The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (Pocket Books True Crime) (Paperback)

by Harold Schechter (Author) "Back in the old days, desperate singles in search of a mate might turn to a professional matchmaker..." (more)
Key Phrases: one serial killer, trading card set, lust murderers, Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Albert Fish (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is a lighthearted but reasonably tasteful collection of information about serial killers, by a respected historian of crime (Harold Schechter) and the author of Human Monsters (David Everitt). It includes individual entries devoted to the most famous killers from all over the world, and amusing sections devoted to such topics as black widows, bluebeards, killer couples, Lustmord, Nazi buffs, power tools, pyromania, and trophies. There are also useful tips for further ventures into art, movies, books, zines, music, and tourist attractions devoted to serial killers. The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is cross-indexed, with numerous black-and-white illustrations. --Fiona Webster

Review
"The scholarship is both genuine and fascinating."

-- The Boston Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671020749
• ISBN-13: 978-0671020743
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #396,397 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Morbidly fascinating, but not quite "A-Z", April 30, 2000

By	Michael Bulger (Rochester, NY, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars decent cheap entertainment, December 27, 1999

By	Johnny Roulette (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Starting Piece, April 1, 2003

By	Grrrlntereptid13 (usa) - See all my reviews

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.