A Violent ACT

by Alce Wilkinson and Alec Wilkinson

Book Overview

When we read about violence, we hunger for explanations that will reassure us that violence is understandable, perhaps preventable. Yet this elegantly written book--about a madman who kills his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679415076
• ISBN13: 9780679415077
• Release Date: February 1993
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 225 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

1st us /fed probation officer killed

aug. 1986 Tom Galh---the first US/Federal probation officer ever killed in the line of duty There are approx. 5,000 officers. This book is about: *Nancy Gahl-widow-mother of 2 sons. Her husband was killed by one of his parolees. We learn how she and the boys cope. It is very hard. *Mike-parolee-killer, mental patient-- CRAZEEEE...he was out of control. He was like a walking zombie. I think his mental illness ate away his brain. *Modean-Mike's mother. She loved him even if he was bad. *Carolyn-his x-wife. When she first met Mike he was only mean and stupid..not crazy. She has kids with him. Then she hides from him. After Mike kills Tom he goes on a RAMPAGE. He travels thru several states robbing, killing, kidnapping and stealing cars. The only thing he is not is a rapist. WHAT HAPPENS TO MIKE ? Read this book and find out. I debated on 3 or 4 stars. In some parts It drags along (the manhunt). No photos. I always appreciate photos. Author Alec W. is a magazine writer for the NEW YORKER.

Well Worth Reading

Alec Wilkinson, in "A Violent Act" has written a true crime documentary which is quite unlike most of the boilerplate true crime being written. This book, as opposed to much of the unintersting tripe being marketed, was obviously a long time in the writing. This is a story about Mike Jackson, a dangerous small time burglar and hold-up man who kills his probation officer and leads authorities on a week long search. The book is well-written, literate and intelligent, and is obviously the product of extensive interviewing and research. The effects of the murder on the victim's family, which include some odd and increasingly strange contacts by the family of the killer, are discussed in detail. The major focus of the book however is Mike Jackson. I can not overemphasize the depth of the author's research and of his presentation of Jackson's life: the fact that early on he exhibited the inability to cope with simple childhood experiences; his inability to perform even the most menial jobs except criminal ones where no continuing personal interaction was necessary; the long stretches he spent in jail; and his descent into psychosis. The reason I gave the book 4 rather than 5 stars is that I felt Wilkinson went on too long, and ultimately excessively, about the search efforts of the FBI and other police groups. While some of this was necessary and interesting, Wilkinson described the police efforts for each day of an effort that lasted over a week. Since most of these days were numbingly the same, Wilkinson's narrative also becomes numbing during this part of the book. The in depth study of Mike Jackson is however superb. Wilkinson writes about him with such understanding and empathy that his writing about Jackson, a man who less talented writers would simply dismiss as an evil career criminal, sometimes approaches tenderness. This book is well worth reading and will be appreciated by fans of true crime who are interested in real understanding an event.

Alec Wilkinson's A Violent Act

This true account of the spree murders perpetrated by Mike Wayne Jackson in Indianapolis in 1986 gives the reader more than just a typical "true crime" story. It seems as if Wilkinson divided the telling of this tragedy into three parts: the murders, the search for Jackson, and the day- to-day stories of the victims following the murders. The stories of each person involved in the crime (including Jackson's mother, the first victim's widow, etc.) are each written extremely well, and each helps us to understand the crime better, as all of the people that were involved in this crime are trying to do.