Customer Reviews

I: The Creation of a Serial Killer

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Keith Hunter Jesperson is an American serial killer who raped and murdered eight women while he worked as a long-distance trucker in the early 1990's. He is also notoriously media-hungry, known for having set up personal web pages with his delusional rants against the government during his early imprisonment, as well as starting a serial murderer pen pal club.

Author Jack Olsen recounts Jesperson's story in two parallel story lines. One is told in the first person, from Jesperson's point of view, starting with his first murder of a mentally incapacitated barfly through his multi-state crime spree and incarceration. The other story is an objective, journalistic look at Jesperson's childhood and life in the media.

This book is different from any other true crime story because Olsen allows Jesperson to speak uncensored (occasionally accompanied by footnotes with direct contradictions of Jesperson's version of events). Jesperson blames external factors--his father, women who are "bitches," society, bullies--for his desire to torture and kill both animals and women. Jesperson's narrative is an exercise in contradictions--he goes back and forth between loving and loathing his father, especially in their correspondence during his imprisonment. In one notable example, when Jesperson is suicidal and ready to turn himself over to authorities, he reflects on his experience with a woman with an infant he met outside a liquor store in Shasta, California. By his own account, Jesperson forced oral sex from the woman and roughhoused her against her will, then gave her a ride home when he was unable to kill her with ease. She filed charges against him. Several years later, at the end of his murderous career, Jesperson speaks of the incident as follows: "I thought about how hard it is to kill people. I snapped that Shasta woman's neck three times and she was still alive to lie about me." Jesperson seems to have forgotten that, by his own account of the encounter, he was violent and sexually abusive towards the woman, providing her ample reason to file a complaint with the police.

Author Olsen lets Jesperson's account stand on its own, for the most part, and the reader is left to note the inconsistencies and contradictions for him/herself. Jesperson enjoys the spotlight, and toyed with the media during his trial in such a way as to disrupt the prosecution's case and make the public doubt his sanity (he claimed responsibility for hundreds or murders and made other outrageous, exaggerated claims). By allowing Jesperson to speak freely, Olsen provides an unprecedented glimpse inside the mind of a rapist and serial killer--Jesperson speaks candidly about the "death game" he played with his victims, how he desired to stretch their death out as long as possible, and his loathing for women jumps off the page at the reader. Not for the faint of heart.

I don't mean Apology, I mean Apologia, a formal, written explanation of actions. In this case the Happyface Killer tries to explain how he became a serial killer because of 1) his family; 2) society; 3) women and 4) alcohol. This list is not exclusive nor in any specific order. I was rather tired of his self serving whining after the first chapter and it would have been better if there had been some balancing exposition from Mr. Olsen-- a writer I generally respect.

This is certainly an antidote to the Hannibal Lector myth of the superior serial killer. Jesperson is a remarkably banal sort of killer-- focused on sex and money. Probably the most queasy making part of his story involves his claims of being a doting father intertwined with graphic scenes of brutality.

Definitely recommended for those who want to romanticize the breed.

I have amassed quite a collection of true crime books in my life. Aside from Helter Skelter, this may be my favorite true crime book. Aided by a very forthcoming killer, Jack Olsen displays a wealth of knowledge on his subject. While I found the brevity of chapter to be discouraging, the contend creates an exceptional product. While some authors in this genre continually repeat themselves, Olsen tells a seamless story with a continual supply of fresh information.

Keith Hunter Jesperson is the "Happy Face Killer". He earns this name through his washroom stall vandalism and letter writing signature. Jesperson's killing spree involves eight women. In the case of his first murder, others went to jail for his crime. His final death toll could have been larger if he had not killed his "fiance". The story is unique because the killer is a truck driver. This facet of the story gives unique insight into the life of a truck driver. The murders are spread through a large area with victims that a largely prostitutes. Jesperson places much of the blame for his murders on his father. The childhood stories depict his father as a manipulative, abusive alcoholic. Even from the stories in the present, his father seems this way. If the stories he describes are true, his father does hold some responsibility for his son's crimes.

True crime fans must add this book to their collection. The stories are detailed and give insight into the acts of a serial killer which have never been seen before.

The True Crime writing genre lost one of its greats when Jack Olsen died recently. Along with Ann Rule both wrote honest, well written books without resorting to the sensationalism that most of the other TC writers do. Olsen's "Salt of the Earth" remains one of the best books written from the victim's family point of view and is one of my all time favorite books. His newest "I" is on par with another choice book "The Misbegotten Son" but maybe with more searing honesty. Olsen lets Keith Hunter Jesperson narrate the whole book from a first person's point of view. It is a chilling, brutal, scary tale. It's almost too vivid as he describes torturing animals (Animal lovers beware. I'm one and it's upsetting) and mercilessly killing his female victims without care or thought. I read these books for the psychology of the perpetrator. How does one get this way? This book does give background on the killer and lets you draw your own conclusions without editorializing.

Jack Olsen was, truly, a master of true crime. His erudite dissection of the minds of killers are incredible, and his legacy is secure.

I: the Creation of a Serial Killer is no different. Written with the full cooperation (and in the voice of) the Happy Face Killer (Keith Hunter Jesperson), this new book lets us into the inner workings of a criminal mind. Tracing Jesperson from his early childhood through his life of crime and into his days in prison.

With Jesperson's own descriptions of his brutal crimes and Olsen's knowledgable analysis of the mind of a killer, I is a fascinating read.

Jack Olsen once said that a true crime book that doesn't seek to answer the question of "what created this monster?" is "pure pornography." It's fitting, then, that his final book was I, The Creation of Serial Killer. There isn't a Jack Olsen book that isn't worth the time of any serious true crime fan. He was a true great and if anyone else had written this book I doubt I'd have read it. You see, I'm basically a wimp and the gore that is inherent in any serial killer story is more than I can take. While the gore factor on this book is low for a serial killer story, this is still one of the most profoundly disturbing books I've ever read. It is the first book that I have deleted from my Kindle - I literally didn't want it around.

Olsen gets into the mind of serial killer Keith Jesperson, literally channeling his voice. This was enlightening. Who knew that the mind of a serial killer was so boring? Vile, horrific, loathsome thoughts and fantasies - these I expected and got. The boring factor was a revelation. Step inside the mind of a serial killer and you're in for the endless self-justifications of a whiny loser. Everybody done him wrong. Whether Jesperson is more self-aware than the average serial killer or, in other words, is less of a whiny loser than most serial killers is a bit like asking if the concentration camp guard was nice. It's all relative, yes, but consider the scale.

There are moments of twisted Is-this-guy-for-real black humor, like when Jesperson refers to "special moments shared with my victims" that elicit a combination gasp-laugh-choke. The Serial Killers Pen Pal Club that Jesperson starts, on the other hand, may just be proof that sometimes illiteracy isn't such a bad thing. Then again, it's hard not to walk away from this book passionately pro death penalty even if you start it passionately on the other side of the debate. This crew is pretty much the filled with poster children for euthanasia with their mercenary insistence on being paid for every word and getting jealous when one of them gets more press.

This is a tough book to critique. Olsen so effectively channels Jesperson for half the book that I missed Olsen's familiar, sane voice. Judged on its own terms, probably the only fair ones, it succeeds in what it sets out to achieve. But would I recommend it? Well, if you think serial killers are fascinating or interesting, then step right up and get yourself disabused of those notions. Ditto if you think they can be rehabilitated - these guys just like killing. If you're wondering if press coverage encourages serial killers to up the ante, Jesperson is an example of someone who wants "credit" for his "kills." But, again, would I recommend it? This isn't an enjoyable book. I didn't enjoy Plato's Republic though I'm glad I read it. The best I can offer is that if you're deeply interested in serial killers, this book is essential reading. But be prepared for loss of appetite and nightmares.

The late Jack Olsen was a master of the true-crime genre. He chose wonderfully bizarre cases and criminals to document, and "I" is no exception, though it isn't his best.

Most of the book is told first-person from "Happy Face Killer" Keith Hunter Jesperson's own point of view. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good, in that it gives the reader direct access to the psychopath's own vision of himself and the world around him. It's bad, in that it doesn't do a great deal to sort out the truth behind the psychopath's lies. Olsen counts on his readers to do that for themselves, which to a certain extent isn't a bad idea, but a bit more commentary from Olsen would have been welcome.

"I" is an especially apt title, since not only is Jesperson unbelievably narcissistic - letters of his writing, the reader will quickly notice (though Olsen never once calls attention to the fact), refer to their writer in the personal pronoun an incredible number of times - but so, to a large degree, is his father. The biggest unanswered question in Keith Jesperson's story is the question of his upbringing. Jesperson's father denied most of Keith's claims of childhood abuse, but he is so plainly hung-up on other people's perceptions of him that the reader constantly has to question how many of killer Keith's claims are true, or simply made-up like the majority of his other stories. Again, a bit more input from Olsen would have been welcome. The constant contrast between father and son often becomes comical, despite itself, in the desire on the part of both to be viewed in their best possible light. No doubt Olsen recognized this, and wanted it to speak for itself - which it does.

Jesperson's case is reminiscent of Arthur Shawcross's, a serial killer of women and children who was an X-double-Y chromosomal mutation - and, interestingly, a brief correspondent of Jesperson's in prison. Olsen barely ponders the question of nature-vs.-nurture in "I," though he does bring up the contrasting stories about Keith Jesperson's upbringing and the fact that he had an uncle who committed gory suicide in an institution. Olsen isn't interested in debates - he just wants to present the facts, and let the reader ask (or answer) his own questions.

It's possible Olsen intended to flesh-out this book a bit more before his death, and simply didn't have time. The result is still well worth reading for true-crime afficionadoes, or those with an interest in criminal psychology.

"I: The Creation of a Serial Killer" by Jack Olsen, ISBN 0-312-24198-4 (H/C), St. Martin's Press 2002 is a 359 page chronicle by seasoned writer (10 prior titles) about the rise and fall of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, AKA "The Happy Face Killer" during the period 1990-1995 and employed as a big-wheeler trucker aged 35-40 years.

We are furnished 10 chapters: 5 (alternately) of Keith as the killer, 3 ("A Killer's Life") as a confused angry youngster within a family, 1 on "Justice" and a final chapter "Father and Son". The early teasing by play- and schoolmates, alleged (but denied) beatings by father, loathsome torture of animals, early exposure to sexuality and loss of mother, swinger life style & extramarital affairs, insatiable sex urges (and practices) and other deviant behavioral diversions and/or perversions including road rage and arson were manifest in this 6'6" 250-pound murderer who played strangulation games with his victims. Olsen graphically describes these events as they were happening.

Olsen's alternation of chapters between the killer and the killer-to-be has some reminisces of 'flash-backs' but is a bit clumsy, although the use of many quotations and a sense of being written in the first person provides a chilling recital of the angry child who is transformed into a depraved narcissistic serial killer totally lacking remorse, but mocks authority and moral principles.

I found the table of contents disturbing by its absence, but there is a 5-page index and 11 worthy illustrations. The last 2 chapters were of especial interest to me and provided a unique slant about maniacal antisocial personality disorders. Because of its novel features the book should be on the list of must read.

The author writes in the first person as if he is the actual serial killer. The approach is different and most effective. You get to know the life story and formation of what makes a serial killer and how he or she thinks. Sex plays a big part in the whole process as does animal mutilation and it is not easy reading, however, it is interesting and educational.

A lot of reviews so far have given this book less stars based on the contents of the book. Yes, Keith Hunter Jesperson has a lot of imagination and probably does stretch ideas, and he is a sadist sort of person. But how can you cut down the ranking of this book based on something that has nothing to do with the author's writing or control of the material? Olsen is the best of the best (I am also a very big Ann Rule fan) and he does justice with this book. It is a very entertaining read with a majority of the book written in first person point of view from Jesperson and other remaining parts giving background on Jesperson and his father. It is clear from reading this that Jesperson's father had a lot to do with the way his son turned out (though throughout the book the father is mentioned in footnotes as denying many harsh allegations) and even though there is no excuse or blame to be laid on killing people, Olsen does an A+ job of delivering the true crime in a way that will keep you reading this book until the end.