Serial Murderers and Their Victims

by Eric W. Hickey

Book Overview

* This comprehensive perspective of serial murder in the U.S. provides a thorough analysis of the lives of offenders through the examination of individual cases, typology construction, and models for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0534630189
• ISBN13: 9780534630188
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Great book

My teacher had us use this book for my class Murder in America. I really don't like to read, especially textbooks, but I had no problem reading this. It is a great book. I usually sell all my textbooks after class to get money for new textbooks but I kept this for my personal library (of what little there is). I is good reading. Eric Hickey has been on many documentaries about his work and is a professor at CSU Fresno. He also is the director of the largest forensics studies program in United States. He definitely knows his stuff and loves it. I actually wrote him an email to tell him how much I loved this book and he wrote me back in less than 24 hours. He is very nice too. He said that he loves what he does. I think he is a great author and I want to buy more of his books.

The gem in the field.

Of the many, many books I have read on this topic (which is one of my areas of interests) this is book is by far the best one I have read. This would be, in my opinion the most complete, informative and unbiased work on the subject. The book covers just about everything most readers would like covered on Serial Murder. It covers fact, fiction, history, definitions, in fact everything you could imagine. I could not believe just how much is packed into the 380 odd pages. Not only is the book a wealth of knowledge on the subject (and many related areas eg Stalking, Insanity Defences) but is also loaded with 'Profiles' of many individuals (and teams) to illustrate the area under discussion. Many tables also provide interesting reading. The book also looks at the phenomina of Serial Murder in countries other than the USA. Another thing I really like is the way Hickey presents various aspects and theories. Hickey discusses all the theories, views etc along with their apparent strenghts and weaknesses. For example, other authors I have read flatly dump the FBI Psychological Profiling Model. Hickly presents all the pros and cons on the topic in a very unbiased manner. This book is not just a good book, it is a great book. It is a 'must have' in your collection, if this is your area of interest or you really want to learn about it. If someone asked me for just one book to read on Serial Murder, this would be the one. It covers so many topics within a topic, yet it is concise and very readable. The average person with no knowledge on this topic would walk away with a good 'working knowledge'. I have read the book twice and have now been drawn back to a third read. I will now be searching for other works by this author and congratulate him on a 'classic'.

Outstanding profiling and research on serial killers!

Dr. Hickey's hard work is proven in this book. The serial profiling that he has done has made this book outstanding reference material. I have had the good fortune of meeting this man and I think anyone who has anything to do with any type of law work should read this.

This book offers unique and stunning insight.

I read the 1991 edition of this book,but I am sure the current edition is just as good, if not better. Now I am aware of it, I am eager to read it. This book changed the way I thought about serial killers. The value of Hickey's book stems from its lack of lurid sensationalism. He looks at the offenders with unflinching honesty, while profiling victims with touching deference to their suffering. The letter from a victim's mother is quietly heartbreaking. His statitics and research are invaluable tools. I have done three research projects on serial killers,and this book is always my primary source. It is a must read for law and justice personnel.

Empirical, Thourough, and Fascinating - START HERE!

Hickey has written one of the most comprehensive books on this enigmatic phenomenon. Based on empirical research, instead of sensationalism and myth, Hickey has set the example of what future books on serial murder must live up to.If you are serious about learning more about this area or are doing research - start here.