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Summary: Dark Dreams english review
Review: Dark Dreams is a book that is absolutely for mature readers its content is not child friendly. Roy Hazelwood spent sixteen years as a member of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit. During this time he worked on many shocking cases but that's not all, he also did research on deviant behaviors this book shows some of what he discovered. Throughout the book Hazelwood gives many examples of horrifying real life crimes that he examined. The twenty-one year old woman with no history of arrest or psychiatric problems who while working at a funeral home developed a romantic interest with a corpse. Crime knows no age, thee boys of the ages seven, nine, and ten took a female playmate and forced her to perform oral on them and they took found objects and penetrated her vaginally and anally. The book went into some detail about the crimes and the explanation of some of the reasons for the crimes and what types of behaviors that lead a person to commit them. When I finish the book I still had some unanswered questions. Don't get me wrong the book was great and I would recommend it to anyone who is mature enough to handle its contents but I wish Hazelwood had gone into greater detail.
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Summary: Poorly written, hypocritical and tedious
Review: After reading the multiple 5-star reviews I was very excited to get this book. What a disapointment.
The book is all over the place and spends too much time trying to articulate the half-baked psychology of the writers. One particular example of stunning hypocrisy is their obsession with blaming "Detective" magazines as a source of inspiration for the sadistic killers they portray. They then proceed to describe the crimes in high school level writing and place lurid photos in their book, just like the "Detective" magazines they find at fault. Does a paperback or hardcover make them exempt from their own argument?
They use specific cases for much of the book, but never fail to throw in "one case in..." or "one criminal did this..." that read like anonymous internet hoax stories or urban legends.
The most frightening aspect of the book is that these guys are the supposed "experts" in charge of keeping us safe from criminals they describe.
I'm from the Seattle area, and after reading this book, by these experts, it is no longer a mystery to me how the Green River Killer was able to avoid detection by our police for so long.
Skip this turkey.
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Summary: Depth & Perception
Review: An excellent book that offers depth and perception into the criminal mind, Dark Dreams is a harsh, disturbing but ultimately mesmerizing book. The author's unquestioned authority in this area lends breadth to his analyses, certainly, but it his is writing style that gives the work a horrifying immediacy.
Although excellent for libraries, it should be noted that this is not a book for young readers. The material is candid and at times grotesque. Recommended reference for mature students.
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Summary: Teriffic book!
Review: Eoy Hazelwood describes his experiences and shares his knowledge of sex criminals from his job in the FBI profiling unit (the 'behevioral science unit' of 'The Silence of the Lambs'). Roy does a terrific job of describing what the job really is, what are it's different aspects and what it takes (training nd the type of person who'd be good at the job). He also gives us many detailed descriptions of many cases he was involved in during his long career both as an FBI agent and as a private consultant.My only advice is not to read this book before going to bed, especially if you're a woman...
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Summary: Excellent
Review: I love reading Non-fiction books, and this was my first on this subject. It was honest, and mystifying, and also horryifing. It was unreal to hear some of the sick things people do! Hazelwood went into the explainations of why some people do these things and certain charisitcs of them. It was a different view, taking you into the psychology of these sick minds. Eventhough I don't have other books to compare to, I can say that I reccomend this book to an interested reader, and that I will look forward to reading more of Hazlewood's work!
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Summary: Most Interesting
Review: I loved the book--wonderful writing--truthful--and above all very helpful with my area of work. I would recommend this book to anything working in the mental health field--dealing with criminals.
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Summary: For mature readers only
Review: I started reading about serial killers after the sniper deaths in Washington D.C. and Maryland. "Dark Dreams" is an interesting and horrifying look into the minds of serial killers, mostly American, although there is the obligatory chapter on Jack the Ripper. In a previously read book, "Serial Killers" by Joel Norris, the author attempted both a psychological and biological profile of these murderers with emphasis on both nature and upbringing. Hazelwood and Michaud do not attempt to decipher the 'why' of serial killers in "Dark Dreams." They concentrate on the different types of 'how,' and what the 'how' reveals about the serial killer. For instance, one of the authors' major themes is the narcissism of serial killers. Many of them come to believe that they are too smart for the police to catch, and start taking unnecessary chances. Some even write taunting letters to the police, e.g. the Zodiac Killer, or commit a crime under the very noses of their pursuers. An example of the latter type of behavior was demonstrated by the stalker, Andrew Johnstone, who stole his victim's underwear out of a Salvation Army box that the police had under twenty-four hour surveillance. The authors point out that a safer method to obtain the same result would have been to steal his victim's bras off of her clothesline. A few other common characteristics of serial killers that the authors spend some time with are their ritualistic behavior, their employment of paid or compliant partners to 'practice' on, and their use of detective magazines as 'how to' manuals. A range of deviant behaviors including fetishism, necrophilia, sadism, masochism, and autoeroticism are touched upon although the authors concentrate on ritualistic sexual sadists as "the most resourceful, destructive, and elusive of all deviant offenders." One of the authors, Roy Hazelwood" also co-authored a book on "Autoerotic Fatalities" and "Dark Dreams" follows up on this theme and explains how profilers determine whether a particular death is suicide, homicide, or an unfortunate accident. How would you interpret the case where a teen-age boy's nude body was discovered hanging inside a vertical sewer pipe, his face covered in duct tape, and his grandfather's watch taped inside his mouth? Read the chapter on "Equivocal Deaths" and learn how FBI profiler and co-author, Roy Hazelwood determined exactly what had occurred. This book is a dark journey into the human mind, quite graphic at times, and should probably be stamped "For mature readers only."
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Summary: Fascinating but disjointed
Review: If you're expecting a coherent look at sexual predators and law enforcement's efforts to stop them, this isn't the book for you. Though written by two experts in the field, topics range from the MOs of sexual sadists, to revisitations of better known cases, to profiling, to profiling crime scenes.
All of the subject matter is fascinating, if not occassionally gruesome, but it is not delivered in a linnear, logical fashion. Hazelwood and Michaud are all over the map giving you a little bit of this, a little taste of that. I would have preferred a single-topic book.
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Summary: Profiles of monsters
Review: It's frightening that monsters like this exist in our world, but theres a small relief in the fact that there are experts in this field that are tracking them down. This is a very explicit book, and obviously gruesome at times, but also very informative if you're interested in this type of crime investigation. Serial rapes and murders are the topic. It is amazing how "predictable" the offenders can be. That's how the FBI and other agencies are able to so successfully "profile" the suspects and eventually (usually) catch them.
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Summary: Reads like pop psych
Review: This book was filled with useful information. It explains the business of profiling very nicely, if not the actual science. Those looking for a Profiling for Dummies book should probably keep looking, but anyone who is seriously interesting in the subject and has some background information will love this book. It was truly fascinating.
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