Manhunt: The Definitive History of Serial Murder Investigation

by Colin Wilson

Softcover 6 1/4" X 8 1/4" 240pp. B/W Photos

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

240 pages, paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Colin Henry Wilson was born and raised in Leicester, England, U.K. He left school at 16, worked in factories and various occupations, and read in his spare time. When Wilson was 24, Gollancz published The Outsider (1956) which examines the role of the social 'outsider' in seminal works of various key literary and cultural figures. These include Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, William James, T. E. Lawrence, Vaslav Nijinsky and Vincent Van Gogh and Wilson discusses his perception of Social alienation in their work. The book was a best seller and helped popularize existentialism in Britain. Critical praise though, was short-lived and Wilson was soon widely criticized.

Wilson's works after The Outsider focused on positive aspects of human psychology, such as peak experiences and the narrowness of consciousness. He admired the humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow and corresponded with him. Wilson wrote The War Against Sleep: The Philosophy of Gurdjieff on the life, work and philosophy of G. I. Gurdjieff and an accessible introduction to the Greek-Armenian mystic in 1980. He argues throughout his work that the existentialist focus on defeat or nausea is only a partial representation of reality and that there is no particular reason for accepting it. Wilson views normal, everyday consciousness buffeted by the moment, as "blinkered" and argues that it should not be accepted as showing us the truth about reality. This blinkering has some evolutionary advantages in that it stops us from being completely immersed in wonder, or in the huge stream of events, and hence unable to act. However, to live properly we need to access more than this everyday consciousness. Wilson believes that our peak experiences of joy and meaningfulness are as real as our experiences of angst and, since we are more fully alive at these moments, they are more real. These experiences can be cultivated through concentration, paying attention, relaxation and certain types of work.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of interesting facts and insights into the inner workings of serial killers and their operations. It's NOT an easy read and I don't mean its skill level. It's a harsh, true account of some of the most evil people known to mankind - it's not for the faint of heart. While I did like the book, many times I felt as though I were reading a rehashing of Robert K. Ressler's Whoever Fights Monsters. Ressler is quoted quite often and it left me wondering if it would be better just to hear it from the horse's mouth and read a Ressler book instead. My only real complaint about the book was the text itself. It was so tiny it hurt my eyes!

[anaiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

PROS: Lots of interesting information, gives a peek into the life of serial killers and how they operate.
CONS: Yes, it's a lot to digest. and the font is too small.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK, but not great. Just another collection of familiar serial-killer stories for the most part, all dating from the era when this was a shocking new phenomenon. Only the chapter on Paul Knowles really gripped me because the other work I've read about him gave no details at all of his killings. Thank you, Mr. Wilson, for letting me know something about what makes that guy tick. I also feel I know a little more about Wayne Williams and why the authorities feel he is guilty of the Atlanta Child Murders; all you ever hear on that case is the opposing viewpoint. But a lot of this book is just the same old song, printed in type so small you need an electron microscope to read it.

[Tonya Sink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very informative look into criminal profiling. From the time of Jack the Ripper to modern day. Colin gives the very first look into it, who started it and how the behavioral science unit came to be in Quantico. While this book focuses on profiling it also contains many gruesome details of serial killers over the decades. If you have a weak stomach I don't suggest it. Get out your reading glasses too. It takes a while to get through the entire book. It is only 225 pages but the font is tiny making this gem rather dense.

[Granny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to prefer the English crime writers, both because their prose is more tasty, and because they take the long view where these things are concerned. Colin Wilson is one of my favorites, he does both so beautifully.

[Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Very easy to read. Well written and researched.

[Claire Herting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and well-researched. I love that it references other books because now I have new reading material! A few minor editing problems.

[Casa · Rating 5 out of 5]

informative...