Into the Minds of Madmen: How the Fbi's Behavioral Science Unit Revolutionized Crime Investigation [Hardcover]

Don DeNevi (Author), John H. Campbell (Author), Stephen Band (Author), John E. Otto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2003

When law enforcement struggles to solve a serial murder, arson, rape, or child abduction, and is making little headway, it turns to the FBI's legendary Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Over the past three decades, more than thirty members of this elite team have worked to capture countless elusive criminals. Rarely have they been appreciated. Never has their story been told. This unique oral history will provide fascinating reading for fans of "CSI", "Profiler", and other similar dramas, and is also a long overdue and fitting tribute to the heroic men and women of the Behavioural Science Unit, who fight everyday to keep Americans safe.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

DeNevi (Mob Nemesis; Riddle of the Rock) and Campbell (former chief of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit) write in their introduction: "Although officially authorized by the FBI, the book is far from a bland, bureaucratic puff piece that covers up mistakes and elevates every minor accomplishment into a brilliant triumph." Unfortunately, that's precisely what this book is, a button-down history that never gets more interesting than an interdepartmental memo. The authors seem determined to remind the reader that behind every gruesome or sensational crime there are untold hours of procedural drudgery, reams of paperwork and tangles of bureaucratic formalities. Formally established in 1972, the BSU was a radical departure from the spit-and-polish, by-the-book bureau of J. Edgar Hoover's day. Also known as the Investigative Support Unit, the BSU was the first law enforcement body to develop and systematize a method for profiling the psychological tendencies of criminal types based solely on crime scene evidence. While this innovation in modern criminology has fascinated the general public and inspired numerous films and television series, this book offers little discussion of profiling itself or how it works. Except for a cursory overview of the Unabomber investigation, it does not discuss specific cases or criminals. Instead, the authors offer a chronological inventory of courses, programs and administrative decisions; the resumes of several prominent BSU agents; and a grab bag of irrelevant anecdotes.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The lives and work of these unsung heroes are compelling...recommend it for a rainy day..." -- Trial, May 2004

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 438 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591021359
• ISBN-13: 978-1591021353
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Gives the Real Story, Not just the Glory, February 13, 2007

By 

Stephen Mccaskill "www.crimesceneblog.com" (South Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Into the Minds of Madmen: How the Fbi's Behavioral Science Unit Revolutionized Crime Investigation (Hardcover)

Many true crime fans, myself included, have torn through the books by John Douglas and other ex-members of the Behavioral Sciences Unit or BSU. We marveled at their ability to deduce intricate details of a killer's personality and lifestyle from the type of crimes they committed. We read with wonder at how they became almost overnight sensations after helping catch Wayne Williams, the man convicted of the Atlanta Child Murders.

Movies have also engrained them in our psyche. From Silence of the Lambs and Manhunter, we see these men as brave, driven, and inteligent almost to the point of clairvoyance.

But what are these men really like, behind closed doors? And how did they come to form the group that law enforcement agencies and laypeople alike admire and respect?

That is where Into the Minds of Madmen starts. It is not a book filled with chapter after chapter of car chases, midnight plane rides, or stakeouts to catch a serial killer. Instead it deals with the minutiae of how the Behavioral Science Unit came into being.

Granted, there are stories of how the team of "profilers" worked on several cases. But the goal of this book, as they state clearly in the forward is not to "resort to retelling the same sensational serial-killing stories," but instead to tell of the formation of a group that would revolutionize crime scene investigation and the methods used to catch serial offenders.

I will admit, the book can be a bit bland at times. But there is a lot of history contained in these pages, history you won't probably find anywhere else. And several of the men who spoke with DeNevi and Campbell, agents who worked in the early years of the unit, give a hint at some of the theories, books, and studies they read, which led them to create this new method of criminal investigation.

For those folks that are truly interested in the BSU, not just the thrilling stories, this is a must-read. The history contained here and the chance to get a glimpse into what made these men tick, how they developed the advanced procedures and methods almost taken for granted today, will give you a newfound respect for these men who blazed a trail that has given us all a better feeling of security.