Customer Reviews

The A-Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERIAL KILLERS

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A quick caveat for starters: after reading this book in one quick sitting, I feel a little disturbed. If the parade of violence and deviant sexual behavior that this book presents fails to have a similar effect upon you, then you are either jaded or deviant yourself. By themselves, the descriptions of the childhood home lives of most of the killers described within these pages are horrifying beyond belief.

That said, the authors touch on every aspect of serial murder with which I was previously familiar, as well as a great deal more. The only problem is that you will have to read the book cover to cover to find most of it. Juan Corona, for example, is to be found only under the entry "Orchards" (? ), apparently because many of his victims were buried in them. The only other apparent reason for this entry is a murder case, also involving corpse disposal in an orchard, that has nothing whatsoever to do with serial killers. One must look in similarly obscure entries to find the Green River killer (still the most prolific American serial killer in terms of confirmed victims), the notorious 16th-century French nobleman Gilles de Rais, whose behavior parallels that of some modern serial killers quite closely (with the exception of his high position in society), or South America's Pedro Lopez, the "Monster of the Andes."

In short, this is not an encyclopedia that is meant as a real reference work of any sort; the "encyclopedia" aspect is merely a convenient format that the authors use to relate capsule-sized anecdotes and factoids. A distinct bias in the entries is also obvious--the reader is treated to mention of Ed Gein, Albert Fish and H.H. Holmes over and over again, most likely because Harold Schechter has previously written books about them. [Notably, Albert Fish, who also is given his own entry, is the only reason for another entry entitled "X-Rays," so that we can for the second time read about the needles he inserted into his pelvis.] Notwithstanding the frustrations the reader will encounter with the organization of this book, Schechter and Everitt provide a breezy read--that is, if you can take the subject matter breezily--and their book is morbidly entertaining.

As far as an educational/literary feast is concerned, this isn't much more than a midnight snack. I generally enjoy Schechter's single-subject documentations(i.e.-Bestial, Deviant, Deranged....all very good books), but he laid an egg with this one. It is a valuable source for juvenile cheap thrills, but as a reference guide it is severely lacking. You would be better off checking out M. Newton's Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers or Colin Wilson's Encyclopedia Of Modern Murder. The New Murderer's Who's Who & Human Monsters are also worthwhile, informative & accurate books on serial killers. Don't get me wrong here, this is a fun and entertaining book on the subject. However, if you are getting your information from this kind of book you are going to lose a lot of arguments. There are much better books on the subject of serial murder waiting to join the others on your bookshelf. All this having been said, it should be noted that I am a stickler for details and could be a bit jaded from having read so many better books on serial murder.

As an avid serial killer fan and generally morbid person, I naturally gravitated to this book, rationalizing the purchase with the fact that even though I possessed every other individual serial killer book and could recite Richard Ramirez's speach at his trial at 3:00 AM, I didn't have an encyclopedia about all, and really, ...it's fairly cheap compared to its rival, 'The Serial Killer Encyclopedia'.... I suppose that's where some could find a problem- true crime fans are notorious collectors (of memorabilia and knowledge both), and I think some of us were disappointed with the brevity of which our faves were discussed, or sometimes downright slandered, as is the case with the Night Stalker himself, whom the authors quite noticably do not appreciate. Tied to that is the fact that I found myself correcting some facts, grammatical and factual. However, I greatly enjoyed reading odd facts and being introduced to lesser-known killers, as well as some critques of appropriate books and movies. I read the thing straight through, all 357 pages of it, but I would discourage others from doing the same, simply because it gets understandably repititive and begins to overlap. This book functions best as a referance piece, to be read sparatically. Nonetheless, I still believe this a good, solid work and a great starting piece for all fans.

The book, despite its graphic style, is readable and is useful for authors. It is, as its name indicates, structured more for reference than reading (though it can be read straight through-I did). There is an appendix on Cunanan and the Versace slaying. I continue to use it for reference data.

If you are interested in serial killers, I highly reccommend reading this book. It covers more than just serial killers though. It covers anything and everything having to do with serial killers. It doesn't just cover the most famous serial killers, it covers other ones you probably have never heard of and gives chilling details of some of their vicious crimes.

The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, is not an A-Z guide to the killers as the title implies.
There are no indexes or chapter guides to look up specific killers. Instead it has sections A through Z that list places and things. One would think that the individual killers would be listed under the respective letters such as Ted Bundy in the T section or in the B's under Bundy,Ted. This book rather lists (for example) in section "A" Alligators and then gives a couple paragraphs about which killer and how they were utilized in the crimes.. and in section "B" there are sections on Bathtubs and Body Parts; and yet again with a couple paragraphs each about which killer and how these items were utilized.

While there are a 6-7 killers that have their own sections dedicated under the respective letters, it doesn't really matter because they are already discussed under dozens of different A-Z listings in this book. This book does have good information and fun facts, but the format doesn't allow for reasearch of individual killers.

For the average reader, this is good to read a couple chapters at a time over several weeks, and you can skip around to different chapters and go back to others later. I will give this three stars as it has some good info and light hearted dark humor.

This book is a wealth of information concerning the history of documented serial killings and killers. However, most of the entries in this macarbe encyclopedia are trivial bits and pieces related to the crime scene, or at times, the modus operandi of the killer. Any real detail or psychological evaluations are not provided in this work, but overall an interesting read.

Well, this ain't Shakespeare, so don't expect it. Yes, this book covers a large spread of material. Dozens of murderers are discussed and key "serial killer-esque" terms (necrophilia, animal torture) are mentioned as well. But, in a book like this, you can't expect much DEPTH. Ted Bundy's synopsis mentions nipple biting but fails to mention the infamous fact that it took place at Chi Omega sorority house. Now, I know I sound like I'm being more negative than positive, but this book really gives someone interested in serial killers a good base knowledge of the cast, script, psychology, and weapons. So, yes, I recommend it - just don't expect a five page, detailed analysis on every murderer know to man.

This book is one of my favorites of all time. As sick and graphic as it is, it's a very good, easy to read, book. I've become a big fan of Harold Schechter, check this one out you won't regret it.

I purchased this book out of morbid curiosity. After reading it through I decided it to be a great read and a very insightful book. It lists and explains many of the reasoning behind the murders. I think it is a must have for any psychology especially criminal psychology students. It is a very easy to read book and it does make you think about the possible motivations and thoughts of the killers themselves. This is perhaps one of the best books I have ever read. I would recommend it to anyone I know.