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The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation Paperback – March 6, 2007
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dr. Katherine Ramsland has a master's degrees in forensic psychology and clinical psychology. She is also the author of Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers.
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By
M. Pitcavage
on September 15, 2008
Format: Hardcover
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I don't understand some of the positive reviews of this book that appear here; perhaps they read a different book than the one I read. The book I read is a shallow, hastily written book that would appear to me to be useful neither to scholars nor the general audience. The entire book consists of a list of one or two paragraph summaries of alleged serial killers (and, oddly, other killers) throughout history, needlessly padded by equally shallow historical summaries of whatever historical era that chapter covers. Also interspersed are one or two paragraph summaries of developments in criminology--even those that have zero to do with serial killers (in other words, more padding).
There is no analysis to speak of, just a collection of anecdotes, but even the anecdotes are so brief and devoid of detail that they do not pique the interest. There is nothing like a case study here, just shallow summaries. And none of the text is sourced at all, which is particularly relevant for the early chapters, where the sources of information are likely to be particularly controversial.
So the book is not interesting enough for a general reader, but the lack of analysis or detail makes it useless for an academic or criminal justice professional, so I am at pains to think of an audience that might actually find this book useful. Even for people who simply want to ogle at a list of serial killers and their exploits, there are various "encyclopedias" of serial killers that provide more detail.
The book was so tedious it was difficult to finish, and one would not think that a book on a subject like serial killers of all things, would have difficulties in holding the interest. But the problem is that there really isn't anything of substance in this book. I urge people to look elsewhere, such as the overview of serial killers by Peter Vronsky. This book is unlikely to satisfy.
There is no analysis to speak of, just a collection of anecdotes, but even the anecdotes are so brief and devoid of detail that they do not pique the interest. There is nothing like a case study here, just shallow summaries. And none of the text is sourced at all, which is particularly relevant for the early chapters, where the sources of information are likely to be particularly controversial.
So the book is not interesting enough for a general reader, but the lack of analysis or detail makes it useless for an academic or criminal justice professional, so I am at pains to think of an audience that might actually find this book useful. Even for people who simply want to ogle at a list of serial killers and their exploits, there are various "encyclopedias" of serial killers that provide more detail.
The book was so tedious it was difficult to finish, and one would not think that a book on a subject like serial killers of all things, would have difficulties in holding the interest. But the problem is that there really isn't anything of substance in this book. I urge people to look elsewhere, such as the overview of serial killers by Peter Vronsky. This book is unlikely to satisfy.
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By
Vernon J. Geberth
on November 26, 2005
Format: Hardcover
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Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation by Katherine Ramsland, Ph. D. is a detailed and comprehensive anthology of multiple murder events and serial killers from the "Alphabet Murders" through the infamous "Zodiac Killings" and is an excellent research resource.
Katherine, whose educational credentials include masters' degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, and philosophy has utilized her research expertise to present to the reader an historical and cultural analysis of serial and multiple murder as well as the development of forensic science and the application of that forensic science as well as forensic psychology to the criminal investigation of serial murder.
This book delves into the phenomenon of serial murder in the context of specific historical periods. The author utilized over 180 publications and sources to trace the history and incidents of serial murder providing the reader with thumbnail biographical sketches of a myriad of multiple murderers. Starting with the Dark Ages and culminating with events of the new millennium, Katherine takes the reader through history up to the present time with her presentation and documentation of famous cases of multiple and serial murders, the journalistic coverage of these heinous crimes and the social reaction to the "evil" of serial murder, which to this day continues to shock our sense of wellbeing.
This book is without precedence. I was personally amazed by the amount of research, source information and exertion that Katherine Ramsland put into this tome. I am grateful to have an autographed copy of this book in my personal library and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the subject, history and etiology of serial murder.
Katherine, whose educational credentials include masters' degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, and philosophy has utilized her research expertise to present to the reader an historical and cultural analysis of serial and multiple murder as well as the development of forensic science and the application of that forensic science as well as forensic psychology to the criminal investigation of serial murder.
This book delves into the phenomenon of serial murder in the context of specific historical periods. The author utilized over 180 publications and sources to trace the history and incidents of serial murder providing the reader with thumbnail biographical sketches of a myriad of multiple murderers. Starting with the Dark Ages and culminating with events of the new millennium, Katherine takes the reader through history up to the present time with her presentation and documentation of famous cases of multiple and serial murders, the journalistic coverage of these heinous crimes and the social reaction to the "evil" of serial murder, which to this day continues to shock our sense of wellbeing.
This book is without precedence. I was personally amazed by the amount of research, source information and exertion that Katherine Ramsland put into this tome. I am grateful to have an autographed copy of this book in my personal library and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the subject, history and etiology of serial murder.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By
Michael R. Tobin
on November 8, 2006
Format: Hardcover
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I have read several books detailing the history of serial murder or murders. The majority follow a sequencial history of the individuals involved in this type of crime. This particular book has, to me, a slightly different and facinating approach. Yes it follows a sequencial approach through time, but the way the author intertwines history itself, political, religious, etc and the evolving societies with the dark characters that litter history it makes for much more interesting reading.
The book gives examples of what was occurring in the world and how these criminals were woven into that patchwork. Runing the same timeline Ramsland also details how forensic investigation also evolved and developed along with the perpertartors. If you just want to know who the serial murders were buy a straigh history of them. If you want to be entertained by what was happening in the world as criminals and their detection related to history this is the book for you.
I personally found the approach different and facinating reading.
The book gives examples of what was occurring in the world and how these criminals were woven into that patchwork. Runing the same timeline Ramsland also details how forensic investigation also evolved and developed along with the perpertartors. If you just want to know who the serial murders were buy a straigh history of them. If you want to be entertained by what was happening in the world as criminals and their detection related to history this is the book for you.
I personally found the approach different and facinating reading.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By
Soairse
on July 25, 2010
Format: Hardcover
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I was inclined to buy this book until I read a sample page of the author's introduction. What I saw there undermined my confidence in the quality of her research for the following reasons. Writing of early fifteenth-century Scotland and the probably mythical stories of the Scots cannibal Sawney Beane, she says:
'When King John I of England [and IV of Scotland apparently] heard the tales,[of Sawney Beane] he sent soldiers to investigate.'
Now, this statement is nonsense because King John I of England was an early 13th century king who lived many years before the Sawney Beane stories saw the light of day. Furthermore, John I was an English Angevin king, who reigned before the union of the Scottish and English crowns. John never had any jurisdiction in Scotland. He was certainly not, as the author says, 'John IV' of Scotland; no such person ever existed. Scotland has had only one King John, that was John Balliol, who was an elected king from 1292-1296 - again this is well before the supposed lifetime of Sawney Beane. If an author cannot be bothered to get matters of record like this right, there is no point in paying for her book.
[POSTSCRIPT: 10 May, 2014] A UK reviewer has suggested that the author meant King James I of England instead of King John I of England. To be fair, this may well be the case as James I of England was also King James VI of Scotland (but not James IV as the author says.) The confusion about Scottish history appears to be the result of typing errors which should have been checked by the editors.
'When King John I of England [and IV of Scotland apparently] heard the tales,[of Sawney Beane] he sent soldiers to investigate.'
Now, this statement is nonsense because King John I of England was an early 13th century king who lived many years before the Sawney Beane stories saw the light of day. Furthermore, John I was an English Angevin king, who reigned before the union of the Scottish and English crowns. John never had any jurisdiction in Scotland. He was certainly not, as the author says, 'John IV' of Scotland; no such person ever existed. Scotland has had only one King John, that was John Balliol, who was an elected king from 1292-1296 - again this is well before the supposed lifetime of Sawney Beane. If an author cannot be bothered to get matters of record like this right, there is no point in paying for her book.
[POSTSCRIPT: 10 May, 2014] A UK reviewer has suggested that the author meant King James I of England instead of King John I of England. To be fair, this may well be the case as James I of England was also King James VI of Scotland (but not James IV as the author says.) The confusion about Scottish history appears to be the result of typing errors which should have been checked by the editors.
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