I, monster : serial killers in their own chilling words

by Philbin, Tom, 1934-

Format: Print Book 2011
Availability: Available at 4 Libraries 4 of 6 copies
Available (4)
Location Collection Call #
C.C. Mellor Memorial Library Non Fiction 364.1 Phi
Location  C.C. Mellor Memorial Library
 
Collection  Non Fiction
 
Call Number  364.1 Phi
 
 
CLP - Main Library Mezzanine - Non-fiction HV6515.P48 2011
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  Mezzanine - Non-fiction
 
Call Number  HV6515.P48 2011
 
 
Northern Tier Regional Library Nonfiction 364.152 PHILB
Location  Northern Tier Regional Library
 
Collection  Nonfiction
 
Call Number  364.152 PHILB
 
 
Whitehall Public Library Nonfiction Collection NF 364.15232 P534
Location  Whitehall Public Library
 
Collection  Nonfiction Collection
 
Call Number  NF 364.15232 P534
 
 
 
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CLP - East Liberty Non-Fiction Collection CHECKED OUT
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Collection  Non-Fiction Collection
 
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Penn Hills Library Non-Fiction CHECKED OUT
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Summary
What goes through the dark minds of such notorious killers as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz ("Son of Sam"), John Wayne Gacy, Dennis Rader (the "BTK Killer"), and others? In this chilling book, you'll read exactly what they were thinking in their own words as they committed horrible crimes. Using court transcripts and police interviews, veteran true-crime and crime-fiction writer Tom Philbin has compiled the testimony of twenty infamous serial killers--nineteen men and one woman.

For fans of crime stories who look for realism, this book is like no other. The descriptions couldn't be more realistic since, in effect, the book is written by the serial killers themselves. Their words range from the bizarre and weirdly fascinating to the revolting and horrific.

In each case, Philbin provides a background profile to give readers a sense of the context from which these monsters emerged. Though they come from different backgrounds, nationalities, and generations, their words do reveal certain common elements. Not one evinces any sense of compassion or sensitivity in regard to their victims. They appear to be unable to control the impulses that lead them to kill. And in many cases, they derive a perverse sexual satisfaction from their deeds.

Taking true-crime reading to a new level of immediacy, this disturbing book offers a glimpse into the worst side of human nature.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "Veteran grim-lit readers may have noticed a recent uptick in the number of books plumbing the depths of all-star fiends (Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, etc.). Philbin has assembled a tribute to serial killers a little different in presentation and attribution: the words in it are direct quotations from the letters, confessions, trial transcripts and the like of the blood-stained miscreants themselves. Each chapter begins with a career summary of a single slaughterer and his crimes (all the subjects are male, except for Aileen Wuornos). Coverage reaches back in time to Jack the Ripper and H. H. Holmes and includes lesser-known psychopaths Westley Allan Dodd and Edmund Kemper along with such more familiar homicides as David Berkowitz and Albert Fish. A good many of these human-hunters' narratives are extremely disturbing, certainly not for the faint of heart. (Consider yourself warned.) Yet this is an excellent addition to the serial-killer literature because of the straight-from-the-heart-of-darkness provenance of those same gruesome stories.--Tribby, Mike Copyright 2010 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Additional Information
Subjects Serial murderers -- Case studies.
Serial murderers -- Interviews.
Publisher Amherst, N.Y. :Prometheus Books,2011
Language English
Description 263 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography Notes Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 9781616141639 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1616141638 (pbk. : alk. paper)
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