I Have Lived in the Monster: A Report From The Abyss - Hardcover

Ressler, Robert K.; Shachtman, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312155522 ISBN 13: 9780312155520

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 1997

Synopsis

The man who coined the phrase "serial killer" shares not only his experiences on recent international cases, but also his efforts to understand criminal minds around the globe, and explains why serial murder is happening in previously unaffected countries. 40,000 first printing. Tour.

About this title

Review:

"It seems that when normal life goes into eclipse, the differences in cultural patterns also fade away, and at the outer edges of behavior, deviant patterns are the same, the world over." This absorbing second book from the serial-killer expert who wrote Whoever Fights Monsters has 10 chapters: (1) an unusual Japanese case of a doctor killing his family; (2) examples of the use and abuse of post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis by Vietnam veterans; (3) the murder of a Japanese exchange student by a Baton Rouge homeowner; (4) review of patterns found in serial murders, including those in Japan; (5) interview with John Wayne Gacy, seeking to understand his psychology; (6-7) two-part psychological interview with Jeffrey Dahmer, revealing several fascinating new details; (8) two British cases on which the author was asked to consult; (9) investigation of a South African serial killer; (10) the Aum Shinri Kyo cult (sarin nerve gas terrorists) in Japan.

From Kirkus Reviews:

More of the gory details from the former FBI profiler who coined the phrase ``serial killer.'' Among the other murderers he examines here, Ressler continues from Whoever Fights Monsters (1992) his discussion on John Wayne Gacy and includes new information on Jeffrey Dahmer. He reconstructs his interviews with the two; they're tough going, yet fascinating: Both men express having experienced real surprise when they--as they put it--``[woke] up next to a dead guy,'' and both insist that they don't remember what really happened. Gacy even asserts that his construction crew did most of the killings. But it's clear they do remember, and Ressler, a master of the interview, gets them to admit exactly what they did (for the tenacious, strong-stomached reader only) and, less clearly, why. Ressler is not so much interested in what made these men start killing as in the origins of the feelings of exuberance and omnipotence that wouldn't let them stop. He clearly and persuasively outlines the beginning of Dahmer's and Gacy's careers as killers, but does not provide an adequate explanation as to why these men, suffering deeply from anomie, killed others rather than commit suicide. Ressler's understanding of his subjects, however, is genuine, and he creates convincing portraits of them as evil, cruel, yet somehow pitiable. While the book also deals with some international cases (South Africa's ABC Murders, the Wimbledon Commons murder in England, the Aum cult in Japan), it's obvious that Ressler's heart--and massive ego--belongs to American killers, who started the whole serial-killer industry in the first place. A disturbing catalog of facts lacking a strong context but terribly jarring just the same. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0312155522
• ISBN 13: 9780312155520
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 223