Amazon.com
What makes people kill? Specifically, what are the motivations behind serial, mass, and spree killings? Drawing from cases such as the mass murder in Dunblane, Scotland, in which a lone gunman mowed down 16 children and their teacher, the still-unsolved Tylenol poisonings, and the Unabomber, former FBI profiler John Douglas and coauthor Mark Olshaker try to explain the unthinkable. What sets The Anatomy of Motive apart from so many of the theories about these horrific acts of violence is that Douglas and Olshaker have no obvious political agenda. They don't look for easy answers and they don't provide easy solutions. They do, however, offer some insight into the twisted kind of thinking that can lead a person to believe that the solution to his problems lies in bloodshed. They also provide some danger signs that may help to identify the potentially violent criminal before he has a chance to act out his morbid fantasies. While The Anatomy of Motive is undeniably horrifying, it is also illuminating, and Douglas and Olshaker approach their topic with grace and insight. --Lisa Higgins
Book Description
From legendary FBI profiler John Douglas and Mark Olshaker -- authors of the nonfiction international bestsellers Mindhunter, Journey into Darkness, and Obsession -- comes an unprecedented, insightful look at the root of all crime.
Every crime is a mystery story with a motive at its heart. With the brilliant insight he brought to his renowned work inside the FBI's elite serial-crime unit, John Douglas pieces together motives behind violent sociopathic behavior. He not only takes us into the darkest recesses of the minds of arsonists, hijackers, bombers, poisoners, assassins, serial killers, and mass murderers, but also the seemingly ordinary people who suddenly kill their families or go on a rampage in the workplace.
Douglas identifies the antisocial personality, showing surprising similarities and differences among various types of deadly offenders. He also tracks the progressive escalation of those criminals' sociopathic behavior. His analysis of such diverse killers as Lee Harvey Oswald, Theodore Kaczynski, and Timothy McVeigh is gripping, but more importantly, helps us learn how to anticipate potential violent behavior before it's too late.
Download Description
In this eagerly anticipated paperback release from the international bestselling authors of Mindhunter, legendary crime fighter John Douglas explores the root of all crime -- motive. Every crime is a mystery story with a motive at its heart. Understand the motive and you can solve the mystery. Here, Douglas offers a dramatic, insightful look at the development and evolution of the criminal mind.
Customer Reviews:
Inside Smoldering Minds.......2006-09-04
This is an engrossing book that was ahead of its time in presenting the often seamy, often searching field of forensic science. Douglas brings us onto the crime scene, and gives us a view through the eyes of profilers, pathologists, analyzers, and detectives.
The only fault I find with the book is its general contention that criminals choose their behavior. Without rehashing the nature vs. nurture controversy too much, a consideration of some of the possible physiological factors influencing criminals might have led to a more three-dimensional view of the criminal mind.
Douglas uses the fact that an offender can almost always restrain himself from committing a crime while a policeman is watching him as proof that virtually all criminal behavior is under the individual's control. I can't help but think though of the somewhat parallel condition of people with disorders such as Tourette's Syndrome. Tourette's sufferers can at times reduce or even eliminate their ticcing behavior when they are briefly in public. But their tics will return all the more insistently when they are alone again. So a criminal's ability to briefly control himself isn't necessarily an indication that he can always control himself.
A compulsive element seems to be especially apparent in crimes such as arson, which Douglas is often at his best discussing. He links this crime to a desire to command and manipulate. The arsonist gets the satisfaction of watching a whole slew of people, firemen and victims alike, scurrying around as a result of the problem he has created.
However, as Douglas himself reveals, there is also often some physically-rooted obsession that goads pyromaniacs. Douglas presents the case of Peter George Dinsdale in England for instance. This man was an epileptic who would set fires after he experienced a tingling in his fingers followed by some triggering, often trivial, altercation with his victims. This description also left me wondering if the flickering of flames might produce a more markedly pleasurable, fixating trance-like state in some people than in others.
A variety of criminal acts that Douglas describes center around fetishes and fanaticisms that might similarly have some neurological quirk as their basis.
Overall though, Douglas does a fine job of putting his readers on the trail of the criminal. He brings Sherlock Holmes onto current crime scenes by illustrating how a forensic scientist's work boils down to details - attention to details. He cites the case of arson in which a Torah was purposefully burned from right to left - cluing the detectives into the fact that the perpetrator must have been someone with a knowledge of Hebrew.
And like Holmes' classic clue of the dog that didn't bark, Douglas alerts us to the importance of details that are not there. Such observations are often important in insurance cases. When someone burns his own property for money, he will often remove items of special sentimental value first. If there are no family photo albums left in the ashes - that's a clue.
This book reminds us that no detail is trivial or uninteresting. Any mote might have a story to tell. If we could approach life from the viewpoint of the forensic scientists in these pages - we would never be bored.
A trip to a very dark place.......2006-03-17
When it comes to bringing serial crime psychology and profiling to a level that a layperson can understand, Douglas is peerless. He identifies several different types of serial killers and includes true-life stories of a few he's dealt with in his decades with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. It's an engrossing, easily understandable and fascinating read.
Not as riveting as I expected.......2006-02-03
When I saw this book in a used book store, I thought the title was "Anatomy of Murder". Only later did I see that it was "Motive". Based on Douglas' other books about serial killers, I expected this book to deal strictly with serial killers. And it did not.
Douglas' book described a range of killers; and his chapters are broken down accordingly. There are chapters on the anatomy of arsonists; people who use guns to commit crimes; those who poison and why; and other chapters ranging from guys who simply snap to those who commit random violence.
I wasn't really interested in serial arsonists so I skipped that chapter. The rest of the book was interesting but I think the chapters would have been much better if Douglas had focused on one or two specific cases rather than telling us snippets of several cases.
Would I read this book again? Probably not. Several of his other books are better.
The Best in the Series.......2005-09-18
Real info and facts on serial killers. The behind the scenes look at the killers that we don't get from the news. An excellent and well-written book. Also check out Robert Ressler's books.
An intregueing read.......2005-03-30
The criminal mind is a mysterious thing. The anatomy of a motive is a look the mind of criminals. It goes thru cases in the career of John Douglass. This book explores the mind of everything from your serial arsonists to your serial killer.
John Douglas was a criminal profiler for the FBI for over 20 years. He's one of the greatest criminal profilers in history. He's also been able to write many books on what he knows about the profiling of criminals. The work he's done in his career has led to the arrest of many of the worlds most dangerous criminals.
The anatomy of a motive starts out when John talks about a period during his time in the FBI where he went around interviewing criminals. Many criminals would try to talk themselves up and show off who they were. Many of them would lie and talk about things they may or may not have done. It took John much effort to get past this to get what he wanted from the people he interviewed. He said that criminals I (p. 22)"main goals in life are to kill and to hurt- or as I've stated many times in my career, to manipulate, dominate, and control."
We then come to the issue of fire in chapter two "Playing with Fire." He explore's the mind of your arsonists. He goes into the idea that many criminals early in life will play with fire. They will also have other traits in common with each other. They usually have (p.47) "violent, antisocial tendencies often mistreat animals or smaller children. This chapter goes into the arsonists as sort of a "ticking time bomb." They will set fire after fire and if they don't get caught they will become more daring. They will take more risks and eventually evolve into a killer if not stopped. He also states how many of these arsonists will start out in a place they are comfortable in only. They won't go out of their "comfort zone" until they believe they are comfortable doing so. This was a major thing in the world of tracking criminals. That means they can look around the area where the fire starting began (or other crimes as it turns out) and get an idea who they might be looking for.
"Magnum Force" explores the idea of guns used in crimes. Many criminals get there ideas from other things such as kojack In one case two air force enlisted men tied up and tried to poison some people in a Hi-Fi shop. They tried using poison and it didn't work like it did in the movies. They eventually had to some of them because the poison didn't work fast enough.
In "Name your Poison" the book goes into poisoning by tampering. It goes into adding poisonous pills to a Tylenol bottle. This led all drugs to be covered with a safety seal. In this chapter John talks about the Tylenol poisoner as someone who was proud of what they were doing. John figured this UNSUB was a passive person who would be afraid of confrontation. He was also able to figure that this offender wasn't that organized or methodical about his poisonings. He would just introduce a cyanide capsule to a bottle and put it back on the shelf. John eventually came up with an accurate profile of the Tylenol UNSUB. John was able to get the UNSUB out by getting him to write letters into a newspaper about his opinions and what he hated about society.
"Guys Who Snap", "On the Run" and "Shadow of a Gunman" all run along the same area and are about people who one day just can't take it anymore and snap. They snap for a number of reasons. They may have lost their job. Maybe their wife/husband left them. Or maybe they just realized there life is at a dead end. They see they aren't really going anywhere. Once they can no longer deal with the idea they won't achieve the great things they have always wanted to receive they decide to either relinquish their current situation and move on or go out in a blaze of glory. One UNSUB in this section for example, kills his whole family and quietly sneaks away to start life anew. Another UNSUB realizes that life is doomed for him and decides to go out in a blaze of glory by getting on top of a building and trying to take out as many people as he can with him. He had no plans to escape this situation. He just wanted to not go out alone. In a story of Brad Bishop who kills and burns the bodies of his family, he wants to start a new life somewhere else. He goes onto do so and is eventually caught. He never wanted to kill his family, but felt that he had to.
"Shadow of a Gunman" also goes into killers who have obsessions with weapons. Many usually have large collections. At some point they just snap and decide to go out in the blaze of glory and kill whatever they can, using what they have and know about they're weapons.
In "Random Acts of Violence" John goes into the idea of random violence. A mail bomber mails bombs to random members of the academic community. Many of his devices will either kill or extremely mangle his victims. As he progress's in his killings his bomb style becomes his "calling card." The UNSUB also likes to show how he's evolved as he goes on in his bombings. His bombs get a little better every time. This offender is a well educated person who knows a great deal. This person is also patient and willing to put in a great amount of time in constructing his weapons. This chapter also goes into the Unabomber. It talks about Timothy Mcveigh and about how he's always been a loner who liked doing things alone. He was a quiet and passive person who couldn't confront someone face to face.
The book ends with a summary type chapter called "You Make the Call." This chapter has a few examples of cases talked about in earlier chapters and asks that you make the call and eventually tells you the answers on whether your assessment was right or not.
The Anatomy of a Motive was an intriguing look into the way killers think. It will give you multiple examples of how criminals work. It explores the development of a criminal. It can give you an idea of how to profile a criminal. After reading this book I believe I could accurately profile many people. If you know the way someone was killed or the way the crime was committed you can learn everything you need to know about the person who did it. You can get a personality profile just by looking at the case. In many cases you can tell if the UNSUB was associated in any way with the victims. You can tell if this person was passive and afraid of confrontation. You can also see if the UNSUB will be around the crime scene and will want to witness his/her work. This book can benefit criminal profilers and even someone who enjoys things such as "America's Most Wanted." This book is quite strong in areas such as arson and murder. It falls short to me in areas such as rape, and burglary. This book is a great look into how FBI profilers think and a look at some of the cases that they can see everyday. It explains how many criminals think and where they get they're start. If we listen to the people in our lives who appear to be on edge and befriend those who look like they're all alone, criminals will eventually cease to exists and the world will be a better place for the future generations.
Average customer rating:
- Classic Courtroom Drama - Great Book, Superb Film Adaptation
- For Prospective Lawyers
- "A murder trial is a fascinating pageant."
- terrific legal thriller
- A Bit Wordy
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Anatomy of a Murder
Robert Traver
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0312033567
Release Date: 2005-07-14 |
Book Description
America's original #1 bestselling legal thriller and courtroom drama, rereleased with a dynamic new package The basis for the classic Oscar Award-nominated 1959 film starring Jimmy Stewart, Anatomy of a Murder tells the gripping story of the sensational trial of a young soldier accused of murdering his wife's rapist. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, defense attorney Paul Biegler agrees to defend Lieutenant Frederick Manion, who freely admits to killing the man who violently raped his wife. Several witnesses saw the event with their own eyes and can testify that Manion committed the ruthless, cold-blooded act. Biegler's challenge is to find a legal justification for the killing, all the while balancing the intense emotions that come along with murder against the consciences and sympathies of the twelve strangers in the jury box. The lawyer sees it as a straightforward, albeit gravely difficult, legal challenge. Until he starts to dig beneath the surface of the crime and finds that some startling facts have not yet come to light, and that the truth of the situation is far more complex than he could have imagined....
Customer Reviews:
Classic Courtroom Drama - Great Book, Superb Film Adaptation.......2007-05-30
Robert Traver's book, Anatomy of a Murder (1958), was on the best seller's list for 65 weeks. Fifty years later this novel is seldom encountered, and yet it is surprisingly well-written and strongly influenced later courtroom dramas. This was Traver's first attempt at a novel. Recalling an English professor's humorous guidance, "An ounce of authenticity is worth of pound of windgassity", he wrote about a murder trial, something with which he was quite familiar. Robert Traver is a pseudonym for a former Michigan Supreme Court Justice.
My copy is a relatively recent reprint from Cinema Classics by Gramercy Books. It includes an amusing, personal introduction by Robert Traver that discusses not only the writing of this exceptional novel, but also his participation in the filming of Anatomy of the Murder.
Having seen the movie several times, I readily visualized James Stewart as Biegler, Ben Gazzara as Lieutenant Manion, Lee Remick as Laura, Arthur O'Connell as Parnell, Eve Arden as Maida, George C. Scott as the prosecutor Claude Dancer, and Joseph M. Welch as the presiding judge.
About 100 pages into this story I was convinced that Otto Preminger's film adhered closely to the book. The rustic atmosphere of the Upper Peninsula, lawyer Paul Biegler's obsession with trout fishing, Biegler's interview with Lieutenant Manion, Biegler's friendship with Parnell, and the good humor of Biegler office assistant, Maida, were as portrayed in the movie.
However, as I continued reading, I became fascinated with several notable differences. Unlike Preminger's film, Laura Manion does not visit Biegler alone in his home office, nor does she go dancing with soldiers at a Thunder Bay bar while her husband is in jail. The humorous courtroom discussion about the proper way to discuss the missing panties is found only in the movie. Otto Preminger was again teasing and testing the censors; the word panties had never been used previously in an American movie. Most significantly, the eleventh-hour revelation that Mary Pilant, the Thunder Bay Bar hostess, was actually the daughter of Barney Quill, and not his mistress as rumored, is found only in the movie. Contrastingly, Traver in his book concludes the courtroom drama with powerful, protracted summaries by the prosecution and defense.
Notes on the movie: Anatomy of a Murder was a best picture nominee while James Stewart was nominated best actor for his role as Paul Biegler. However, the epic Ben Hur dominated 1959, winning eleven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor.
George C. Scott as the competent, forceful prosecutor was in only his second major role. Joseph M. Welch was equally superb as the presiding judge. Interestingly, Welch was actually a well-respected lawyer, not an actor. Joseph Welch is remembered for having masterfully confronted Senator McCarthy in the Army-McCarthy hearings, forcing him to back down on his unfounded accusations.
For Prospective Lawyers.......2007-04-10
I don't dispute the comments of the other reviewers, but I was struck by something else: this book, along with Scott Turow's "One L" would be an excellent read for anyone considering law as a career, particularly trial law. It gives a sense of the rough-and-tumble of trial work, the mind-numbing hair-splitting that seems to be characteristic of the law, and the ambiguity in which lawyers must conduct their work.
"A murder trial is a fascinating pageant.".......2005-10-27
Robert Traver's 1958 classic, "Anatomy of a Murder," is a prototype of the legal thriller/courtroom drama that has long been a mainstay of popular fiction. However, its value goes beyond its historical importance as a groundbreaking work. It is an engrossing tale of a sensational murder trial that pits a wily prosecutor against a clever and tenacious defense attorney.
Forty-year-old Paul Bieglar (dubbed "Polly" by his cronies) is an ex D. A. who has been replaced by a young upstart, Mitch Lodwick. Paul is at loose ends, with no wife, a faltering legal practice, and little to occupy his time other than drinking and fishing. One day, he gets a telephone call from Laura Manion, whose husband, U. S. Army Lieutenant Frederic Manion, sits in a county jail cell after admitting that he killed the man who allegedly raped his wife. Although Manion has no money to hire a lawyer, Paul believes that this case will bring him valuable publicity. He decides to defend Manion, and Parnell McCarthy, a hard-drinking attorney whose career has faded but who still loves the law, becomes Polly's unofficial partner. Squaring off against them is the aforementioned Lodwick and a much more experienced state attorney named Claude Dancer. As the case proceeds, it becomes a legal morass, with contradictory eyewitness testimony, dueling psychiatrists, heated and, at times, eloquent courtroom exchanges, and an unexpected last-minute witness whose testimony may change the trial's outcome.
Traver accomplishes what few authors of legal thrillers these days even attempt. He creates an indelible sense of time and place as well as fully fleshed out three-dimensional characters. The book is set in a small logging and resort town on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior. With his evocative descriptive writing, the author captures the atmosphere of this isolated area of wild and untouched beauty, a quiet rural village where everyone knows everyone else, rumors fly around at the speed of light, and old friends sit around in taverns late into the night, swapping stories. The Manion trial rocks the town to its foundations and generates a tidal wave of public interest and excitement.
Besides Polly and Parnell, another notable character is Barney Quill, the alleged rapist, who presumably was a prominent citizen, a man of means, and a tavern and hotel owner known to be an expert marksman, fisherman, and martial arts expert. Why would such an individual suddenly attack a defenseless woman? Claude Dancer, the brains behind the state's case, is articulate, ambitious, and not above pulling a few rabbits out of his hat to catch his opponent off guard. One of the most memorable individuals in the book is Judge Weaver, a brilliant and fair-minded man who bends over backwards to make sure that justice is served in this convoluted case.
The writing in "Anatomy of a Murder" is ornate and old-fashioned by modern standards, but it is also literate and laced with delicious homespun humor as well as fascinating legal arcana. The lawyers resemble boxers who strike blows and are hit in return. Although each man is occasionally bloodied, no one manages to deliver a knockout punch.
A central question posed in this book is one that can never be answered: How sound is a criminal justice system in which charismatic lawyers can bend the truth and manipulate juries? Courtroom dramas are popular because they present humanity at its most elemental, with attorney/gladiators fighting valiantly to win, and willing to do or say anything to achieve victory. Robert Traver wisely recognized the inherent drama that a work of fiction set in a courtroom during a controversial murder trial can generate. "Anatomy of a Murder" was written almost half a century ago and it contained subject matter that was extremely daring for its time. It remains an immensely entertaining and satisfying novel that will fascinate fans of quality courtroom thrillers.
terrific legal thriller .......2005-07-27
In Thunder Bay, Michigan, hotel and bar manager Barney Quill violently rapes Laura Manion. Laura's spouse Army Lieutenant Frederick Manion explodes into a rage; he fires five shots at Quill killing him. Witnesses saw the homicide and Manion confesses to the crime. The police arrest Manion for murder
Former county Prosecutor Paul Biegler heads up the defense team; his opponent is the lawyer who replaced him as the prosecutor, Mitch Lodwick, also assisted from the Michigan Attorney general's Office. Knowing his client is guilty of the act and in spite of also loathing Manion, Paul hopes to legally defend the murder in the minds of twelve strangers. His plan is to claim his client suffered an "irresistible impulse", an insane rage to get back at the violator of his wife. However, as Paul digs deeper into the background, he begins to uncover other information that puts a different light on the deadly triangular relationship between his client, his client's wife, and the deceased.
This reprinting of a terrific 1950s legal thriller that some insist established the sub-genre (Christie aside) holds up nicely five decades after its initial publishing and movie were made. The story line focuses for much of the first half of the insightful plot on the defense team investigation and building its plea, but though interesting is slow as readers see first hand the strategy and discourse they take; the latter half is the trial with both sides verbose as they make points. Though incredibly perceptive with what happens on a highly charged murder case, talking is not as exciting as performing. Still the tale retains its discerning insider's look at the legal process.
Harriet Klausner
A Bit Wordy.......2005-06-30
Book started off cutely, with Biegler the former DA coming home from fishing to find a murder had occured in the county, and making all sorts of smart remarks. The case: Woman says she is raped, husband kills rapist. The book should actually be called "Anatomy of a Murder Trial", since it does go on at length about that. I never could understand why an attorney from the State Attorney General's office shows up to assist (basically taking over the prosecution) the new DA. And of course he's just as horrid as can be, and Paul Biegler, the defense attorney gets to make all the witty cracks, putting Dancer in his place, and win the case. The book is quite different from the movie (which wasn't very good either), in that except for the Attorney General taking over the case, and surprise witnesses showing up with no notice to either side, the book makes more sense, and of course, has more detail to explain things.
But instead of getting to the heart of the matter, the author seemed to want to show off his ability to blather on and on about nothing.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent.......2003-10-02
When you finish reading this book .. your left wondering if Tony was the "only" one involved in these murders...I don't think so!
Wonderful!!.......2001-01-08
I've read In His Garden well over 10 times! Each time I closed the book feeling there had to been someone helping Tony with the murdering of those girls. I don't think he did it alone. The book was very informative, pictures were a great to familar me with the area of what I was reading about. I will probably read it again next winter! I have referred this book to several of my friends who still search book stores for it. I won't lend mine to anyone. It's too great of an addition to my library.
totally gruesome.......2000-12-28
This book was extremly detailed and graphic.being a cape codder i could not believe there was such horrid crimes being commited The book was soo interesting. I spent many late nights reading it. I even went to the sights they talk about in the book.The book was very informative and very factual.It named the actual places and raods and people on the cape.My only wish is that they talked more about all the other girls that were murdered. There were far more than thirty and only a few were really discussed.
very little information.......2000-04-02
I found this book to be way too long (701 pages) with very little information. He wrote about 4 murders but didn't bother with information on 2 of them. It also was a little boring. It should have been way shorter but more informative. not worth reading.
An intriguing look at a serial killer........1999-07-12
Damore's book is a scintillating read. It captures the time and the essence of Cape Cod in the late sixties, and delves into the mind of a speed freak with serious "issues."
Product Description
1st ed. Basis for the stunning courtroom drama that featured James Stewart, Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara in a tense film noir movie directed by Otto Preminger. Stewart wins the cases and loses his fee. Fine in a near fine dust jacket light wear to tips and spine ends. This is a particularly bright copy, seldom found in this condition. This copy is neither price-clipped nor personalized.
Customer Reviews:
Tragically Bad True Crime.......2007-10-05
I attempted to read this book approximately 2 years ago, finally giving up in frustration. The subject of the book would suggest it is an interesting story and, perhaps in the hands of a better author, it might have been. A prominent family haunted by mental illness. Two sons diagnosed as schizophrenic. An overbearing, controlling, and obsessive mother. Denial that eventually culminates in tragedy. Sounds promising, does it not?
Unfortunately, the book suffers from the inclusion of much unnecessary information and repetition. After reading 150 pages and doomed to boredom, I finally skipped to the end simply to find out what happened to the young son who was both victim and offender. I doubt it is coincidence that when Michael finally succumbed to his psychotic impulses, that it was his mother, Marguerite, whom he murdered. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Marguerite continued to believe that if her children maintained a diet free from refined sugar and processed foods, she could reverse the ravages of schizophrenia. Even the death of her older son to suicide in a psychiatric facility was not enough to prompt a different course of action. Instead of seeking reputable mental health assistance for her younger son, she pursued a number of "holistic" remedies, spending thousands of dollars on methods, doctors, and therapists that amounted to nothing short of quackery. In what can only be described as an act of extreme rage, Michael clubbed his mother to death, dragged her body to the master bedroom, and raped the corpse, even urinating inside his mother during the sexual assault. Suffocated under the weight of an overcontrolling and demanding mother, and delusional from years of untreated mental illness, Michael finally unleashed his rage in a psychotic frenzy. There was no attempt to conceal the crime, nor was there ever any doubt as to how this tragedy unfolded.
While the book is disturbing testament to the denial of some families with regard to recognizing and treating serious mental illness, the writing is lackluster and, in many portions, boring enough to bring the average reader to tears. In fact, the book is not even worth the effort tears would require. Waste no more time. Set your sights on some really exceptional True Crime by Kathryn Casey or Jack Olsen.
It can happen to you.......2004-06-21
Both my brothers have psychotic illnesses. It took years for both to be diagnosed. There were frequent bouts with alcoholism, drugs, arrests and nasty behavior. I hate to say it, but I moved thousands of miles away while my parents attempted to come to their aid continuously. In a review at this site the writer wonders how the father (Roy) could let it happen when he had an important job. You'd be surprised how numb you can get to aberrant behavior.
Two years ago, via genealogical research, I discovered a maternal great aunt and great uncle institutionalized with paranoid schizophrenia. My mother never knew. In the early 1900's the treatment included religious instruction. Ha!
If you're interested in the real thing, this is the book for you.
Very Depressing...........2004-02-12
I have two sons, and I pray that they don't become schizophrenic or bi-polar every day. This book was scary. It is about what can happen when parents don't beleive in conventional medicine to help mental illness. Schizophrenia cannot be curied through homeopathic remedies, aromatherapy, macrobiotics, or quack treatments. It can only be monitored through medication and a good psychiatrist. Even then it can still be dangerous, as many schizophrenics don't like to take their meds. The Mom dominated the sons and the Dad seemed like he wasn't there. What a tragedy.
Interesting study of a family destroyed by schizophrenia.......2003-06-07
This is not one of the best true crime books I've read but I found it to be a very informative study of schizophrenia and how NOT to treat it. The story focuses on how a wealthy suburban couple try to cope with their schizophrenic sons, who are put through various dubious treatment methods including bizarre diets, regression hypnotherapy,and confrontational counselling by men who are later exposed as quacks. The mother is a very smothering although well-meaning lady who only seems to exacerbate both of her sons illness by scheduling every minute of their lives even as adults, and attempting to control every morsel of food they eat, believing that the right combination of foods and herbs will cure thier illnesses. After Jeff committs suicide while in an institution, the parents are reluctant to committ their other son Michael so they keep him living at home. Things become truly bizarre near the end of the book when Michael gets the obsessive idea in his head that his mother should have sex with him. For several days the parents tolerate him walking around the house naked, verbally abusing his mother and making lewd sexual suggestions to her. The father does nothing and seems very distracted by his high profile job. I'm sorry, but at this point I think any one with common sense would leave or throw this obviously dangerous man out of their house. Sadly they let things continue until Michael flips out and murders his mother, then has sex with her while dead.
I'm no expert on schizophrenia, but I do know that keeping a patient on the right medication is extremely important and without that the illness only gets worse. This murder was a tragedy that could have been prevented. There is also much in the book about Ronald Reagan's "tough love" policies for the mentally ill which included closing state-run mental institutions all over America. This apparently led to thousands of mentally ill people being turned loose on the streets and becoming homeless.
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.......2003-01-13
This book is AWFUL. Don't waste your time or money. The writer is horrible, he's all over the place, never keeping to the story, going off on adventures and subjects that have ZERO to do with the story AND is EXTREMELY BORING. I stopped reading 1/2 way through the book - maybe when I got nothing else to read on a rainy day I'll finish it, or should I say, skip through the remainder as I did thus far. Horrible, horrible writing - don't publish anymore books by this author!
Average customer rating:
- Question for reviewer "Matthew" from March 9, 2004
- Open Minded
- Low Quality Book
- Tuite Innocent
- Stop with this garbage!
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Who Killed Stephanie Crowe: Anatomy of a Murder Investigation
Paul E. Tracy
Manufacturer: True Crime Pub Llc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Murder & Mayhem | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0974134201 |
Customer Reviews:
Question for reviewer "Matthew" from March 9, 2004.......2004-12-07
In response to your comment "Trust me...nobody is that sleepy not to hear a family member walking in late at night." First of all, that is an extremely ignorant thing to claim, I would say that it happens all the time! Are you entirely unfamiliar with the concept of kids sneaking out at night? But more to the point, based on your assertion, I suppose that means that you find it much more likely that a man was able to come in through a noisy glass door and vertical blinds a foot away from the parents' heads, proceed to walk around their bed and go through their bedroom door allowing ambient light to shine right into their eyes, go to Stephanie's room and brutally stab her nine times, then walk back through that same route and back through the vertical blinds and the noisy glass door without anyone waking up? That seems a bit more ridiculous than the idea of someone being so sleepy that they didn't hear a family member walking in (the front door!) that late at night, doesn't it?
One other thing is that you also assert that "Aaron said that he would have slashed Stephanie's throat and stabbed her in the chest even though the wounds on Stephanie's body were on her back and no neck wound was found". Well in response to this erroneous information, I would just like to point out that she had three wounds to the head, two wounds to the NECK, three wounds to the right shoulder, and one wound to the left anterior chest. This is all just to point out one clue among several that you did not pay as close of attention to the details of this case or the book as you would like to portray that you did.
This is really a thought-provoking book with a lot of insight that really needed to be pointed out. So I hope that potential readers will not let this Matthew person's (or anyone else's) ignorance keep you from reading this book. If you have an open mind going into it, I think you will see that the evidence does indeed show differently than what was ruled in court.
Open Minded .......2004-12-05
Hmm, that somebody sounds like a particular disgruntled student from my class... Don't let some biased person discourage you from buying this book. If you are open-minded about considering all the facets of the case, this book is for you. The book goes step by step as to the profile of a person(s)who committed the crime, motive, suspects, and reasons why certain persons were or were not convicted. The book deals closely with how apparently guilty people can commit a crime yet not be found guilty in the American justice system (...sounds like Due Process). As unlikely as some people think it is that a juvenile can walk a few miles at night, commit a murder, and then do well on a test the next morning, I find it even harder to beleive that the murder weapon could be found in his home and he have no correlation to the crime (maybe the tooth fairy left it). Hmmm, how unlikely is that now? And for those who know the author Dr. Tracy- he is an awesome professor, challenging students to consider the depth of what may otherwise seem shallow concepts. This is also apparent in his book.
Low Quality Book.......2004-11-17
This book was nothing you couldn't have found and read in a newspaper from when this murder happened...This book sucked just like professor Tracy sucks!
Tuite Innocent.......2004-11-13
First off...if you followed the case closely, you would know that the blood on Tuite's shirt got there because during the evidence processing, a new sheet of butcher paper was not removed and Tuite's shirt was laid on top of it, which caused the transfer of blood. Second, if he had killed Stephanie, the blood would not have just been at the elbow of the shirt, it would have been in certain patterns. Third, very very rarely do innocent kids admit to a crime they have not committed. It's a shame that three murderers are walking free while an innocent man takes the fall.
Stop with this garbage!.......2004-03-09
It has been several years since the January 20, 1998 murder of Stephanie Crowe in Escondido, California and people are still treating it like a murder "mystery", even though Richard Tuite is presently on trial. Let me tell you something. I have been following this case on the Internet and on CourtTV almost from the very beginning. I have studied just about everything there is to know about the art of police interrogation techniques. I am also a man of science. And I can tell you without hesitation, that there is no forensic possibility that those three boys (Michael Crowe, Joshua Treadway, and Aaron Houser) were involved in this murder. I reach my conclusion for the following reasons:
1) There was no blood on any of their clothes - It is forensically impossible not to get blood spatter on your clothes after stabbing somebody (not that I would know from experience). And even if you buy into the idea that those three boys cleaned up their blood-soaked clothes, there are sophisticated forensic tests that can at least determine if blood has been on an article of clothing even if it cannot be tested. No such evidence has come about. Therefore, we can take it with a grain of salt that these three boys were not near Stephanie when she was stabbed.
2) The implausibility of the confessions - Michael never implicated Joshua or Aaron, but rather claimed that he killed Stephanie during a blackout (which was raised by the detectives). Joshua said that the murder took place well after midnight, even though the medical examiner concluded that her death had occurred no later than midnight. Joshua also said that he walked several miles from his house to Aaron's house and then to Michael's house and back in the middle of the night. That's an awful lot of walking for somebody who is not even an athlete. And then Joshua says he woke up around 7 a.m. and went to school and aced a final exam. I don't think so, people don't murder other people and then go to school as if nothing ever happened. Aaron said that he would have slashed Stephanie's throat and stabbed her in the chest even though the wounds on Stephanie's body were on her back and no neck wound was found.
3) The "so called" murder weapon - The Best Defense, claimed to be the murder weapon used by the three boys didn't have a long enough blade to make some of the deep cuts on Stephanie's body. That means that a longer knife had to have been used. Furthermore, what evidence did the police have to prove not only that the Best Defense knife was the murder weapon, but also whether or not it was taken from Aaron Houser's room by Joshua as he said during the beginning of his interrogation? How can they prove that Joshua was lying about that part?
4) The alibis of the three boys - Joshua and Aaron's family both acknowledged that it would very difficult for their sons to just slip out of the house undetected and then manage to creep back in without waking them up. Trust me...nobody is that sleepy not to hear a family member walking in late at night.
5) The DNA evidence against Tuite - There is no question that the blood of Stephanie Crowe, and only Stephanie Crowe, was found on Richard Tuite's clothing and that it was not smeared. Thus, it had to have gotten on his clothing by force, such as what happens when you stab somebody.
Even if you buy into the theory that Richard Tuite is to mentally unstable to commit a crime, how do you explain his prior crimes and the fact that he had spent years living as a transient. I'm sure he must have had his lucid moments.
Well, that pretty much sums it up. If you want to read a "science"fiction novel, you should check out this book. However, if you are like me and want to know the truth, I highly recommend the movie "The Interrogation of Michael Crowe".
Average customer rating:
- Lots of Questions
- Arguably the best review of the Luby's massacre ever written
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Anatomy of a Massacre
Elinor Karpf , and
Jason Karpf
Manufacturer: Wrs Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Murder & Mayhem | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1567960405 |
Customer Reviews:
Lots of Questions.......2004-01-16
I am dieing to find out how come Hennard's mother didn't do something when he started stalking the neighbor's children. She may have had the last chance to prevent this maniac from going postal.
The authors didn't even explain Mrs. Hennard's reaction to the neighbor's fear. Did she not care?
I am amazed that Hennard would be stupid enough to write a love letter without even knowing whom he is stalking. Usually, stalkers are better informed.
How can you say, "I want to spend my life with you" and not know even the person's name? Duh!
Arguably the best review of the Luby's massacre ever written.......1999-05-30
If you are interested in a straight forward play- by-play of how the Luby's Cafeteria Massacre carried out, then this book is your first choice. From a detailed history of George Hennard and events leading up to his rampage to the aftermath that ensued, this book flows in an easy to read and gripping style. No prejudices or bias' are forced on the reader. The facts and people are presented as they were and you are left with many questions and conlusions. This is a superior review to modern day mass murder and to true crime in general. Pick it up if you love a good read.
Book Description
At forty, Paul Biegler's world seemed to have come to an end: after ten years as DA in his small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the people had elected a new hero, a young army veteran. And Biegler had been spending a lot of time fishing and thinking about his future. Then the call came from Laura Mannion: her husband had been arrested on a charge of murder. She said that the man her husband had killed had assaulted her. Suddenly, Polly, as he is known to the entire town, sees his opportunity: maybe he can show his rival that he can defend as well as he can prosecute. What follows is one of the most brilliant courtroom dramas of all time, as Polly puts together his defence and minutely examines the seething emotions under the placid surface of his town.
Customer Reviews:
Crackling Good Read.......2001-07-20
Wow! Picked this one up looking for something new, and now I have to read all the others in the series. Pomidor expertly captures all the necessary mystery highlights along the way, but the real gem here are the characters. With wife Cal, husband Plato, mooching chum Homer, and on and on Pomidor makes you care about the people who inhabit his world. Smooth, realistic dialogue woven seamlessly into a well paced story make this a joy to read.
Medical Mystery.......2000-08-11
If you like medical mysteries, then add this to your list. Here we have a husband named Plato who is a geriatrician and a wife named Cal who is a forensics pathologist. This time out the two are trying to find out how one of Plato's favorite patients ends up as a cadaver at the medical school. Lots of information on how medications are developed. Good read, however could of used better editing. (this if for the paperback edition)
A combo of Nick, Nora, and Kay Scarpetta, a la Cleveland!.......1997-11-22
This is a wonderful book. The author obviously had a warm-hearted upbringing. I particularly liked empathizing with his references to his family life. The next in the Plato series, it flirts with evolving the "well-nourished"/skulldugger into a character who loses as well as wins. But how does he manage to attract so many women?
Books:
- The Babes in the Wood
- The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House
- The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-seventy (Women & History)
- The Day Before Midnight
- The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries (P.S.)
- The New Eating Right for a Bad Gut : The Complete Nutritional Guide to Ileitis, Colitis, Crohn's Disease, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- The Price Of Silence
- The Real Holy Grail: An Orthodox Response to Dan Brown's Deceptions in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code
- The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible (Protestant Edition)
- The Right Attitude to Rain: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
Books Index
Books Home
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