Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters

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Penguin, Oct 5, 2004 - True Crime - 432 pages
A comprehensive examination into the frightening true crime history of serial homicide—including information on America’s most prolific serial killers such as:

Jeffrey Dahmer • Ted Bundy“Co-ed Killer” Ed Kemper • The BTK Killer • “Highway Stalker” Henry Lee Lucas • Monte Ralph Rissell • “Shoe Fetish Slayer” Jerry Brudos • “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez • “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski • Ed Gein “The Butcher of Plainfield” • “Killer Clown” John Wayne GacyAndrew Cunanan • And more...

In this unique book, Peter Vronsky documents the psychological, investigative, and cultural aspects of serial murder, beginning with its first recorded instance in Ancient Rome through fifteenth-century France on to such notorious contemporary cases as cannibal/necrophile Ed Kemper, the BTK killer, Henry Lee Lucas, Monte Ralph Rissell, Jerry Brudos, Richard Ramirez, “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the emergence of what he classifies as the “serial rampage killer” such as Andrew Cunanan, who murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace.

Vronsky not only offers sound theories on what makes a serial killer but also makes concrete suggestions on how to survive an encounter with one—from recognizing verbal warning signs to physical confrontational resistance. Exhaustively researched with transcripts of interviews with killers, and featuring up-to-date information on the apprehension and conviction of the Green River killer and the Beltway Snipers, Vronsky’s one-of-a-kind book covers every conceivable aspect of an endlessly riveting true crime phenomenon.

INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

From inside the book

Contents

A HISTORY OF MONSTERS
1
The Postmodern Age of Serial Homicide 19702000
3
A Brief History of Serial Homicide
42
THE METHOD AND MADNESS
97
Classifying Serial Killers
99
The Evolution of Monstrosity
147
Question of Madness
241
Serial Killers As Children
269
The Killing Times
303
FIGHTING MONSTERS
319
The Art and Science of Criminal Profiling
321
Surviving a Serial Killer
364
Acknowledgments
385
Endnotes
386
Selected Sources
395
Index
400

The Serial Murderers First Kill
286

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About the author (2004)

Peter Vronsky is the bestselling true crime author of Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of MonstersFemale Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters, and Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present. He is an investigative historian, author, filmmaker and new media designer. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in criminal justice history and espionage in international relations.

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