Customer Reviews

Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, and Other Sex Offenders: Who They Are, How They Operate, and How We Can Protect Ourselves and Our Children

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I disagree with the editorial review which opined that this "subject matter is likely to appeal more to police or psychology professionals." I am a parent, and not a police officer or psychologist, and I sat down with this book and read it nonstop because it was so compelling.

I think the author does a great job of alerting readers to the danger we face from the human predators around us. She works with the Wisconsin Dept of Corrections and in the book has shared dialogue from interviews with a number of unsavory convicted criminals. Yet the truth is so disturbing that it is easier to blindly believe in an inner good in everyone.

The book contains plenty of insight into the minds of child molesters, and a lengthy focus on deception and lying. There's an overview of how child molesters ingratiate themselves with trusting families in order to get at their victims. And how child rapists are given the freedom to commit their crime again and again when children aren't believed. "Niceness" is their masquerade, in the sense that people doubt that someone so "nice" could be doing something so horrible.

The book also discusses victim-blaming, and why the victims of rape cope by thinking, "If only I hadn't done THIS, If only I hadn't been wearing THAT." And it talks about the wrongness of family therapy as a response to incest, because the perpetrator gets to hide behind the "dysfunctional family" label.

There's a lot more in this well-written book, which I find very relevant to people who want to protect themselves and their own children. I recommend it.

I wish there was no need for this book. It speaks of things that shouldn't be done or even thought about. The title makes one think of something rare, unusual, and not of general interest. Unfortunately, the activities are all too common.
The author is warm, likeable ... and even humorous at times.
The subject is the worst case opposite.

As parents we wish to raise happy, innocent children. Kites and kittens, puppies and dolls. Laughter and sunny memories.

Anna Salter shows the cruel statistics, demonstrating that the dangers to children are much greater than commonly believed. She provides practical advice that the readers of the book can use to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Anna Salter does a masterful job of drawing attention to the fact that we live in an increasingly dangerous world amongst sexual predators who are invisible right before our eyes. These predators are able to successfully gratify their pathological appetites because not only are they experts at deception but also because they take advantage of our naivete and willingness to believe that friendly, pleasant-looking adults are trustworthy and have only good intentions around our children.

Salter points out that sexual assaults occur much more frequently than once thought. In addition, offenders are rarely caught because we are vulnerable to the distorted belief that we know who predators are, what they look like, and how they act.

The majority of the book is devoted to correcting those distortions. It provides insights into how to identify child molesters and rapists and how sadists and psychopaths operate. After describing the fine intricacies of deception and providing some intriguing observations on what to look for when we believe a person is trying to deceive us, Salter concludes that lies are easy to miss. She admits to reservations about developing the ability to detect deception frequently enough to make a difference. Instead she proposes the most effective means of protection is to "deflect" sex offenders through increased awareness of the environment and more involvement in our children's lives.

The more parents and adults educate themselves about those who abuse our children, the safer our society will become. The only glaring omission in Salter's work however, is the use of the Internet as a means to prey upon the young. A volume devoted to developing safeguards employing the same acumen and professional insights as used in this HIGHLY RECOMMENDED work would be a welcome addition to the subject.

This direct, authoritative, and arresting book is the best I've read about sex crimes. It gives the invaluable insights promised about protecting yourselves and your children, but it's more than that: Reading it can be very useful for victims. Most victims, even when they know intellectually that what happened wasn't their fault, look at the healing process from their own perspective: "Why did this happen to me? Why was I picked?"

The real question is, "Why did someone do this?" Understanding how abusers, rapists, and sadists think and plan and what they think about their victims is perhaps the only way to forever dispel the notion that the crime centered on the victim. One of the most startling revelations is that rapists are surprised that their victims expect them to recognize them in court: "Why would she think I'd know her?" The book also does a lot to dispel the irritating myth that abuse victims turn into abusers.

If you want the truth--with no dogma, pontification, or unsupported speculation--read this book.

This book was a veritable eye opener. The author's writing style is smooth and understandable. Ms. Salter takes a distasteful subject and uses her amassed knowledge to educate the rest of us.

Other reviewers of this book seem to object to Ms. Salter's "diatribe" against the researcher "Levine." I disagree that Ms. Salter has some personal vendetta against the other professional. The author merely states that she ultimately does not side with Levine's conclusions. Ms. Salter supports her own conclusions in an appropriate manner.

Other reviewers dislike the book because it "sensationalizes" the topic, and the fact that Ms. Salter writes crime novels is also held against her. The book itself is well written, and I don't believe the author is being overly gruesome just to make a buck. Evidence of evil and crime has its place in this book for it causes the reader to take off the rose colored glasses and understand that there are predators out there who will do the abominable to their helpless victim. The purpose is to awaken her audience so readers do not just think of sexual abuse and molestation as some theoretical phenomenon that only happens to others, not to themselves.

In conclusion, the book is well written and provides information on the practices of predators. It warns adults to be on guard, and if you are a parent, be extra vigilant. The author also cites specific examples from her own case studies. Other readers might complain that the book wasn't "scholarly" enough. On that point, I think it a plus that Ms. Salter doesn't clutter her book with dry, sterile language that is unintelligible.

In short, be educated. Even if you think she might be too paranoid, better to be overly careful than be too careless. One caveat: don't read it at night! You'll never get to sleep.

Anna Salter's book was true to my experience in working with sexual assault victims and rapists. I have been in this field for 13 years and the biggest misconception I hear is that perpetrators have an incurable disease or that rapists get swept up in the heat of passion. This is absolutely not true...perpetrators are deliberate in who they target and what they do, which Salter demonstrates by the many quotes from perpetrators themselves used throughout her book. What better way to understand these people than to hear them explain themselves in their own words? Although some of the book was a bit sensationalized and some of her personal opinion seeped in here and there I felt that overall the book was both professional and accurate. I would also recommend her documentaries where she interviews actual offenders ("Truth, Lies and Sex Offenders Part I and II). I use these videos to train victim advocates, law enforcement and mental health professionals and now plan on using parts of the book as well.

I must say that I am in total agreement with a number of reviewers there who state that this is a must read for all care givers. This includes parents, grandparents, teachers...any individual who has the responsibility of watching over and protecting.

In many ways this is not an easy read but I strongly feel that it is a necessary read. The statistical information the author provides in this book is mind staggering. Most of us know, unless we live in a complete state of denial or under a rock somewhere, that sexual abuse in its many forms is a major problem and always has been whether we like to admit it or not. In the case of incest, it is one of our many dirty little secrets that have been suppressed for years. The number of children of both sexes that have been abuse and will be abused is horrendous. The number of women who will sexually assaulted by the time they reach their mid thirties is appalling. Cold hard statistics aside, which the author uses to get our attention, is only part of the story.

The author has broken this work down into various categories of offensive offensives; child molesters, rapists and sadists. Countless interviews with these people have been used quite effectively by the author in an attempt to illustrate how these people think and the methods they use to carryout their crimes. This is not easy reading by any means, but I feel necessary. The author, by her own admission, states that while we may know "how" these people think, we have no understanding of "why" they think what they do, and why they do what they do.

It was quite upsetting to learn (a fact I already happened to know, but this book reinforced that knowledge) that less that 3 percent of the perpetrators of these crimes are ever caught, and indeed, most cases of child molestation and sexual abuse are never reported. What is even worse, many of those individual apprehended and convicted are returned to society to continue destroying lives. This folks, is some grim stuff.

The last few chapters of this book are the most valuable. The author dose provide us with information as to how to detect these very, very deceptive people and good information as to how we can help protect our children and ourselves from these predators; detecting and deflecting sexual offenders. While not all the answers are here (I know of no work that can accomplish this), the author does give us a starting point and some very strong food for thought. If this causes the reader to become a bit paranoid and a bit overly cautious, so be it. We live in a very dangerous and many ways harsh world and we need as many survival skills as possible. I feel it is much better to be overly sensitive to this situation than to risk the well being of any child or loved one.

Personal Note: I normally do not address the comments of other reviews in my reviews but in this case I feel some of the comments need to be addressed as they are pertinent to the reading and understanding of this work.

First and foremost, I noted at least one reviewer, and maybe two, that indicated that there are times when there is a "pleasure factor" for the child that is being raped or molested and that this should be considered. Need I say more? I do truly hope that for individuals who feel this way that they seek out some sort of professional help and I would appreciate it very much if they would notify the authorities if you move in to my area of the country.

Secondly, we have at least one reviewer that feels we should not demonize the pedophile as they too are victims, and that the author has merely used scare tactics which could harm our children and that we somehow face the danger of being overly protective and paranoid, and that we can damage our children as they go into their teens by being overly protective. Bunk, bunk, bunk! It is naïve Social Workers such as this that the author takes some pretty hard and harsh shots at in her work, and rightfully points out that these people, i.e. clueless Social Workers and Psychologists, are indeed a big part of the problem we face today.

Third is that I note a couple of shots were taken at the author due to the fact that as a side line she also writes fiction. Anna C. Salter, PH.D., is one of the leading authorities in the country on the subject of sexual predators. If these reviewers will check it, many, many academics also write fiction. This does not distract from their base professional work in their chosen field of work one bit. This sort of academic snobbery is just that - snobbery and completely invalid.

Forth; I note some whining here and there that this work gives the "professional" very little information and that the book is more or less written for the unwashed masses. Again, snobbery! The author clearly states that this was the intention of her work. This book is not a text book; it is a book to help those people who are in the trenches, i.e. caregivers. Not being a "professional" in this area, the last thing I need is a dry text book to dig through. I suffer through enough of those in my own area of expertise. I also suggest to these folks that rather than pontificating as to your own knowledge of the subject via their reviews of other peoples work, they go out and write your own book on the subject.

You will not feel good about reading this work but that is okay as this is not a "feel good" book; no, no, far from it. It is a cold slap in the face to get your attention and the author has been quite effective in doing so. I dare say that after reading some of the case histories here you, like me, will have an urge to wash your hands. This is a good thing. This is a subject we must all be more aware of.

I highly recommend this read for everyone, but in particular if you have children, grandchildren, wives, mothers, sisters or anyone else you care deeply for. I would also make this work required reading for all teachers or anyone else involved with the care of the wee ones.

Sobering information: "Researchers beginning in 1929 documented rates of sexual abuse of female children that ranged from 24 percent to 37 percent. Research on males has been rarer, but what research there has been found alarming rates, somewhere between 27 percent and 30 percent."

"A larger survey sample of 561 offenders admitted to more than 291,000 sexual offenses of all kinds and more than 195,000 victims."

"Only 3 percent of offenders are ever caught." Of those that are caught, most are quickly returned to society and continue their havoc.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

As an adult survivor of childhood sexual molest, I find myself continually shocked to find how few people think of this as a sinister national epidemic. If more people read this book, I'm confident the world would be a safer place for our children. I love this book for a lot of reasons:
It focuses on the predators. There are a great many books that help victims to recover after the fact, but comparatively zilch on how to PREVENT the crimes to begin with, or on how to define the enemy.

It dispelled my own personal long-held belief that predators were originally victims, or that they were lost souls of some sort. The author was able to get the predators to open up using the promise of anonymity, and startling, unapologetic things came out.
It showed me how we mustn't listen to our instincts since they are essentially unreliable, a method I relied upon heavily before reading this book.
It documented how difficult it is to spot pedophiles, and therefore urged an attitude of vigilance and awareness in the presence of everyone. Predators do not like a challenge, and a wary attitude goes a long way toward prevention. The book shows how "nice" men aren't necessarily good men.

There were a couple of flaws:
The author did not reference what sort of punishment/treatment/consequences should be advocated, although she does touch on the fact that therapy seems to be entirely unhelpful. She seems to believe that execution isn't viable, nor does she think incarceration has any effect on future crimes with the predator except that they are more skilled, having learned their lesson. This didn't seem to leave any other clear alternative, aside from life incarceration (a standard I endorse), but she does not say this.
I also would have liked more reference to how we can change the legal system that, on average, incarcerates predators for a maximum of 4 years, usually far less.
It excuses mothers of victims. She makes the point that often a mother is blamed in a situation of child incest, even more so than the predator. While I do not think this is fair, in my personal experience and those of the vast majority of my friends who are survivors of sexual abuse the mother knew or was told and did nothing, and therefore of course they bear a heavy dose of responsibility.

Overall, highly recommended, even for those who are already well-versed on the subject.

On one level this book is abhorrent. It provides a glimpse of a reality so diseased and inhuman that it is almost incomprehensible. Salter describes sadists, paedophiles, psychopaths in stark detail.

Abhorrent though some passages may be, Salter describes such behaviours for a reason: most people are either unaware or completely misled about the reality of such phenomena. Most people live in complete ignorance about the risks of sexual abuse (Salter cites statistics that between 25-35% of woman will be raped in their lifetime; child sex offenders, in the rare chance that they are caught, are often repeat offenders, molesting hundreds to thousands of victims).

We are unaware of how these predators operate. They do not look evil. Predators would not be successful if we could easily identify them as such. Instead, they wear a mask of sanity: they are charming, kind, agreeable, friendly--for a reason. First they gain your trust, and the trust of your child, and then they have the audacity to take advantage of that trust.

It is a frightening thought and a frightening possibility, but it is one that can be avoided, with the correct knowledge. I think every parent should read Predators. What you don't know CAN hurt you. Best to be as prepared and knowledgeable on the subject as possible.

The title of this book is not one that jumps out at you and says read me, as it is a book that casts light on a dark area of society, one that most prefer to ignore or shut out. Unfortunately, that plays straight in to the hands of the predators, whom we wish never to have to deal with. But the phenomenon is real enough and Gavin de Becker gives some startling statistics in the foreword to the book: The Justice department estimates that there is one child molester per square mile in the US.

And the problem is that they don't look any different from the rest of the population.

As Anna Salter says: "In short, there may be little harm in holding generalized expectations that the world will treat us well - so long as we prepare for a world that may not."

She does a great job at describing what these predators in our midst look for and how they operate, which is essential knowledge in order to take steps to minimise risks of ever encountering one.

I would recommend this book to any parent as the practical advice given therein can be what stops your child from being a victim of one of these predators. Knowledge does protect!