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John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI
The FBI is more selective than Harvard. Overcome the odds with the help of this comprehensive guide from John Douglas, a former FBI profiler. Drawing on 25 years of solid FBI experience, Douglas gives you the inside track on everything you need to know to be a competitive FBI candidate,
- GenresNonfiction
Paperback
First published November 1, 1998
About the author
John E. Douglas
37 books2,984 followersJohn Edward Douglas is a former United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, one of the first criminal profilers, and criminal psychology author. He also wrote four horror novels in the mid 1990s. -Wikipedia
During his twenty-five year career with the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, a name he later changed to The Investigative Science Unit (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995), John Douglas became the leading expert on criminal personality profiling and the pioneer of modern criminal investigative analysis. Through his research with serial criminal’s, Douglas learned how criminals think and what makes them do the things that they do, and why. Douglas can determine many personal traits and habits of an offender just by examining the crime scene; it’s evidence and victimology (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). Interviews John Douglas has conducted hundreds of interviews with some of the world’s most notorious serial offenders, which include: - Charles Manson, and three members of the Manson clan. - Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy. - John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer that killed 33 people. - David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam”. - James Earl Ray, assassin of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Ted Bundy - Unsuccessful assassins of Gerald Ford and George Wallace (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). Captured In addition, Douglas’s profiles aided in numerous arrests of serial offenders, some of which include: - Wayne Williams, the .22 caliber killer. - Carlton Gary, the stalking strangler. - Robert Hanson, the Anchorage Alaska baker who would kidnap, hunt, then kill local prostitutes. These are just a few of the cases that John Douglas aided in throughout his twenty-five year career as a profiler with the Behavioral Science Unit, which he later renamed the Investigative Science Unit (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). Contributions to Psychology Douglas and his colleagues outlined in an article that explained the goals of a serial offender in the September 1980 issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. They are as follows: - What leads a person to become a sexual offender and what are the early warning signals? - What serves to encourage or to inhibit the commission of his offense? - What types of responses or coping strategies, by an intended victim are successful with what type of sexual offender in avoiding victimization, and - What are the implications for his dangerousness, prognosis, disposition and mode of treatment (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995)?
During his twenty-five year career with the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, a name he later changed to The Investigative Science Unit (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995), John Douglas became the leading expert on criminal personality profiling and the pioneer of modern criminal investigative analysis. Through his research with serial criminal’s, Douglas learned how criminals think and what makes them do the things that they do, and why. Douglas can determine many personal traits and habits of an offender just by examining the crime scene; it’s evidence and victimology (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). Interviews John Douglas has conducted hundreds of interviews with some of the world’s most notorious serial offenders, which include: - Charles Manson, and three members of the Manson clan. - Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert F. Kennedy. - John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer that killed 33 people. - David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam”. - James Earl Ray, assassin of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Ted Bundy - Unsuccessful assassins of Gerald Ford and George Wallace (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). Captured In addition, Douglas’s profiles aided in numerous arrests of serial offenders, some of which include: - Wayne Williams, the .22 caliber killer. - Carlton Gary, the stalking strangler. - Robert Hanson, the Anchorage Alaska baker who would kidnap, hunt, then kill local prostitutes. These are just a few of the cases that John Douglas aided in throughout his twenty-five year career as a profiler with the Behavioral Science Unit, which he later renamed the Investigative Science Unit (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995). Contributions to Psychology Douglas and his colleagues outlined in an article that explained the goals of a serial offender in the September 1980 issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. They are as follows: - What leads a person to become a sexual offender and what are the early warning signals? - What serves to encourage or to inhibit the commission of his offense? - What types of responses or coping strategies, by an intended victim are successful with what type of sexual offender in avoiding victimization, and - What are the implications for his dangerousness, prognosis, disposition and mode of treatment (Douglas & Olshaker, 1995)?
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 8, 2026
A great, informative book on the FBI and the Special Agent position. Gave me some good insight, but also tended to be a bit outdated and irrelevant in some parts (i.e. the hiring process, not having information post-2003). The best parts were the stories of former agents and the variety of experiences they bring to solving federal crimes.
December 9, 2007
An excellent resource. First off, while John Douglas is the author of the book, he introduces 8 other experienced FBI agents. The first part of the book is these guys all telling their stories, where they grew up, how they became interested in the bureau, and their personal experiences.
This book has three flaws, one of which is pointed out almost immediately by the author. The author himself, as well as all of his "guest writers" are white males. The author explains that he and the others were all hired in the 60s and 70s, when the FBI (and everybody else) was pretty much hiring just white males. Considering the level experience these guys have, though, I believe it is a worthwhile trade-off. Two of these guys were down south in the 60s, helping enforce the Civil Rights Act. Others are experts in their fields.
The other two flaws are related: this book was written in 1998, almost ten years ago and it's a bit dated because of that. Also, 9/11 changed much about what the FBI considers its top priorities.
The book contains a quick, amusing history of the FBI, how the FBI is organized, and a detailed section on exactly what the FBI investigates.
This was probably the most interesting section. Each investigative area (counterterrorism, civil rights, financial crime) had a detailed description, including an anecdote.
There is also a mind-boggling section about the FBI's training programs and special divisions. Way too many acronyms!
The final section about the application process is quite good, with one new recruit's detailed description of his personal application experience. There is advice for recent high school graduates, college graduates and people looking to make a career change, broken down by what sorts of things they should be focusing on and questions they should asking themselves.
This book has three flaws, one of which is pointed out almost immediately by the author. The author himself, as well as all of his "guest writers" are white males. The author explains that he and the others were all hired in the 60s and 70s, when the FBI (and everybody else) was pretty much hiring just white males. Considering the level experience these guys have, though, I believe it is a worthwhile trade-off. Two of these guys were down south in the 60s, helping enforce the Civil Rights Act. Others are experts in their fields.
The other two flaws are related: this book was written in 1998, almost ten years ago and it's a bit dated because of that. Also, 9/11 changed much about what the FBI considers its top priorities.
The book contains a quick, amusing history of the FBI, how the FBI is organized, and a detailed section on exactly what the FBI investigates.
This was probably the most interesting section. Each investigative area (counterterrorism, civil rights, financial crime) had a detailed description, including an anecdote.
There is also a mind-boggling section about the FBI's training programs and special divisions. Way too many acronyms!
The final section about the application process is quite good, with one new recruit's detailed description of his personal application experience. There is advice for recent high school graduates, college graduates and people looking to make a career change, broken down by what sorts of things they should be focusing on and questions they should asking themselves.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews