A comprehensive study of the life and crimes of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer discusses the investigation into the killings, the stories of the victims' families, and the intense criticism faced by police for their handling of the case.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Schwartz, the Milwaukee Journal reporter who first broke the Dahmer story of murder and cannibalism in July 1991, here presents a superficial account of the case. The book is redeemed only by the chapters detailing the impact of the crimes on the city and those showing the media responding to the sensationalism of the revelations in a kind of feeding frenzy. Especially unsatisfactory is the psychological analysis of Dahmer, which has little depth. Additionally, Schwartz is a writer of only average ability. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Dahmer strangled 17 young gay men (most of them black), sexually molested the corpses, then dismembered and photographed the bodies. He stored some of the heads in the freezer--others he boiled, bleached, painted, and kept as mementos. He was arrested in July 1991 when a potential victim managed to escape and reported the incident to the police. The Milwaukee Journal reporter who broke the story recounts Dahmer's background, details each of the murders, considers the divisive effects the case had on the city, and examines the role of the media in reporting sensational crimes. Schwartz's approach to this grisly material is straightforward, and her first-hand account of the process of covering the story of a lifetime is fascinating. She is less successful at drawing a convincing portrait of the killer, and her efforts at psychological analysis are perfunctory. The notoriety of this case will undoubtedly spawn more complete and insightful accounts, but in the meantime, this book will satisfy an immediate interest on the part of true-crime readers.
- Ben Harrison, East Orange P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Ben Harrison, East Orange P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
Following a 26-year career as an investigative reporter, Anne E. Schwartz was appointed Communications Director for the Milwaukee Police Department in 2004 and commands the department's Office of Media & Communications.
In 1991, as a reporter for the former Milwaukee Journal, she broke the story of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and later wrote the definitive book on the case, "The Man Who Could Not Kill Enough: The Story of Milwaukee's Jeffrey Dahmer." The book was later made into a television movie. She frequently speaks to national audiences on the subject of Dahmer and how media have changed the way law enforcement messages news of a serial killer to its communities.
Anne is bilingual in Spanish and English. She is a founding member of the Public Affairs Committee for the Major Cities Chiefs organization, a committee formed to advise the country's major city Police Chiefs on public affairs issues.
She is the creator, producer and host of "CrimeLine" on Time Warner Cable Television, a program featuring discussions on law enforcement topics.
Anne is a nationally recognized trainer and subject matter expert on media strategies and crisis communication during critical incidents for law enforcement and public safety professionals. She is an adjunct faculty member teaching executive messaging for law enforcement at the Waukesha County Technical College and Fox Valley Technical College, both in Wisconsin. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In 1991, as a reporter for the former Milwaukee Journal, she broke the story of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and later wrote the definitive book on the case, "The Man Who Could Not Kill Enough: The Story of Milwaukee's Jeffrey Dahmer." The book was later made into a television movie. She frequently speaks to national audiences on the subject of Dahmer and how media have changed the way law enforcement messages news of a serial killer to its communities.
Anne is bilingual in Spanish and English. She is a founding member of the Public Affairs Committee for the Major Cities Chiefs organization, a committee formed to advise the country's major city Police Chiefs on public affairs issues.
She is the creator, producer and host of "CrimeLine" on Time Warner Cable Television, a program featuring discussions on law enforcement topics.
Anne is a nationally recognized trainer and subject matter expert on media strategies and crisis communication during critical incidents for law enforcement and public safety professionals. She is an adjunct faculty member teaching executive messaging for law enforcement at the Waukesha County Technical College and Fox Valley Technical College, both in Wisconsin. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Milwaukee's Finest,
This review is from: Man Who Could Not Kill Enuf (Hardcover)
This book was written by the Milwaukee Journal crime reporter who was the first reporter on the scene when Jeffrey Dahmer's personal slaughterhouse was revealed to the public on July 23, 1991. This book was published the following year and as such it doesn't have the benefit of time with which to look back on the murderer that shocked Milwaukee and the nation. Of course, Jeffrey Dahmer himself didn't have much time, either -- he was killed in prison in November 1994 by a delusional fellow inmate.Dahmer's misdeeds are widely known, if only in part, but this book does bring forth the full horror in the very first chapter. Working the crime beat, Anne E. Schwartz, the wife of a cop who frequently got to go "under the yellow tape" for a closer look, was one of the few who actually got to stand in Dahmer's cramped, fetid apartment. Upon entering, she first noticed the general clutter and the trappings of a gay single man: potato chip bags, cigarette butts in an ashtray, and posters of muscular hunks adorning the walls. But she also couldn't help but notice the twisted and macabre additions that lurked in every room: a filing cabinet containing multiple human skulls, a scrapbook containing photos of partially dismembered corpses, containers of formaldehyde and chloroform, not to mention various bones and decomposing body parts. She knew this would be the case of a lifetime and in fact she was the one who broke the story. Schwartz's carefully compiled narrative follows Dahmer from his younger days to the last eighteen months of his life before his arrest, a time he used to kill a dozen men. The book starts strong because the story is simply so shocking. But Schwartz has also spoken personally to many members of the victims' families. Their stories really frame the tragedy, and Schwartz does keep the book moving, but the book nevertheless begins to be less about Dahmer at this point. And while not many other authors would have had the perspective on Milwaukee to address just how badly this case fractured the city and exposed raw racial divisions, the book really ceased to be about Dahmer at this point. I felt it lost its focus. The story of Milwaukee is certainly one that needed to be told -- just not in a book with this particular title. For those interested in "profiling" or criminal motive, this book will disappoint you. It's not a detective story, either. Schwartz does go into some depth regarding Dahmer's relationship with his probation officer (recall that Dahmer was on probation when he killed many of his victims) and these details reveal just how sad, miserable, and lonely Jeffrey Dahmer was in the last year of his freedom. But for the most part, this is a book that will appeal mostly to avid Dahmer fans or to those who want to read about the fallout from the case on the city of Milwaukee, its Police Department, and its citizens. It might also hold interest for those who are interested in how journalists work with police departments to report on crime. Those of us who are looking for explanations might instead turn to Robert Ressler's book on serial killers, I Have Lived in the Monster. There is a lengthy interview with Dahmer perforated with Ressler's commentary that helps explain why Dahmer felt compelled to commit such acts of violence.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Bias Across the Boards,
By
This review is from: Man Who Could Not Kill Enuf (Hardcover)
It appears that the author of this book benefited from her friendship with the local police in investigating and writing this book. I believe at the time she was involved (married or living with) a police officer and as such she sides way too much with the police department in defending their bungling of this case before Dahmer was finally arrested for his crimes. She also sugar coats the rampant racism that was the status quo at the police department before Dahmer's capture. I strongly disagree with her decision to publish the criminal records of Dahmer's victims as it give the appearance of blaming them somehow for their fate. While she did benefit slightly from the access she was allowed in providing details others could not, it can't make up for her lack of skill as a writer. It should be noted that after writing this book she went on to become the official spokesperson for the very same police department. If anyone knows of a really good book on this subject please share the title with me as this book left me quite unsatisfied.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't bother...,
This review is from: Man Who Could Not Kill Enuf (Hardcover)
My time, and my dollar and nine cents could go to better use. Watching paint dry, perhaps with a cup of coffee. This book is a piece of one-off schlock by someone who obviously had her golden window of opportunity by "being popular" with the men in blue, and came to write this. The declining arc of her subsequent career moves leads me to wonder where her talent lay. Journalism? TV? Now she's spinning for the MPD. At least she gets to be in front of the camera from time to time. Good thing, too. She hasn't been able to pop out another book.
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