Customer Reviews

Human Monsters : An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Most Vicious Murderers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is a quick-reference book for the numerous serial killers that have roamed the land since the 1800s. This book starts with those who thought they were werewolves (feasting on children), to those who believed they were cannibals and breeded with each other, to the notorious Speck, Killer Clown and Dahmer. There are a few pages dedicated to each killer, complete with an easy-reference index. Only the most gruesome details are highlighted.

Expecting a package from Amazon is always a lot of fun. On some occasions the joy of receiving that package is quickly turned in to horrible disappointment. Getting this book was one of those moments. I don't know how the writers got their facts, if it was from "The National Inquirer", from the local psychic or if they just plain made it up, but it should be called fiction, not fact. To sum up my opinion: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK-IT STINKS!

This collection is great. I owned this book for years and would always go back and forth flipping through the pages, finding new twisted tales.

Another reviewer called it inaccurate, well, maybe, who cares really, I read it for the hair raising tales and pure shock and awe!

If you like serial killer literature, I haven't seen too many better then this book!

i wish i had seen that guy from swedens review before i bought that book.. i must agree with him.. from the first page i was reading incorrect information.. i will be returning this book for sure. i was all excited to get the book and when i saw incorrect information in first page, i went to the part about dahmer (about whom i have read a lot of books) and the info there was not consistant w/other books on him. i would like to know where they got some of their information for this book. it reminds me of another bad book 'cannibal killers' by moira martingale. if you want to read a really decent, accurate book... read a book by john douglas or robert ressler!!!

I checked the book out of my school's library a year ago,and loved it. It feuled my interest in criminology and psychology even further. For a book that came out in the early 90s, it highlights the news of Anderi Chikatilo's pending execution,for the murder of 52 children,Jeffery Dahmer's life sentence for the murder of 17 men and boys and later (after being published) the identities of the BTK Killer and the Green River Killer.The book's history extends as far back as the days of the Ottoman Empire and the rule of Vlad the Impaler and the bloody terrors of Elizabeth Bathory and Giles de Rais. The book covers 100 criminals through out time, from the notorious Ed Gein and Ted Bundy; to the lesser known like Ricky Kusso,the spree killers such as Charles Whitman and the unidentified serial criminals like the Zodiac, The Axeman of New Orleans and Jack The Ripper that continue to live in our nightmares to this day.

This book is great if you want to know more about the minds of the deranged, but it's to be kept in mind that this book is almost 20 years old,and it's out of date. Also, each chapter dedicated to each criminal doesn't go in depth about their childhoods or pasts up until the murders. So if you want more on them, then find an updated version of this, find biographies or do your own research. The book also includes pictures of the crime scenes and photos of the criminals from the time of their arrest,to court hearings, jail time and some, the day of their execution.

I give this book a 4.5/5

I would have loved to see more information about them, high-lighting a brief synopsis of their childhoods up until their first kill.If I was writing this 18 years ago, then I would say that this is an amazing work and is percise and excellent. I'm also not saying that because some parts are out of date,that you shouldn't read this. It's very good. I will say to do more research if you're interested.

The segment on the Bender family is fascinating. Luring travelers to their country home for dinner and a night's board, and Wham! Don't sit with your back to a sheet room-divider is the moral I guess. The chapter on Sawney Beane is just as great. Inbred Scottish cannibals living in a cave, where the only entrance is concealed by water due to the tide most of the day. Why isn't this story a movie?

Just my humble opinion, but I think this book is one of the better collections of serial killer stories available. I found this title at Half-Price Books while browsing the true crime section. I've looked at several more books on serial killers since I got Human Monsters a couple years ago, and still, none compare. I think the author spends enough time talking about each person - not too much, but not too little, and the book includes facts on your favorite murderers and cannibals while providing a little insight into the lives of some lesser-known criminals. It's one of few books in my large collection that I have actually finished reading and may even read again.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in true crime or serial killers. I found it very informative, personally.

This a good book for a quick reference. as for the "national "e"nquirer" review, that trashy paper couldn't make up this stuff. Although it doesn't really go in too deep about the murdering monsters, it still is a decent book and a good read.

This book is....how do you say? Ah yes, VERY...VERY FASCINATING. Just a little forewarning; this book does not contain any stories about "Joey,the Slob Drunk Husband" shooting "Martha, the Lazy Housewife" in the can over a simple domestic dispute over a sink-full of dirty dishes, or an empty dinner plate after a hard days work at the toaster factory. This Encycopedia is chock-full-o' historical facts and information, and is a very informative timeline of the history of the worlds known psychopaths, cannibals, necrophiles, serial killers, murderers, and mass murderers. Oh yeah, I forgot, the "National Enquirer" hasn't been established long enough to make up a story about "Seaney Beane" (sp?, don't have the book with me) or the "Bloody Benders", and I seriously doubt their writers would ever be creative enough to conjure up any stories like that, or any of the others for that matter. Please readers, READ THIS BOOK. It will really make you think....

And I'm not. There are many murderers listed in this book, in apparently no kind of order, so if you're looking for a specific one, take your time. Most of these are the gory killers, whose sadism and senseless torture of their victims (humans and animals alike) would make me ill if I read it, so I skipped those parts, which left me with not much to read.

I will have to take the word of previous reviewers who noted errors in the stories, since I'm not very familiar with the serial/torture killer type. I did notice that Mr. Everitt mentioned that Charles Whitman wrote a note requesting an autopsy before he went on his shooting spree in the tower at the University of Texas, but the author fails to mention that one was done afterward, and a large tumor was found in his brain. Just so you know.