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The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (Pocket Books True Crime)
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You Are Here: Books About Antiques > Collector Encyclopedias > Item 304 of 556
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$0.78
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Available from Amazon
Price Last Updated : 7-30-2008
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Features
Paperback: 357 pages
Publisher: Pocket November 1, 1997
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0671020749
ISBN-13: 978-0671020743
Product Dimensions:
9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
Product Review
The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is a lighthearted but reasonably tasteful collection of information about serial killers, by a respected historian of crime (Harold Schechter) and the author of Human Monsters (David Everitt). It includes individual entries devoted to the most famous killers from all over the world, and amusing sections devoted to such topics as black widows, bluebeards, killer couples, Lustmord, Nazi buffs, power tools, pyromania, and trophies. There are also useful tips for further ventures into art, movies, books, zines, music, and tourist attractions devoted to serial killers. The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is cross-indexed, with numerous black-and-white illustrations. --Fiona Webster
Reader Reviews
A quick caveat for starters: after reading this book in one quick sitting, I feel a little disturbed. If the parade of violence and deviant sexual behavior that this book presents fails to have a similar effect upon you, then you are either jaded or deviant yourself. By themselves, the descriptions of the childhood home lives of most of the killers described within these pages are horrifying beyond belief. That said, the authors touch on every aspect of serial murder with which I was previously familiar, as well as a great deal more. The only problem is that you will have to read the book cover to cover to find most of it. Juan Corona, for example, is to be found only under the entry "Orchards" (? ), apparently because many of his victims were buried in them. The only other apparent reason for this entry is a murder case, also involving corpse disposal in an orchard, that has nothing whatsoever to do with serial killers. One must look in similarly obscure entries to find the Green River killer (still the most prolific American serial killer in terms of confirmed victims), the notorious 16th-century French nobleman Gilles de Rais, whose behavior parallels that of some modern serial killers quite closely (with the exception of his high position in society), or South America's Pedro Lopez, the "Monster of the Andes." In short, this is not an encyclopedia that is meant as a real reference work of any sort; the "encyclopedia" aspect is merely a convenient format that the authors use to relate capsule-sized anecdotes and factoids. A distinct bias in the entries is also obvious--the reader is treated to mention of Ed Gein, Albert Fish and H.H. Holmes over and over again, most likely because Harold Schechter has previously written books about them. [Notably, Albert Fish, who also is given his own entry, is the only reason for another entry entitled "X-Rays," so that we can for the second time read about the needles he inserted into his pelvis.] Notwithstanding the frustrations the reader will encounter with the organization of this book, Schechter and Everitt provide a breezy read--that is, if you can take the subject matter breezily--and their book is morbidly entertaining.
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The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (Pocket Books True Crime)
by Harold Schechter
Available from Amazon
Price: $0.78
on 7-30-2008
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