True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show [Paperback]

Katherine Ramsland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2008

The bestselling forensic psychologist examines the true crimes that inspired the television smash hit, C.S.I.

Katherine Ramsland follows the evidence and revisits some of the most absorbing episodes of the phenomenally popular C.S.I. television franchise, and explores the real-life crimes that inspired them. She also looks into the authenticity of the forensic investigations recreated for the dramatizations, and the painstaking real-life forensic process employed in every one of the actual cases?from notorious mass-murderer Richard Speck, to the massacre of Buddhist monks in an Arizona Temple, to a baffling case of apparent spontaneous combustion.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For those unfamiliar with the crime-scene forensics television drama C.S.I., be forewarned: there will be blood, gore and dismembered body parts. Prolific author (of both novels and non-fiction) and forensic specialist Ramsland digs up the real life corollaries to 25 popular episodes, some obviously drawn from a single source ("Gentle, Gentle," based on the 1996 murder of 6-year-old Jon-Benet Ramsey), others composed from disparate incidents ("Blood Drops," drawing from the 2002 Flores Family murders in California, Charles Manson's horrific 1969 murder spree and Jeffrey MacDonald's 1970 family slaughter). Not all episodes lead to true crime; perhaps disappointingly, the series' popular "miniatures killer" storylines were not based on cases, but on crime scene dollhouses built in the 1940s as a teaching aid by philanthropist Frances Glessner Lee. Gore and devastation is handled in a responsibly clinical tone, but Ramsland can overstep when speculating without scientific backup or attribution (stating, for instance, that the admiration female sex offenders receive from their young partners is "probably the source of the addiction"). Clunky prose can also distract, but that shouldn't matter to C.S.I. fans, who will enjoy this professional-and professionally morbid-treatment of their favorite T.V. crime dramas.
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About the Author

Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D., numbers among her degrees a master’s in forensic psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has published thirty-two books, and writes forensic science articles for Court TV’s Crime Library. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425222349
• ISBN-13: 978-0425222348
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katherine Ramsland began her career as a writer with Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice. She had a bestseller with The Vampire Companion. Since then, she has published 40 books and over 1,000 articles, reviews and short stories. From ghosts to vampires to serial killers, she has taken on a variety of dark subjects. She holds graduate degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, criminal justice, and philosophy. Currently, she teaches forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University. Her books include The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers, Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators, and Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers. Her background in forensic studies positioned her to assist former FBI profiler John Douglas on his book, The Cases that Haunt Us, and to co-write a book with former FBI profiler, Gregg McCrary, The Unknown Darkness, as well as The Real Life of a Forensic Scientist with Henry C. Lee and A Voice for the Dead with James Starrs. She speaks internationally about forensic psychology, forensic science, and serial murder, and has appeared on numerous documentaries, as well as such programs as The Today Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, Coast to Coast, Montel Williams, Larry King Live and E! True Hollywood.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars real CSI, July 29, 2011

By 

Joanne Trygg (PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show (Kindle Edition)

This books attempts to show that some CSI programs are based on real crime stories. It is interesting, but it would have been more interesting if fewer stories had been featured and there had been more depth in the ones that were. It was just an OK book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Use in Class, July 9, 2011

By 

Christie EP (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: True Stories of CSI: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Popular TV Show (Paperback)

I teach a forensic science class we occasionally watch episodes of CSI. My students love to read the true stories behind the episodes. The book is easy to read and each section can be read separate from the rest of the book.