Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

While I admire the authors many accomplishments and can appreciate his contributions to the art of profiling, his ego leaves no room for admitting mistakes. This gives me reason for concern, no one is ever right in every instance no matter how experienced. For instance the William Heirens case which he breezes through with broad strokes doesn't touch on any of the contridictions of this particular case and in the end he writes William off as guilty without ever looking into any other aspects of the crimes and the man who supposedly committed them. I've come to know Mr. Heirens personally and quite frankly Mr. Douglas' treatment of his case was an insult. I was even more disturbed by Douglas' quick defense of Patsy Ramsey (for pay) when everything about Patsy's behavior fits his 'murderer' profile to a "T". I simply refuse to trust someone who believes they're incapable of being wrong.

Wow, I didn't make it past the first 60 pages. Terrible writing style. Dopey anecdotal references, bland and amateurish. Proving once again that just because someone is highly skilled at a certain profession, it does not mean they can write about it, yikes this was a bad read.

I really expected something different. I thought it would be more on profiling and crimes,and was very disappointed when it was pretty much all about John Douglas's life story and never really spoke much on acual crimes. I did not enjoy the book at all. So unless you want to read a biography on John Douglas I wouldn't waste the time.

If you are a liberal, I would recommend that you stop reading this review immediately. And not to discourage sales of this fine book, but I would also recommend that you steer clear of making a purchase as well.

John Douglas makes no bones about the fact that he has no problems with guns or capital punishment. And if you are an UNSUB -- the F.B.I.s acronym for "unknown subject," and one that Mr. Douglas uses often throughout -- but later are convicted, he doesn't have much time worrying about cruel and unusual punishment for you either. He even discusses this at the end of a chapter, comparing the needs of a serial killer versus the needs of the victims' families. Guess which one is more important to Mr. Douglas?

And I really appreciated this perspective myself, since authors often times play both sides of an argument to not offend anyone, and therefore try to squeak out a few more sales. That doesn't work well with me, and Mr. Douglas does not make that rookie mistake. One thing that I remember from my early days in school from the best teachers: "Pick a side of an argument and argue it!" Most Americans nowadays don't know how to argue because at least they aren't willing to choose a side. And forget about all of the logical fallacies that usually go along with it.

But Mr. Douglas does do a fine job of arguing throughout this book. While he might give multiple sides of an argument, he will then finally argue which side is the "correct" one with strong evidence as for why. Nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, it is a good tactic if you are going to enter into debate: address your competition's points and attack them before he has a chance to speak. It gives you the upper hand.

I don't think that it could easily be argued, however, that Mr. Douglas is the greatest writer in the world. I read a book from Dr. Robert Keppel -- a police officer, detective, and retired professor in Seattle -- and his writing style was surely better. But these two guys are at least strong acquaintances; Mr. Douglass alludes to that point at least once in the book. And there is a passage in one of the chapters where Mr. Douglas is discussing Dr. Keppel and another gentleman named "Robert" or "Bob" and the author seemed to use both names interchangeably, so I was lost figuring out which "Bob" or "Robert" that the passage was discussing. And I even read a couple of pages twice and I was still confused.

But it's not the case that Mr. Douglas is a bad writer, far from it; you could just say that it is not his number one forte. That is fine and understood. He surely is one of the greatest profilers ever, and I "enjoyed" -- if "enjoyed" is the correct word -- reading about many of the cases that he worked on in which I'm already aware. I have read so many true crime books now that, as a matter of fact, it was unusual if he discussed a case in which I wasn't already familiar.

I think that the strongest point of this work: Mr. Douglas does not talk down to his readers. Even though it's probably not true, he is nice enough to the reader to at least make you believe you could become a profiler yourself given enough time and education. After all, he has many "disciples" that he has trained himself, and that might be his greatest legacy. (As a side note, and a possible theme of the book: he discusses the Manson murders at one point, of course. Mr. Douglas even called Manson's followers "disciples," and it got me thinking: Mr. Manson and Mr. Douglas have some similarities, but Mr. Douglas used his strengths for good while Mr. Manson used his strengths for evil.)

And so I will leave you with some advice if you are considering reading this fine book. I would "bone up" on as many cases as you possibly can first; it will help you when reading this book I believe. And if you are at that point -- and are a conservative as well -- I highly recommend making that purchase and be ready for an inside look at how the F.B.I. really works.

John Douglas is the possibly the most self-promoting buffoon in the history of criminal psychological law enforcement. For every obscure case he's gotten right, there's a spectacular one he's gotten WRONG.
Please, if you want, "The Mindhunter" (WHAT kind of an ego to give HIMSELF the title; and what a terrible show), go back to the original: to Robert Ressler. Leave Douglas to his own ego. And David Fincher and Co. to "Gone Girl."

I have been looking forward to finally reading this one because I have long been interested in behavioral analysis and consider myself a bit of a true crime buff.

The strong parts of this book are where he digs into the details of cases and how profiling was developed and used to catch killers. Though many of the cases profiled are major cases that I already knew many of the details of, it was interesting to see this other side of the case—how the profile was built and how it helped catch the killer.

I wish it had spent a bit more time on the formative years, as it really only touches on those serial killer interviews that are so interesting and formed the core of how he thought about and created profiles. That's what I really wanted to read about.

The book often runs more toward memoir, which I found an unfortunate side piece of what was really interesting about the book. The narration was definitely self-congratulatory and at times even arrogant, which isn't really a pleasure to read.

I have another of his books, so I'm willing to give it another try, but this book was not quite what I expected.

All but one cases are described in retrospect and Douglas claims how accurately his profile matched the killer in every case. He never talks about any details he got wrong, he talks as if he was right 100% of the time. If mistakes were made, they were due to not following Douglases advice. This gets progressively more ridiculous.

At the end of the book, he makes his only verifiable prediction. He attempts to profile the notorious, then-unsolved, case of BTK strangler. As we know now, BTK was caught in 2005 (long after the book was published). Everything Douglas predicted was completely wrong.

This book got me into the field of Criminology. I was absolutely fascinated by John Douglas' stories of criminal profiling and how he and a few others basically brought offender profiling into investigations. There is no doubt Douglas is passionate about solving his cases and seeking justice for the victims of those crimes. What Douglas, Ressler, Hazelwood, and DePue have done changed investigative methods and have helped bring justice to many who may not have seen it through conventional methods. They helped many departments when stuck on an investigation find their offender.

However, John also displays narcissistic behavior as a person who sensationalizes profiling. He frequently is characterizing it as a talent so unique, one must be born with it. His belief in his talents and abilities is quite grandiose and books are very self-serving. His and other FBI profiler methods have since been challenged by experts and general science. His use of psychics is faulty and useless, based on centuries of failed studies and evidence to support anything above guessing or 50/50 chance. Today, profiling is mostly done by investigators of local departments and relies more heavily on evidence-based approaches instead of Douglas' highly inductive methods.

Since the book has come out, things have changed dramatically and certain facts Douglas relies on are no longer useful as times have changed. This is not necessarily a criticism of him as the previous paragraph, but to note some of the conclusions he has drawn from methods employed would no longer be reasonable to use today.

I had really idolized John Douglas until I got an education. As a significantly better alternative, I highly suggest reading Roy Hazelwood. He worked with Douglas but is not so delusional as to believe that he has psychic powers. Hazelwood was another profiler for the FBI. Hazelwood wrote the book on autoerotic asphyxiation and has been an infrequent name in many of my undergraduate and graduate level work. In one of his books, he gives scenarios to teach a little offender profiling giving the impression he has a passion for it and loves to share it with everyone else as equals.

I give this 3/5 because of its continuing influence on me. It got me into the field and it also serves as a reminder to use an evidence-based approach.

This was a fascinating book, but at times hard to get through. It's very dense with a lot of detail--most of the time. However, there were some gaps in it which left me with questions. (More on that later.) It was also hard to read about the terrible crimes and I had to stop for a day or so between chapters to recover--particularly as I'm a woman and most of the crimes were against women. But I did finish it and found it very enlightening, and also depressing to think that there are so many human monsters out there. It bothers me that the Green River Killer case was never solved and the murderer could still be out there. It wasn't a perfect book and some things detracted from it. First of all, there were punctuation mistakes, such as numerous missing quotation marks and commas where there should have been periods, and vice versa. I don't know if this was in the original manuscript and the editors missed it, or it was a formatting error in the Kindle version. Secondly, there were holes in Mr. Douglas' explanation of profiles and solution to cases. One example is that his profile said a certain killer didn't get along with women, was a loner, etc. However, this murderer was married with a daughter. The author never explained this discrepancy when the killer was arrested. Another example was how did a man kill his wife when he was supposed out with his son the whole time? This was never explained. Did the murderer give his son a sleeping pill and let him sleep in the car while the murderer killed his wife? Or did he drop the son off with a relative or a babysitter so he could kill the wife? So there were some niggling questions for me which were never answered.

I have finally succumbed to the failure of the avid book reader's memory. When I saw that the kindle edition of Mindhunter was at $1.99, I tried the sample and read it, and enjoyed it and bought it. Two chapters later, I realized I'd read it before: somewhere in 1993, before I had a blog (well before blogs existed), which is why a search for my own review of Mindhunter never surfaced it.

Nevertheless, I didn't mind too much, as the book was a great read and I ploughed on through the book reading each chapter breathlessly.

Ultimately, this is a non-fiction account of a detective's cool magical trick: that of being able to profile the criminal through thorough examination of a crime scene. When you read newspaper reports about how the police have determined that the killer was a "white male, age 30-35, drives a volkswagen, has a high school education, and probably smokes and drinks and has a beard", and then wonder "how the heck did they do that?", this is the book for you.

John Douglas was one of the pioneers in the FBI Investigative Support Unit, and did the early research and studies on what makes serial killers tick. As a result, we get first hand accounts of how he profiled and helped to capture (and in some cases failed to capture) the serial killers that he was brought in to investigate.

A lot of the profiling comes from an understanding of the background of the killer: the kind of person who could commit most of these crimes is pretty dysfunctional, and hence can only fit into certain backgrounds. There's also some interesting statistical analysis, for instance, killings rarely cross racial boundaries. Furthermore, what's interesting is how the killer often tries to inject himself into the police investigation, leading to some proactive methods by which he can be caught. And of course, it's almost always a male serial killer. Though there are a couple of chilling examples of women killers in the book, they almost always target their immediate family rather than strangers. (There's one example in the book of a woman hiring a hit-man to take out her FBI agent husband to get the insurance money)

The book does have a hidden agenda: Douglas is very much pro-death penalty, and after reading the book, you can see why. There's no way you could handle the thousands of horrifying cases he has without coming to the conclusion that certain criminal types just cannot be turned around: by the time the killer has committed multiple murders, there's nothing that can be salvaged from his psyche. Furthermore, because such personalities are very focused on returning to prior behavior, they're capable of fooling psychologists, social workers, and others into thinking that they've been rehabilitated. When such people are let out on parole, they inevitably kill again. Reading this book makes you think that maybe the Batman comic books aren't so silly after all, where the super-criminals inevitably get let out of prison to repeat their crimes.

Douglas is also unsympathetic to the insanity plea. He notes that none of the "criminally insane" ever feel so compelled to act that they commit their crimes in front of a uniformed police officer. In several cases, he notes that the serial killers would visit a location with the intent of committing their crime, discover that conditions weren't favorable, and back out. This meant that when they committed their crime, they were in full control of whether or not to go through with it, and that they knew that it was wrong, but committed the act anyway.

In any case, the book is compelling reading, and well worth the time and $1.99. Pick it up!

The Netflix series "Mindhunter" was loosely based on this book by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. After watching the show and reading the book, I wholeheartedly agree that it was quite a "loose" adaptation. The Netflix series sets the tone well in terms of telling the story of the early days of the Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI. The show's pacing was good, the introduction of the characters was done well so that you could either learn to hate or love them later on, and the actors that played the notorious serial killers were truly frightening. Praise should be given to these talented actors that play such devious characters. I would highly recommend watching the show. The book on the other hand was just a scattered memoir of John Douglas' career at the FBI. He overpraises himself a lot for being a highly coveted agent but provides a bland story that is supposed to back up his claims. He would introduce an interesting murder case on one page and then jump into the birth of his daughter in another. The story is too mixed up between Douglas' personal life and the Behavioral Unit. Am I reading about his mundane life or am I reading about the origin of the Behavioral Science Unit and the huge progress it has made profiling murderers as well as solving crimes? There are a lot of problems with how this book was written and I was really drawn to it when everyone described it as being very informative. But so far I just find it lacking in every area of storytelling and lacking in any information on criminology. To be fair, I wanted to read this book because of the show and so I came in with an expectation that it would very similar to it. I was wong.

this is the story of John Douglas and his 25 year career in the FBI and the evolution of the Investigative Support Unit. You will learn how Douglas got started and his education and interest in psychological side of crime , what makes a killer tick and why he does what he does. You will gain insight into the behaviors of many serial killers and sexual deviants and the particulars of their gruesome crimes. Many of these crimes have been well publicized already when they occurred and are familiar but infamous names. If you are interested in true crime and serial killers in particular you will have your fill. I could not help but eventually grow tired of reading about these deviants and there unfortunate victims as there are many in this book. Any crime fighting method that will reduce the occurrence of such crimes is valuable, unfortunately much damage had been done prior to their apprehension. If you are interested in the dark side of human behavior and Police investigation of it, you will enjoy.

It doesn't feel right giving this a star rating because the subject isn't something you can exactly 'enjoy'... that said, it's well written, graphic, revealing, intense... all these things.
I'm not finishing the book, and my excuse for doing so is nothing to do with the graphic, disturbing or worrying content - and everything to do with the size of the print. My eyes just cannot handle the tiny writing!
So it's back to my Kindle for me, where I can increase the font... and my next read will be nothing to do with serial killers or murders or rapes... because I could use a change of pace.
What I would say is thank goodness for people like John Douglas and those who work in criminal profiling, and in crime-fighting, full stop. Where would we be without them?

MINDHUNTER by John Douglas is a masterpiece. This is a must read for any real true crime reader and collector. This is the guy who coined so much of the terminology used today by the FBI.

I have been a fan of Mr. Douglas for many many years and have read all his books. When you read this book, you will appreciate the physical and mental anguish he must have endured to hone his craft as a world renowned profiler.

This book is well written, with great detail, and captivating to the last word. The crimes that the author wrote about are gruesome, sad but true. He paints a vivid picture of the inside of the BSU in the FBI. He interviewed the most notorious and ruthless serial killers the world has ever seen and spent hundreds of hours picking their brains.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in true crime, serial killers and the FBI.

Maybe it’s the fact that I’m listening to this on Audible but I am hating this book. It’s mostly just John Douglas recounting his exploits with the FBI. No offense to Mr. Douglas and his storied career but I’d rather hear more in depth recollections of serial killers that he has interviewed instead of every detail of his life such as how he met his wife, etc. I’m not going to finish listening. I will say that I may have enjoyed it better had I read it myself. The audio version is like listening to some guy in a bar recount his glory days over many, many beers.

The first 20% or so of this book was almost unbearable. That part was was an autobiography of sorts for John Douglas. And it was not easy to read, as he basically talks non-stop about how great and smart he is. Many of the stories sounded unbelievable to me and that affected his credibility for the remainder of the book. Once he finally starts discussing actual cases, the book was OK. I only gave it 2 stars because the autobiographical part was so awful, and even when he did finally get to the cases, everything was still about him and how smart he is.

This is one of the most significant books on societal ills I've ever read. Law enforcement's new ability to profile and find serial killers is nothing short of amazing. Just after reading it, a 15 year old in our small city raped and murdered an 8 year old. The murderer is to be tried as an adult. Douglas's book gives me important insight into this decision. But the book is much more than simply relevant to that event. It describes the very complex and demanding effort of Douglas and his colleagues to bring an awful and misunderstood dark side of the human mind into the mainstream of FBI and other police procedures.

This books starts off with a hard punch. It jumps right into the ‘mind’ of an FBI agent who is attempting to find the most dangerous person in US history. This is an amazing work that takes a deep dive into the science, art and technology of hunting down serial killers. This is not a happy read, but it was very fascinating. There were several great stories highlighting the twisted human minds behind the stories that made headlines and were the basis of several movies. I enjoyed this book and I have a great respect for the people in the FBI.

Excellent and fascinating book. Everyone should read this book. I am going to lock my doors now and be more aware that there are more dangers than I ever realized. Which won't make me negative or afraid but smarter.

I really enjoy the way Douglas writes. He doesn't assume that the individual reading the book already has knowledge of Criminal Profiling, so it keeps anyone ready the book clear on what he is talking about. I have taken courses in Criminal Profiling and even with my knowledge of the subject I truly learned a lot from him. His career it truly impressive and the wealth of knowledge he has gathered over the years certainly shows. To hear first hand accounts of the encounters he had and the minds he has had try and take on as his own to fully understand the killers intent will give you goosebumps just thinking about what he must go through with each case is enough to allow anyone to have the utmost respect for him and his work. What it is like to go to work figuring out what makes his current target tick, I will never fully imagine, I don't think anyone but other criminologists could.

I would highly recommend this book as well as his book "Journey into Darkness" to anyone who,not only is in the Criminal Justice field but to those who have an interest in it specifically Criminal Profiling, but are sure about it as a career. I have read both these books and they are great learning materials and great books to help you really determine if it is the field for you.

Received "Mindhunter" hardback copy listed as "brand new," but upon receipt found the spine cracked, and the pages at that point torn and separated from the spine. Not what I was looking for in a Christmas gift for my sister. Too late to replace it now. Needless to say I'm extremely disappointed in your product and won't be using your services again. the store is starting to go down hill lots. It is now like the new ebay it's getting that bad.

NOTE: 110 people gave this book 5 stars, so clearly many people liked this book.

If you have read every serial killer book and are bored with individual killers, this book might be for you. Douglas really takes the opportunity to tell his life story. The prologue and first few chapters are entirely a personal account of Douglas' life. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting him to tell about the pros and cons of playing defensive line on his high school football team for 2 pages.

Seriously, it's that detailed about Douglas' upbringing. Additionally, it's nauseatingly braggadocio. He tells a story of how he completely astonishes some serial rapist by revealing intimate details about his personal life during a group therapy session - and I had to shut the book and walk away from the ridiculousness of it.

I would have given this book 2 stars, but nobody reads those.

For those who believe that evil exists in the world and some people should not be allowed to walk among us, this book is for you. John Douglas recounts the formation of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit. He describes some to the nations most notorious serial killers and the story of how they were hunted down and, in most cases, brought to justice.

He offers a great pearl of wisdom near the end of the book regarding crime in America: "I believe that the only chance of solving our crime problem is if enought people want to. More and more courts and more prisons and better investigative techniques are fine, but the only way crime is going to go down is if all of us simply stop accepting and tolerating it in our families, our friends, and our associates."

Douglas is a strong supporter of the death penalty and explains his reasoning several times in the book. The NRA's "Refuse to be a Victim" course recommend's this book for "insight into criminals' minds". If you simply do not want to know about evil people, do not read this book.

The only negative for me was that Douglas has a very high opinion of himself and, in many of the cases, rides in and "solves" the crime with his profile of the killer. Also, not a "gun guy" he gets a reference to S&W and Colt backwards (p. 230) and refers to a .223 Mini-14 as a "high powered hunting rifle" (p. 241).

A worthwhile addition to your library.

I enjoyed this book.

First, I found it to be accessibly and coherently written. Second, it provided the rare, firsthand experience of an actual, career investigator, and all the insights and perspective to be expected of a lifelong occupation. Third, the book was a study of human psychology and behavior, as examined through the turbulent and inverted lens of sadistic crime (as well as posing a study of the author himself). One can learn much from such accounts; personally, I have found nothing more educational than the study of my opposites, and 'Mindhunter' is a fine manual in that regard.

Thanks to the author, the subjects, and the publisher. I have benefited from this book.

Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

by John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker

Upon retiring, Special Agent John Douglas was finally able to share his story. He is the elite pioneer of what we now know as criminal profiling. He is also the model for the chief male agent in the book and movie, "Silence of the Lambs". In this book, Douglas takes us into the early days of the FBI's special unit for this highly specialized field.

Special Agent Douglas was involved in several notorious crimes, including John Wayne Gacy, the Tylenol poisoning case, the Atlanta Child Murders, and the Green River Killer. His profiling of the criminal mind was integral in solving these among other major crimes.

To hone his skills, Douglas studied and interviewed the likes of infamous serial killers Richard Speck, Charles Manson John Wayne Gacy and other serious offenders. This enabled him to understand the working of their mind, as well as what drove them to commit such heinous crimes.

A fascinating psychological read, this is also an excellent account of true criminal justice. Fans of the TV show "Criminal Minds" will certainly appreciate this compelling book.

More than worth slogging through the first few hours (I have the audiobook edition) of autobiographical anecdotes to get to the "good stuff." Whether or not you agree with his methods, the author has a wealth of experience in the field of forensic psychology and has worked several high profile cases. The casework descriptions are especially interesting.

You have GOT TO READ THIS BOOK!

John Douglas is an amazing man and I truly believe he has had major impact in our nation's success in catching criminals.

I know there are a lot of reviews out there that make him out to be megalomaniac, but I COMPLETELY disagree. First of all, I would like all dissenters to show me THEIR contribution to criminology. Second, when you have spent nearly your ENTIRE CAREER being misunderstood, falsely accused of witchcraft, and disliked, as an autobiographer a little explanation is in order to inform the readers HOW you became the person you are. Third, it IS HIS book...of course it is about HIM! :-)

This is an interesting account of a career that started out as rather ordinary and ended up with the author as one of the pioneers of Profiling at the FBI. Profiling in this account comes across as much of an art as a science. Certainly not everybody would have the skill the read people like this. It is also a high pressure - high risk job, and the author developed a certain understandable bitterness over time at the lack of support the FBI gave its agents in these roles.

It's surprising how criminal behaviour can be classified as to what sets of these killers and the type of crimes that they commit. You certainly won't learn to be a profiler yourself by reading this book, but you'll gain a new appreciation for the skill of the people who work in the field and an eye opening account of the depths human beings can sink to. For me this was the first book on violent crimes like this I have read and it is heartening that a through and logical approach to these crimes has meant an improvement in the ability of the law to capture the people who kill and keep killing.

Skip this one unless you are curious about how the author proposed to his wife, what kind of shoes he likes to wear and every inside joke he’s ever been party to. Doubtless he’s made great contributions to the FBI but this book is a narcissistic snoozefest. You’re better off reading Whoever Fights Monsters by Ressler.

John Douglas is a retired FBI agent who, along with collegues Rob Ressler and several others, developed a new strategy to catch some of America's (and the world's) most deplorable but elusive killers: Profiling. This new behavioral science took a look at a crime scene and the victim her/himself and after piecing these clues along with the clues left at similar murder sites, detectives were able to come up with a "profile" of the perpetrator of the crime. How? Because Douglas and others had gone to the heart of the matter: the criminals themselves. By interviewing them in prison, they were able to see why they killed, what drove them to it, their preferences, backgrounds, and fantasies. Often, the profiles were so eerily accurate that it seemed like witchcraft. Eventually, it was embraced by law enforcement and came to be a most invaluable tool for which all of us in society should be grateful for.
John Douglas describes his beginnings and his own story is as interesting as that of the sick men he later profiles for the reader. There are many insider-anecdotes for us to live vicariously through and plenty of bone-chilling (but not overly-sensationalistic) details of horrific crimes to keep us awake at night.
Luckily, a lot of these guys are locked up for life and some have even kept their dates with death (like America's most charming serial killer, Ted Bundy, who was fried on the electric chair after years of appeals and dozens of murders). But it's not that there aren't still antisocial personalities out there, waiting to explode; the apparent decline in such crime I think is due to men like Douglas, who have made studying these men his cause so that he can stay one step ahead of them. Also, Douglas and his contemporaries worked tirelessly for victim's rights and have made it possible to track cases all over the country via computer so that people can never get away with running away accross the country--to kill anew--ever again. (Bundy did just that, and because things like VICAP were not instituted yet, he went from Washington to Florida and killed more women in the southern state where no one had heard of the vicious killer.)
This book is not for the weak- it will scare you. But it is also an empowering way to look into the minds of the men (it's mostly men who turn into mass killers) who committed the crimes and become aware. I feel I learned how to "defend" myself at least psychologically.
And I consider John Douglas a real hero.

Mind Hunter, (Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit) is an insightful journey into the life of a FBI profiler John Douglas. This book does not contain extensive case file information. However, it does contain a good taste of many criminal profiles enough to satisfy the curious and interested reader. In "Mind Hunter" Douglas shares in brief his expert finely tuned perception of person's such as Ed Kemper the coed Killer, Son of Sam David Berkowitz, Mass Murderer Richard Speck, Son of Sam David Berkowitz, Charlie Manson, Green River Killer, et all. Douglas introspection of abnormal behavior is illuminating and his drive to understand the human condition is compelling. The book also affords the reader a chance to gain a few insights into the history and manner in which the FBI's Behavioral Science unit has evolved over the last generation. For those of you following this career path you will gain from this book the impact the profession can have on ones personal life, family, friends and the public at large. Within its pages you will preview the pressures, pitfalls, and rewards that come with this career and much insight can be gleaned by the careful and perceptive reader. "Mind Hunter" is undeniably one of the most compelling books I have ever read.

I don't have to say how great this book is, if you have any doubts about this book then just read one of the many great reviews you can find on this site, many of them are giving this book 5 stars ( for many good reasons ). This book is a classic in the True Crime/Serial Killer litterature. The book is really well written, and even if some parts of the book are boring ( the author didn't had to write about how he seduced his wife ) this is a must-own book for any True Crime/Serial Killers/Unsolved Cases buff. Yes, sometimes the author is pretentious and full of himself but hey, this is one of Mr. Douglas' trademarks, if you don't like it then try to not let this bothering you or simply read another book. Reading this book years ago is one of the reasons why I have decided to study in criminology. Thank you mr. Douglas; this book is not perfect but it's a classic of its kind.

This was a very interesting book describing the rise of criminal profiling in the F.B.I. John Douglas pioneered the combination of psychology and crimaal catching which has become so popular today, especially since Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs, which showed the public how this new science works (in an exaggerated form, of course). This book details how that science developed, what it's benefits are, and why it should be used, but unfortunately Mr. Douglas doesn't really tell us a whole lot about how exactly it works. He looks at case files, examines autopsy reports, then comes up with a profile of the killer. All of the cases he records in this book are cases he got right (one wonders how many he has gotten wrong, since he mentions having done hundreds and hundreds of cases, and he only mentions a few dozen), yet he never really bridges the gap between case file analysis and criminal profiling. Perhaps he doesn't want us to know, so that criminals cannot use that information to their advantage. If so, he should have explained himself, as the books cover and intro are rather misleading.

Be forewarned that this book is not for squeamish people. He describes murder scenes in detail, leaving little to nothing out, even if things like dismemberment are involved. While not appealing, these descriptions are necessary to really grasp the utter depravity which the criminals he is profiling have fallen into. If you know any good humanists who believe in the inherent good of the human race, this book may cause them to second guess their beliefs.

Douglas makes one point over and over in this book: serial killers are not born, they are made. People are not born with a chemical imbalamce which causes them to go out and kill people. What causes that type of behavior is usually childhood abuse and insecurity. The guys that terrorize the nation are usually guys living in their parent's basements who have no life, because their life was stolen from them in their childhood through the abuse (physical or mental) of parents and relatives. Douglas also points out repeatedly that this does not excuse the killers. They still have free will. They can and do choose not to kill people when they know they will be caught. Psychotic people often seem to really have little choice in what they do, but the typical psychopathic killer knows very well what he is doing and that it is wrong. Douglas does an excellent job of silultaniously arguing that serial killers are a result of their upbringing, and that they consciously choose to do what they know is wrong. This is an important issue in justice, as one can hardly condemn a man for doing something which he has no control over.

Overall grade: A

The power of the mind is truly awesome, and that fact is superbly demonstrated in this book. Mr Douglas and his team are a group of people, who for many years, have used brains and not brawn to capture criminals by delving into the minds of the evil creatures masquerading as humans, while fighting a constant battle to maintain their own sanity. He also feeds us with enough vital information about his most memorable cases to keep us interested, yet thankfully spares us the gruesome details of torture, rape, and murder, which would surely induce nightmares. John graphically illustrates to us the frightening reality that there are many wolves in sheep's clothing in this world, and acknowledges the sad fact that although he and his team are blessed with extraordinary powers of ESP, that even the most persistent hunters can be outnumbered by the most deadly kind of quarry - human predators. I strongly advise all prison psychiatrists and psychologists to read this book, as I feel it would give them greater insight into the types of individuals that they would recommend re-releasing back into society.

My son and I listened to the unabridged book-on-tape, and I find myself disagreeing with some of the reviewers. We completely enjoyed this inside look into profiling and behavioral science. Mr. Douglas does have a background -- a BA and an MA, I believe -- in psychology, plus a world of experience he's developed over the years. And he certainly does explain how he reaches many of his conclusions -- including the "stutterer" one -- explaining that he was sure the perp had a disability of some kind, and then going through how he eliminated other possible disabilities. And he comes to the knowledge that the perpetrator was black (in the Atlanta child murders case, I assume) because of long experience that tells us that serial killers (who seldom are black) don't cross racial lines.
Yes, this book also contains a life story, but we found that interesting too. And we enjoyed being able to begin figuring things out along the way, from the principles and clues he provides. Perhaps this book might not be satisfying to someone who already knows a lot about the subject, but we really enjoyed it.

I learned about this book while searching for information on the methods used by law enforcement personnel to catch the most unusual and baffling of criminals -- people who mutilate their victims or conduct ritual behaviors surrounding the murders. This is exactly what Douglas talks about in this remarkable book. Douglas championed the cause of behaviorial profiling, convinced that psychology could be used to predict future behavior; an idea that was previously greatly doubted in the scientific community. If you watch "The X-Files" you will see this method often reflected in Agent Mulder's investigations of ritual murders and other bizarre crimes. Douglas is also clearly dedicated to the use of solid, real world facts to support his methods. He does not engage in pure speculation, but uses the factual evidence he acquires to make a theory. Over time, as he finds flaws in his theories, he meticulously adjusts his technique to make his predictions work. This book should be a staple in the collection of anyone who is interested in criminal psychology, investigative techniques, or FBI methodology.

I come to this book a big fan of TV's 'Criminal Minds'. I was not surprised or disappointed. The book combines insight into the mind and lives of both the criminal profiler 's mind and the criminal himself. Taking the reader through countless cases of crimes (mostly) solved with the help a group of profiling agents of the FBI. A great book ! !

Jon Douglas writes about his experiences working for FBI and development of profiling murders that has successfully helped catch hundreds of killers nationwide. This,was a fascinating look into the mind of the killer , and the process behind catching him. Fascinating Read!

I’m obsessed with true crime and have always found criminal profiling interesting so this was definitely a good read! I feel like there was a few places where his own biases kept him from exploring some worthwhile stuff tho

A must read, great book. Very detail and well organized. Unable to put book down for 4 days straight, this book deserves a TV show and a Movie. John Douglas is a great man who poured his feelings and emotions out for others to understand the job of a Federal Agent in a very sick sick world. He allows the reader to walk in his shoes and to comprehend the path taken page by page. The book serves to appreciate and admire those who work daily to help and serve the people. Ordered book from the store, very happy with rushed delivery.

Douglas does a great job, but his need for strokes is omnipresent and interferes with his writing. You will constantly read: I predicted x, y and z; to be followed up by: and as I predicted, x, y and z is what happened. You will also hear about how he expected more acknowledgment than he received at times from the FBI. His work speaks for itself, and he should keep his ego out of his books.
He also should learn to be more discreet about insider information. Should the public know how a serial murderer is apprehended, knowing that future serial murderers have access to the same books? I don't think so. I think it endangers people and makes it harder to find someone the next time.
Douglas gives the most compelling cases for capital punishment, for which I applaud him. What is the best indication of future violent behavior? Past violent behavior. These guys don't get rehabilitated, and the more intelligent offenders will tell you that they really should never be released into society.
Douglas has the most cogent interpretation of criminal insanity I've read: namely and simply, does the defendant know the difference of right and wrong? If he does, no matter what psychological evaluation he is given, he still should be convicted. The main concern when incarcerating or executing someone should be, not is something wrong with him, but rather does he pose a danger to society.
Sorry my review is sexist, but guess what? Serial killers are almost all male.

This is the first pleasure book I have picked up in quite some time. This is because I have been a full time student for the past 16 years. This book transitioned me from acedemic reading to pleasure reading. I found I just couldn't put it down. First of all, it is an autobiograophy, which I prefer. Secondly, it explore and somewhat explained the criminal mind, and who better to report than the FBI themselves. In general, if you liked "Silence of the Lambs" you will like this; (one of the characters from that movie is suppost to be a representation of John Douglas himself). It's not much of a holiday subject, but I am sending it to a friend of mine for Christmas cause I know she'll love it. I gave it only an eight b/c grammar was poor, writing was far from superior (but i think he didn't try to hide that, which I can respect) and transitions were weak, but as you can tell from above, who am I to talk.:)

REFERENCED BY CANDICE DELONG'S RECENT BEST SELLER:
I read this book because of a reference in the book by Candice DeLong called: "Special Agent : My Life on the Front Lines As a Woman in the FBI". In Ms. Delong's book she made many references to work that John Douglas' group did and cited this book many times. This book gave me further insight into how the Serial Crime unit evolved.
ONE THING THE BOOK DIDN'T DO, WAS EXPLAIN HOW THEY CAME UP WITH A PROFILE:
Many cased were cited in this book and the profiles that were tied to them. However, still after reading this book, I did not come away with an understanding on how they established that the potential culprit was early 20's, did not know the victim, drove a VW beetle (this can't be too great for sales), lived with his Mom and used to be a bed wetter. I can hypothesize, how this was derived, but the book only gives you that much. I imagine many hours of correlating details of solved crimes helps provide the statistical information, they use. This data I'm sure is also closely guarded. One thing they did state was some serial killers were quite bright and no doubt this date could be used as a blueprint to hide your identity. Thus, the need not to publish it. Ironically too many serial killers, were police buffs. All the more reason, not to share it here as well.
JOHN DOUGLAS COVERS MANY HIGH PROFILE CASES IN THIS BOOK BUT, IT IS MORE A BOOK ABOUT HOW THE THE SERIAL CRIME UNIT AND HOW THEY LEARNED SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES THEY USED.
Ironically, common sense prevails. Why not ask some of the perpetrators now that have nothing to lose and a lot of time on their hands. The unit begins interviews with some of the more nototious killers to see what their thoughts were when they committed the crimes they did. As predicted some offenders were less than candid, but even in their lies some insight was gained.
THE LOGIC AND STRUCTURE OF MANY SOLVED INVESTIGATIONS WAS DETAILED. Here you can see where involving this unit may be able to save precious time. From evidence gathering, questioning and staking out various locations associated with the crimes. There is a pattern we all follow. As humans, we are all creatures of habit and compulsion. Those of us driven to crime and horrible acts of violence even more so. John Douglas discusses this in many situations they dealt with.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BOOK THAT:
Covers many high profile cases in broad strokes and deals with the logic behind profiling, while also
showing the people and the process involved in building a department devoted to this, this is the book for you.
BUT, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR
Detail case specifics and how all that profiles are generated, this is not it.
JOHN DOUGLAS DOES A NICE JOB WRAPPING UP THE DETAILS OF HIS LONG CAREER AND A PART OF IT HE FEEL PASSIONATE ABOUT. We should all be so lucky to have an opportunity to shape the world around us as he has. He has paid the price with health and family issues, but the outcome, I'm sure he would never change. Bravo.

Veteran FBI agent John Douglas' memoirs of his service in the Investigative Support Unit, charged with developing profiles of serial killers and other violent criminals, is nothing less than extraordinary. With a proven track record of helping to bring countless murderers to justice through close collaboration with local and state authorities, Douglas played a heavy role in evolving FBI profiling techniques into the refined, respected evaluations that are today accepted as credible testimony in court.

The significant number of cases examined in considerable detail in "Mind Hunter" allow readers to familiarize themselves with the basics of profiling --- a skill that is as fascinating as it is disturbing. Did the way that the killer position the body indicate that he was trying to depersonalize the victim or show a hint of remorse? Does that in turn indicate that this was a planned murder or perhaps a sexual assault gone too far? Does the evidence, in turn, show that this was a murder perpetrated by a deranged man who hates females or rather was it a simple crime of passion? The questions go on and on.

A great book written by a great man.

I assume that most people who picked up this book wanted to know "how they do it". I know I did, and I didn't get the answer here. Douglas boasts that he can hear the background information about killings and quickly produce a profile of the killer in amazing detail, including the type and color of car he drives. How about telling us HOW you knew that Ted Bundy drove a gold VW bug. Is it because one of the girls accosted escaped from one? That's not very amazing. If that is the gist of what goes on in the elite FBI serial crime unit, then we are in trouble. About 30 pages could have been spared if Douglas left his personal life out of this. Those parts were as interesting as seeing a stranger's snapshots of grandchildren (they are *wonderful* kids, but I'm not terribly interested). I was left with the impression that Douglas is a savant who can predict profiles of serial murderers through some sort of algorithm in his head, and we still don't know how ! he does it.

This is an excellent book written by John Douglas. John Douglas is one of the founders of a study developed by the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, that studies and helps other agencies solve crimes by criminal profiling techniques. They study and learn the insights into the mind-set of sexual killers. This book is a well-organized collection of research, information related to sexual homicides. This book is basically an autobiography of John Douglas. It is also his first non-textbook on the subject. It is an excellent book very well written.

John Douglas' book Mind Hunter is a quality read from start to finish. In this book Douglas explains how he gets inside the heads of some of the serial killers that he has helped track down. One thing Douglas makes sure to do is to give credit to the law enforcement officers that are actually investigating the cases. He takes no credit for finding these killers, he just provides a narrowed point of view for the detectives. Douglas makes the reader understand the anguish that the victim and the victim's families must go through. Not to mention the physical and mental toll it takes on the investigators.
The stories he tells makes the book move along at a nice pace and he doesn't drag down the narrative with a lot of technical gibberish. He is quick and to the point. I suppose the credit for this should go to Mr. Olshaker instead.
No matter who is responsible,Mind Hunter is an excellent read that you will find yourself re-reading over and over again.

I agree with the other reviews that have been posted previously. While the book is an interesting read based on John Douglas' accomplishments, it doesn't really give an "inside" look on serial killers and how to draw behavorial conclusions based on the evidence. I have no idea how he determined that killer was black or white - "it was just a gut feeling." He'll say things like "Based on the photos I looked at and the M.E. report, I determined that the killer drove a BMW with a Jack in the Box antenna ball and has a speech stutter ... " And that's it. What we the readers are missing are photo descriptions and details of the crime scene to comprehend how he came to the conclusions he did. (I recommend "The Evil Men Do" for a good illustration - you figure out what happened and then they tell you if you're right.) I'm interested in behavior science and would like to know how Douglas gained the unique insight he had. I'm onto his second book, "Journey into Darkness" and while it's slightly better, I've noticed that some of the cases are repeated in a more edited form. I realize he wants to illustrate a couple of points for those who may have missed his earlier book. Yes, it's a good book, but read it knowing that it'll focus on his life in the FBI, his failed marriage, and his health problems. Don't expect to gain profound understanding of how criminals work because there really isn't anything to look at - just his word that he was right in most of his assessments.

Mindhunter seemed promising at first, but in the end left much to be desired. The recounting of numerous cases was interesting, but where are the mechanics of the investigation? How were the profiles developed? John Douglas promises a look inside the "elite serial crime unit", but makes you look with one eye closed. He seems to be interested mainly in promoting himself, rather than the profiling science he claims to have developed. And how about failures? Are we to believe that John Douglas always gets his man? Show us some cases where the profile was drastically wrong. Show us what you learned from that. The first step in learning from a mistake is admitting that you made one in the first place. Don't just give us the profiles of past criminals, show us how you came up with it. This is an incredibly fascinating field, and John doesn't seem to be too interested in teaching even the basics of it to the average reader. And especially after he complains in the end of the book about not being able to stop the criminals until it's too late, you would think he would have an interest in educating the public about recognizing certain signs that could indicate a tendency toward future violent behavior. Unfortunately, after reading this book, I have no more useful knowledge than I did before I read it.

Douglas states early on in the book that this book is not a how-to on profiling. Such a task would be far too complicated to ever put into a single book. What Douglas does give us, with enough detail to make things interesting, is a number of examples of how profiles are used, and how potent a weapon profiles can be against criminals. There is an ego issue; Mr. Douglas seems very proud of his achievements, but the real pride seems to be for all profilers, and how good they actually are. At times this attitude can be a little overbearing, but it's understandable. Those expecting a lot of esoteric and hitherto unrevealed knowledge about specific cases are sure to be disappointed, but all in all, this book is a very worthwhile overview of the discipline of profiling.

As a law enforcement employee, I find myself always wanting to know more about forensics, particularly profiling. I've read other John Douglas books and, as usual, this one was superb. Yes, it is more of a research type book than a true crime manual, so it is slower reading, but still one that I couldn't put down for long. And, I'd liked to know more about some of the cases presented. Also, there is a photo about a proactive poster to find "Rosie's killer," yet he doesn't mention Rosie in the book and I'm curious.

I was sad that Douglas and his wife divorced after 22 years of marriage. And, although I can see where, to some people, it may seem that he's tooting his own horn, but to me, he's just giving a more indepth background of the subject.

I'd love to attend one of his classes some day. My boss has been to some of Roy Hazelwood's classes and was very impressed.

John Douglas spends a lot of time talking about the cases and the workload, and his criss-crossing the country. I wish it went more into the details of each crime, spending a little more time on the details. I began Mind Hunter expecting a lot more than I received. The book is interesting but it really lacks insight as to how the FBI actually arrived at their profiles. Most of the time a quick summary of the crime would be given then the author would describe the killer without ever explaining how he came to the conclusions he did, and take credit for solving it. It left me with more questions then answers, and knowing a lot more about John Douglas than profiling. It's only 384 pages so its worth reading to the end, just know it's more about John Douglas the the "inside" story.

As an avid reader of suspense, crime, and mystery novels, I found this book to be extremely fascinating and educational. John Douglas' very readable novel relates background information on some of the countries most notorious serial killers and how the FBI Behavioral Science Unit played a role in identifying and capturing them. What fascinated me most was his ability to figure out "details" of a serial killer's persona and life with only minimal amounts of information. Highlighting one serial killer after another, each with their own "personality", he takes the reader on a morbid, educational, exciting tour through the killer's mind. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to look into the mind of a serial killer

This book is excellent, even if you have watched the show it is one of the greatest pieces on non-fiction that I have read in years. It is not easy to maintain a reader captured and focused but somehow the author manages to give so many details to all the stories that you feel like you are there with him and looking at what he is looking and sometimes even feeling what he is feeling. Great read!

Mr. Douglas has done an excellent job bringing the lay-person into the world of FBI profiling. He has succeeded at giving the reader enough knowledge about his profession and techniques that the average Joe may feel like they can go to a crime seen and tell who-done-it. Profiling is clearly a complicated science but the author is able to talk about his experiences and knowledge of certain cases in a way that those not familiar with investigation will be able to understand. Making this a better book is the way he is able to bring the reader into the investigation, by bringing them to the crime scene, seeing the body, etc. through his descriptions. This is must read for anyone interested in crime, investigation or detective work.

I found this book to be amazing, and I liked knowing what Douglas was like as a youngster, this helped set the tone for us to understand who he is and how he was suited for profiling. I am almost done with this book, will be passing it on to at least 2 others. I didn't find Douglas egotistical at all, I've seen him on shows and he is far from an egotist. I find him to amazingly still have some of the wonderment of a child, and still be able to know what evil lurks in the minds of men (sorry, it's a great phrase).
Read it! You will love it if you aren't looking for a text book to show you how to get into the field and become an FBI agent. No way I could do that, even though I would love to!

My interest in profiling and the Investigative Support Unit
of the Bureau inspired me to pick up Mindhunter by Douglas
at the bookstore. If you want to learn to get inside
the most dangerous people of the past and present, this book
is well-recommended. Through hours I was glued to the pages,
and was reluctant to take in food or even bathroom breaks.
An excellent learn oncriminal psychology, answering
controversial topics such as ciminal rehabilitation, the
insanity plea, and capital punishment. After this horrifying
glimpse on the scum of the Earth, you come to realize the true
capabilities of the human mind. -Vanissa W. Chan

Douglas's career experience is anything but boring. Sort of a biographic story, Douglas tells how he struggled to find a career for himself and then stumbles his way into the FBI. He takes us through how the criminal profiling unit became a recognized unit under the FBI. However, don't get me wrong, the book is rich with terror as Douglas recounts the cases he worked with some of the most brutal criminals of our time. I never used to read for pleasure and since reading Mindhunter, I have gone on to read Obsession and Journey into Darkness (also written by Douglas and Mark Olshaker). I strongly encourage anyone who has an interest in criminology, to read this book.

Though everyone who's read this book has to have noticed that there are more than enough references to Mr. Douglas's obviously high opinion of himself, I found this book so impactful that, as a licensed social worker, I've decided to alter the focus of my career to, and add some education in, forensic work. That says a lot about this book! I've never read anything before this that would cause me to change the entire focus of my career. It's thorough and fascinating. There are, of course, tons of "true crime" books, and I've read many of them, but this is one of the only books on the topic that provides a real education in forensic psychology and profiling. Once having read this book, I was really hungry for more education on forensic ANYTHING. I recommend it highly.

What a difference the years make! An unashamed afficionado of true crime, I was prepared to enjoy this book as much as prior reviews said I would, but I did not. As soon as Mr. Douglas mentioned Dr. Park Deitz and expressed his admiration for Dr. Deitz (who was notoriously dishonest on the stand during the Andrea Yates trial), I was done. Although Mr. Douglas mentions that we can all be fooled, the lack of an afterward discussing the discredited "Dr. Death" was troublesome.

If you are looking for an honest, unbiased view of serial killers, this is not the book I would look to.

This is a frank and moving account and I recommend it. Of particular interest to me is where the author considers what makes a sexually-related serial killer and notes that they are almost (if not totally) all men. He records not a single case in which the offender came from a stable family background. I wanted to know more and was led to speculate on why they seem to be predominantly (but of course not exclusively) American. I would suggest a society in which the following are evident: an ethos of excessive competition and wealth gain combined with gross disparities in wealth, ready availability of violent pornography, combined with a break-down of the local community and family networks. How many people in, say, Los Angeles even know their neighbours let alone what they might be doing by night. Therein is a warning for all of us.

Mark Olshaker has written a very readable, entertaining, and educational book on the life and career of Special Agent John Douglas of the FBI. Douglas was one of the leading experts on criminal personality profiling and a pioneer of modern criminal investigative analysis. The 'Prologue' tells of the physical breakdown Douglas endured from overwork. This is a shocking and misleading introduction! The nature of violent crime has changed since 1960. The murder rate has gone up and the solution rate had gone down (p.30). Crimes between strangers lack an obvious motive. This need created the behavioral approach to criminal profiling. The Investigative Support Unit assists local police in focusing their investigations. Few towns or counties ever have a serial killer or the experience to learn the techniques for solving rare crimes (p.31). [G. K. Chesterton's "Father Brown" used to solve crimes by getting inside the head of the murderer, a feat that seems illogical compared to "Sherlock Holmes" and other detectives.]

[As I remember it, the "Mad Bomber" was caught when police work matched the handwriting in the letters (p.33) to the employee records. Metesky contracted TB and was then fired for being out sick.] The early chapters tell of Douglas' life, education, military service, and how he joined the FBI. These are colorful stories. Douglas was most successful in clearing bank robberies when he developed a "signature" to link several crimes together (p.86). His background in psychology led him to behavioral science (Chapter 5). After Douglas joined the Behavioral Science group he learned that the academic expert's opinions had limited applicability to law enforcement. [Academics don't get the details known to the police, law officers see a limited area. Only national police can see the whole picture.]

Douglas knew the importance of actual experience (pp.104-105). Chapter 6 tells about a strange murderer who was released against the advice of state psychiatrists (p.107). Chapter 7 tells about other serial murderers. Good psychics can pick up on small, nonverbal clues; keep them away from detectives who know the details (p.151). The following chapters describe the cases that he worked on. Is there a classic profile to a serial killer (p.178)? Can an interrogator educe a confession from a suspect (p.186)? Chapter 11 tells about the Atlanta child murders and the conviction. Chapter 15 tells about the solution to the murder of a two-year old boy. Wrapping the body in a blanket was a clue (p.283).

Serial killers are not legally insane, but not normal either (p.338). Their mental disorders derive from their sexual interests and their character. Insanity means not knowing the difference between right and wrong (p.339). Can a brain tumor cause a murderous rage (p.341)? Violent, sexually based serial killers can not be rehabilitated [except by a death sentence]. If they are released on parole they will return to past behavior (p.343). Don't confuse a psychopath with a psychotic (p.345). Killers are created by a bad background (p.357). [Like Ted Bundy?] That seems like an incurable problem given our society. Crime can be lowered by families at the grassroots level (p.374). [Does it takes a village?] The changes in family life since 1960 has effects. [No mention of the National Highway System since the 1950s and the ease of travel for everyone, including serial killers.]

Mindhunter is one of the most vivid and terrifying accounts of what evil lurks in the hearts and minds of people. Stories of vicious and sadistic killings, disturbing accounts of frail minds, endless sessions attempting to analyze and predict the killers' next steps and the successful captures and persecutions of several serial murderers are just a few of things one discovers while reading Mindhunter. The book has a fast paced tempo and readers soon become intimately involved in the search for justice for the victims. Not for the weak of heart.

As a senior at the University of Maryland double majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology I picked up this book because of professional interests. The beginning is told like most prideful autobiographies that have the intention of communicating the God-like nature of the author (think Dick Marcinco - The Rogue Warrior, Frank W. Abagnale Jr. - Catch Me If You Can etc.)The descriptions of John Douglas' younger years were kind of tedious and uninteresting(the first 65 pages or so,) as the reason I picked up the book was to get a better overall understanding of investigative profiling.

Most of the book is fairly well written, and interesting to read. Douglas points out that he has been the lead profiler in many of the serial crimes cases that Americans seem towet their pants over. (The Unabomber, The Atlanta-Child Murderer, The Green River Killer) He also describes the process by which he interviewed many serial killers after they were caught. Most of the book is dedicated to showing the accuracy of criminal profiles when done by someone who knows what they're talking about. Douglas proves this point over and over again, making ney-sayers look stupid over and over again.

I enjoyed the book, but I had several issues with its content.

1. When Douglas relates his first person encounters with criminal interviewing he often goes into an extremely poor writing style exchanging the first person for the second, and exchanging the past tense for the present. He also is fond of using the term "like" a lot just like a valley girl. An example of this would be "Then we were all like this guy is crazy. . ." instead of "I knew what the other team members were thinking, we all thought he was crazy. . ." Because of this, I often found myself rephrasing this poor form of writing while I was reading it in order to get a better understanding.

2. It has some fallacious information do to the publication date. I think newer editions should come with extra content do to the development of what has recently happened in several cases mentioned in the end of the book. Mainly that the Green-River killer turned out to be - one person(not three) - Garry Ridgway; And that BTK was caught and shown to be Dennis Rader. Douglas also gives a bit of spurious information at the end about how Jack the Ripper was the first media sensationalized serial killer - that was actually Gilles De Rais. He probably just didn't consider the French media of the 1400's to be sensationalized enough.

Besides those two points Dr. Douglas did a fine job telling of his experiences and definitely got me interested in the field of investigative criminal profiling. If your looking for a more collegiate version of this book without the personal annals check out Robert K. Resslers (John Douglas' partner) Profilers: Leading Investigators Take You Inside The Criminal Mind

Well, I must be honest. I loved the book. I like the field of criminal profiling and think it deserves the attention. However, Douglas' books aren't really objectice science. They aren't really even psychology. Keep in mind that Douglas is an ex FBI agent, not a forensic psychologist. He probably has a rudimentary understanding, at best, of psychological principles. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, just know that he will look a a crime scene and give a very different "profile" of the killer than a forensic psychologist. Actually, I don't think forensic psychologists even examine crime scenes, the interview suspects and victims to gather evidence. So don't take anything in this book as law. Just because Douglas has the "Crime Classification Manual" doesn't make it scientific. Treat this book, and his others, for what they are, more of a biographical memoir of his days assisting in the investigations of serial murder, rape, child murder etc. And yes, he does like to take a lot of credit, but he also makes it clear in several of his cases how well the police and local authorities did their job and how the killer was brought to justice with "good, old-fashioned police work". He may have a bit of an ego, but he also has a great deal of insight and experience (from a law-enforcement perspective). Although his experience doesn't necessarily shed new light on the actually motives and psychology of serial murders and the like. An interesting and terrifying read? Yes. Objective behavioral science? NO.

It's a very good thing for the FBI, and the public he was protecting, that John Douglas made a better profiler than he did an author. It's difficult to believe that the authorship was the joint venture it is credited as.
_Mindhunter_ is at its best when Douglas is recounting the interesting details of the cases that he has worked on, and when giving some insight into the way in which criminal profiling developed in FBI history. The middle of the text is a kind of "panoramic true crime" book, narrated by a cop involved in working on a number of fascinating crimes. Unfortunately, a great deal of the rest of the book is devoted to rather dull and poorly-written autobiography, along with Douglas' opinions about criminal justice, capital punishment, psychology, marriage, job stress, and government, usually without giving the reader the benefit of real argument or fact to support his statements.
A couple of warnings: _Mindhunter_ is gruesome. Douglas is not at all interested in preserving the sensibilities of the squeamish. It is also not a "How-To" book on criminal profiling. Don't read this book expecting to come away with a better understanding of how a profile is developed.
More than anything else _Mindhunter_ is a justification of the FBI's use of criminal profiling. Douglas wants to convince the reader that profiling is practical and gives valuable results. Given that as his argument, Douglas doesn't spend any time on the problems with profiling, a topic one might like to see addressed. Those interested in criminal profiling will want to read this first book by the person who defined the practice for the FBI out of historical interest, but shouldn't expect too much from this thick paperback that's thin on real details.

With a bachelor's degree in psychology and a passion for research into the mind of psychopathy, I admire the insight of Agent John Douglas' (retired) and background regarding the startup of Behavioral Science. His personal accounts into his own interviews with such serial killers such as Edmund Kemper and Richard Speck (among many others) was amazing. The show on Netflix is pretty close to the actual accounts of the crimes and the interviews.
* Regarding some of the less than favorable reviews here on the store, Douglas is not misogynistic nor is it ego woven throughout. It's knowledge and experience that's shared with the readers. As a female, I would certainly take note if his tone was anything less than respectful of women.

John Douglas and Robert Ressler remain the first and the best. They pioneered criminal profiling and their work enabled law enforcement to take a quantum leap in understanding and apprehending violent criminals. This is John Douglas' first profiling book. It should be considered Profiling Serial Killers 101, and any agent of the law who has neglected to read this and Mr. Douglas' other books is doing himself and his profession a dishonor. 30 years after the research was first begun, modern psychology has still not caught up with the cutting-edge criminal psychology in John Douglas' series of books. So if you are a psychology major and you think you know criminals, think again and read the real textbook on criminal behavior, written by a man who knows more about it than anyone on earth. I would encourage all women, especially to read this and the rest of his books. It may seem unlikely, but there is truly no one who has done more for women than John Douglas by exposing the fairly predictable traits of predators. You will never think about anyone the same after learning what his books will teach you. If it were up to me, this would be on the mandatory reading list for every high school senior in America.

Fictional profilers have been in vogue for years. Some portrayals stay close to the facts while others go way over the top, obscuring the work of the pros. That's why it's so refreshing to go back to Mind Hunter, the true story of one of the FBI's pioneers of criminal profiling. Douglas's personal story is as compelling as his landmark work with serial offenders. Novels and films may give you thrills and suspense, but Douglas gives you the facts. He's the real deal.

When I first picked up this book, I had no clue that I wouldnt be able to put it down until I had read every last page. This book only increased my interest in becoming a criminal profiler myself. Even though Mr.Douglas didnt discuss everything in detail, the detail that he gave was more than enough to satisfy this reader. He gave incredible insight to the struggle the FBI Serial Crime Unit had in the beginning, and the personal sacrifices he and his team made to make it all work. If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would!

Everyone keeps talking about his ego...well, if I could do what this man does...I'd surely have an ego problem too! He is great at what he does and deserves to think highly of himself. He catches the lowest of the low that walks this earth, so I think everyone should just except his greatness and read his books and enjoy them!!! I did! He is a wonderful writer, as well as a profiler! Besides...he helped catch the sick man that murdered an innocent Shari Faye Smith that lived no more than 15 minutes from me...Thanks Douglas!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love how he jumps right into the business of mind hunting as the book opens. Then he backs up for a moment to explain how he got to be in such a position. At this point he tells of his childhood and early adulthood, which is just as interesting as the work that he has poured his life into. As he gains more experience and goes deeper into his field, he takes the reader with him. He tells of mistakes he's made, lessons he's learned, friendships he's gained, and of the respect he's earned. I also appreciated his stories of his family; they added more of a glimpse into his off-duty life. Basically, he is a very entertaining writer, and he writes just enough about the ferocious crimes he's helped solve to explain what happened, who the victim was, and who could have done such a thing.

One of 4 or 5 books I call a must have, and one of two on that list by John Douglas. This is probably Douglas' second best work behind Journey Into Darkness, but since it was his first effort, it can be forgiven. Douglas is quite simply not only a genious when it comes to profiling criminals, but also a genious at putting you into his shoes and helping you right into his mind. I've read Ressler (one of Douglas' mentors) and Hazelwood, both of whom wrote similar books, but neither of them at their best match the readability of Douglas' worst efforts (but this isn't his worst).
This is an excellent text on the myriad of cases and situations faced by an FBI profiler when profiling was in its infancy. Douglas truly shows his genious when describing the cases, his thought processes, and the results.
Though Douglas does tend to pat himself on the back occasionally, he does so sparingly, and, well, deservingly. After all, he was the best.

I did enjoy the book although a bit repetitive and very self-aggrandizing, although I am sure that like many in his field it is an important "signature" of his job. My main problem is being hit over the head again and again about death penalty... I get it John you are pro death penalty...

The best of it's kind. Out of all the FBI memoirs writing about their time with Serial Killers and Criminals, this is by far the best. Very captivating, keeps you glued to every page. When I was done it I honestly felt some kind of separation anxiety. So I read it again. THE BEST. Most of his other books are great too. But this is by far his best.

Mind Hunter is a book that will open your eyes to a world most wish to forget is out there. when we tell ourselves there are no real monsters, we are making ourselves vulnerable to them. It forces you to think about your stand about what we should do with our current system of criminal justice in regards to these individuals. They prey on people due to their own need to control and destroy what makes them angry. It allows you to see into the years of research and sacrifice that was made to develope a way to get into the mindset of the serial killer. what motives them, who are the targets of their anger, what traits and characteristics do they usually have/share. I cried reading this book becuase it made me think about how I try to tell my children that their are no real monsters, just the ones that are in peoples hearts and souls. That they cannot understand what I mean by that. that to tell them about these people and what they have done to others is impossible at their age. I try everyday to teach them how to protect themselves from puttting themselves into danger, but the reality is that if they (the serial killers) want to get you bad enough they will wait for the moment when you cannot protect them or yourself. John Douglas gives so much of himself in this book. he tells you how he felt over the years of doing the work. He is very frank and gives some very insightful/honest opinions about his work and the individuals he dealt with. Please be sure to read the beginning of the book and learn something about John Douglas before thinking "when is he going to talk about the crimes?". This book is as much about him and the serial crime unit's early years, as it is about the crimes they have investigated/researched.

Mind Hunter begins with a very chilling first few paragraphs, and from then on, John Douglas leaves nothing to the imagination, but for a good reason. Beginning with how stressed he had become about his 150 cases across the country, he jumps back and forth from the FBI in the time of Hoover to what he helped it become today. After a brief chapter of how he became involved in the FBI, the changes that took place, and other backround information on himself and his occupation, he starts to give examples of various serial killers. It is in the description of these serial killers that detail, as brutal and disgusting as it might seem, is vital. Without Douglas' description of the act of each specific killer he's interviewed and delt with, he wouldn't be able to reasonably explain the approaches he uses for interrogations, or conclusions, which would seem like psychic guesses if he hadn't have taken the time to explain why he's able to make such extreme generalizations. What is meant by this is that simply by examing the victim and the crime scene meticulously, Douglas, in most cases, will come up with the killer in the smallest of details; if he's ever off of description, it's usually just with the killer's age. Mind Hunter is very very graphic. Even some who can tough out the most gruesome movies might not be able to stand this book, simply because there are no pictures, just descriptions, and, unlike a movie, you can not hide your eyes to something you see in your mind.

Douglas knows his terrain. He is the original profiler. I read this during the height of the Beltway Sniper investigation when profilers were first made into saints and then widely criticized. Well, maybe they are not perfect, but Douglas makes a fascinating case. This book is a bit gruesome, but he is straight forward. He admits his errors and, frankly, one needs to have a strong ego to succeed in his world. He lost his marriage is candid about it. I admire Douglas a great deal. I will be reading as many of his books as I can.

I absolutely loved this book! I'm a psychology grad, and I found this book to be very fascinating and easy to read. It's been a couple years since I've read it when my father had it on loan from the local library, and I am truly excited to see it available on here. Since reading this book, I've seriously considered going back to school to focus on forensic science. If you are curious at all about why people commit serial killings and what the FBI does to track them down, READ THIS BOOK!

I think what I took away from reading this book was really a lesson in personal safety. I found myself really paying attention to everything going on around me and walking a little bit taller. This isn't for everyone but I found it a critical read living and working in the city at night. I actually was able to identify a bad scene unfolding in front of me and got my feet moving to avoid it. John Douglas presents the facts in a non-alarmist way while still putting great emphasis on what bad dudes are all about. This is a must read for anyone in law enforcement and anyone who likes to gain power through knowledge.

When someone asks me what my favorite book of all time is, I answer very simply "Mindhunter". By far and away the most amazing, intersting, and awe-inspiring book I've ever read. It's simply fascinating what John Douglas was able to determine by simply using his mind and his understanding of pyschology.

HIGHLY recommended read. If you have even the slightest interest in forensics and criminal behavior, READ THIS BOOK.

Mind Hunter was a great read! I thought the book was very compelling and the cases were interesting throughout the entire novel; I was unable to put the book down once I started reading. John Douglas's writing style is crisp, concise and easy to comprehend. I would recommend this book to people that are interested in criminal, medical, and scientific books.

From the reviews I'd read about this book, this was a must read. After chapter 4, when he still hadn't mentioned anything of significance but his life growing up, I had to REALLY struggle not to close the book and either send it back or put it in a garage sale and charge nothing for it. He gave insight but not to the degree of what I had been led to believe and was expecting. All references were just that, made into a paragraph or two and then back to his own life. I am not impressed. I get more info from a newspaper article thank you

I was thoroughly impressed by this book, mostly because John Douglas does more than simply provide insider's information and gory details on his cases. He goes beyond this to share his philosophy of crime and punishment, which means that the book has a larger purpose, in that it helps readers decide how they want to attack the problem of violent crime in our society. To those who feel that the work reeks of "I, I, I."--most of Douglas's credibility comes from the fact that he bases his theories about crime and punishment on his experiences in the criminal justice system. In addition, he is in fact the "father" of criminal profiling--is he supposed to pretend that he hasn't committed his life to this battle?

The book was a quick and excellent read. The author is a man that is great at what he does and is not shy about talking about it. I cannot believe people actually do this to each other. I ordered (from the store, of course) his next book, Journey into Darkness, and am happily working my way through. Last year when I contemplated a career in the FBI, I was disappointed in not being able to apply because of my vision. I'm more disappointed now. Order it!!!!

Read this book and you will never let your daughter, wife, or whomever out of the house again. In the early 80's I actually assisted in finding the bodies disposed of by one of the killers profiled in this book. If you are interested in forensics, getting into the mind of a killer, etc. then read this book. Overlook John Douglas's appearance of can do no wrong and look at what he was dealing with. I know if in his position and reliving much of this as he wrote, my blood pressure would be a bit on the high side.

Excellent review of crime scene profiling. Good discussion of prominent cases that were solved by profiling. I also enjoyed learning about the genesis of the program and how it has progressed over the years. Very enjoyable and engrossing read.

Mind Hunter offers its readers a brief, yet intreging glimps into the mind of the most profound serial killers across the country and the hard working men and women who have helped bring them to justice. John Douglas sets the scene of what life as an FBI agent has to offer. This includes its benefits, hardships, recognition, and cognitive patterns, only to name a few. While explaining his life as an FBI agent, Douglas (and Olshaker) slowly begin(s) to incorporate crime scenes, serial killers, and FBI profiling tactics into each chapter. Some crimes are explained in grizzly detail, while others leave you with more questions than answers. The main focus of the book appears to be analyzing the minds of serial killers(as the title would imply), being empathetic to the victims (or putting yourself in their shoes),and in doing this, coming up with a profile of your potential killer(s). Yet, from my point of view, people read this type of book to try and understand how people can commit such hynous crimes, and in trying to understand, we what to know every single detail that went on during that crime in order to figure it out for ourselves. Although that may sound sick, that is essentially how Douglas and other FBI agents are able to solve these crimes -by becoming (in as sense) serial killers themselves. In my opinion, Douglas should have added more detail about the crimes, but I'm sure other books have already done that. I still give it five stars because the mind is a powerful thing and I think Douglas (as well as other FBI agents) has a great mind. One so powerful that it reaches a step above that of a killer. As I've found from many books, a killer in the making thinks of its every step, every move, every scenario and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to always be one up on a killer.

If you like getting inside the mind of disturbed killers you will fall in love with this book. If you write you can learn a ton from this one. Give it a go.
Mark Reps, author, ZEB HANKS: Small Town Sheriff; Big Time Trouble series

Two things are undoubtedly true. One, John Douglas's work changed law enforcement for the better and has been responsible for getting many dangerous people off the streets. Two, he's an egotistical jerk.

Honestly, as interesting and compelling admiring the information in this book was it was completely overshadowed by his ego. Completely. Half of the book is about cases and the creation of the FBI's unit and the other half is about how great, wonderful, and never, ever, wrong Mr. Douglas was.

As such, I feel the need to discuss a few of the cases he brings up from the viewpoint of 23 years later -

His profile of Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber) was wrong in every way other than race. (Wrong age, level of education, marital status, issues with women, location in the country, etc.)

Gary Ridgeway was one person, not "at least three." And Carol Ann Christiansen, the one victim he explicitly discusses as definitely not connected to the Green River case (he believes it was domestic) was one of the original four victims connected to Ridgeway by DNA that brought the case to a close. Also, in what was a fact he should have gotten correct (as it was known at the time) - she was one of the few victims that wasn't a prostitute.

Finally Dennis Rader (BTK) - one again, wrong on everything but race. Very, very wrong about why the killings stopped (he states it's because he was interviewed and believed the investigation was too close to him. Nope, Rader ever a suspect, and he stopped killing because he got married.)

I get that I have the wonder of hindsight. But his ego is so gigantic that it just feels good to point these things out.

Douglas save many lives, but I'd hate to have him as a neighbor or husband. And this book is really nothing but him taking his ego out for a stroll.

I am the Director of Criminal Justice courses at Dodge City Community College, and I offer a course in criminology and offer a serial killer course. MindHunter is a required book for the criminology course. Douglas is able to explain psychological and criminological theories in a way that is easy for the average person to understand. Reading this book helps students apply the theories from the course to something they can understand. I receive positive feedback every semester from students who have really enjoyed reading the book.
I met John Douglas a few years ago, and attended one of his seminars--his presentation on profiling was excellent!

What many reviewers of John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's book seemed to have overlooked is the tie-in between the biographical information and the profiling techniques John helped to develop. The story of John's mother inquiring into his sex life leads directly to his 'everybody has a rock' theory. The story of betting on raindrops clearly shows why criminals continue to commit crimes: because they can.
John's other biographical stories help illustrate how diffcult life inside the FBI can be. The list of victims in a murder isn't limited to the one murdered; they include the family, neighbors, friends, investigators working a case and Federal law enforcement officers and their families. Anyone considering a career in law enforcement or with the Bureau, should take this into consideration before signing on.
In the context of writing, there are two ways to tell a story; telling vs showing. Mark and John chose to write this book by showing the reader how profiles are constructed. No, you won't find a step-by-step instruction manual within these pages, but you will find the method fully illustrated. An example is the Trailside Killer profile. Carpenter approached his victims in isolated areas and used a blitz attack from the rear to disable them. John Douglas wondered why and took the reader through the steps; the killer didn't attempt to lure or trick his victims as had Bundy. Instead, the killer felt the need to take the victims by surprise even in isolated areas of Tamalpais Park. This told John the killer felt awkward, possibly had a handicap. A physical impairment or disfigurement would have been noticed by others in the park at the time of the murders. That left a speech impediment. The rest of the reasoning behind the profile is detailed quite clearly.
John's methods aren't magic but a result of years of studying human nature, a creative way of thinking about a problem and a background based on intensive interviews with hundreds of convicted killers.
Ego plays a large part in the life of any law enforcement officer. Had John Douglas or Robert Ressler, or Roy Hazelwood spoken to police departments in an unsure manner, would any of those agencies have paid attention? That confidence carries over into real life and to the written word.
For those seeking an inside look at the FBI, there are other books available. Mindhunter, however, is the story of the FBI's first profilers (All of them, not just Douglas) and a look at the Behavioral Science Unit.
Mindhunter, along with John's other books co-authored with Mark Olshaker, show the impact of murder on those closest to the crimes --the families and loved ones. John Douglas' caring for the surviving victims shines from every page in which he talks about that impact, the friendships formed through tragedy, the advocacy of victim's rights and his push to have VICAP become mandatory.
If I could give a higher rating, I would rate Mindhunter a 10.

I picked this up after finishing the netflix series and finding out there was a book. Although the book and show are different in a handful of ways both are amazing and hard to put down/stop once you start.

Amazing look at the mind of serial criminals. But the biggest frustration is the constant use of "I", "I", "I..." John Douglas makes it seem like he was responsible for the creation of the world, Nixon's resignation and the end of the Cuban Missle Crisis. His narrative style is annoying, but filled with great insight. If he would show instead of telling and taking credit for all of it, it would be a much better book.

This book is a look into not only into the world serial killers, but the men who hunt them. The parts about John Douglas's early life and his career in the FBI drag on a bit, but it is more than made up for by how they weave the story of development of the unit with it's cases.
It's not just about the serial killers but about how profiles are developed; at times the profiles contain details such as "The killer will have a speech impediment", which sounds wacky, but was based in solid analysis, and turned out to be correct. They also show how the profiles were used to help find the killer,interrogate him and convict him.
Overall, fascinating from start to end. A must read!

If you plan on Following along with the book, I would recommend trying to find a better Audio book. This Audio book skips many pages and important information that is in the book. DON'T buy it ,you will just be wasting your money!!!!

John Douglas does a brilliant job explaining profiling and how we can be more aware of our surroundings and those who may do harm to loved ones.I was a volunteer in the child protective service system and this book enabled me to view profiles of parents and better understand their potential for changing their behaviors. This book was added to the foster care suggested reading list.

This book offered a unique opportunity to see a number of personally important and particularly illustrative cases through John Douglas's eyes. Unfortunately, it seems difficult for Douglas to leave behind his bias and write for the reader rather than himself. There are some sections of the book that drag on far longer than they need to and while I appreciate their importance to him as a reader I'm simply not as invested as he is.

He's also very clear and up front about his own philosophy of crime, its causes, and its related ethics. I often found myself disagreeing with him but he presents this material in way that's well reasoned, well argued, and only approaches abrasive without actually crossing the line. I appreciated his restraint and as a result can respect his opinions even if I don't agree with them.

Overall I think this was one of the more informative books to come out of the Investigative Support Unit, though it wasn't one of the more cohesive and poetic works.

Kindle edition: This book isn't in Topaz format but there's a strange glitch that makes the text appear one size larger than the actual setting. It's well formatted otherwise but do be aware that you'll likely need to bump the text size down a notch.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was extremely interesting, if a little unnerving at times, but always fascinating. There seem to be so many creepy people out there, but as the author says there needs to be more prevention of crime rather than detection after the event, although obviously this is not always easy or possible. Still a great book. I would highyl recommend i

I am really intrested in criminal profiling and this book provided a lot of interesting information. It was well written and gave intresting details on Mark Douglas' many profiles. It is amazing Douglas's powerful insight into crimes and his inductive reasoning. Douglas has a true gift. Thouroughly enjoyable, facinating and informative journey into the killer's psyche.

there are already 210 reviews, so I'll be brief.
amazing book. complete page turner. couldn't put it down.
I've been always fascinated by the question "who could do something like this" and the author provides the reader with insights into this question. What makes a serial killer, a serial killer?

I only recommend it to those who can take more than a few non pleasant graphic details about the hideous acts of serial killers.Awesome book. Would definitely re-read it.

This was a great book. It focused on the cases that helped build the serial crime unit of the FBI and gave some insight into the basis for the breakdown of the social skills of serial killers. While some of the cases were more gruesome than others, it was interesting to see how they were similar and different from one another. This is a non-fiction book, which I don't normally read because I find them boring. But I couldn't put this one down. The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 was because it didn't really have a story line that was clear. Having said that, I still read the entire thing in days.

While some of the info in this book is quite interesting, the tone is quite white guy in a suit and bordering on misogynistic although I don’t think the author is aware of it nor intended it. This unfortunately is not helped by the narrator who sounds like a private eye from an old B movie. I’m fascinated by the study of the criminal mind but this is hard to listen to.

With crimes becoming more and more heinous, it's good to know the FBI has minds like these working behind the scenes. Predicting the profile of criminals behind specific crimes is not only an art, after years of on-the-job training but also a very special gift. A fantastic behind-the-scenes look at crime busting well worth a read.

I'VE BEEN READING AND INVESTIGATING ABOUT SERIAL KILLER'S FOR OVER FOUR DECADES,YES,FOUR DECADES,AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT JOHN DOUGLAS KNOW'S WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT !!! THIS SPECIAL MAN HAS PROBABLY HAD HIS BLOOD RUN COLD OVER SOME OF THE CREEP'S THAT HE'S INTERVIEWED DURING HIS TENURE WITH THE FBI'S MOST ELITE CRIME UNIT !!!! IF YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE JUST ANOTHER "READ", THINK AGAIN.!!

Given Douglas' background there was little question that he would have a story or two to tell. In Mindhunter you get a glimpse of what it takes to conduct good profiling and what an instrumental tool the profile can be. The book covers some of America's most feared monsters and what role the Behavioral Science Unit played in their capture.

James A. Forrest - Eye of the Storm

Mindhunter is quite simply one of the most disturbing books I have read in years. Douglas' blunt, matter-of-fact style of storytelling gives an engrossing edge to these crimes. From well known to not so well known cases, Douglas explains in graphic but kurt detail the nature of these crimes & the profiles and psyches of the killers. His profiling techniques are second to none. This is nowhere near a biography of J.D.'s life although the first two chapters introduce Douglas to the readers. People who gave up on this book before chapter 3 missed out on stories that will make you think twice about the person sitting next to you on the subway. These stories will give you a nightmarish glimpse into the dark side of man.

I was disappointed, sometimes confused, with the structure of this book, which attempts to involve us both in John Douglas's life and also examine general case studies. It attempts to reveal intricacies of Mr. Douglas's life, yet wasn't nearly as specific and detailed when discussing his interviews with serail killers or his specific case work. The authors would have done well to either focus on Mr. Douglas's human experience or describe profiling in detail. Instead, we get both in a series of interesting anecdotal crime stories peppered around Mr. Douglas's life story. It lacks both linear focus of case study and in-depth autobiography. This book will be of interest to those looking for an overview of profiling. The book attempts to cover all aspects of its subject, spread itself thin, and is therefore a hodgepodge rather than a tight, focused read.

This is one of the best books on the subject. I do not mind the personal tidbits about the authors life, because this type of work at some point can get to you and by letting us into the minds of the killers he shows us the damage is not only to the victims and the victims family but to anyone the killer's life touches. Excellant read from a pro.

This book is an excellent read for all you true-crime buffs out there. It's hard to believe that true-life monsters actually exist, but Mr. Douglas reveals them in all their depravity. This book will have you looking over your shoulder and it'll make you think twice before talking to strangers!

The book itself is not bad. Not great, but not bad. It provides some interesting facts about serial killers and the growth of the profiling unit of the FBI. However, Mr. Douglas' constant "gee, I am so great" references are very annoying to the reader. He seems to think he never made a mistake and that he can profile any criminal with about 3 pieces of information. As we all know now since the sniper case, profiling is very difficult, and takes a great deal of time, even if you are very good at it, as Mr. Douglas is.
In short, if you can stomach Mr. Douglas' arrogance and self-aggrandizing style, you will find this book interesting. If you are like me though, his constant tooting of his own horn will dramatically reduce the quality of your experience.

This book provides insight in to how FBI profiler thinks. It won't make you a profiler, but will give you an appreciation for them. Be warned, graphic details of some heinous crimes are given. This is more an overview than an in-depth look into these types crimes.

John Douglas does a pretty fair job explaining profiling. But this piece is more story driven then really the nuts and bolts of what profiling is really about. I just finished a great cop book called "BOOT: An LAPD Officer's Rookie Year", by Dunn. I recommend it.

John Douglas is truly a genius crime-solver. I was in awe of his ability to profile a criminal and his track record of solving cases. He goes into great detail of crimes that stood out most during his career and it is truly a fascinating read.
The only downfall of the book is that he dives into his personal background and life a little too much, in my opinion. I would rather that space be filled with more information on crimes and profiling (hence sticking with the title and implication of the book) rather than the author's college escapades and failing marriage.
Aside from that, this book provides a fascinating window into the world of criminal profiling.

Mindhunter is an excelent story. BUT, if you want to read the exact same book without all the story-telling and B.S. read Whoever Fight's Monsters by Robert Ressler. If you read both books you may find out that someone takes credit for way too much! If you want a hint: John Douglas was Robert Ressler's understudy in the FBI's field of Criminal Profiling. Also you can thank Ressler for the phrase "Serial Killer", he coined it! It was also his idea to interview these killers. Don't get me wrong, Douglas was an important element, but his charismatic way of B.S.'ing makes him seem like he did everything all by himself, I just think he shouldn't steal the show from those who were as, if not more, important as he was. Anyway, great book!

I think this is an excellent book. I think John Douglas has been a major contributor to the FBI profiling program. I think this book should be used as a guideline to help continue to find and put away the most dangerous criminals in the world. I look forward to reading the follow up to this book.

I thought this book was really great. I read it in about 3 hours. I read the reviews that said they did not like the personal stuff. Well, in my opinion thats what makes it interesting. He is showing us the life as an agent. His marriage broke up and he had a stroke from the stress. I have read all of his books and I loved them all. If you dont like that kind of stuff then you should read a text book. Because this adds life to a story. Its not just a run on of facts.
I do not believe this was a "pat on the back" for him, I believe he wrote this to give us insight to that kind of life.

This is a wonderful book. If you're interested in the Thomas Harris novels, then this is a book for you. It's insightful and grabs your attention from the first page. The book is littered with stories of killers and why they kill. It also gives a view of a man consumed by the daily grind of catching killers.

Well written book that makes it easy for the reader to understand what motivates the serial killer and how he became that way. Douglas uses real life examples from cases that he has worked on. Fascinating read for anyone who ever wondering about the mind of a serial killer. Would recommend highly!

Hey, I am not looking for a plea bargain here. I plead guilty to reading Mindhunter by John Douglas.

But it's not my fault that I read it. There was a stressor earlier in my life that made me engage in such aberant behavior as reading. And, I kept the book as a sourvenir of my crime, so I could go back and relive the experience. Just like the serial killers in Mindhunter do.

Mindhunter is great pre-reading if you ever plan on being interogated by the FBI. Douglas helps out the criminal-in-training with some fatherly advice: Don't volunteer to help search for missing persons when you are the cause of the disappearance--it raises suspicions. Never visit the grave of your victim at 1 a.m., because the cops might have it staked out. And never, never pick a nickname to use in the taunting letters you send to the cops or media, since you'll have to live with it forever (remember, if was "Son of Sam," not "Son of Beatrice.").

Mindhunter could use a good second editing by a proficient editor. It's amusing enough, but Douglas can suddently lurch off onto another topic in mid-chapter, never to return to the half-told story at hand. Plus, when he actually interviews the worst criminals in prison he only gives up a few quotes about what they said. That's a big miss and we feel cheated.

Mindhunter does not commit the crime of being boring or overly long. It's just guilty not being overly arresting.

This book gave me as the reader a strong base of knowledge. It was well written, and kept me very interested all throughout. It brought out the human side to our Federal Agents along with their professional side that has to deal with such atrocities.

MR. DOUGLAS WRITES WITH "A DIFFERENT TOUCH". HE GIVES THE IMPRESSION HE IS JUST TELLING YOU THE STORY OVER A CUP OF COFFEE. I LIKE HIS STYLE, HE IS FULL OF GOOD STORIES AND HE IS EDUCATING AS WELL. AS FOR HIS SARCASM AS SOME PEOPLE SAY, I THINK A LITTLE SARCASM AND A BIT OF SENSE OF HUMOR RELIEVES THE TENSION FROM THE "DAY TO DAY AT THE FBI". VERY WELL WRITTEN.

I have read a few of the past reviews and the negative ones seem to have a personal axe to grind with the author. They have really over exaggerated the authors self promotion. I read alot, everything from Sue Grafton to Patricia Cornwell even the Rogue Warrior series, books on History, Chess and alot of spy thrillers. I found this book to be interesting and read it cover to cover in 3 days. I think anyone reading the above mentioned books would also find this book worth the time and money.

I found this book to be very informative. I have always had the question in mind, "Why would someone do such a thing?" and even though this my not be completely answered, it is at least discussed in some detail.

This book could have been a whole lot better if Mr. Douglas could have gotten over his enormous ego. I don't mean to undermind his fine work over the years or his dedication, but he wasted half the book patting himself on the back. I think he needs to get over himself and realize that he isn't the only one who solved these cases. It took a whole lot of hard working people and not just one loan FBI agent.

Mindhunter is my first "true crime" book and I'll admit that I'm hooked. I found some parts of the book a bit slow (especially those dealing with the author's personal life), but overall the book is compelling. I could not put it down. Be warned that some of the information is gruesome and can cause a bit of paranoia! It is hard to read this book and look at "regular people" around you in the same way. Just having finished this book, I have already bought the sequel. The subject matter is that addictive.

The seller listed this book as being in good condition. The front cover had a big piece cut out of it. The rest of the cover was in very poor condition as well as the pages of the book itself. This is a book that looks like a bunch of kids got ahold of it and just completely mistreated it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is extremely interesting and filled with information from real events. If you enjoy reading about true crime and psychology I would highly recommend this book.

I'm an avid reader of true crime books and this is just awful. I couldn't even finish it. This guy has quite an ego. He talks more about himself and his football days. He couldn't be more dull. If you want to read an interesting and insightful book from an FBI mindhunter check out Whoever Fights Monsters by Robert Ressler. Infinitely better than this garbage.

this is well written, and worth your time to read.
gives you insight about the reasons why men do
such wicked things.
It's good to know the FBI has figured these guys out, and
are able to track them down more easily.

John Douglas has the capability of captivating the reader through his real life story telling. This book draws you into the mind of a profiler as he seeks to find the truth. Gripping details, unbelievable acts of terror, and horrifying facts will have you looking over your shoulder for days. You must read this if you are a true crime buff. The legendary profiler is also a legendary author.

Mr. Douglas should have spent less time thinking and writing about himself, and more time researching the cases he supposedly "worked" on.
He makes numerous errors in the information he provides on various cases. I'll point out just a couple:
At one point he speaks about "Los Angelos' Zodiac Killer" - a small amount of research would have shown that Zodiac was in and around the San Francisco Area (Vallejo, Presido, Lake Berryessa). He also states that New York's Son of Sam spree was exactly one year from July 1976- July 1977, this also is incorrect.
Unless you're looking for a biography of John Douglas, save your money. There are better books out there.
If I had a way to put down 0 stars I would have.

After reading this book with great excitement, I understand that Sherlock Holmes is not a magician. And also there are several of him in FBI. The book begins as a breath taking novel, and you immediately get into criminal profiles with even disturbing crime scenes. Sometimes you are confused of dates of events, but in general you can feel like a crime specialist putting yourself into a serial killers' position. A great book for whom like pyscological investigations of criminals.

My God, talk about wanting to throw a book against the wall. I wish the author would shut about how wonderful, elite, fantastic, etc, he thinks he is, and write more about actual case work. What a self-indulgent load of you-know-what most of this book is. I picked up to read casework on serial killers, and ended up getting a stomachful of more-than-I-care-to-read than the minutia of his biography. I see he has written a number of other books that I would otherwise find interesting. I'm just afraid of more crap like this one.

As a former psychology major, I understood the author's impatience with the subject as it relates to actual criminals. Taking the "BS" out of Behavioral Science is a good idea for a great deal of psychological theory as well. This book reveals -- in a way few psychology classes ever will -- the authentic sadism many harbor but only a few choose to actually act on. It's a gripping, tragic, often hilarious (if you like gallows humor) and very illuminating read.

I listened to this book on tape. Once you can get past Douglas' ego the information he shares is valuable and important to everyone that interacts with strangers on any level. Read this book to become aware and somewhat street-wise of what can happen in the blink of an eye by almost anyone around you. I'm not the paranoid type, but this book sure made me glad I never let my son out of my sight as he grew up!

For those people interested in criminal justice cases this is the book for you. Author John Douglas review some awesome momenst in his career that are mind blowing events about serial killers and crime.

The book was OK. I felt it was a little repetitive in that cases mentioned in previous books were discussed again. I was expecting new cases. Also the author definately has an ego. Even though he gives praise to fellow law enforcement officers, its always about how brillant he is.

I had the luck of having dinner with Mr. Douglas while he was filming an animal cruelty documentary. He was fascinating and extremely knowledgeable about his trade. I am not surprised that he wrote this page turner.

Name a serial killer in the 20th century, and John Douglas has gone inside his mind. This is one of the most fascinating books I have read. I got the privilege of meeting Mr. Douglas 12 years ago at an event. He is even more fascinating in person. If you like true crime books, as well as understanding what makes a criminal tick, then get John Douglas's books.

The book in itself, that is, when there was interesting facts about serial killers and how the FBI solves crimes, is actually very good and interesting. The parts of this book I truged through was Mr. Douglas and his ego tripping about dating and joking around though school etc. Certainely could have lived without that. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to finish this book as it did not hold my interest. I probably will not invest in another one of his books.

I could not put this book down.It was the most facinating book I have ever read.How they look at the scene of a crime and tell what kind of person commited the crime and what kind of job and car they have.This book has made me want to work for the fbi as a matter of fact I am majoring in behavioral science in college.Read this book.

I bought this book thinking I would learn how profiling really works and how it is used to solve crimes. All I found was John Douglas's ego, everywhere. He needs to check that by the roadside and stick to "just the facts".

JOHN E. DOUGLAS & MARK OLSHAKER take us on an educational journey of the FBI Serial Crime Unit in MIND HUNTER. The two gentlemen need to be applauded on this easy to read and incredibly in-depth study. If you want to know how they do it, this is the book to read.

I believe this is my second John Douglas book and although I enjoyed the first one, this one was rather boring. I still haven't finished reading it. Douglas put too much of his own personal life in this book and as always he likes to praise himself , things I don't care for. He jumps around too much in this book and it sometimes get's confusing. If you like John Douglas don't buy this book.

I was enjoying this book and accepted that it's primary focus was on the author until about page 117 when he writes of his interview with Charles Manson. He concludes "I believe that he (Manson) did not plan or intend the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends." pg 121. Then he states "If he were released...I wouldn't expect him to be a serious violent threat."
These conclusions come with no support but his impressions from his interviews. Mr. Douglas does not address the evidence from the trials that supported that the murders were done on Manson's orders. Nor does he provide any further evidence to support his conclusions.
From that section on, I read with some skepticism and became concerned about what appeared to be a degree of "admiration" of the criminals, serial killers, and rapists about whom he reports. It is also interesting that he discusses cases about which he had little direct participation.
Odd and disappointing book.

This book I found to be intresting. After the NBC series Profiler I become intrested in profiling this book does a great job of exploring many crimes were profiling played a role in catching a crimnal. Personally, I liked his writting though a little egotistical at times still a good book I'd recommend to all those interested in crime and profiling.

I am very interested in the criminology profetion. After reading this great book I know know so much more than i did before. I uses real events and explains what was going through the minds of the killer and how they were caught. I could never put it down.

The book takes way too long to get into the specific details of how the FBI's elite, interesting unit investigates and solves crimes. Instead, the author uses the book as a means of illustrating how much of an expert he is and goes into boring details of his upbringing, with unnecessary stories of how atheltic and tough he is. Again, I felt that he used this book with the main priority to promote himself.

Pieces of the book were enjoyable, but for the most part I kept expecting to hear how Mr. Douglas put on a cape and bent steel bars!! The ego was unbelievable. I'm sure he needed it to be so successful, but please, it's boring as hell to read.
Save your time and read something else. Anything else.

I bought this book with the hope that I would gain insights into the minds of serial killers and the like. However, I am very disappointed and hence do not want to buy another book by John Douglas. John Douglas, who was one of the key figures in development of the FBI's profiling techniques, cannot help himself by bloating about his own life, achievements, skills and looks. He even comments occasionally throughout the book on his rather good looks, how he could talk with anyone about anything, his rather good marksmanship, and his rather good idea of renaming the Behavioural Science Unit to the Investigative Support Unit.

He discusses his own life from a stereotypical male perspective on the first 100 pages of the book, before even mentioning one aspect of profiling. Then, he gives away several "key insights", which anyone with basic knowledge of profiling from television series crime fiction (real television series about murders, not the modern-day CSIs where the antagonists can pull rabbits out of their bums by just pressing a knob in the lab or wagging some minuscule DNA sample through colourful solutions): violence against animals, bed wetting and the starting of fires. Additionally, a difficult relationship with (mainly) the mother in early childhood is another give-away for sexual offenders. After that I lost interest in reading on, since I did not buy the book to review my non-existent profiling skills and I certainly did not buy the book to read about his boring life as a special agent to the FBI - before he was an FBI agent he had several minor run-ins with the local police had several jobs as a bouncer because of his stature.

Undoubtedly, John Douglas was one of the main contributors to serial-killer profiling, but in my opinion he does not have the skills to communicate his knowledge in an interesting way, although he claims to be good at it several times.

Much like most books on serial killers, Douglas covers already known information on a popular topic. If you're looking for information on a few cases, it may be of help, but it provides little new information to an already hot topic.

I read the reviews and read the summary and was very excited to read a graphic informative book on profiling. This book was awful. There was no detail or even a small piece of info. about any of his cases. I agree with previous reviews, he is too cocky. I can't imagine how many cases he has gotten wrong! I was exhausted by chapter two listening to this guys sad life. This is NOT a true crime book. It's a biography of someone feeling sorry for themself. I still have no idea how his cases were solved because he never said....