Monster: My True Story [Paperback]

Aileen Wuornos (Author), Christopher Berry-Dee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

Told in her own words, this is the story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was portrayed in an Oscar-winning performance by Charlize Theron in the film Monster. There have been few female serial killers, but Aileen Wuornos, who was executed in 2002, was a remarkable example of this rare breed of death row inmate. All too often, female prostitutes have been the victims of male serial killers—Wuornos’ killings were the inverse of this pattern. After escaping an abusive childhood at the hands of her grandparents, she became a child prostitute, progressing into a disastrous adulthood of prostitution and damaging affairs with both men and women. Her eventual metamorphosis from victim to attacker had brutal consequences—a stream of dead men. This is her story, as told to Christopher Berry-Dee, editor of The New Criminologist and director of Britain's Criminology Research Center.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"I'm a good person inside, but when I get drunk, I just don't know. It's just... when I get drunk, don't mess the fuck with me..." There have been few female serial killers but Aileen "Lee" Wuornos was an incredible example of this rare species of death-row inhabitants. All-too-often female prostitutes have been the victims of male serial killers--the killings of Wuornos were the inverse of this. She was a child prostitute after running away from an abusive childhood in the hands of her grandparents straight into a disastrous adulthood of difficult affairs with both men and women and prostitution. Her metamorphosis from victim to attacker had brutal consequences: a stream of dead men. Following a renewed interest in this woman after the film Monster this is her story in her own words. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Christopher Berry-Dee is the editor of The New Criminologist and the director of the Criminology Research Centre. He has published, with Robin Odell, 'Dad, Help Me Please' the story of Derek Bentley and Christopher Craig and 'Unmasking Mr Kipper' on the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh. More recently he published the bestseller 'Talking with Serial Killers'. He is adept in his role as a source of information on these matters for the media and frequently appears on TV.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: John Blake (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844542378
• ISBN-13: 978-1844542376
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book is not written by Aileen, November 29, 2004

By 

H. D. Harvey (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monster: My True Story (Hardcover)

It seems that the author (and I'm not talking about Aileen here, since she didn't write this book, no matter what Berry-Dee is trying to convince you) has taken lots of newspaper clippings and put this book together in a quick way to make money. Although it's not badly written there is something missing. There is hardly any references to her childhood and very much about her being interviewed. Lots of stuff I believe is taken from Nick Broomfield's Aileen documentaries. It's an ok read and I'm glad I got this one from the library and didn't buy it!

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading, September 16, 2004

By 

Casey Leflar (PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monster: My True Story (Hardcover)

You would be led to believe that this is the secret hide-away book Aileen herself wrote prior to death but NO! It's false advertisment IMO. It's written by Christoher Dee and used Aileen's quote's and interviews to write this book. Aileen herself had nothing to do with it. I recommend Sue Russels "Lethal Intent" and Michael Reynolds "Dead Ends". Both very informative and interesting books and much better written then Dee's. It seems we all will never really know what Lee's actual life and thoughts were but Lee herself....and since she's dead we will NEVER know.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A candidate for the trash bin, September 29, 2004

By 

P. Mahoney (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Monster: My True Story (Hardcover)

ALL of Dee's books on killers are extracted from a few letters he may coax out of them, the rest is out of his own imagination and what he gleens from the newspapers and perhaps a court record. His choice to wait to publish this particular work until after her death shows he believes she has no estate to come after him. He did not know her, did not visit her, and misled her as to his intentions. Ghoulish to have waited for her death to publish and use her name.

Dee is a con man and one of the scams he does well is writing these 'true-crime fictions' and passing them off as the truth. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison in the UK by the Crown Court for his con games. He has been in and out of court for various scams and cons since his incarceration. This is verifiable via the archives of the Southern Echo (a UK Newspaper). What has been posted by him or his publisher here on Amazon is false hype. He is not a bona fide criminologist(no credentials and having been in prison himself does not make him any kind of expert on crime since he is continually being caught in the cons and scams he's tried since), his so-called Criminiology Research Centre is a vanity web site where he runs contests (if one pays) and one must pay to 'enter' it. Legitimate criminology web sites are free to users, and are usually sponsored by a University or Professional body.

Readers, save your money and read the newspapers or books by legitimate authors of the true crime genre who have done their research on the subject.