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The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and its Analysis, by the "Moors Murderer"
 
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The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and its Analysis, by the "Moors Murderer" (Hardcover)

by Ian Brady (Author), Colin Wilson (Introduction)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
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Frequently Bought Together

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Price For All Three: £20.55

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 311 pages
  • Publisher: Feral House,U.S. (1 Nov 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0922915733
  • ISBN-13: 978-0922915736
  • Product Dimensions: 20.6 x 13.2 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 147,652 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Synopsis

An Extraordinary Publishing Event from One of the World's Most Cutting-Edge Publishers; 'The Moors Murders,' the case of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley and their torture and murder of four children and a teenager in the early 1960s, are thought to be the most appalling crimes ever committed in the UK. Despite the fact that they have been in prison for almost 40 years, their every activity remains a constant source of interest to the media and to the general public. This highly controversial book, a full-length work written by Brady himself, came about after Colin Wilson suggested that he analyse serial murder in an attempt to come to terms with the crimes he and Hindley committed. Based on his readings, his observations of other incarcerated murderers and his own life story, Brady's work is both psychological and philosophical; it does not, in any sense, glorify his and Hindley's crimes but presents a fascinating look into the mind of a murderer. Clearly of major interest to the general reader, this astonishing and remarkable book will also be essential reading for psychologists, forensic scientists and anyone concerned with the workings of the criminal mind.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fatally flawed, brutally honest and utterly compelling., 6 Dec 2001
By A Customer
The predictable media outrage surrounding publication of this book threatens to do every serious reader a great disservice. Far from an 'autobiography' of any description (Brady barely even alludes to his own crimes other than in the abstract), this reads more like a philosophical tract, albeit with the serial killer at its centre. The bitterness and often near-paranoia suffusing almost every page might be inevitable, but is also a real shame; many of Brady's insights are searingly brilliant, as is a good deal of the writing. Here is an author not driven by profit or the desire to advance a literary career - Brady seems to be obeying a psychological and intellectual imperative. The results are quite extraordinary.
The passion and urgency with which Brady writes and his necessarily idiosynchratic vantage point make this a unique document. He is lucid and articulate throughout, having clearly made good use of his prison library card in the thirty five years since his incarceration in what he describes as the 'garbage can'.
Whatever you think of Brady and his ruthless creed, it's difficult to simply dismiss what appears to be his central if not his only attack on humanity: man's pitiful failure to establish an individual morality. Many of his views echo Nietzsche; Brady talks at length about the herd mentality and the weakness of self-delusion prevalent in our society. Indeed, he takes full advantage throughout of the license to provoke that his hopeless position obviously gives him.
No matter what your view on Brady's beliefs, you should at least make your own mind up about this admirable and powerful dissection of mankind's most destructive impulses; some of the most uncomfortable journeys are also the most rewarding.
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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, 18 Jan 2002
By A Customer
I immediately bought this book the day it was released. As an amateur criminal psychologist this book was a must see and, to be honest, it was a little bit of both a let down and surprise.
The first part of the book is mainly centered on Brady and his attitudes towards both society and the authorities. He tends to drone on about how corrupt and hypocritical society and the law is and he also tends to ridicule the general public, whom he considers to be the largely uneducated masses. It is a little dull and pointless to say the least.
However, in the second part of his book, Brady becomes the criminal psychologist, analysing and explaining past serial killers in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and this is the fascinating part. Brady analyses and explains their actions in a most professional and objective manner. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most fascinating analysis there is.

This book is a must purchase for all those interested in the criminal mind and it is written by a man who knows exactly what he is talking about.

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46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Well written, yes, illuminating? Pass, 10 Oct 2003
By A Customer
Brady's book throws up a number of contradictions, mostly problematic. The first seven chapters seem to be Brady's attempt at clarifying his own philosophy and outlook, especially regarding 'moral relativism'. Unsurprisingly, his argument mostly centres around the 'all human beings are animals and capable of acts of savagery' schtick. While not a particularly original subject, Brady does write very passionately, in a witty and rhythmic style, and comes across as both articulate and well-versed in his proposals - at times I even forgot that the 'monstrous' Brady we see depicted in the tabloids was the actual author. Yes, the serial killer is derided as a twisted, sick individual, mainly for his working class status, whereas heads of government, banks, judges, senior police chiefs and multinational corporations are free to start wars, oppress social minorities, destroy the environment and kill their enemies at will, whilst justifying their work as 'being in the public interest' or 'just business, nothing personal'. If Brady is trying (and I suspect he is, to an extent) to present some sort of class overtones to his self-justifications (ie- the rich screw over the poor so therefore the poor have a right to lash back through crime), this direction is bound to fail miserably. Brady and Hindley murdered working class children and teenagers.

The remaining chapters are supposedly dedicated to psychological profiles of key UK and US serial killers. I found it personally ironic that, at the start of the book, Brady attacks those crime writers and media hacks who have covered this subject for 'sensationalising' the crimes and criminals they purport to despise, as his own accounts seemed to gravitate this way as well. Starting off well with some interesting observations on John Wayne Gacy, Peter Sutcliffe and Graham Young, Brady soon descends into the kind of sensational story-telling he claims to loathe. I got quite bored by the time I'd finished the chapter on Richard Ramirez, and began to skim through the rest of the killers, wondering when Brady would hit me with something I hadn't read before in myriad forms.

Ultimately, Brady's argument that serial killers refuse to be grey blobs on the canvas of life, and that their 'will to power' is comparable to wild streaks of colour, a celebration of life through art, is bankrupt. Plenty of people reject humdrum lives and do their own thing, without the need to enslave or control others. Nor do their lives necessarily end up being wasted in a solitary cell. Brady is incapable of grasping the fact that he has fulfilled a social role just as much as the 9-5 bank clerk and the ruthless media hack, proudly displaying his 'outsider' uniform as if it meant he had escaped the 'common herd' for good. Instead, it becomes clear that despite his grandiose declarations, Brady himself has been played by the very game he intended to rig for his own pleasure.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
This book might sound interesting but really is really rather dull and boring. It's one long angry rant from beginning to end. Read more
Published 7 months ago by D. Doyle

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!
People can say what they like about Ian Brady, yes he comitted evil acts "Beyond Belief" and should never be released but he can be and is being punished, he cannon't enjoy the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jake M

1.0 out of 5 stars gates of janus
i am really interested in true crime books, i am now finishing a degree in psychology and criminology, and find reading true crime both fascinating and useful to my studies... Read more
Published on 13 May 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Forensic classical psychology
In coming from the same place and time as Ian, the words and the imagery come straight at you later. Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2004 by paula

5.0 out of 5 stars Compellingly readable. Painfully honest
Brady uses his book to provoke, outrage and condemn Society. Ian Brady's crimes are notorious. But in my opinion this doesn't make his controversial views on Society less... Read more
Published on 16 Jul 2002 by L. S. Sinclair

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