I grew up in the plains of Oklahoma, watching red-tinted dust-devils swirl up into blue skies while listening to the old-timers tell the outlaw tales of old. Partially due to the rich stories of which I was fond, and partially due to my innate curiosity, I have never been able to stop digging up stories and learning about history. This journey has taken me to explore the interconnected paths of history, science, and true crime. The journey has been a rich one, full of surprises around every corner. But whenever I think that I have scaled the peaks of understanding, I realize my journey has just begun.

I have had many people ask what my qualifications are, so, in short, here they are. As for formal university training, I have completed some college. But as a man who was blessed with having children in my early 20's, higher education was not a path before me; instead, I was on one to provide for my family. This did not discourage me from learning or from schooling myself. As a result, I have been collecting college-level textbooks for nearly three decades—from basic ones to upper-level Ph.D. courses, on all topics, including a healthy selection of historical and scientific books. But not wanting to have a cookie-cutter knowledge base that many universities punch out, the bibliophile in me has taken to collect a wealth of books, some new, some ancient, to give me a proper understanding of the subjects that interest me. This has allowed me to paint a much more detailed picture of history, one that does not merely put together random bits and pieces, but rather gives a complete view of all history.

When exploring the history of the world, it did not take long before my interest in crime transformed from a minor curiosity to a significant part of my studies. The one thing that helped fuel this desire was the steady increase in crime over the past two hundred years in America. At first, I was interested in the causation and in trying to find possible solutions. This soon led me to track trends across different demographics without fear of what politically incorrect implications that might produce. Along the trail, someone asked me why serial killers were always white. This opened up another trail, which eventually led to the publication of this book.