The Serial Killers : Study in the Psychology of Violence

by Donald Seaman, Colin Wilson, Donald Seaman,

Book Overview

As the number of serial killers worldwide has risen steadily - from the emergence of Jack the Ripper in 1888 to Harold Shipman and Ivan Milat, the backpacker killer of the Australian outback - the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0863696155
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Virgin Pub
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 1.0" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Painstakingly researched, highly informative book.

Faisal.A.Qureshi is a fool.Don't listen to him. If he doesn't want to know about serial killers and their crimes, why read this book? No,it doesn't hold back on describing the murders in graphic detail, and that is one of the reasons that make it the great book that it is -it tells everything.The reason other books may not document the voilence in such detail is that they probably don't know as much, or dont recognize the need to encompass every element,however grim in order to create a true study. I'm researching for a screenplay I'm writing about a serial killer, and this book, more so than a dozen others, has helped give me the knowledge and inspiration I need to form my own characters. It is not only crammed full of case histories, but has an in-depth (60 page) history of the profilers and organisations such as VICAP,the BSU, and the NCAVC that over the years have been instrumental in apprehending these criminals. It offers a variety of theories about the minds and motives of the people who commit these crimes, and goes back to through history to the likes of the Marquis De Sade, Tiberius, and Caligula to illustrate its points. This is a concise, important and intelligent work that deserves far more credit than is given by Faisal.A.Qureshi,who probably just flicked through it whilst drinking his coffee in Borders.

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Yes, there are some graphic depictions of violence in this book. It is also insightful in two keys areas of human interaction, domination and personal/sexual inadequacy, particularly in regard to men needing or wanting to have control over women and their own lives. Wilson details how many must resort to violence to "prove" themselves superior and gives credible, psychological reasons for their actions.