Brief Book Reviews: March 2026

Popular Books Relevant to Mental Health

Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit

Michael Finkel; Vintage; 2017

224 pages; $18 (paperback)

Reviewed by Edmund S. Higgins, MD

In central Maine, in an isolated heavily wooded area, surrounding a large pond, lay about 300 rustic cabins primarily used by families during the summer warmth. In the late 1980s, the residents began to notice that items were missing from their vacation homes: batteries, food, warm clothing, books, propane tanks, as well as odd items such as kitchen utensils, tools, and even a mattress. It slowly became apparent that someone was climbing in the windows and stealing from the desolate summer homes. It continued year after year without any indication of the culprit. The residents blamed each other, local teenagers, and their own memories . . . “Did I really leave steaks in the freezer?”

Motion activated cameras eventually captured pictures of a clean-shaven man peering into a refrigerator. The police were confident the intruder would be quickly captured, but no one could identify him. They called him the North Pond Hermit. It went on for decades. Finally, a motivated game warden, set alarms and cornered the criminal. But he was not your common thief.

Christopher Knight, at the age of 21, walked into the dense forest around the North Pond, and lived in a tent for 27 years. He went to extraordinary measures to evade detection, risked frostbite and starvation during the long Maine winters, and did not touch another human—or even have a conversation with anyone—during his extended, self-inflicted, solitary confinement.

As we psychiatrists and mental health clinicians know, maybe more than other physicians, we are tribal animals who thrive on relationships. Our social connections are essential to our survival, as well as physical and mental health. Yet Knight seemed to thrive in extreme isolation and regressed when brought back to civilization. In our clinics, we often see patients who struggle in the absence of good relationships or as a result of the loss of social support. Many of us “prescribe” the cultivation of quality relationships as part of our standard treatment. Stranger in the Woods is a case study of an individual who thrived in social isolation.

Knight’s criminal behavior is another issue that emerges in this story. He was, after all, stealing from the neighbors. They were not amused and many were frightened by the prospect of an unseen predator secretly watching from the shadows. So, although he was socially isolated, Knight was dependent on the modern industrial products purchased by his neighbors. He was, in fact, not a true hermit.

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession

Michael Finkel; Knopf; 2023

240 pages; $18 (paperback)

Reviewed by Edmund S. Higgins, MD

Michael Finkel tells marvelous stories of unusual characters who like to steal. You would not want them as neighbors. They invest considerable energy and time plotting their crimes, but otherwise lead leisurely lives sponging off the work of others. Finkel’s characters do not contribute to the general good of sociality, but the stories make for wonderful reading.

Stéphane Bréitwieser lived in France in his mother’s apartment, rarely worked, and lived off the support of his mother and the French welfare system. His girlfriend worked as a nursing assistant, and also contributed to the house hold finances, as well as serving as an accomplish on his crime sprees. The Art Thief is a fascinating case study of an accomplished criminal, lacking the moral norms of society, and feeling entitled. The psychological evaluations provide interesting material for those of us in the business.

The author’s interest in these cases may stem, in part, from his own dark side. Finkel was fired from the New York Times when it was discovered that he had fabricated a character in his report on child slavery in West Africa. Apparently, he had combined several boys into a single person—a practice typically called fiction. This story is described in Finkel’s first book, True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa,which was later made into a movie. So, one wonders, what draws Finkel to these characters? Subtle hints of his interest in moral blurring and self-justification appear in both books.

Dr Higgins is an affiliate associate professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.