The Man in the Rockefeller Suit

BookSpin review by Doni Molony

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter
by Mark Seal
Viking Press
Penguin
June 2011  $26.95
323 pages, 18 pgs. illustrations


This is the mesmerizing true story of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, aka Clark Rockefeller, who came to the U.S. in 1978 as a seventeen-year-old German citizen, then perpetuated an elaborately fabricated scam that lasted for 30 years. Mark Seal spent 2 years interviewing 200+ people for this book, which details the relentless scheming of a psychopathic grifter. It culminates in Rockefeller's conviction for the kidnapping of his daughter after a bitter divorce, and his indictment in March of 2011 for the murder of John Sohus.

The audacity of Clark Rockefeller frankly astounded me. How could so many erudite individuals: business leaders, doctors, lawyers, professors, art dealers, historians, and members of California, New York and Boston society's elite have been so completely duped by the guile of this faux aristocrat? This cunning poseur with the lockjaw accent?

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit reads like a thriller. It is a fast-paced, intriguing story that caused me to do something I've never done before. Ever. When I finished the last page, I turned it over and began re-reading again at page one. Not simply because of the frenetic pace of his "thousand piece jigsaw puzzle of a life," but because I was left with unanswered questions. Why did it take to long for anyone to figure out Rockefeller's con?

This is a hypnotic story complete with blue-blood, high stakes, big money, kidnapping, murder, and a larger-than-life outcome for the good guys. The Boston DA's said in closing, "the DSM IV (Diagnotic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) does not have a diagnosis for liar."

Highly recommended.

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About the Author: Mark Seal is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, and the author of Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Death in Africa. Seals was a 2010 National Magazine Award Finalist for his Vanity Fair profile of Clark Rockefeller. He lives in Aspen, Colorado.