The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (Facts on File Crime Library)

Having purchased the original encyclopedia nearly 20 years ago, I found this newer version to be a perfect update. While some killers (Bundy, Dahmer and Fish) weren't updated due in part to their entries being done and over with, some others are still open and alive and have had their entries enhanced (Mason, Jack the Ripper and Wuronos to name a few) as well as a few new entries as well. Whether your interested in it for psychological reasons, crime reasons or want a nice coffee table book to stand out from the rest of your snazzy coffee table books this book is worth the purchase even if you have the previous editions, it's a house hold favorite of ours!

This is a fascinating read for true crime buffs. The author's stated purpose is to "demystify, as far as possible, those predators in human form who have been with us since the dawn of history..." Serial killers at large are so frightening that they end up touching all of our lives--most especially in the United States, where 84% of all known serial killers have committed their crimes since 1980. I first became aware of this type of human predator when I was a student at the University of Michigan, and John Norman Collins was murdering coeds with pierced ears and long brown hair. (Oddly enough, Collins is missing from this encyclopedia even though he killed at least seven women--possibly because he was only charged and tried for the murder of one of them. A second edition is planned, so there is a possibility that this omission will be corrected).

California native Michael Newton has published 181 books since 1977, including 147 novels but he is best known for his true crime and reference works. I have to say that I assumed this author was British because of his concise, witty style and also for his tendency to critique other true crime authors who failed to get their facts straight, including the names of a serial killer's victims. One of his special peeves is the term 'spree killer,' and he also doesn't seem to think much of profilers.

Most of the entries in this encyclopedia are concerned with the serial killers themselves, whether they acted alone, in twosomes, or in packs. One of the biggest surprises for me was the large number of serial killers who are or were women. Something like 12% of all serial killers are female, and Hungarian women seem especially prone to this behavior, starting with Countess Erzsebet Báthory in the sixteenth century whose final body count was somewhere between 300 and 650 victims. In the early 1900s,Vera Renczi murdered 35 husbands, lovers, and a son and was arrested by the police only after they searched her basement and discovered 35 zinc coffins. "Some evenings, Vera liked to sit among the coffins in an armchair and enjoy the company of her adoring beaux." Then there were the "Angel Makers of Nagyrev"...

Well, let me just close by remarking that "The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers" is an extremely interesting source of information on the darker side of human nature. In addition to the encyclopedia entries, there are also appendices on "Solo Killers," "Team Killers," and "Unresolved Cases," plus an extensive bibliography.

I picked this book up, on remainder, at the local Border's. It was only six dollars, and for this price, the book has served its purpose. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers reviews, in a few paragraphs, numerous killers throughout history. It is organised like a typical encyclopedia, alphabetically by the killer's last name. Additionally, serial-killer 'phenomena' (for lack of abetter word) are explored (eg, cults, cross dressing).

The writing is stilted, and dry: for such an interesting subject, this book manages to really make serial killing clinical and, yes, boring. As a reference book, The Serial Killer Encyclopedia contains factual information. That said, each entry must be taken with a grain of salt. For instance, the Jeffry Dahmer entry does contain some obvious factual inaccuracies (one may easily compare to, say, other books on him, internet resources, crime resources, etc). So, the information in the book should be double-checked if you're going to be using it for a paper or similar.

"The Serial Killer Files" by H. Schechter is, overall, a better book - I own that, as well. It is more entertaining, more fun to read, and contains much more 'interesting' information: the historical tidbits and facts are really captivating. Unfortunately, the organization of Schechter's book has something to be desired.

Overall, The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is a passably good introduction to the hundreds of killing sociopaths who have graced the earth. It provides a necessary gateway for those unfamiliar with the field, but should not be the end of one's research (though it may serve as a good 'starting point' for one to establish which killers, if any, one is interested in learning more about).

I must apologize to the author of this book. When this book popped up on my recommendations list I mistook it for another book with the exact same title and an extremely similar cover I had recently encountered. However, last night to my extreme embarrassment, I discovered my mistake. This book does indeed report accurate and up-to-date information on David Berkowitz, and although the articles on each person/subject is necessarily short for the book to be comprehensive without being unwieldly large, the summaries are quite good for their length. I still recommend buying Maury Terry for a more complete overview of Son of Sam (or other books with greater focus on various persons), but this book is still a good introduction.
It is unfortunate that I mistook this book for another that is deceptively simlar but of far lower quality.

Serial murder is my area of expertise. I have spent 16 years studying and writing about this field and Michael Newton's works have been along side me for all those years. Newton is an excellent researcher. His work is of the highest quality. His books are a steal. The Encyclopedia is an excellent resource for anyone who needs a thumbnail sketch of serial killers from around the world. Newton has contributed to the growing body of serial killer research by helping to track down and document these killers. Newton was one of the first authors to document the imfamous Dr. Swango, years before any other noticed him.
I highly recommend this book to students, researchers and the just curious. But beware, you may learn more than you ever wanted to know

As someone else stated, this is a good starting point for getting acquainted with serial killers. One other review says you can get all the same information on the internet by using a search engine. That is true, you can probably get more information using a search engine, however there are serial killers in this book I never knew about and therefore could not find them via a search engine. This covers killers from all over the world and spanning many generations. It is a definite read for people who are new to researching serial killers and would like to have a good reference. As we all know, encyclopedias are just that, a reference. So this is a beginning and a reference. And once you find a subject in this book that draws your interest, you should then get a more detailed account to read.

Overall, I rate this as a very good book with good basic information. Yes, some things are out of date, but the Son of Sam is not one of them. The Green River Killer is however, as Gary Leon Ridgeway is not even mentioned as a suspect. However the book was last released in 2000 and the GRK was captured in 2002.

This is one of my shorter reviews because this book basically does what it says it will do. It is an encyclopedia of serial killers. The editors line up and offer a background on some of the more famous serial killers of all time while also offering some details on what tools are used to find and defeat them.

An interesting note is that most of the killers in this book got their starts in a period that seems to run from 1970-1985. Imagine a huge bell curve for serial killers and that is what you have. Something to keep an eye on in this book that I found interesting.

Expanded and updated edition of his original that came out in 2000. There are now entries on cases that have been solved since the first edition was released. Examples: Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer and Dennis Rader, the BTK Strangler. Other cases have been expanded. Some that were only listed in the appendixes now have entries in the main section.

The author uses the definition of a serial killer as someone who murders 2 or more persons, done as separate events. This leads to inclusion of some killers that most people would not consider serial killers. I understand the author going for a more inclusive approach than otherwise. If he didn't go this route, there would inevitably be complaints about killers left out.

I spotted very few errors and none that I would categorize as major.

I would like to see a much more comprehensive index. Trying to find an entry if all you remember is a victim name or an odd location is difficult.

The entries range from a few paragraphs to several pages. Still, if you want a detailed read on a specific case, you will need to get a book devoted to that killer. There are entries on some killers that there hasn't been a book written about, such as Melvin Rees.

Of the three SK Encyclopedias I've read, this is the best, in my opinion.

The reviews for the first edition are still mostly applicable here. I recommend reading them for other viewpoints.

This is one of the best books availible for those interested in True Crime and the history of Serial Killers. The author has compiled a fast read and profiles for each person. Very detailed, It is a basic knowledge of the essential info. If you want more detailed profiles of certain serial killers i would recommend that you buy a book based on a certian individual.

But this is a great basic info source.

Most Recommended.

According to prolific crime writer Michael Newton, 84 percent of the world's active serial killers are in the United States.
No doubt this is more a tribute to the relentless, 24/7 instincts of America's overheated information industry than to any inherent tendency to greater savagery in American folkways.
And while Newton does not assess the impact of information-gathering on perceptions, he does takes pains to rebut claims that serial killers are a modern phenomenon.
They must always have been with us. Newton says the first "documented" example was Locusta, who poisoned Emperor Claudius in ancient Rome; but both the Sumerian legend of Gilgamesh and the Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf" appear to describe what we would call serial killers.
But across cultures and centuries, whatever it is that motivates serial killers seems to fall into easily delimited categories, once local details are stripped away.
For example, there are "black widows" who poison husbands or family members, usually for money; "bluebeards," the male version of the black widow; plain robbers; religious fanatics; and various kinds of sexual deviates, of which the "ripper" is the most horrifying and best represented category in "The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers."
Though Newton does not say so, accounts of "werewolves" from medieval and Renaissance Europe read exactly like the cases of pedophile rippers from today's newspapers.
Whether we understand any better than the medieval jurists who blamed such brutal crimes on shape-changers is a question. We certainly subdivide the practitioners into more divisions than the medievals did: organized serial killers vs. unorganized, territorial vs. nomadic vs. stationary, solo vs. team.
But Newton is rightly skeptical of FBI "profiling," which he says has never yet led to the arrest of a serial killer. Most arrests come through routine police work, though often the killer kills many times before leaving enough evidence to identify him. (Serial killers are, by definition, secretive; unlike mass killers, who seldom bother to hide their crimes and often wait quietly to be arrested.)
The total of kills by some of these fiends certainly indicates that more police officers would not serve to lower the total number of victims.
For one thing, some of the highest (but hardest to prove) totals are run up in hospitals and nursing homes where deranged nurses and doctors (or in one instance a janitor) can kill helpless people secretly. "Baby farms" where unwed mothers used to be sent to give birth were another opportunity for repeated, easy murder, but that one has become less common with changing attitudes toward bastardy.
At the end of the encyclopedia, Newton lists several hundred active serial murder cases in which no suspect has been identified. It is an impressively scary list, although your chances of being serially killed are, compared to a lot of other unnatural ends, small.

According to prolific crime writer Michael Newton, 84 percent of the world's active serial killers are in the United States.
No doubt this is more a tribute to the relentless, 24/7 instincts of America's overheated information industry than to any inherent tendency to greater savagery in American folkways.
And while Newton does not assess the impact of information-gathering on perceptions, he does takes pains to rebut claims that serial killers are a modern phenomenon.
They must always have been with us. Newton says the first "documented" example was Locusta, who poisoned Emperor Claudius in ancient Rome; but both the Sumerian legend of Gilgamesh and the Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf" appear to describe what we would call serial killers.
But across cultures and centuries, whatever it is that motivates serial killers seems to fall into easily delimited categories, once local details are stripped away.
For example, there are "black widows" who poison husbands or family members, usually for money; "bluebeards," the male version of the black widow; plain robbers; religious fanatics; and various kinds of sexual deviates, of which the "ripper" is the most horrifying and best represented category in "The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers."
Though Newton does not say so, accounts of "werewolves" from medieval and Renaissance Europe read exactly like the cases of pedophile rippers from today's newspapers.
Whether we understand any better than the medieval jurists who blamed such brutal crimes on shape-changers is a question. We certainly subdivide the practitioners into more divisions than the medievals did: organized serial killers vs. unorganized, territorial vs. nomadic vs. stationary, solo vs. team.
But Newton is rightly skeptical of FBI "profiling," which he says has never yet led to the arrest of a serial killer. Most arrests come through routine police work, though often the killer kills many times before leaving enough evidence to identify him. (Serial killers are, by definition, secretive; unlike mass killers, who seldom bother to hide their crimes and often wait quietly to be arrested.)
The total of kills by some of these fiends certainly indicates that more police officers would not serve to lower the total number of victims.
For one thing, some of the highest (but hardest to prove) totals are run up in hospitals and nursing homes where deranged nurses and doctors (or in one instance a janitor) can kill helpless people secretly. "Baby farms" where unwed mothers used to be sent to give birth were another opportunity for repeated, easy murder, but that one has become less common with changing attitudes toward bastardy.
At the end of the encyclopedia, Newton lists several hundred active serial murder cases in which no suspect has been identified. It is an impressively scary list, although your chances of being serially killed are, compared to a lot of other unnatural ends, small.

Quite a comprehensive book. It contained biographies of like, hundreds of serial killers, many of whom were completely unknown to me. A bit sensationalized, yes, but not overly so. I only wish they had lists of the victims' names -- I have always focused on the victims rather than the murderers. And more photographs would have been nice also.

I bought this book for a criminology class and still use it after graduating college. It is an interesting read cover to cover, but I use it to get more information after watching many real crime shows that are now on TV.
The book has the basic facts regarding the killers and should not be looked at for all the details. It certainly gives you enough information for you to decide if you wish to study a killer more in depth.

This book is fantastic! I enjoyed being able to read details that give insight into the lives of the serial killers. Very interesting if you are interested in this type of thing. Also, fantastic conversation starter as a coffee table book :)

This book is pretty well written, with only a few minor complaints. First some of the region specific killers are missing such as John Norman Collins, but over all is very complete. The addition of a quick reference guide in the back that explains both solved and unsolved cases is a nice touch.

This book along with Harold Schecters Serial Killer Files make a fairly complete analysis of the more deranged and sociopathic killers out there.

I recommend this book to anyone curious about some of the most despicable people out there.

This is a great Coffee Table book. The title should be An Introduction to Killers. There is a mixture of Serial Killer, Mass Murders, and Spree Killers in this book. There is a definate difference between all three. I am not sure if anyone told the author that a the definition of a Serial Killer/Mass Murder/Spree Killer is three (3) or more kills. The book wastes' its time on kills of one or two victims which is irrelevant for the subject matter. Before publishing a book this individual needs to be researcher of the subject such as Holmes, Jenkins, Egger, Sears, etc., these individuals are the forefathers of studying Serial Killers.

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is an excellent source for general knowledge on nearly every serial killer. Covers the big shots of the serial killing community along with several lesser known yet interesting cases. Also includes listings of many unsolved serial homicides. I would stand by a reccomendation for this book.

Seriously dudes. This book is so good and very interesting. It's long but once you looked at it you take if everywhere with you. Everyone you come across wants to look at it and read it. I never even got to read the whole thing after two months of purchasing it because people wanted to borrow it so much. You will be very happy with this investment and so will a lot of other people. Greatness is what this book is all about.

For those interested in serial killers or in understanding the human condition in some of its darkest forms, this book offers a number of wonderful insights. Details from interviews with many of the most notorious killers of our time including John Wayne Gacey, Henry Lee Lucas & Karl "Kropsey" Morgan are both fascinating and truly repulsive.

I loved this book, it is really informative, and well written. This is the best of all the serial killer books I have found, and I have a lot. If you are interested in getting a book on serial killers get this one first!!!

It is written like an encyclopedia! Hahaha.

It was a good simple easy read lots of basic facts.

If your looking for those shockinng details. You are not going to get it here.

The x-ray of albeit fich pelvis with the needle insterts was pretty interesting. Not much else.

Newton claims FBI profiling has never led to the arrest of any serial killer. Apparently he's never heard of David Meirhofer, a serial killer in Montana who was arrested in 1974 as a direct result of an FBI profile. He was the first serial killer to be caught via profiling, and I seriously doubt he was the last.

With such a obvious error, anything Newton says is suspect to me.

Anyone who said that this book was "chilling" had to be stuck in a freezer to begin with.
This book is exactly what it says it is: an encyclopedia.
Each page reads like a very detached and very abbreviated newspaper paragragh on each killer.
If you are wanting a psychological thriller, this definitely isn't it.
If you are doing clinical research into a psychological understanding of why people kill, look for another book.
If you are simply counting numbers and looking for names, for research, you may find an answer or two here. But it certainly won't step up your heart beat.