Final Truth : The Autobiography of a Serial Killer [Hardcover]

Donald H. Gaskins (Author), Wilton Earle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1992

The autobiogarphy of Serial Killer Gaskins, written as collaboration bwteen Gaskins and Wilton Earle. Gaskins graphic story of his life and crimes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Author-journalist Wilton Earle spent fifteen-months eliciting from Donald 'Pee Wee' Gaskins. this graphic version of Gaskins life and crimes. The result is a remarkable book that enables the reader to better understand the thoughts and emotions of a man who killed from a psychopathic need to identify with his victims through the joining of his own pain with theirs. Final Truth provides rare insight into a killer's tortured mind. I recommend it to psychiatrists, psychologists, and anyone in the forensic field." -- Thomas J. Andrews, MD., Psychiatrist

"Final Truth is a profoundly disturbing window into the mind of a mass murderer. As such, it is an invaluable addition to the psychiatric literature of psychopathology and sociopathy. I envision that it will become required reading for all law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and sociologists." -- Terrence P. Clark, MD., Psychiatrist

"The moral dilemma posed by Final Truth is curiously reminiscent of that posed by Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment - but I doubt that even Dostoevsky's imagination could have conceived a character at once as commonplace, yet hideously evil, as 'Pee Wee' Gaskins -without doubt, the worst Serial Killer of all time." -- Colin Wilson, Author, The Outsider; Killers Among Us; A Criminal History of Mankind; Alien Dawn

From the Author

BY SERIAL KILLER GASKINS: "In this book I'm not asking nobody's forgiveness. I got no apologies to make for my life. I always had my reasons for everything I ever done."

- Donald 'Pee Wee' Gaskins

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Adept; First Edition Probable edition (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963242202
• ISBN-13: 978-0963242204
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lead poisoning? Possibly., December 1, 2004

By 

Violet (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Final Truth : The Autobiography of a Serial Killer (Hardcover)

This book takes the reader on an unflinching and unapologetic journey narrated by a confessed serial killer, Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins. The author, Wilton Earle, spent a lot of time visiting Gaskins in prison in order to record (both on tape and in this book) Gaskins' life story from his own account.
The story that unravels as this book progresses invoked both disgust and an uncomfortable sympathy for Gaskins. He claimed to have a lifelong "bothersome" feeling in the pit of his stomach, which was only relieved when he killed someone.
Many readers will be disgusted and shocked by this book, and most will say they cannot understand how a person could do such horrible things. Yet, most people were not repeatedly tortured, raped and beaten from early childhood until early adulthood, either. That can make for a big difference in a person's perspective. You know the saying- "There but for the Grace of God, go I." If you cannot imagine how a person could commit these crimes, thank your lucky stars, for you are fortunate that your childhood was not filled with unspeakable atrocities committed to you, unlike Gaskins. This in no way excuses his actions, but it does help to explain them.
Gaskins childhood was beyond atrocious, like so many of his peers in prison and on Death Row. He was horribly abused, repeatedly and brutally raped and emotionally & physically neglected by members of his family and people in his community. This was a child who was perpetually in "survival mode," who never had a chance to build a strong sense of morality. From his early childhood he did not experience a nurturing home environment, only one of fear and violence. He was done further mental and physical damage by a highly neglectful criminal justice system, which he jokingly mentions actually contributed to his life of crime and killing. Some of his crimes are stomach-turning, while some are disturbingly ingenious. Much can be learned about how a killer's mind evolves from this book.
As his life progressed, he did what came naturally to him- and that is what astounded me most about Gaskins' story. His life seemed to be lived according to his "animal instinct" and whim, rather than according to the more structured development most of us are accustomed to. He had to fend for himself, and his lifestyle and choices were a result of that. At times, Gaskins seemed to behave more like an wild animal than a human being, which further contributed to the sense that he was never quite "socialized" into society. His solution for interpersonal conflicts was to simply kill the other person.
One thing that struck me several times as I read this book was that there was no mention of Gaskins having lead poisoning. I did a little bit of research into lead poisoning, and it seems to me that both Gaskin's physical symptoms as well as his childhood environment could have easily and logically been linked to lead poisoning. (Older homes, like the one Gaskins grew up in, commonly had peeling lead-based paint & old lead water pipes in addition to lead-based enamel, solder, etc. Lead poisoning symptoms include abdominal pain, nervous disorders, hallucinations, headaches & much more.) In the book Gaskins also mentions torturing people with "plumbum"- that, folks, is molten lead. It could explain a lot of things about his physical pains and his mental state (or as Gaskins called it, his "special kind of mind").
In any case, this is an invaluable book for people sincerely interested in understanding the psychological etiology of a killer. Very interesting, disturbing and sad indeed.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars oh dear god, April 9, 1999

By 

"deadringer5" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Final Truth : The Autobiography of a Serial Killer (Hardcover)

About five or six years ago I read a prepublication version of this book, which was softcover and had an audiocassette with it. I wouldn't recommend this to people who tend towards nightmares, or who have weak stomachs. The brutality and sadism of the crimes, and the detail which is supplied is enough to chill even the strongest constitution. Gaskins is a true serial killer's serial killer.... the violence, and stealth of his crimes is stunning; not only will you never hitchhike again, you may never sleep again. It took me a long time to drive memories of this book from my mind, and it honestly traumatized me, though I couldn't put it down to save my own life while I was reading it. Don't worry, there's no risk of sloppy empathy here....

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter Evil, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Final Truth : The Autobiography of a Serial Killer (Hardcover)

I was recommended this book by a friend of mine who came across it in his research for a criminal justice degree. He had read dozens of such books, and reguarded this as the most vivid account of human brutality in print. I must say I agree. There are certainly other accounts of such evil, but most are from the perspective of on lookers. The Final Truth, however, offers the reader the self-portrait of a socio-path; why he does what he does, that evil exists in this world. Many of the accounts Gaskins are unverifiable. However, some of the previously unknown grave sites have been located from Gaskins descriptions. Do not read this if you are squimish or easily offended. The rapes, murders, and torchures are accounted in vivid detail, and this book will change you perception of the world. Perhaps the most telling thing about this book is how the average reader cannot seem to put it down
(I read it in a night). What does that say about us?