The true story of Ira Einhorn, the Philadelphia antiwar crusader,
environmental activist, and New Age guru with a murderous dark side.
During the cultural shockwaves of the 1960s and '70s, Ira Einhorn -
nicknamed the "Unicorn" - was the leading radical voice for the antiwar
movement at the University of Pennsylvania. At his side were such noted
activists as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. A brilliantly articulate
advocate for peace in a turbulent era, he rallied followers toward the
growing antiestablishment causes of free love, drugs, and radical
ecological reform.
In 1979, when the mummified remains of his girlfriend, Holly Maddux, a
Bryn Mawr flower child from Tyler, Texas, were found in a trunk in his
apartment, Einhorn claimed a CIA frame-up. Incredibly, the network of
influential friends, socialites, and powerful politicians he'd charmed
and manipulated over the years supported him. Represented by renowned
district attorney and future senator Arlen Specter, Einhorn was released
on bail. But before trial, he fled the country to an idyllic town in the
French wine region and disappeared. It would take more than 20 years -
and two trials - to finally bring Einhorn to justice.
Based on more than two years of research and 250 interviews, as well as
the chilling private journals of Einhorn and Maddux, prize-winning
journalist Steven Levy paints an astonishing and complicated portrait of
a man motivated by both genius and rage. The basis for 1998 NBC
television miniseries The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, The Unicorn's
Secret is a "spellbinding sociological/true crime study", revealing the
dark and tragic dimensions of a man who defined an era, only to shatter
its ideals (Publishers Weekly).
