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In the Mind of Serial Killers
What makes people kill? What happens in the mind (and brain) of
serial killers, mass murderers, spree killers ? But also in the
mind of stalkers, serial rapists ... A branch of psychology studies
them with the aim of producing psychological profiles to help investigations.
The Investigative Support Unit (ISU) - FBI's special force that
has assisted state and local police in cracking some of the country's
most celebrated serial murder and rape cases - specializes in understanding
the chemistry and mechanical workings of the brain's of these serial
criminals, and did its homework by interviewing such murderers as
Charles Manson and David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam).
During his twenty-five year career with the Investigative Support
Unit, Special Agent John Douglas became a legendary figure in law
enforcement, pursuing some of the most notorious and sadistic serial
killers of our time: the man who hunted prostitutes for sport in
the woods of Alaska ,
the Atlanta child murderer, and Seattle's Green River killer, the
case that nearly cost Douglas his life. He was the inspiration for
the detective in The silence of the lambs.
In four amazing books this legendary detective takes the reader
to a journey through the darkness of human mind ...
MINDHUNTER
Douglas has confronted, interviewed, and studied scores of serial
killers and assassins, including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and
Ed Gein, who dressed himself in his victims' peeled skin. Using
his uncanny ability to become both predator and prey, Douglas examines
each crime scene, reliving both the killer's and the victim's actions
in his mind, creating their profiles, describing their habits, and
predicting their next moves. Now, in chilling detail, the legendary
Mindhunter takes us behind the scenes of some of his most gruesome,
fascinating, and challenging cases -- and into the darkest recesses
of our worst nightmares.
JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS
Another assortment of observations and opinions from his ex-job
as the FBI's top expert on constructing behavioral profiles of criminals.
This book contains several passages of interest: a detailed discussion
of the modus operandi versus the "signature" of a murder, and how
each relates to motive; thoughts on how the press and the public
can be used to flush out a killer; a taxonomy of pedophiles, with
a chapter on how to protect children from them; a detailed analysis
of the savage sex-murder of a female Marine; a profile of the Nicole
Simpson/Ron Goldman killer; and a report on how the courts are handling
behavioral testimony.
THE ANATOMY OF MOTIVE
Every crime is a mystery story with a motive at its heart. With
the brilliant insight he brought to his renowned work inside the
FBI's elite serial-crime unit, John Douglas pieces together motives
behind violent sociopathic behavior. He not only takes us into the
darkest recesses of the minds of arsonists, hijackers, bombers,
poisoners, assassins, serial killers, and mass murderers, but also
the seemingly ordinary people who suddenly kill their families or
go on a rampage in the workplace. Douglas identifies the antisocial
personality, showing surprising similarities and differences among
various types of deadly offenders. He also tracks the progressive
escalation of those criminals' sociopathic behavior. His analysis
of such diverse killers as Lee Harvey Oswald, Theodore Kaczynski,
and Timothy McVeigh is gripping, but more importantly, helps us
learn how to anticipate potential violent behavior before it's too
late. 
OBSESSION
A look at rape-and-murder and its perpetrators by one of the men
who invented the forensic art of psychological profiling. Douglas
was the founder and longtime head of the FBI's Investigative Support
Unit and over his career saw many cases that went unsolved, including
the Green River Killer, a case so frustrating that it nearly killed
Douglas himself. Douglas's readers will be familiar with this assortment
of famously grisly scenes combined with profiles of the murderers.
This book focuses mainly on stalkers and their victims, so Douglas
necessarily revisits the scenes of Rebecca Schaffer, Dominique Dunne,
and Teresa Saldana. He also gives an overview of rapists/murderers
such as Ted Bundy and Gary Heidnik, the City of Brotherly Love's
answer to Jeffrey Dahmer.
Douglas probes the minds of both the hunter and the hunted in this
powerful exploration of human behavior. With a deep sense of compassion
for the victims and an uncanny understanding of the penetrators,
Douglas exposes the chilling obsessions that compel the murderers,
rapists, and stalkers of modern times.
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