My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI

After years of wondering why serial killers engage in such monstrous behavior, I finally got the answers in this book.
Most of my previous research has rendered certain elements that contribute to such abhorrent behavior; however this book documents the research of someone who has been in the trenches fighting monsters.

Bought the audio Kindle version on recommendation from the My Favorite Murder podcast ladies, Karen & Georgia. It's a very easy read and answers so many questions. I love that Ressler's honest about doing things wrong and how changes were made to get it right the next time. For more insight on situational awareness, it's a must read! SSDGM

I guess that Robert Ressler, the FBI agent who wrote this book, died a few years ago. Surely that was a loss, as Mr. Ressler helped catch a lot of serial killers, but he even supposedly coined the phrase "serial killer" in the first place, back in the late 70s or early 80s. But this was my first read from him, and I will say immediately that my review will be somewhat mixed.

I've read quite a few books from John Douglas -- an "underling" of Mr. Ressler's, and you'll be reminded of that maybe too many times in "Whoever Fights Monsters" (WFM) -- and overall, I've usually really liked Mr. Douglas' works. I actually think that the book "Inside the Mind of BTK" might be his best, even better than "Mind Hunter," another very strong effort. And since these two gentlemen worked together for so long, I decided to read WFM.

This book starts out very strong, and keeps it up, for at least three-fourths of the way through. In reality, Mr. Ressler is a slightly better writer than Mr. Douglas, and if Mr. Douglas has any weaknesses, I would argue that it would be using unnecessary ad hominems about the serial killers he describes in his books. You might be tempted to scoff, "They're serial killers! They deserve to have bad things written about them!" but that wouldn't be the point. We already know that serial killers are "bad," so I like it more when writers just stick to clinical terminology and avoid potential fallacies.

But oddly, this is how I believe Mr. Ressler ultimately fails in WFM, at least towards the end. He discusses bringing in psychics to help solve cases, which I think is at least problematic. In reality, I think that it's OK for the police and FBI agents to use psychics as a last-ditch effort, but those officials should remain quiet about it. And later, Mr. Ressler describes interviewing John Wayne Gacy and Edmund Kemper remotely for other agents at Quantico. To me, this is totally fine; when it comes to learning about serial killers, it's probably best to go right to the source. But where it fell apart for me: Mr. Ressler describes Mr. Gacy as being "very intelligent and logical." Now, I've watched several interviews on YouTube featuring Mr. Gacy from jail, before he was executed, and he was anything BUT a logical thinker. His "arguments" were full of red herrings, rationalizations, and non sequitors. So, either Mr. Gacy had a "smart day" during the FBI interview -- I highly doubt it -- or Mr. Ressler gives Mr. Gacy way too much credit here. I believe it's the latter.

But the worst part for me: Mr. Ressler's stand on capital punishment. I'm for the death penalty in some scenarios, and he seems to be against it. His position is fine, but I didn't agree with his logic for defending that position. His argument is something along the following lines, and I'm paraphrasing a bit. "Capital punishment is really just a means for people to get even. Furthermore, knowledge can be gained by keeping serial killers alive by interviewing them." Well, this is a little problematic, because there are other reasons for supporting capital punishment, such as "dead men can't kill again." As a matter of fact, I've read several cases in the news recently where convicted murderers have escaped from prison, and killed again; it obviously wouldn't have been possible if they had been executed. Also, people such as Ted Bundy have said that, if their lives are spared, they'll be willing to divulge more information. Most of the time, it's just stall tactics. It surely was with Bundy.

Well, it's too bad that this book ended poorly for me, but most of it is really solid, so I will give Mr. Ressler a 4 out of 5 rating on "Whoever Fights Monsters." I'll also add, "May you rest in peace."

If the instances of Ressler patting himself on the back were omitted from this book it would be a pamphlet. There are constant asides pertaining to his, participation in or spear heading of, many endeavours. There are multiple instances where he criticizes others(occassiinaly naming them), which contribute nothing, save for a diversion from topic, to the material.
This book becomes tedious rather quickly due to its poor arrangement & what often feels as if Ressler is stalling the reveal of any somewhat pertinent information. My experience with this title was a futile hope it would eventually become engaging.

I love reading about serial killers, so this book seemed something of a holy grail. I wasn't disappointed. Ressler is no less than the very man who coined the term "serial killer", if that's anything to go by. And it is. Ressler seems a most worthy gentleman who combines intelligence, integrity, and humor. The man was a military man for years, and a pivotal actor in the development of profiling and the "science of serial killers", if I may term it that way. Needless to say (but we always say it anyway when we use that opening), Ressler has saved more lives than we will ever know (and the policemen and women who arrested these criminals, as Ressler himself insists).

The book covers a number of famous and less famous killers, and does a great job of explaining who they are and what they do. Usually, I read books about serial killers, this is a book from the other side: the side of those who study them to catch them. I can't stress enough how interesting this is.

You get to learn about the usual dichotomy of the "organised" and the "disorganised" killer, but immediately afterwards you'll learn that some killers are "mixed" and are something of both types. Ressler never simplifies anything to the point of ridicule, but he does a good job of explaining things in a clear way (no condescending simplifications, ever).

Reading *Whoever Fights Monsters* felt like having coffee with a gentleman whose modesty is only equalled by his deeds and inner value, all of which are gigantic in proportions. The anecdotes shared in the book are quite mindblowing at times, you won't believe it, and yet it's true. You know how cops always have the weirdest stories to tell? Well imagine one whose job is specifically about serial killers... And what you can imagine is surely below reality. Did you know it was possible to be gutted in your sleep, and wake up only because you feel something wet and warm? That'd be your own blood, in this case. No movie would ever dare produce such a scene, but reality is a different beast. "Truth is stranger than fiction," is something this book would support.

To conclude, this book has a most interesting subject and an even more interesting author. Ressler is highly intelligent, but also sensitive and with the sort of common sense that makes you wish he were president. While Ressler does not glorify killers, he doesn't indulge in hate towards them or advocate death penalty for revenge or justice; his opinion is that there are more lives to save by studying them than there are in killing them. That said, Ressler knows that some killers will abuse this to stay alive, and he was personally not fooled by Ted Bundy when the occasion arose to talk with him. That's what I love about Ressler, among 200 other things: he knows his stuff. I've read about enough killers to know their ways (in my humble position, of course), and was glad to see that Ressler could take serial killers' ramblings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Some serial killers assume they're special and unique because of their deeds, but Ressler has seen the same stuff dozens of times before, so he's not impressed and he's quick to shatter that illusion of being special that many killers share. I dig that.

To conclude, for real this time, I'll simply say that this book is an absolute must-read to anyone interested in true crime nonfiction, especially about serial killers. This is an invaluable work.

In response to Michael J. Tresca's review, wherein he states:

"Alas, truth is stranger than fiction, and the tales Ressler tells are positively awful. There' just one problem: we've heard all of this before.

Where? That'd be "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," by John E. Douglas, a man I can only assume was Ressler's protégé. It's a bit murky as to their relationship (the two reference each other, but not often)."

...it should be noted that Mindhunter came out AFTER Ressler's book, not before.

Otherwise, much of his review is fine. I would note, though, that Ressler's book is far superior, and he is far more modest and measured than Douglas. Douglas makes himself the center of every story, often quite lovingly, and does an unsettling amount of grandstanding about his contributions. Ressler lets the stories speak for themselves and doesn't try to outshine his subjects in importance. I've also read that one of the killers Douglas claims to have interviewed angrily denied he ever spoke to him. Douglas's vanity makes him almost unbearable at times, and with the subject at hand, that can smack of being a bit mercenary and out of touch.

The stories Ressler tells about himself tend to be more interesting, too. For instance, he speaks of people mysteriously losing weight while working on cases, without seeming to change their diets or other habits. Frankly, the stories in this book are so distressing that I, too, experienced a sudden inexplicable weight loss after reading it. This is the kind of thing that is very hard to take.

Ressler dispenses this disturbing material very well. I've read more than a dozen books of this type, and Ressler's towers over the rest. I'd recommend anyone interested in the fascinating subjects of abnormal psychology and psychological profiling read this book first if they'd like a skeleton key to understanding aspects of human behavior so dark they can seem all but forever unfathomable.

"Whoever Fights Monsters" by Robert Ressler can be summed up with a quote from page 125.
"Every ounce of information we can extract from a killer about his mind and methods gives us more ammunition to track the next one."

Mr. Ressler chronicles his career with the military and eventually the FBI.

He is credited with coining the term "serial killer" and he gives the meaning and origin of the term.

In the book the author documents the start of profiling and his unsanctioned venture into prison interviews with violent criminals.
It was risky, but over time has paid off with some candid interviews and useful information for future investigations.
Some of the interview highlights that Mr. Ressler shares in the book come from Edmund Kemper, Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Richard Speck.
He also gives examples of agent-interviewers who got too close emotionally to their subject.

He wrote about the compulsive confessor Henry Lee Lucas who never saw a murder that he wouldn't claim as his work much to the embarrassment of law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

Mr. Ressler's personal view of "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon" from his experience in the field was educational.

I was impressed with this author's writing style. Profilers have a reputation for being arrogant (whether that's just an impression or valid I wouldn't know) but Mr. Ressler humbly explains mistakes he has made over his career. He is efficient at detailing the psychology of the different types of violent criminals. A good book about criminal profiling!

This is one of the most interesting true-crime books I have read. The author shares his true-life experiences in his professional interactions with killers and their crimes. Lots of good intellectual detail regarding the offenders and their capture by Mr. Ressler, whose expertise in his field and as an author negates the need for drama or gore.

The information in the book was informative and backed up with statistics and examples. Ressler breaks down crime by explaining how it is divided into four phases and then goes on to distinguish different categories of offenders, providing examples of who falls into which.
Ressler demonstrates that not every crime is textbook. We need to be aware of society and how different regions function. In one area, white kids tended to hang out in single age groups (all 15 year olds, etc) while black kids had a variety of ages in a group. Ressler was able to use this knowledge to locate possible suspects in a gang rape.
Aside from the multitude of cases, Ressler is candid about "beating" Hoover's system back when he needed to get results done. The book has his fair share of war stories and also covers cases that can be found in other John Douglas' books, but a second point of view can be helpful in getting the full story despite the similarities.
The book is written from his point of view, as this is his life's work. A person who knows nothing about criminology will find it easy to follow and appreciate his candid comments about working in the FBI and the knowledge he picked up along the way.

If the instances of Ressler patting himself on the back were omitted from this book it would be a pamphlet. There are constant asides pertaining to his, participation in or spear heading of, many endeavours. There are multiple instances where he criticizes others(occassiinaly naming them), which contribute nothing, save for a diversion from topic, to the material.
This book becomes tedious rather quickly due to its poor arrangement & what often feels as if Ressler is stalling the reveal of any somewhat pertinent information. My experience with this title was a futile hope it would eventually become engaging.

I love reading about serial killers, so this book seemed something of a holy grail. I wasn't disappointed. Ressler is no less than the very man who coined the term "serial killer", if that's anything to go by. And it is. Ressler seems a most worthy gentleman who combines intelligence, integrity, and humor. The man was a military man for years, and a pivotal actor in the development of profiling and the "science of serial killers", if I may term it that way. Needless to say (but we always say it anyway when we use that opening), Ressler has saved more lives than we will ever know (and the policemen and women who arrested these criminals, as Ressler himself insists).

The book covers a number of famous and less famous killers, and does a great job of explaining who they are and what they do. Usually, I read books about serial killers, this is a book from the other side: the side of those who study them to catch them. I can't stress enough how interesting this is.

You get to learn about the usual dichotomy of the "organised" and the "disorganised" killer, but immediately afterwards you'll learn that some killers are "mixed" and are something of both types. Ressler never simplifies anything to the point of ridicule, but he does a good job of explaining things in a clear way (no condescending simplifications, ever).

Reading *Whoever Fights Monsters* felt like having coffee with a gentleman whose modesty is only equalled by his deeds and inner value, all of which are gigantic in proportions. The anecdotes shared in the book are quite mindblowing at times, you won't believe it, and yet it's true. You know how cops always have the weirdest stories to tell? Well imagine one whose job is specifically about serial killers... And what you can imagine is surely below reality. Did you know it was possible to be gutted in your sleep, and wake up only because you feel something wet and warm? That'd be your own blood, in this case. No movie would ever dare produce such a scene, but reality is a different beast. "Truth is stranger than fiction," is something this book would support.

To conclude, this book has a most interesting subject and an even more interesting author. Ressler is highly intelligent, but also sensitive and with the sort of common sense that makes you wish he were president. While Ressler does not glorify killers, he doesn't indulge in hate towards them or advocate death penalty for revenge or justice; his opinion is that there are more lives to save by studying them than there are in killing them. That said, Ressler knows that some killers will abuse this to stay alive, and he was personally not fooled by Ted Bundy when the occasion arose to talk with him. That's what I love about Ressler, among 200 other things: he knows his stuff. I've read about enough killers to know their ways (in my humble position, of course), and was glad to see that Ressler could take serial killers' ramblings for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Some serial killers assume they're special and unique because of their deeds, but Ressler has seen the same stuff dozens of times before, so he's not impressed and he's quick to shatter that illusion of being special that many killers share. I dig that.

To conclude, for real this time, I'll simply say that this book is an absolute must-read to anyone interested in true crime nonfiction, especially about serial killers. This is an invaluable work.

In response to Michael J. Tresca's review, wherein he states:

"Alas, truth is stranger than fiction, and the tales Ressler tells are positively awful. There' just one problem: we've heard all of this before.

Where? That'd be "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," by John E. Douglas, a man I can only assume was Ressler's protégé. It's a bit murky as to their relationship (the two reference each other, but not often)."

...it should be noted that Mindhunter came out AFTER Ressler's book, not before.

Otherwise, much of his review is fine. I would note, though, that Ressler's book is far superior, and he is far more modest and measured than Douglas. Douglas makes himself the center of every story, often quite lovingly, and does an unsettling amount of grandstanding about his contributions. Ressler lets the stories speak for themselves and doesn't try to outshine his subjects in importance. I've also read that one of the killers Douglas claims to have interviewed angrily denied he ever spoke to him. Douglas's vanity makes him almost unbearable at times, and with the subject at hand, that can smack of being a bit mercenary and out of touch.

The stories Ressler tells about himself tend to be more interesting, too. For instance, he speaks of people mysteriously losing weight while working on cases, without seeming to change their diets or other habits. Frankly, the stories in this book are so distressing that I, too, experienced a sudden inexplicable weight loss after reading it. This is the kind of thing that is very hard to take.

Ressler dispenses this disturbing material very well. I've read more than a dozen books of this type, and Ressler's towers over the rest. I'd recommend anyone interested in the fascinating subjects of abnormal psychology and psychological profiling read this book first if they'd like a skeleton key to understanding aspects of human behavior so dark they can seem all but forever unfathomable.

"Whoever Fights Monsters" by Robert Ressler can be summed up with a quote from page 125.
"Every ounce of information we can extract from a killer about his mind and methods gives us more ammunition to track the next one."

Mr. Ressler chronicles his career with the military and eventually the FBI.

He is credited with coining the term "serial killer" and he gives the meaning and origin of the term.

In the book the author documents the start of profiling and his unsanctioned venture into prison interviews with violent criminals.
It was risky, but over time has paid off with some candid interviews and useful information for future investigations.
Some of the interview highlights that Mr. Ressler shares in the book come from Edmund Kemper, Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Richard Speck.
He also gives examples of agent-interviewers who got too close emotionally to their subject.

He wrote about the compulsive confessor Henry Lee Lucas who never saw a murder that he wouldn't claim as his work much to the embarrassment of law enforcement agencies throughout the country.

Mr. Ressler's personal view of "Silence of the Lambs" and "Red Dragon" from his experience in the field was educational.

I was impressed with this author's writing style. Profilers have a reputation for being arrogant (whether that's just an impression or valid I wouldn't know) but Mr. Ressler humbly explains mistakes he has made over his career. He is efficient at detailing the psychology of the different types of violent criminals. A good book about criminal profiling!

This is one of the most interesting true-crime books I have read. The author shares his true-life experiences in his professional interactions with killers and their crimes. Lots of good intellectual detail regarding the offenders and their capture by Mr. Ressler, whose expertise in his field and as an author negates the need for drama or gore.

The information in the book was informative and backed up with statistics and examples. Ressler breaks down crime by explaining how it is divided into four phases and then goes on to distinguish different categories of offenders, providing examples of who falls into which.
Ressler demonstrates that not every crime is textbook. We need to be aware of society and how different regions function. In one area, white kids tended to hang out in single age groups (all 15 year olds, etc) while black kids had a variety of ages in a group. Ressler was able to use this knowledge to locate possible suspects in a gang rape.
Aside from the multitude of cases, Ressler is candid about "beating" Hoover's system back when he needed to get results done. The book has his fair share of war stories and also covers cases that can be found in other John Douglas' books, but a second point of view can be helpful in getting the full story despite the similarities.
The book is written from his point of view, as this is his life's work. A person who knows nothing about criminology will find it easy to follow and appreciate his candid comments about working in the FBI and the knowledge he picked up along the way.

From the man who coined the term "serial killer", this book is a completely eye-opening account of the FBI's evolution in dealing with serial murderers. For anyone who has a curiosity about profiling, this book is chockful of interesting statistics and patterns. It goes far beyond the typical true crime stories...and Robert Ressler was there from day one as he recounts all of America's most infamous serial killers...from Gacy to Joubert to Bundy to Ramirez to Kemper to Dahmer. All told in a very structured yet entertaining and captivating way. Ressler is objective throughout. There seems to even be an honest attempt to bring the serial killer's perspective to the reader. Even if you're not a fan of serial killer literature,if you pick this up you won't be able to shut off the intrigue of these stories. Great photo shots too!

Great book! As a clinician with a background in personality disorders, I could not stop reading this book. Over 20 years old and still relevant. For those who work in the world of psychology, it's a great read for a clinical brush up on antisocial d/o's; for those with just a macabre fascination of serial killers, you won't be disappointed.

The content of the book itself is great--exactly what you came for: a little FBI history, tactics and evolution of tracking and profiling serial killers.

This book loses 2 stars for two reasons. One--the book or at least my printing of it (a paperback with a bright orange cover)--is pretty awful.The gutters and margins are so slim that you have to wrench the book open and hold it like that with the finger strength of a concert violinist. It's truly annoying, especially for someone reading it on their commute who can only dedicate one hand to it.

Two--Ressler can't write for s***. He's an FBI guy, not a writer. Don't get me wrong, he's an Fing legend and was amazing at what he did. But write he cannot. His prose has made me want to chuck the book across the subway car/street several times. It's legit only like a 5th or 6th grade level and is very repetitive in sentence structure and sometimes talks in circles.

BUT, that said--the content is great. I would recommend buying this as an e-book, and previewing some of it to see if you can stand his writing style (where the hell was his editor/ghost writer when he was writing this thing!?).

Ressler begins his tale with a very fitting quote he got the title from by Friedrich Nietzsche, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Whoever Fights Monsters is a thrilling and informative adventure into the shoes of FBI veteran Robert Ressler the man who coined the term "serial killer" and through his expertise created a system for generating personality profiles for violent offenders. The book is a mixture of actual stories from the field wherein Ressler's profiling skill proved valuable for the apprehension of violent offenders and information from studies and interviews with serial killers. For anyone interested in the psychology of murders and what drives human beings into depravity this book is a great read.

One of the greatest aspects of the novel is Resslers cool calculation to his approach of understanding such disturbed individuals. . And this is where the quote from Nietzsche becomes very important as we see throughout the development of the story many of his co-workers conducting these interviews with serial killers succumb to the charismatic darkness of their nature. But Ressler seems un-phased by these men and even reveals in his interviews his own way of draining them of information through a backdoor way of controlling the conversations based on his knowledge of these violent criminals. He presents himself as a master of the art of profiling which is boosted by professional reputation as well as pure knowledge as well as his seeming calmness in terrifying conditions.

Another great aspect of this book is its presentation of empirical data in an easy to understand and exciting format. In several chapters of Whoever Fights Monsters Ressler reveals data from a study he was a part of which sought to uncover the cause of the killers motivation. Throughout this process we learn a great value of data concerning the aspects which go into creating these monsters. And as we learn there are a variety of factors in child rearing which create the foundation for the violent fantasies of these killers which is set off later in life by some pre-crime stress. Ressler as so goes into specifics on the differences between the life's and habits of both "organized killers' and "disorganized killers." As well as telling us important factor when developing a profile based on a crime scene.

Moreover, this book is a must read for anyone interested in true crime stories, psychology of disturbed persons and serial killers. It would also be a useful tool to individuals studying or interested joining the fields of criminal justice and psychology in order to prepare them with knowledge which they will most likely encounter within their fields. Whoever Fights Monsters is both enlightening and riveting in concern for both knowledge and storytelling.