“Übermensch” by D.L. Scarpe (pronounced: Dee-Elle Skar-pay) has been released worldwide. This 307-page novel is a fictionalized version of the infamous 1924 Leopold and Loeb case, where two affluent young men kidnapped and murdered a fourteen-year-old boy and subsequently took part in a high-profile court proceeding dubbed the “trial of the century” by the media of the time.
The novel follows Noah “Babe” Lieberman (a fictionalized Nathan Leopold) and Roman “Manny” Loewe (a fictionalized Richard Loeb), telling the complex story of their relationship, early crimes, obsession with Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of the “Übermensch” or superman, the murder that put them in the national spotlight, and their resulting imprisonment. Told from Lieberman’s perspective, Scarpe’s writing brings readers inside the killers’ minds and examines their attitudes about society, philosophy, and “committing the perfect crime.”
While the story is a work of fiction, the author diligently researched court records, transcripts, interviews, news stories, and beyond to faithfully reconstruct timelines, major events, key players, and the environment of 1920s Chicago to ground the story in historical accuracy.
Beneath the crime and chaos, the novel is an exploration of destructive behavior. From petty theft to arson, through planning a kidnapping and murder, Scarpe shows the escalation of thrill-seeking, the twisted logic of transcending societal rules, and the long consequences of horrific choices.
A fascinating take on a truly notorious moment in history, this compelling, detailed narrative brings the Leopold and Loeb case to life and raises poignant questions about why such terrible crimes occur.
Übermensch (ISBN: 9781963844733 / 9781963844283) can be purchased through retailers worldwide, including Barnes & Noble and Amazon. The hardcover retails for $25.99, the paperback retails for $17.99, and the ebook retails for $3.99. Review copies and interviews are available upon request.
From the back cover:
“A murdered boy. Tortoiseshell eyeglasses. A letter written by one young man to another that reads like a lover’s spat. One portable Underwood typewriter. Two confessions. Will Babe and Manny live or die?”
It’s the early 1920s and arrogant teenagers Noah “Babe” Lieberman and Roman “Manny” Loewe have it all: money, brains, freedom. They reside in the same affluent Chicago neighborhood, come from successful, respectable families, and enjoy privileged lives. Both are intelligent prodigies who graduated high school early. But Roman, an extrovert, is handsome and popular whereas Noah is average-looking and spends most of his time with birds and books. After meeting, they embark on a wild journey of vandalism, burglary, and arson. Their personal relationship escalates, and their criminal acts morph into more sinister behavior as the two flout the laws of the “common” man and live their version of the Übermensch, or “superman” as defined by Friedrich Nietzsche.
One hundred years ago, the world was stunned to learn that Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two wealthy, brilliant university students, had confessed to kidnapping and murdering fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks. Why did Leopold and Loeb do it? For “pure love of excitement, or the imaginary love of thrills, doing something different,” they said.
D.L. Scarpe’s Übermensch fictionalizes the Leopold and Loeb case, focusing on the reason why the gifted teenagers’ lives took such an unexpected turn, destroyed three families, and captivated the country in what was dubbed at the time as the “crime of the century.”
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