- Mass Market Paperback: 296 pages
- Publisher: Virgin Books; 1st edition edition (9 May 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753506963
- ISBN-13: 978-0753506967
- Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 10.9 x 2.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 634,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
I'll Be Watching You
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Product Description
Product Description
What drives one person to become obsessed with another - someone they may never even have met? And what happens when the obsessions of unbalanced misfits, desperate loners and aggrieved ex-partners spiral out of control? Stalking is on the increase - and it isn't only celebrities who become the targets of irrational individuals. Men and women with everyday jobs who lead ordinary lives can just as easily become someone else's obsession. Each year, hundreds of people fall victim to terrifying harrassment by people they may have never met. Richard Gallagher has researched this disturbing phenomenon to provide a serious investigation into this unsettling but intriguing crime. Featuring interviews with victims, police, psychologists - and those who "stalk stalkers" - he has unearthed accounts of obsession and delusion.
From the Publisher
'These things only happen in films. In normal life people just don't behave like this.' So thought one of the victims of obsessive stalking in Richard Gallagher's book. Unfortunately she was wrong. In this case, the stalker went from being content with an occasional cup of tea and a chat to becoming a daily menace in the life of his victim, resulting in the breakdown of her marriage and her employers refusing to believe the abuse she was suffering. Disbelief is the natural reaction to the obsessions of a disturbed and deluded mind; especially when their behaviour is so far-fetched, so unwarranted, that it simply defies reason. I'll Be Watching You is a sensitive and thorough investigation into the crime, covering this chilling phenomenon from the first reported case through to the events that led up to the killing of Jill Dando. This is an important book - written with the co-operation of some of the survivors of horrific and irrational crimes.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a book that does exactly what it says on the tin, tells the story of stalkers and their victims. Included are some high-profile cases - Mark Chapman's fatal stalking of John Lennon, the Jill Dando murder, for example - but mostly the book recounts stories you won't have met before, ordinary citizens living ordinary lives until some other apparently ordinary citizen develops a pathological fixation.
In most hands this subject would be sensationalized to within an inch of its life. What makes this book so good is that its author recounts the facts with full journalistic detail but in a voice that never rises above those of the main characters. The facts really do speak for themselves, often in the form of chilling correspondence from predator to prey.
And those facts are often bewildering. Take Jeremy, who for years stalked a female presenter on his local TV channel. Among the masses of letters, cards and scripts, some of them complete with frightening illustrations, Jeremy sent her advice about what to do - if ever she had a stalker. This is the most common of all the phenomena, and the most baffling: the stalker's delusion that this is a relationship, that his feelings are reciprocated, that his actions are entirely natural and justified. A form of love. And if you thought stalking was a modern phenomenon, there's the story of Richard Archer Prince who became obsessed with the actor William Terriss and eventually stabbed him to death - in 1897.
'I'll Be Watching You' is a sensitive psychological study without any of the usual pitfalls, the psycho-babble and prurience and manufactured outrage. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the criminal mind or simply in the weirder manifestations of human behaviour.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Not at all dry and hard to get through but an interesting and often staggering book to read, giving insights into celebrity stalkers as well as those of ordinary people..... and the lengths some stalkers went to is just incredible.
Seems to be the case that if you're too considerate a person to the feelings of others when you are breaking up with them then you leave yourself open to them thinking they can get you back if they keep trying especially if they are a tad unstable.
One of the survivors says you should be straight and cut things off full stop when you split up to prevent the other person thinking they stand a chance of getting you back. After what they went through I think it is valuable advice.
Seems to be the case that if you're too considerate a person to the feelings of others when you are breaking up with them then you leave yourself open to them thinking they can get you back if they keep trying especially if they are a tad unstable.
One of the survivors says you should be straight and cut things off full stop when you split up to prevent the other person thinking they stand a chance of getting you back. After what they went through I think it is valuable advice.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
good overview but lacking more essential content
6 Jan 2002
Format:Hardcover
This is a very accessible book that describes stalking exclusively from the perspective of the victim. Dozens of stalking cases--of men and women, current and historical, famous and "everyday people," romantic and non-romantic motives, in person and via computer--are included. It is a good overview of stalkers' motivtes, their victims, methods, and impact on the victims. There is also a short (too short) chapter on cyber-stalking, a very new venue, and the author includes some good tips on how to avoid attracting the interest of a stalker in the first place and what to do if you've got a stalker after you.
However, readers should be aware that the book focuses primarily on British cases and describes British law. There are a few American cases but not many. So if you want something specific to America, this isn't your book.
The book also focuses exclusively on the victims. If you're looking for reasons why stalkers exist and what motivates them, this book will leave you empty-handed. And, unfortunately, this void is what most detracts from a higher rating of this book. While the stories of stalking victims is of some interest, knowing motives and medical/psychological treatment of stalkers would be of greater interest and, IMHO, would be a more important contribution at this time.
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