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Serial Killers
Through extensive research and interviews with five notorious serial killers, author Joel Norris demonstrates that serial killers have specific biological and genetic makeups that can be identified as early as five years of age. A compelling read for both the curious layman and the concerned professional.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 7, 2011
Okay, I'm a sucker for a book about serial killers, and this one was on sale - and just look at the title! Sadly, it was not to be. There was a certain amount of touchy-feely psychotherapy going on in the beginning, which was fine; the author is a psychologist, these things happen. However, the book didn't feel quite right, though I couldn't put my finger on it. And then, Chapter Four - Serial Killers Today. It's a long list of serial killers since the 1960s (the Sixties ruin everything!), which includes the Zodiac killer. And I quote: "murdered...several children....Given the name 'zodiac' by the police because he carved the signs of the zodiac into the bodies of his victims."
False, and false. This is not the first book about serial killers I have read, Dr. Norris! I went straight to my other book on the Zodiac killer (yes!), plus fact-checked on the internet, and indeed, the above is not in the least true (unless you consider people in their late teens and early to mid-twenties to be children, which is not usually what's implied by the word). At that point, reading the book became sort of pointless. If you are writing a book about serial killers, and can't get the basic facts right, why should I buy into your theory about the epidemic of serial killing caused by broken homes and angry mothers (I may be oversimplifying, but there's definitely a mommy subtext which is a little disturbing)? Also, stop calling Manson a serial killer and filing him in with people who actually, I dunno, killed someone. Crazy horrible person, yes. Actual hands-on killer, no.
Anyway - I skimmed after that, but it wasn't really worth reading given that I couldn't trust even the basics. It gets two stars because it was somewhat interesting, but I can't really say it was either educational or scientific. Or accurate. okay, one star; I talked me into it.
False, and false. This is not the first book about serial killers I have read, Dr. Norris! I went straight to my other book on the Zodiac killer (yes!), plus fact-checked on the internet, and indeed, the above is not in the least true (unless you consider people in their late teens and early to mid-twenties to be children, which is not usually what's implied by the word). At that point, reading the book became sort of pointless. If you are writing a book about serial killers, and can't get the basic facts right, why should I buy into your theory about the epidemic of serial killing caused by broken homes and angry mothers (I may be oversimplifying, but there's definitely a mommy subtext which is a little disturbing)? Also, stop calling Manson a serial killer and filing him in with people who actually, I dunno, killed someone. Crazy horrible person, yes. Actual hands-on killer, no.
Anyway - I skimmed after that, but it wasn't really worth reading given that I couldn't trust even the basics. It gets two stars because it was somewhat interesting, but I can't really say it was either educational or scientific. Or accurate. okay, one star; I talked me into it.
March 18, 2010
This book is the result of what was, to date, the most sustained and wide reaching systematic study of serial killers to date, based on the author's interviews with serial killers incarcerated around the country and detailed physical and neurological examination including substantive interviews with more than a dozen serial killers, a survey of more than 300 serial killers, and 500 extensive casework interviews with neurologists, surgeons, psychiatrists, social workers, medical examiners, and research chemists, the collaborative efforts of which led to the biological & social profiles of the potential serial killer.
What Norris and his colleagues found was a pattern of brain damage/neurological impairment combined with exceptionally cruel and sustained child abused. A fascinating read made all the more so given the fact that, shortly after I finished reading it, the yard of a home for substance abusers that was formerly run by an organization a friend used to work for was dug up in search of bodies purported put there by one of the serial killers interviewed by Norris.
What Norris and his colleagues found was a pattern of brain damage/neurological impairment combined with exceptionally cruel and sustained child abused. A fascinating read made all the more so given the fact that, shortly after I finished reading it, the yard of a home for substance abusers that was formerly run by an organization a friend used to work for was dug up in search of bodies purported put there by one of the serial killers interviewed by Norris.
January 23, 2016
Not worth reading. Norris attempts to make the serial-killer phenomenon his own by fitting the killers' lives into a framework of behavioral stages he made up. He goes on and on in this story, as he does in all his books, about how serial killers ALL have limbic-system damage -- as if this implied a plan of action to follow -- but has no recommendations. This theory is based on a single set of CT scans of one guy he already knew had brain damage because of that way his mother used to club him across the head with a board. This book is so poorly researched that he consistently refers to Coral Watts as "she."
February 28, 2012
If this is the "Serial Killers" book that I remember reading then it is excellent. The author is a psychologist who worked for the department of corrections. He studied serial killers in his duties of providing a curriculum for department of corrections employees to be able to understand the inmates they were charged with detaining.
My memory of this book was of seeing stacks of them on the remainders tables of bookstores, going for $2.00 in hardback. It is a shame I never picked up a copy. I borrowed the copy that I read from a fellow worker who only read true life crime books. I was never interested in those, but something that goes into the cause of a phenomenon did interest me. It just goes to show that sometimes you can pick up a gem from those remainder tables.
The book describes the what a serial killer is. This description discusses the compulsion to kill. There are phases that the killer goes through that ends in taking a victim. That cycle of phases will usually repeat until the killer is caught.
The book describes reoccurring characteristics that lead to the break down of restrains that most of us have. These include: Childhood neglect and humiliation, trauma to the head, chromosomal damage, drug and alcohol use.
This book provides discussions of specific killers. The reason I have to question if it is the book that I read years ago is that I remember a discussion of Jeffery Dahmer and the Killer from Florida in the 1970s or 1980s. I don't see them in the table of contents, but maybe I read about them elsewhere.
This book is good because it approaches the subject of serial killers in an intelligent, educational way rather than as sensational stories.
My memory of this book was of seeing stacks of them on the remainders tables of bookstores, going for $2.00 in hardback. It is a shame I never picked up a copy. I borrowed the copy that I read from a fellow worker who only read true life crime books. I was never interested in those, but something that goes into the cause of a phenomenon did interest me. It just goes to show that sometimes you can pick up a gem from those remainder tables.
The book describes the what a serial killer is. This description discusses the compulsion to kill. There are phases that the killer goes through that ends in taking a victim. That cycle of phases will usually repeat until the killer is caught.
The book describes reoccurring characteristics that lead to the break down of restrains that most of us have. These include: Childhood neglect and humiliation, trauma to the head, chromosomal damage, drug and alcohol use.
This book provides discussions of specific killers. The reason I have to question if it is the book that I read years ago is that I remember a discussion of Jeffery Dahmer and the Killer from Florida in the 1970s or 1980s. I don't see them in the table of contents, but maybe I read about them elsewhere.
This book is good because it approaches the subject of serial killers in an intelligent, educational way rather than as sensational stories.
July 8, 2022
Nice and small and reads very easy for us dumb dumbs. Might be dated a bit in medical and justice science but still holds true for current violence and the social psych behind it all. Focuses on an overall chunk of killers but highlights some of the top faves (Charles, Gacy, Lucas) and breaks down how these people and minds were all created in the same horrific environments and how certain systems benefit on such people. By no means dose it paint a “feel sorry for” picture for any of the killers and is very blunt and a little graphic (nothing incredibly graphic but still not an easy read) & how violence and crime is only increasing every year at a suffocating rate. Very truthful in how and why people do the things they do and how they continue the chain of hate and death with their actions.
April 27, 2010
Great book to read if you really want to get into the mind of a serial killer and/or see how their violence is tied to childhood circumstances.
June 3, 2018
Hopelessly outdated, according to this author we should all be living in a serial killer dystopia by now, 30 years since the book was written. I can’t blame him, as he was working with what we knew in the mid-80’s, but the book just doesn’t stand the test of time. For example, the serial killer is portrayed as a genius of crime, playing cat and mouse with the police. At the time of writing, the Green River Killer was still at large (as the author repeatedly mentions) and we all know now that Gary Ridgeway was no genius. Definitely miss this one.
July 29, 2018
An interesting insight into serial killers
January 30, 2019
Говорят вовсе не серийные убийцы, а медик-мозгоправ, про свое. Скучно-с, вторично-с.
January 22, 2021
Interesting read if you're into true crime. Talks about different Serial Killers eg: Leonard Lake, Carlton Gary, Henry Lee Lucas. A good read
November 10, 2015
I was impressed by this book which took an academic approach to the topic of serial killers. While it sounds like an odd read, the author takes the time to set out an argument for identifying and treating certain predispositions in children and juveniles to become murders and or serial murderers and rapists. He uses case studies, like Henry Lee Lucas and Ted Bundy and a load of others, to show the similarities in their upbringing, from head trauma to abuse, to histories of drugs and alcohol to family structures and family history to make the case for the ability of our society to work together to intervene at all levels, from law enforcement, medical professionals, families, teachers and the courts, to pinpoint potential future murderers and get them then help they need early on. I was pleasantly intrigued by the book, especially the section of statements by serial killers of their life and recollection of their crimes, even though it was a dark subject.
March 27, 2015
I found this book extremely informative regarding serial killers, as well as a very interesting read that made me turn from page to page. It is a definite addition to your research if you want to know what goes on inside the mind of a serial killer. This book is excellent research material if you want to know the patterns of a serial killer to physical characteristics, to what their childhood was like, the profiling goes on. It is a read not for the squeamish. I hope the information and research Dr. Norris completed for this book is being further developed and continued.
June 9, 2015
While I doubt that the information in this book will truly change the way that violent juveniles are processed, or the judicial system when it encounters a serial killer, I was taken with the extraordinary amount of research that went into this book. That even an accident can create a serial killer if there are other negative factors to add to it is astounding. And for genetics to play a role is something new to me, also. So much for the singular matter of child abuse at the root of such evil.
December 27, 2014
I have difficulties with this book. Sometimes it goes into deep details using all psychology jargons, it was hard for me to stay focus. But in the end I didn't get anything much. The subject is still as blurry as before I read this book.
July 28, 2008
This is more clinical but there are some really good serial killer case studies
October 16, 2011
I read this for a class I took on the psychology of serial killers. Excellent read and will help me write more believable serial killers in my fiction.
May 24, 2012
RESEARCH FOR SCREENPLAY ...
December 30, 2012
I read this many years ago but from what I remember this book was extremely interesting. The ins and outs of a serial killers mind, the testing and research. Intense.
December 28, 2014
Good overview of the most infamous killers in modern history.
July 30, 2011
Fascinating study of the genetics found in the DNA of many serial killers.
Read
June 8, 2017May need more social science findings in it.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews