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Product Description
Product Description
We've all heard so much about the killers who grab the front pages, the ones whose crimes are so appalling that they exert a strange fascination on many people. But we rarely get to hear about what these people are like behind the headlines. Until now that is. Criminologist Christopher Berry-Dee goes behind bars to get the last word from some of the worst criminals in the world. They speak of their violence and shocking deeds in their own words, from within some of the hardest prisons on earth. These interviews have been collated into this disturbing and unflinching analysis of the criminal mind. Here is what happens when you meet the people most of us know only from our nightmares and newspaper headlines. These are the killers' stories, in their words. Be prepared for a journey into the darkest possible side of human nature.
About the Author
Christopher Berry-Dee is a renowned investigative criminologist, and the editor of The New Criminologist magazine. He visits prisons to interview some of the most disturbed murderers who are behind bars, gaining their trust and delving into the depths of their minds.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Smaller than I imagined, he bustles into the interview room, shackled and scrubbed as clean as a new pin. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Smaller than I imagined, he bustles into the interview room, shackled and scrubbed as clean as a new pin. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This is a good read, not very thorough, but it's you're after an in depth look into these particular killers then I would suggest buying a book written solely about them. HOWEVER this book is exactly the same as Talking With Serial Killers 2, which I'm quite annoyed about, but these things happen. Do not purchase this if you already own the second TWSK.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well what can I say, if you are interested in the process of trying to find out what makes these monsters tick so we can completly make them disapear from this earth, in that case the book is medium ok. It does not go deep into the psycology of these perpertrators, what it does is tell a story about the crime/crimes, and a small bit about why. Not enough in my taste but like everything else taste is not the same for everyone.
Read the book and you will know what I mean.
This is evil, evil beings on earth. I do not care if they had a rough childhood. We all make a choice.
Read the book and you will know what I mean.
This is evil, evil beings on earth. I do not care if they had a rough childhood. We all make a choice.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
mostly good
1 May 2008
Format:Paperback
Overall, I felt this book was a good one. It's obviously an interesting subject (though occasionally horrifying), and the author provides a great amount of detail and insight into the childhoods, early adulthood, and early murders of the subjects in question. Also included are some very telling quotations by the murderers themselves.
However, I felt that some of the author narrative was distracting and occasionally far-fetched. He seems to cling to the idea that these killers are 'two-sided', or, as he sometimes describes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While it would certainly be comforting to think that there was a part of these individuals that was separate and untouched by their homicidal urges and sado-sexual impulses, I personally find it unlikely. The fact that John Gacy was an active and often productive member of society does not mean that the productive part of him was separated from the part that raped and killed teenage boys. We would all like to think that we would be able to tell someone with these sort of violent tendencies, but at least in Gacy's case, it was not evident at all to the individuals in the community he served. They valued, rewarded, and took pride in his place in their society and he often did things that were beneficial to the community at large. He also happened to be a murderer. I do not think that these things are mutually exclusive simply because we want them to be, because we want to believe that no community could love and praise a man who was killing their young boys. But there's little evidence to truly support such a claim, and the author stretches toward the idea that there are two Gacy's, the good and the evil one. Frankly, I found it to be grasping at straws. This theme of 'the evil side' seems to carry through to other murderers in the book, as well. It struck me more that the author is trying very hard to be clever, and while he often succeeds at sounding intelligent, well-informed, and plausible with his beliefs - there is the occasional moment of discord when he makes a statement that just doesn't seem right.
Aside from stylistic annoyances, though, I think the book was overall a great read and very compelling. It's a broad look at several serial killers, and the subjects chosen were particularly good for the purpose of the book. Covered are John Gacy, Kenneth Bianchi, William Heirens, John Cannan, and Patricia Wright. I would recommend it to people interested in knowing a bit more about this darker side of humanity. Of course, and I imagine this goes without saying, this may be a difficult read for people who have a low tolerance for violent imagery. Although the details of the crimes are quite appropriately clinical, one can't help envisioning them as they read and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it for the weak of heart.
However, I felt that some of the author narrative was distracting and occasionally far-fetched. He seems to cling to the idea that these killers are 'two-sided', or, as he sometimes describes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While it would certainly be comforting to think that there was a part of these individuals that was separate and untouched by their homicidal urges and sado-sexual impulses, I personally find it unlikely. The fact that John Gacy was an active and often productive member of society does not mean that the productive part of him was separated from the part that raped and killed teenage boys. We would all like to think that we would be able to tell someone with these sort of violent tendencies, but at least in Gacy's case, it was not evident at all to the individuals in the community he served. They valued, rewarded, and took pride in his place in their society and he often did things that were beneficial to the community at large. He also happened to be a murderer. I do not think that these things are mutually exclusive simply because we want them to be, because we want to believe that no community could love and praise a man who was killing their young boys. But there's little evidence to truly support such a claim, and the author stretches toward the idea that there are two Gacy's, the good and the evil one. Frankly, I found it to be grasping at straws. This theme of 'the evil side' seems to carry through to other murderers in the book, as well. It struck me more that the author is trying very hard to be clever, and while he often succeeds at sounding intelligent, well-informed, and plausible with his beliefs - there is the occasional moment of discord when he makes a statement that just doesn't seem right.
Aside from stylistic annoyances, though, I think the book was overall a great read and very compelling. It's a broad look at several serial killers, and the subjects chosen were particularly good for the purpose of the book. Covered are John Gacy, Kenneth Bianchi, William Heirens, John Cannan, and Patricia Wright. I would recommend it to people interested in knowing a bit more about this darker side of humanity. Of course, and I imagine this goes without saying, this may be a difficult read for people who have a low tolerance for violent imagery. Although the details of the crimes are quite appropriately clinical, one can't help envisioning them as they read and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it for the weak of heart.
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