Obsessed with True Crime discussion

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I wonder how much money has been generated just by books on Ted Bundy?

Fishface wrote: "I wonder how much money has been generated just by books on Ted Bundy?"

I don't know, but that's a very interesting question! I wonder if someone has done research on that.

There are 38 Bundy books on our TC shelf alone. And we may have missed some. And there are probably others being written as I type this.

At least 15 of them look like they are probably regurgitated internet information out to make a buck.

3 or 4 of the titles available are the same book under 3 or 4 different jacket artists -- the Paul Dawson ones.

Has anybody read the Paul Dawson book?

I haven't. I am put off by the reviews which aren't very good. Not a cheap book either. If it was cheap, I would have bought it with little to lose. Have you read it?

The more I think about this, the more puzzled I am. Why, in all the reading I have done on Bundy, I don't remember this name? I am curious now. Anyone know anything about him and how he fits into the Bundy saga? He says he actually interviewed Bundy.

No I have never read it,like you I was put off by the price.It intrigues me when he interviewed Bundy as I have never read of him in the various Bundy books I have.Dawson claims Bundy told him things he never told anybody else on the proviso he only revealed it after his death.I find it strange these interviews aren't referenced in other books on Bundy and serial killers in general.

Looks like there is a free .pdf download available here:

https://www.google.com/fusiontables/D...

though I'm hesitant to download it. Otherwise, I'm finding a great paucity of information on Paul Dawson - the only things that come up in searches are his own books.

The book is self-published (Vistar Pictures, his own imprint, it appears) which doesn't mean it's bad, but the cover is terrible. He went to an acclaimed, but interesting, college: The New School in New York, which allows students to create their own plan of study. It's curious to me that he does not specify which state prison system he's been a psychologist in nor does he name the other various institutions he's been involved with. His name does not pop up anywhere except in conjunction with his books(s). Of course, he could be using a pseudonym.

K.A. wrote: "Looks like there is a free .pdf download available ...
though I'm hesitant to download i..."

I think you have to join it. Free trial but I bet you have to give them a credit card number and I am not doing that! I have emailed a friend of mine to see if he knows anything about this doctor or the book.

Lee wrote: "No I have never read it,like you I was put off by the price.It intrigues me when he interviewed Bundy as I have never read of him in the various Bundy books I have.Dawson claims Bundy told him thin..."

Only $3,858.20 on Amazon.

Oh wait, there's another one that is only $25. And the only review gives it 2 stars. But there are quotes from DEAD TED.

My friend is a psychologist who did interview Bundy and did and still does work with the prison system in Utah. He has never heard of Paul Dawson or the book and even though Dawson interviewed him in Florida, you would think my friend would have at least heard of him.

There's virtually no current information about 'Vistar Pictures' either, which claims to be the publisher of the book. It's odd - I'm hardly a well-known author, but if you search my name on google, you'll come up with tons of stuff, not only about my books, but websites, social profiles, news articles, etc., etc. But for this guy and his company - nothing.

He writes "as if" he interviewed people like Bundy, Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, etc. and he thinks it's okay to advertise the books "as if" he really did. If not illegal, then unethical!

Shelley wrote: "The more I think about this, the more puzzled I am. Why, in all the reading I have done on Bundy, I don't remember this name? I am curious now. Anyone know anything about him and how he fits into t..."

This guy claims to have personally interviewed EVERYONE. Manson, Bundy, Homolka, Jodi Arias, you name it. Only if they're on the news, of course. If you've never seen them on CNN he can't be bothered. He also claims to have done remote psychoanalysis on Travis Alexander, Jackie Kennedy, and so forth.

Curiouser and curiouser.

The Amazon write up certainly claims he really did interview Bundy. You would think we would see at least one website exposing him. Very odd.

With all the Bundy books I've read, I never heard of Paul Dawson either. I googled him and found this page:

https://www.createspace.com/4548011

Interestingly it says, "Dr. Dawson conducted a series of interviews with Ted Bundy, poster boy for serial-sex killers, in 1988 while he was on Death Row in the Florida State Prison at Starke, Florida."

This doesn't seem to be remotely possible because during this time, Bundy was interviewed by 3 psychologists - Dr. Art Norman, Dr. Emmanuel Tanay, and Dr. Dorothy Lewis. Polly Nelson wrote about this in detail in her book, 'Defending the Devil' and there's no way that another psychologist would've interviewed him without her even bothering to mention it. Nelson gives a great account of Bundy's final years on death row and there's not a single word about this Dawson person. Furthermore none of the other Bundy authors that many of us here have read their books ever mentioned this man either. It sounds like he's repeating what the other psychologists who actually DID interview Bundy already said.

Shelley wrote: "The Amazon write up certainly claims he really did interview Bundy. You would think we would see at least one website exposing him. Very odd."

I hope that means nobody has ever actually read his books.

*scratches Dawson's name off TBR list*

Dina wrote: "With all the Bundy books I've read, I never heard of Paul Dawson either. I googled him and found this page:

https://www.createspace.com/4548011

Interestingly it says, "Dr. Dawson conducted a seri..."

Createspace is where his paperbacks are produced - the quote's directly off the back cover of the book, so no vetting there.

Oh I hadn't seen that it was taken directly from the book, you're right, I was just checking the Amazon page and it's the same info.

I'm beginning to suspect that this guy does not exist, at least as Paul Dawson. It may be a pseudonym, but it's usually fairly easy to figure out a pseudonym as well, because there are links and connections between names (the internet's very good at that).

The thing that concerns me is whether or not the interviews' contents have been made up out of whole cloth. I wouldn't care if this was a novel, but when passed off as truth, I think it is problematic because it purports to show insight into the mind of a serial killer, but in fact may have no relation to how he was thinking. I don't want those who are trying to understand how serial killers think to be mislead.

I apologize for derailing the original topic of this thread, which was not Paul Dawson. Perhaps this should be spun off into a 'Who is Paul Dawson?' thread of its own?

According to some of the reviews his "interview" consists of quotes from the interviews Stephen G. Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth did with him for The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy
I think your right K.A he is either writing under a pseudonym or he is a complete fantasist,I personally think it's both.

Shelley wrote: "The more I think about this, the more puzzled I am. Why, in all the reading I have done on Bundy, I don't remember this name? I am curious now. Anyone know anything about him and how he fits into t..."

It's probably a sign from your inner, deepest whatever that 'Paul Dawson' is a pen name.