Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Another excellent book by Robert Ressler. If you want to understand the basics of what makes a serial killer become a serial killer. this is the book for you. No you wont become a profiler after you have finished the book, but you will gain a greater understanding of the phenomenon. I highly recommend this book.
Robert Ressler is one of the founders of the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI. This story is both a history of his career as well as a history of the start of the BAU (I think they use a different name in reality, but Criminal Minds has incepted me) and how it developed. This was fascinating. Granted, the people he's met over the course of his career are horrible as they are serial killers and there are some graphic descriptions of just what horrible things they did to their victims, but if you can get past that it's all very interesting.
I had a long, beautiful review typed out and my goodreads app decided to only pretend to publish it. -_- I'll try again...
So I read this book when I was very young. Early teens or before. Back when I still wanted to catch killers instead of write about fictitious ones. This. Book. Changed my life. It is what made me want to go into profiling rather than forensics. It is the reason I fell so hard for the show Criminal Minds (even though I know profilers don't actually do all the things they do on the show). I had already done research on a number of the cases he was involved in, and learning everything from a profiler's view was astounding. I was particularly intrigued by his interview with Manson. This book has sat with me over the years and it is really such a fantastic read. Especially for those interested in such a topic. Definitely one I highly recommend. Brilliant novel. Will read again.
So I read this book when I was very young. Early teens or before. Back when I still wanted to catch killers instead of write about fictitious ones. This. Book. Changed my life. It is what made me want to go into profiling rather than forensics. It is the reason I fell so hard for the show Criminal Minds (even though I know profilers don't actually do all the things they do on the show). I had already done research on a number of the cases he was involved in, and learning everything from a profiler's view was astounding. I was particularly intrigued by his interview with Manson. This book has sat with me over the years and it is really such a fantastic read. Especially for those interested in such a topic. Definitely one I highly recommend. Brilliant novel. Will read again.
Serial killers
Studied for the FBI
Lost my appetite
Studied for the FBI
Lost my appetite
2.5 - really interesting perspective. But....SOOOO repetitive. Example: I skipped about 20 pages at the end when he re-summarized Kemper's whole history. Did he forget he already told us AT LENGTH about him earlier in the book?!
This was so fascinating. I loved it. Just skim over the occasional paragraph of stroking his own ego and you'll love it.
Made it about 80% of the way but should have stopped much earlier. The topic is fascinating but the author is miserable. He is incredibly self absorbed and every chapter included paragraphs celebrating his greatness; it completely ruined the experience for me. Additionally there was a lot is misogyny and homophobia spread throughout the book that compounded my annoyance with the author. It's a shame because the information on serial killer profiling is interesting.
The book is a bit chaotic, has certain elements that may seem old-fashioned today, but it presents a fascinating perspective on the realities of profiling and the FBI.
This book as fascinating. It pulled me in from page one, and didn't let go until the end. The author had quite an amazing career, and interacted with many infamous people.
If you are looking for detailed stories about the murderers he has spoken to, this is not the book for you. I suggest someone more like Anne Rule. If, however, you are into the "behind the scenes" of how it all works, I highly recommend Mr. Ressler's book.
If you are looking for detailed stories about the murderers he has spoken to, this is not the book for you. I suggest someone more like Anne Rule. If, however, you are into the "behind the scenes" of how it all works, I highly recommend Mr. Ressler's book.
Y'all, I really, really wanted to like this book. At first glance, it's exactly up my ally (I love true crime, I'm fascinated by serial killers, psychology/profiling is super cool).
But I just couldn't get behind this one. My main problems, I think, were:
1. The style of writing was just...sub-par, for me. I tried to be lenient in my thinking here because I know Ressler wasn't a writer, he was a crime guy writing about being a crime guy. Still, a lot of this was just hard for me to get through. This was my main gripe. I was just really not drawn into this writing and it made it really hard for me to stay engaged. Written differently, I know I could have really loved a book like this.
2. The self-aggrandizing bits of this were...something else. I get that this was autobiographical and I fully accept that he did wonders for how we study the criminal mind, but there were passages in here that were just A LOT. Like, ok fam, we get it, you're a hero, no need to devote massive passages to patting yourself on the back.
3. I was kind of bored by a lot of this because I already knew the information. I realize this isn't the fault of anyone but me for being so obsessed with true crime and doesn't really speak to the quality of the book, but I thought it was worth noting anyway for other true-crime fans. I sort of expected this to be less an overview of really popular murderers (Bundy, Kemper, Speck, etc) and more an in depth explanation of what goes into profiling and it wasn't that.
Despite the fact that I totally struggled to finish this book (not gonna lie, I skimmed the last 1/4th of the thing) I'm giving it three stars because I think that the topic is compelling and I think this book would probably be better suited for someone who is maybe looking for an introduction to true crime (if you're a true murderino freak like me, don't bother, because you are already familiar with half this text).
But I just couldn't get behind this one. My main problems, I think, were:
1. The style of writing was just...sub-par, for me. I tried to be lenient in my thinking here because I know Ressler wasn't a writer, he was a crime guy writing about being a crime guy. Still, a lot of this was just hard for me to get through. This was my main gripe. I was just really not drawn into this writing and it made it really hard for me to stay engaged. Written differently, I know I could have really loved a book like this.
2. The self-aggrandizing bits of this were...something else. I get that this was autobiographical and I fully accept that he did wonders for how we study the criminal mind, but there were passages in here that were just A LOT. Like, ok fam, we get it, you're a hero, no need to devote massive passages to patting yourself on the back.
3. I was kind of bored by a lot of this because I already knew the information. I realize this isn't the fault of anyone but me for being so obsessed with true crime and doesn't really speak to the quality of the book, but I thought it was worth noting anyway for other true-crime fans. I sort of expected this to be less an overview of really popular murderers (Bundy, Kemper, Speck, etc) and more an in depth explanation of what goes into profiling and it wasn't that.
Despite the fact that I totally struggled to finish this book (not gonna lie, I skimmed the last 1/4th of the thing) I'm giving it three stars because I think that the topic is compelling and I think this book would probably be better suited for someone who is maybe looking for an introduction to true crime (if you're a true murderino freak like me, don't bother, because you are already familiar with half this text).