Customer Reviews

I Have Lived in the Monster: A Report From The Abyss

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

 

 

but fascinating nonetheless. Admittedly, "Whoever fights monsters" is a tough act to follow and "I have lived..." fails to best it. Not a classic one-sitting page-turner yet it draws you back again and again until you finish. You come out of it with an interesting perspective of serial killers in the international scene as well as deeper insight into the murderous minds of Gacy and Dahmer.

This book was full of graphic details that I am sure were never made public. The interviews were very well written. Reesler would inject his personal comments throughout the interviews to give the reader a better understanding of what was being said. I found this book totally fascinating because it gets into why they did what they did, not just the details of what they did. I recommend this book to all that are interested in true crime. This book is not for the weak stomach.

Once again Robert Ressler captured my attention as I read his book. I feel the books biggest contribution was breaking down the stereo-type of America being the only country serial homicide happens. He cites several cases from various countries and goes into detail about them. His interviews with Dahmer and Gacy are intriguing as well.

I learned a lot that I had not known about the Gacy and Dahmer cases. This book is well written with self-contained chapters on some of the worst cases of serial murder. If the author is self-aggrandizing I did not pick it up. He has justifiable reasons to be proud of his work. Many killers will kill no more because of his and others work. It must take an incredible amount of character and emotional strength to work these cases without going crazy or falling into a suicidal depression. My only criticism is that I am completely uninterested in any professional rivalry between Douglas, Ressler or any others. Both have done good work.

Four stars with a fifth added to raise the review average which, IMHO, is too low for this book.

To say the author provided the reader with in in-depth psychological study of serial killers is going a bit too far, as any first year psychology student will attest. However, to give credit where due, the interview of Dahmer was interesting.

Yes, he does have an ego the size of Texas and sometimes the constant references to his own superiority draws your attention from the stories he's telling, but even so the book is interesting and well worth buying. The interviews with Gacey and Dahlmer are both chilling and interesting. They bring these men beyond being monsters and nightmares and turns them into reality. For anyone interested in reading a book that doesn't thrive on blood but rather explores and explains the mind of some serial killers, this book is a must

I enjoy reading about how the criminal mind works, however I got tired very quickly of being told repeatedly that Mr. Ressler didn't go looking for these jobs they came to him. I also found very distracting the negative tone that he uses regarding his past co-workers in the FBI. It left me wondering just how much back-stabbing goes on in that organization, instead of pondering the criminal mind which was why I purchased the book. Also, being told over and over how important he was to the cases featured in this book became hard to stomach also. I did find the excerpts from the Gacy and Dahmer interviews amazing. I was just astounded at how the human mind can turn things around to make facts easier to deal with.

The book is next to useless as a source of information on the mind/thinking of serial killers. The only pages worth reading were of the actual interviews. Mr. Ressler should try not to spend so much time bragging about his importance to the cases and more time on the subject in which he leads us to belive he his writing about. A definite waste of money and time.

After reading this book I came to the conclusion that I prefer to read the books of Mr. Ressler's former collegues. I found his general attitude in writing this book to be if he did not profile the subject it was not done correctly. It is also apparent he has a recurring need to elevate himself above John Douglas which takes away from the subject in his book. This book would have been a better read if it had not "starred" Mr. Ressler as opposed to the subject matter at hand.

The case histories were interesting, but this guy has an ego as big as all outdoors. I also read Douglas's book and can't imagine these two ever working together. They would constantly be in the hospital having their arms set from patting themselves on the back. But I digress! I guess when your work takes you into the world of the serial killer, you deserve alot of credit. Ressler's interviews with Gacy and Dahmer made my skin crawl. Thank God this world doesn't ever have to worry that they might be out walking around again. I didn't read his first book, but I think I'll hold off for awhile before I do.