Alone with the Devil

by Ronald Markman

Profiles the author's career as a forensic psychiatrist, recounting the many frightening criminals he has faced, including the Hillside Strangler, Juan Corona, and members of the Manson family

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Psychology, Crime, History, Tragedy, Mental Health

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[J.H. Moncrieff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book. It's a slow starter, but if you can get past the pedantic, steeped-in-academia, holier-than-though opening chapters, it's riveting.

Written by a forensic psychiatrist in LA who often has to testify at famous trials, Alone with the Devil is a critical look at the failings of the American justice system. Markman explores why criminals are set free, even though it's well known they are still dangerous; why obviously disturbed psychotics are deemed sane in the eyes of the law; and why different personality types kill.

I've read a ton of true crime, but this one featured a completely different perspective. It's also a lot more graphic than most--Markman doesn't pull punches, so if you're squeamish, you may want to avoid this one.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written fairly well compared to most "serial killer gets analyzed by high profile psychologist" books.

The thing that drew me to it is that it contains the most information about Richard Chase, aka 'The Vampire of Sacramento', that I have been able to find.

In my opinion the book was worth the price just for the Chase story, as the author seems to have been on of the people to speak with Chase the most in the short time between Chases' incarceration and suicide.

There are, however, other interesting stories in the book, including a telling of the Charles Manson/Healter Skelter/Tate-LaBianca murders that involves interviews with the principles, as well as a rare later interview with Roman Polanski, after he was arrested for statutory rape many years after the murders of 1969. But the Authors take on the Charlie side of the story is basically just regurgitated fluff ala the book, Helter Skelter.

Still, all things considered, I think it's a good book.

[F. O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, it IS amazing, but I wouldn't read it over and over. It's pretty disturbing.

[Janette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some interesting cases, but the pomposity of the author made it a rather annoying read. A typical psychiatrist (at least in my experience), Markham has an over-inflated opinion of himself and his intelligence. More than once, I found his conclusions utterly ridiculous and diametrically opposed to the clear evidence at hand. I also got very tired of reading, "My testimony [made this wonderful thing happen]..." or "I [was so brilliant that I] caused [this other wonderful thing to happen]...," blah, blah, blah. It was so shameless that at points that I felt cringing mortification for the author and imagined the embarrassment I'd feel had I written such obvious "look at me!" drivel.

But Markham's flagrant self-aggrandizement and self-promotion aside, the thing that immediately ticked me off about this book was the way he deeply hooks the reader right off the bat with THE most fascinating case of all....then completely drops it until the very end of the book. When Markham did pick the case up again, it was almost as an afterthought and so gave very little detail with absolutely no information about his face-to-face interview with this particular individual. It was just dashed off with no satisfactory exploration of what had led this seemingly well-balanced guy to go completely off the deep end and no transcript excerpts or insights from the guy himself. Talk about disappointing.

So, 3 stars is all I give this book. It's still worth reading, since some cases were interesting and a statement by the author (made back in the '80s) towards the beginning of the book is near-prophetic about what we're seeing in society today. But, the author's own overinflated ego and botching of a case that deeply hooks the reader from the start made it a less enjoyable read than I had anticipated.

[Misty Skaggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

oh man, this one had a dollar general store tag still on it when i found it. two bucks. and i paid a quarter at this creepy/cute little old ladies' yard sale. she had trashy true crime and taxidermy eeeverywhere. while said old lady was awesome, i'm glad i didn't pay two dollars for this book. and i especially didn't like how this read inspired me to have a sex dream about Tex Watson.

[Pay]

Picked this up from Brazos Books in Waco around 2016, and only now have I gotten around to reading it. The book covers a multitude of cases that the author (Markman, M.D.) has a personal connection to in his conducting psychiatric evaluations for the accused. I enjoyed reading about the cases that I had never heard of, and likely wouldn’t have heard of if not for this book. Written in ‘89, many courtroom practices and tactics have changed, but one thing remains pervasive even today: the fact that the justice system often times seems geared more towards justice for the accused rather than the victimized.

Definitely an interesting read for anyone with an interest in true crime, the legal system, the moral dilemma of punitive justice, recidivism, and the intersection of mental illness and criminality.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite good - I am sad it is out of print. Very cool to see the perspective from both a medical/legal view. Would recommend for any upcoming criminologist or true crime fan. Some details/cases I hadn't heard of (as quite a knowledgable true crime person). The writing was great and very balanced, not at all overhyped.

[B McCullagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a recommended read for any True Crime fanatics even though it can be fairly dated in parts. Gave it 3 stars because the author seems to strangely have sympathy for Polanski and his past instead of seeing him as the child rapist he is. Author a bit misogynist at times, leading back to it being dated.

[Kevin Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent insight into psychiatry and law. This book is far more than I expected and explores the killer within us all.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were fascinating but his opinions on medicine and the law were not.

[Karalynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.3

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining and compelling read save for a few pages where the author drags on and on with mundane trivialties of the highly flawed legal system. Unfortunately I totally lost it once Markman claimed that child rapist Roman Polanski wasn't a rapist and started defending him. A shame.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The chapter on Charles Manson and his murderous minions was pretty good. The Family continues to haunt us in books.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of true crime, and have for years. It is not often any more that I come across one that truly impresses me. This one really did for the author's insight and open revelation of his struggle with the difficulties from a psychiatric system that does not communicate with a judicial system resulting in the dangerous out on the street, or the insane receiving incarceration instead of treatment. Not all the cases are famous, but they are all delivered with insight. Perhaps from taking efficient patient history notes, the author can in a compact few pages run down a perpetrator's entire life from childhood to criminal act. The connection to the Tate-LaBianca murders is what brought me to this book. I am surprise at his casual acceptance of fact that Manson was at the scene of the LaBianca murders and tied up the adult vicitims. He interviewed Leslie Van Houten (and, later Polanski). However, that was a fact as part of Manson's conviction:

“In Count VIII the defendants are Charged with conspiracy to commit murder in Violation of Sections 182.1 and 187, Penal Code of California, a felony, as follows:

That on or about the 8th through the 10th.day August, 1969, at and in the County of Los Angeles, State of California, Charles Manson, Charles Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Leslie Sankston (whose true name is. Leslie Van Houten), the said
defendants, did willfully, uawfully, feloniously and knowingly conspire, combine, confederate and agree together to commit the crime of murder, a violation of Section 187, Penal Code of California, a felony.

It is alleged that the following were overt acts which were committed in this state by one or more of the defendants for the purpose of furthering the object of the conspiracy:

...

OVERT ACT NO. IV
That on or about August 10, 1 969, the defendants, Charles Manson, Charles Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Sankston (whose true name is Leslie Van. Houten) did enter the residence at 3301 Waverly Drive, City and County of Los Angeles.”

Oh, the horror of some of the cases here - like the Vampire of Sacremento and the sexual sadist murderer duo Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris.

The book ends with the story of Marvin Gay, Sr. slaying Marvin Gaye. Fascinating as I didn't know Sr. suffered from a benign brain tumor during the killing.

While individual case interest brought me to this book, I was most affected by two ideas expressed by the author:

1) the "cold of passion": The idea that long term abuse (examples here are children, wives) can result in a planned, long-term killing that is not first-degree murder though it is premeditated and the actor knows right and wrong.

2) The author's experience and expertise support that no matter how repellant the acts describe herein, the potential lies within us all.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

scary book. I read this book when I was relatively young, and I remember being terrified and yet compelled to read more. It is about serial killers and the psychiatric assessment of them (psychopath or sociopath.) I was truly frightened at what humans can become. I was more scared of the psychopaths, because they don't know what they are doing and I think I felt sorrier for them, although what is written in this book are gruesome, detailed accounts of their murders, which is terrifying. I still remember people chopping up their victims and putting the body parts in their freezers. Or the apartments smelling so foul when the police finally came. Or, I think there are two cases in the book, of the murderers keeping the heads of the victim they loved and talking to them on a daily basis. Ooooh this book was terrifying.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. It is obvious that the author does not really agree with his role in court decisions. He states many times that the courts are biased toward the defendant and not the victim. In the many cases he lists this does seem to be the case. The courts are full of people whose crimes are argued down based on diminished capacity at the expense of the victim and what they have suffered.

This overall was a very interesting read with a good mix of clinical, legal, and dramatic information.

[Angela Mcentee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was extremely informative and deeply fascinating. The author is able to clearly and concisely explain what is the difference between sociopath and psychotic killers, and what constitutes the definition of legally sane. That being said, this book is deeply disturbing. I have read a lot of true crime but this book truly frightened me. I couldn't leave the book in my house, I had to leave it in my car! Also for about two weeks after finishing it, I had to push a heavy trunk in front of my door before going to sleep! Beware.

[Josh Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in 2007 and recieved a crippling panic attack after reading the section about a team of serial rapists from the 70's who terrorized Malibu. Its like reading about genocide. Depressing and painful. I had been biking with my then girlfriendand we lost eachother and i became convinced she had been abducted -something i blame this book for. it put me off of true crime for years. read at your own risk

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is remarkable in that Dr. Markham gave psychiatric evaluations to many very famous criminals, including two of the Manson family members. However, it's also quite dated. This book was published in 1989; the laws pertaining to criminals and the mentally ill have changed significantly since then. So I couldn't give it as many stars as I might have. But it was a good book.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting, but it was a rough read. There are a few stories I wish that I had skipped over, due to the graphic details of brutality. If you've ever wondered whether a criminal was really crazy under the law, this book gives you a better idea.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! If you love reading about infamous crimes, this is THEE book to read. Some of the stories are extremely graphic and disturbing.. while I was reading this, eating red meat was not an option, weird, I know!! Highly recommend if you follow The Manson Family, Bundy, or any other famous terrors.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of this years ago and I will finish someday. It is a really good true crime book. I have to admit that there are some stories in it I that I will never be able to get the visual out of my mind. This book is truly intense and NOT for the squeamish!

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was pretty good but it didn't really hold my interest that well. It seemed to be more about proving the author's expertise than about getting as deeply as I would have liked into the heads of these criminals, none of whom remotely resembled the devil, BTW.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A forensic psychiatrist recounts his creepier cases including the Manson family murders. This was extremely interesting and, at the same time, maddening. Justice is not always served, in my mind.

[Kirstie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of it were really good, but some of the legal stuff was boring and some of it was very gory. Overall, not horrible.

[Bob Conder · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first began reading this book I was not sure it was something I wanted to finish. I was sucked in to the bizarre things people do.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

some truly grueling stories of sick criminals, but I didn't care for the writing so much.

[Sarah Capstick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books absolutely loved reading it and would recommend to everyone and anyone!
Hoping to find more of his work absolutely cracking writer and psychologist!!!