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5th out of 52 books
—
115 voters
Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters
The comprehensive examination into the frightening history of serial homicide.
In this unique book, Peter Vronsky documents the psychological, investigative, and cultural aspects of serial murder, beginning with its first recorded instance in Ancient Rome, through fifteenth-century France, up to such notorious contemporary cases as cannibal/necrophile Ed Kemper, Henry Lee...more
In this unique book, Peter Vronsky documents the psychological, investigative, and cultural aspects of serial murder, beginning with its first recorded instance in Ancient Rome, through fifteenth-century France, up to such notorious contemporary cases as cannibal/necrophile Ed Kemper, Henry Lee...more
Paperback, 412 pages
Published
October 5th 2004
by Berkley Trade
(first published 2004)
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Repetitious, similar to a cable TV show that keeps breaking for commercial and then returning to repeat the last 10 minutes of what the viewer saw just before the commercial. The book could have been cut by a third and been more effective. Also, I sensed a bias by the author (or his research) against women. There are many references to "domineering mothers" as a common characteristic of serial killers but only one that I can remember that made reference to the possible role of fathers in a child...more
This was a very interesting & intriguing book. It discussed an array of topics surrounding serial killers including what you can do to survive should you ever encounter one. I was really interested in the stories of some well known & some not so well known serial killers. However, what I was most interested in reading about was the chapters that talked about the different types & the proposed reasoning behind why they committed their crimes. Anyone who likes reading books about seria...more
This was a good book with some interesting case histories on serial killers. The best feature was learning the different ways that are used to classify serial killers and the different types. There is a lot more variation than we see on TV and in the movies.
I had some issues with long stretches of statistics that just felt plopped into the text. They would have been better served if the number could have been worked in as part of the narrative flow.
Overall, not bad if you are interested in the t...more
I had some issues with long stretches of statistics that just felt plopped into the text. They would have been better served if the number could have been worked in as part of the narrative flow.
Overall, not bad if you are interested in the t...more
A detailed and often engrossing study badly in need of editing.
Vronsky says he got started on this work because he had accidentally crossed paths with two serial killers in his life. Could well be.
He provides a wealth of detail on the whys and hows of serial killing but gets rather remarkably repetitious at points. So if you want to know the overall methods by which various categories of serial killers operate or how profilers actually work (not nearly as much fun as "Criminal Minds"), this is...more
Vronsky says he got started on this work because he had accidentally crossed paths with two serial killers in his life. Could well be.
He provides a wealth of detail on the whys and hows of serial killing but gets rather remarkably repetitious at points. So if you want to know the overall methods by which various categories of serial killers operate or how profilers actually work (not nearly as much fun as "Criminal Minds"), this is...more
This is absolutely the best book out there on serial killing. The way it is written you can crack open the book at any page and read through, like a tv show. He repeats sometimes a thought or a sentence in case you missed an important point in this random approach, but it does not hurt even if you read it from page one straight through to the end. I really like that he does not present himself as some kind of profiler expert but approaches the phenomenon of serial killers with fear and wonder fr...more
Nov 14, 2011
Lindsay Goto
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Shelves:
true-crime,
race,
religion,
psychology,
non-fiction,
north-american,
history,
european,
crime
A very thorough treatment of the history of serial killers, but it seems to have some problems with organization. It has the same problem that most books of this type have where they focus one the sensational and skip over the rest. If it is truly trying to be the definitive book on the history of serial killers, then it needs to cover more ground. This is a book which unabashedly criticizes the media for its role in promoting serial killers (not that they do it on purpose, it is quick to point...more
Informative. I found the case histories fascinating, and there were even some tips on what to do if you're ever unlucky enough to be caught by a serial killer (hint: don't get in the car). I enjoyed learning about the pathology of psychopaths, although at times I felt Vronsky inserted his own biases too far into the text. For instance, I thought he was a bit defensive when it came to the possible role porn might play in developing serial killers. It's pretty clear he doesn't believe porn is detr...more
A rather scary read, with many 'scary' moments for me personally. The two episodes of the writer encountering two serial killers on separate occassions give me goosebumps. Many of the quotes Vronsky chooses to open his chapters make me shudder. A few examples:
These crimes and offenses I committed solely for my evil pleasure and evil delight, to no other end or with no other intention, without anyone’s counsel and only in accordance with my imagination.
—GILLES DE RAIS, Confession, 1440
When we rem...more
These crimes and offenses I committed solely for my evil pleasure and evil delight, to no other end or with no other intention, without anyone’s counsel and only in accordance with my imagination.
—GILLES DE RAIS, Confession, 1440
When we rem...more
Honestly, I don't know why I read this book. I don't like serial killers, I guess I don't have the stomach to see the darkest side of human.
But I open it, I read it and by then it was already too late to stop because I always finish what I read. So I try my might to finish this.
The book glorified serial killers and tries to crammed as many of them in a book. It gives the highest potion to Ted Bundy because the author thought that Bundy is the quintessential serial killer, the Phd of mass murde...more
But I open it, I read it and by then it was already too late to stop because I always finish what I read. So I try my might to finish this.
The book glorified serial killers and tries to crammed as many of them in a book. It gives the highest potion to Ted Bundy because the author thought that Bundy is the quintessential serial killer, the Phd of mass murde...more
In the countess' murderous service was her manservant...
...probably the youngest serial killer on record.
During this period, Brudos began to slip into neighbors' homes and steal shoes...
...he attemped to masturbate with it, but failed to ejaculate.
In 1982 the first signs of trouble began to appear...
He would have been about fifteen then, when symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia began to surface.
On February 5, 1973, he shot two more women and brought them back to his mother's house.
..upon killing...more
...probably the youngest serial killer on record.
During this period, Brudos began to slip into neighbors' homes and steal shoes...
...he attemped to masturbate with it, but failed to ejaculate.
In 1982 the first signs of trouble began to appear...
He would have been about fifteen then, when symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia began to surface.
On February 5, 1973, he shot two more women and brought them back to his mother's house.
..upon killing...more
As a fan of Criminal Minds (the television series), I read this book for two reasons. One, to understand the frequent references to the stories of various serial killers, and two, to get a better grasp of what criminal profiling/behavioral analysis at the FBI is really like. This book accomplished both purposes quite well. (Notable exceptions would be not discussing the cases of Son of Sam and the Zodiac Killer.) I'm not typically a non-fiction reader, but this book really captured my interest f...more
Aug 29, 2012
jerica
is currently reading it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ebooks-nonfiction-i-have
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Really a book designed for those who really want to learn about serial killer workings, histories, and brain patterns. There is so much more to the monsters than meets the eye. You will find yourself Googling murders and news articles. A pretty disturbing book, but worth it. It took me a long time to finish this book because there isn't an adventure, and it's pretty rare for this type of book to find its way into my hands. I really did enjoy it.
Once I started this book I could not put it down!! There is so much information within the pages that it is almost a mind overload. There are so many killers throghout history. This book makes you wonder who you are talking too, what is in the mind of every stranger around you and how on this Earth we live in that there are so many demented and broken people who want to kill and do harm.
Great read for any true crime or serial killer fan out there.
Great read for any true crime or serial killer fan out there.
A gift from David to fuel my weird interest, and it's working. This one has taken me away from A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN and a personal account of the Bataan Death March. That's a compliment!
Finally done - took long enough, but this was some dense material. The statistics in the early part of the book almost made me give up, but the author's short descriptions of select serial killers made up for it. Edmund Kemper will be a new interest for future reading. The pathology sections were interesting...more
Finally done - took long enough, but this was some dense material. The statistics in the early part of the book almost made me give up, but the author's short descriptions of select serial killers made up for it. Edmund Kemper will be a new interest for future reading. The pathology sections were interesting...more
Very thorough. Peter Vronsky writes with flair, and doesn't just spit out the facts. Plus, he's had two random encounters with serial killers himself. Sometimes I skip the Introduction in books - don't do it with this one! The best book I've read on the subject.
one of the best serial killer books i've read. this is for those who already know the details about bundy, desalvo, gacy, ramirez etc... this goes into more psychological detail about why they kill. totally recommended for serial killer buffs like myself!
I enjoyed parts of this book if you can say enjoy when it is about real life serial killers .Some of the details in this book where hard to read and upsetting but it is about real life people which is kind of hard to believe when you read what these people did.
I liked this book. For a amateur true crime writer, Vronsky did his homework and he did it well. Nothing sensationalist, but the tone did at times become melodramatic and repetitious. I missed the factual and confident tone one would find reading a work of John Douglas'. Nonetheless, it was a solid effort, if not thorough. Because, if you're going to do a book on serial killers, how do you manage not to do a chapter or section on Jeffrey Dahmer?!
If you are interested in the stuff on Criminal minds than this book is for you! Chock full of details about why the why and how serial killers kill; who gets classified as a serial killer; the other types of killers out there and finally many real life examples, this book will give a fascinating insight to the mind of a killer and someone in the Behavioral sciences unit
if you already are a buff on serial killers then this is a truely excellent read, very enjoyable experience into the mind of the killer
Thoroughly researched, a pleasure to read.
This book covers the history of serial killers to "who" is a serial killer. "Who" meaning not just (typically) caucasian males of a certain age who are left handed and have odd toe spacing, but also what "makes" them a serial killer.
As a bonus, readers get advice on thwarting being serial killed themselves.
This book covers the history of serial killers to "who" is a serial killer. "Who" meaning not just (typically) caucasian males of a certain age who are left handed and have odd toe spacing, but also what "makes" them a serial killer.
As a bonus, readers get advice on thwarting being serial killed themselves.
A decent introduction book to Serial Killers/Crimes. I wouldn't say it's the best out there, but it's good to start on.
May I just share the motto of this book? "Oh, what a tangled webb we weave when first we practice to deceive."
Really interesting book! Good for those who like or are studying psychology or criminology!
so...this caters to the side of me that considered becoming a forensic pathologist.
Such an interesting read, although the photos are quite creepy!
provides differing perspective on behavior and the cognitons behind it.
Dude is very through : lots of researching many and various types of killers..
A very enjoyable, informative and engrossing read. I find it very well documented, even though the flow of his thoughts are, sometimes, disorganized. Very much recommend, nonetheless!
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PETER VRONSKY is an author, filmmaker, artist and historian. He is the author of two books published by Penguin-Berkley on the history and psychopathology of serial homicide: Serial Killers and Female Serial Killers. He lives in Toronto and Venice, Italy.
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“Few would disagree that Herbert Mullin, who thought he was saving California from the great earthquake by killing people, and Ed Gein, who was making chairs out of human skin, were entirely insane when they committed their acts. The question becomes more difficult with somebody like law student Ted Bundy, who killed twenty women while at the same time working as a suicide prevention counselor, or John Wayne Gacy, who escorted the first lady and then went home to sleep of thirty-three trussed-up corpses under his house. On one hand their crimes seem "insane," yet on the other hand, Bundy and Gacy knew exactly what they were doing. How insane were they?”
—
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Aug 29, 2012 03:21pm