Wasted: The Preppie Murder
by Linda Wolfe
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Description
In this New York Times Notable Book, acclaimed true-crime journalist Linda Wolfe delivers a riveting, comprehensive account of the Preppie Murder, a crime that shocked a city and a nationIt was called the Preppie Murder—a killer and a victim who were attractive, smart, privileged teenagers. On an August night in 1986 Jennifer Levin left a Manhattan bar with Robert Chambers. The next morning, her strangled, battered body was found in Central Park.
Linda Wolfe, hailed by critic John show more Leonard as "one of our best reporters," goes beyond the headlines and media hype to re-create a story of privilege and excess, sex and partying—of a teenager whose immigrant mother was determined to make a better life for her son, a petty thief and drug user who'd been expelled from the best schools. It's all here, from the initial police investigation, during which Chambers claimed Levin died accidentally during rough sex, to the media frenzy of the courtroom, where Chambers took an eleventh-hour plea. Wolfe also delivers heartbreaking portraits of Levin's grief-stricken father, Chambers's in-denial mother, and the women who dated the accused Preppie Killer while he was out on bail.
A finalist for the 1990 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, Wasted also powerfully depicts the freewheeling 1980s society that spawned a generation steeped in violence and the fatal impulses that drove Robert Chambers to kill.
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Member Reviews
Jennifer Levin was found dead in Central Park and the NYPD found their suspect in Robert Chambers. Although they were both raised on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, they ended up on very different paths. Jennifer was a friendly empathetic person who had a bright future ahead of her while Robert was on the fast path to jail. Jennifer ended up dead and Robert ended up exactly where he belonged.
This case was huge when I was growing up in New York. You couldn't see a news program without hearing about the Preppie Murder. Wolfe did a wonderful job of telling the story of Jennifer and Robert's lives and how they slowly came to intertwine. Linda Wolfe takes us through Robert's lies and confession and how they played out in court. She also show more takes on the way the media and those who had an opinion on the case felt that "victim blaming" was the way to go because Jennifer was not a girl that sat there and was quiet. show less
This case was huge when I was growing up in New York. You couldn't see a news program without hearing about the Preppie Murder. Wolfe did a wonderful job of telling the story of Jennifer and Robert's lives and how they slowly came to intertwine. Linda Wolfe takes us through Robert's lies and confession and how they played out in court. She also show more takes on the way the media and those who had an opinion on the case felt that "victim blaming" was the way to go because Jennifer was not a girl that sat there and was quiet. show less
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Author Information
21 Works 814 Members
Linda Wolfe is the author of several books, including the Edgar Awardnominated Wasted. She lives in New York City
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Robert Chambers; Jennifer Levin
- Important places
- New York, New York, USA; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, USA; Central Park, New York, New York, USA
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government
- DDC/MDS
- 364.1 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Crime Criminal offenses
- LCC
- HV6534 .N5 .W65 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Crimes and offenses
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 83
- Popularity
- 382,823
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.18)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 13
- ASINs
- 1
