop after a racist ramble about a guy that just loved killing Indians turned into both sides-ing slavery.

[Emily Austin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The history was.... Interesting. But the writing was so bad. I felt like I was reading a high schoolers essay. It was redundant, repetitive, and not at all organized. There were grammatical and syntax errors scattered throughout. A quote from the book;

"Chester attempted to appeal his sentence and received a message from his mother saying, “Have courage and trust in God.” There must have been a slight tinge of guilt or fear of being cooked alive in the electric chair in Auburn, as Sheriff Richards revealed that the doomed youth attempted to commit suicide by manipulating a gas line to a heater near his cell. When he was moved out, the gas leak was discovered and fixed. The theory was that Chester wanted to die from inhaling gas to keep from going into the chair."

I mean, obviously? Why else would he tamper with the gas line. I hate being so harshly critical of writings that are local, but this was just plain bad.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wicked Adirondacks provides colorful accounts of the most infamous crimes committed in the region - all of which took place decades ago. Webster uses a folksy tone as he recants many of the high profile incidents. If you like history and true crime stories, you'll likely find this an engaging, quick read. But at times, the author seems to get overly romantic describing unfortunate events and their villains.