Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside the Criminal Mind [Hardcover]

John H. Campbell (Editor), Don DeNevi (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2004

The popularity of television shows like NBC's "Profiler" and movies such as "Silence of the Lambs" has made the concept of criminal profiling familiar to most Americans. Though such dramas follow the general approach of real-life criminal investigative analysis, Hollywood's artistic license too often simplifies and even sensationalises the work of those who attempt to unravel the complex workings of the criminal mind. In this compilation of expert articles written by internationally recognised homicide investigators - most of them pioneers in developing the science and the art of profiling - readers gain fascinating insights that could have emerged only after years of experience tracking and analysing the behaviour of some of America's most notorious serial criminals.In "Profilers", editors John H Campbell and Don DeNevi bring together for the first time a collection of articles on important facets of criminal profiling - which, for the most part, have remained a mystery to the general public. The contributors cover many gripping topics - including an interview with cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, details of autoerotic fatalities, the challenges of creating psychological profiles, and the use of forensic linguistics to track the Unabomber 0 and they try to understand why some killers go to such extremes as removing the eyes of their victims or setting their helpless victims ablaze. These contemporary pieces follow and expand upon some original articles on criminal profiling - reports on dealing with hostage situations and on sexual killers who disfigure their bodies.A must for readers of true crime, forensic investigations, and murder mysteries, this unique collection of revealing articles offers a chilling and unparalleled glimpse into the inner workings of the criminal mind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A bone-chilling conversation with Jeffrey Dahmer is just one highlight from this anthology of seasoned examinations of one of law enforcement's grimmest challenges. Campbell and DeNevi's second collaboration (after Into the Minds of Madmen) casts a wide net; although famous profilers like John Douglas contribute several of the 28 essays here, most are written by accomplished but little-known specialists. The result is a no-nonsense, technically oriented but readable look at how cops grapple with the worst felonies, including hostage taking, serial rape and murder, and child abduction/murder. The contributors take a measured tone toward the lethal predators they examine, as in Robert Ressler's discussion of his Dahmer interviews: "We must never forget that... there are many Jeffrey Dahmers walking among us." James Fitzgerald gives an account of using forensic linguistics to decode more than 200 of the Unabomber's writings, such as elusive marks like "indented writing," marks left by writing on another piece of paper over the examined one. FBI Special Agent Mary Ellen O'Toole offers a useful overview of the often misunderstood science of profiling ("Contrary to the current television and movie depictions..., a successful profiler is not psychic"). Other chapters offer updates on multidisciplinary approaches to cold cases and geographic profiling innovations. This is a rigorous and disturbing collection, accessible but compiled with law enforcement professionals in mind. Illus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Students of crime will be delighted...experts in the various disciplines have presented clear, concise, and no nonsense articles..." -- California Literary Review, November 2, 2004

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (November 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591022665
• ISBN-13: 978-1591022664
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best read on Profiling, January 18, 2007

By 

Michael R. Tobin (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside the Criminal Mind (Hardcover)

Criminal psychology and profiling are my areas of biggest interest in the realm of true crime. As I have a library of over 50 books on this and related topics I certainly feel qualified to write reviews on these books.
This book is devided into two parts. The first is a collection eleven odd articles from various bulletins and law enforcement magazines. Put simply, as the book tiltles them, this is a collection of the well known Original Behavioural Science Articles on Criminal Profiling. They are written by the 'who's who' from the era often referred to as 'The Golden Age of Profilers'. For this reason alone the book is well worth 'the price of admission.'
Part two covers comtemporary articles on Criminal Profiling. The topices are wide and varied covering such topics as Forensic Linguistics, Geographic Profiling to Assaultive Eye Injury and Enucleation.
I wondered how interested I would be in Forensic Linguistics but found the chapter facinating.
I feel most readers with an interest in the topic will find part one just great. In part two, since it covers such a wide range of areas I guess it's possible the odd chapter may not appearl to all.
The other plus here is the fact the book is broken into distinct articles by the editors so you can 'peice read' or do a 'cover to cover'.
I see the book as appealing to law inforcemnet personel, people like myself who don't work in law inforcement but have to deal with perpitrators and their victims and finally all those who enjoy the topic.
If I were forced to give up my entire library and keep just one book this would nearly have to be the one.
A great book, well done to Campbell and DeNevi, the editors.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing less than a "Wow!", December 25, 2009

By 

texastigger (Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside the Criminal Mind (Hardcover)

I'm an obsessed soon-to-be forensic nurse. (I already have the nurse part.)I've read lots of material on profilers - one of my favorite subjects. Most of the books are, to one degree or another, an homage to the profiler's ego and everyone contradicts everyone else. (Just read the other reviews.)I've found this to be true even for textbooks. There's always lots about who did what first and did it better. Very unprofessional in my humble opinion. I think the reviews I read here gave me the inspiration to try "Profilers". This is truly a wonderful and fun, yes fun, book to read. If you're into this sort of thing you'll know what I mean. It's definitely a beginners guide to profiling but I think even the mid-level enthusiast or professional would enjoy it. The book is a collection of articles, research papers and the like by many names you will instantly recognize. There are 2 sections to the book, the first made up of older contributions to the field. At first I was a little disappointed with this because I wanted the newest, most up to date material there was. I read those articles anyway and was really glad I did. I think knowing how it all started, how the first profilers worked and who the players were did a lot to add to my foundation. The 2nd section contains the newer material and does not disappoint. Since the articles are by many different people on many different topics you keep getting fresh perspectives. You don't have to read the book in order. I skipped to whatever chapter looked appealing at the moment and didn't feel it hurt the experience. Best of all, no ego trips to slog through.

This is a terrific read, especially for the beginner to the field. You will learn about profiles of all types, homicide, rape, mutilation, sexual homicide, crime scenes, organized vs. disorganized murderers, interviewing, linguistics, enucleation, cold cases, geographic profiling, child abductors, psychopaths, sadists, basic terminology and much, much more. All this is written in an easy, relaxed style that I think anyone who has an interest in forensics will enjoy.

The only thing that bugged me was the fact that they used a good bit of material from the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletins which are available online for free. Also, there was definitely a good bit of repetition of material. I still enjoyed the book so much I can't take away any points for those small issues.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compiles articles from fifteen internationally recognized homicide investigators, October 6, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside the Criminal Mind (Hardcover)

The concept of criminal profiling, once alien to the ordinary American, is today a part of our daily lives thanks to television shows and news programs, and Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside The Criminal Mind compiles articles from fifteen internationally recognized homicide investigators, many of whom have contributed some of the basics to the art of profiling criminals. From dealing with hostage situations and murder to creating psychological profiles and geographic profiles, Profilers provides plenty of inside detail and will appeal not only to fans of true crime and murder mysteries, but those involved in law enforcement at many levels.