Rating: 
Summary: Save Your Money.
Review: I'm half way into the Mindhunter book and I have 3 reactions. First, I'm getting very little information to support the subtitle 'Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit'. There is almost no "inside" information. The book thus far is a glowing account of how Douglas went around interviewing serial killers. Second, I'm getting a whole lot of information about Douglas, how brilliant he was (according to him), and how none of these con artist killers could possibly have conned him during said interviews. Third, I'm getting very bored. Just half-way into the book I'm realizing the first few chapters would have been enough. The rest is boring repetition. Let's see...I'll save you some money...boy is abused by mother, family is disfunctional...boy wets bed...boy plays weird games with sister...boy is cruel to animals...boy grows up...young man has no luck with women...young man starts killing. In steps the crack Elite FBI Serial Crime Unit (aka, John Douglas)...They tell the frightened towns people that the FBI will save the day...they tell local cops everything they need to know to arrest the killer right down to speech impediments, their age, where they live, height, weight, etc. Ya, right! If you want a book written by a former FBI agent who thinks he was the best thing to hit the agency since Hoover, then this is the book for you. If you want a book that goes into detail about the inside workings of the FBI, then continue your search. This is not that book. My copy went in the trash can this morning.
Rating: 
Summary: Mind-Numbing
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Could Use More Detail
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: Warning: this book is not for the "faint-hearted." The author describes some murder scenes in very graphic detail. However, if you like crime scene investigation type stuff, I think you'll enjoy this book. Written by the guy who pioneered criminal profiling, he gives the inside scoop on some of the worst serial killings of our time. It's fascinating how much they can predict about an offender by looking at the crime scene. As Douglas says, to understand the artist you have to study his art. That's the "secret" to successful profiling.
Rating:
Summary: Great book on a "new" science of solving crime.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: To Understand Mr, Douglas you must have a mature mind
Review: This was the first of three I read in a row in the order that they were written, It started out slow perhaps to some because he needed to lay down the groundwork to a concept that was being totally rejected by J.E.Hoover and who would not hear of the technique used in criminology. Today it is a required course and Mr. Douglas was never arrogant he was totally exhausted trying to take on so many cases because his methods worked. This book gets so heavily into the psyche of the criminal mind that the average person perhaps cannot grasp the horror of the people John Douglas needed to deal with without much help.If you see the world through rose colored glasses and live in denial you will never understand the books that deal with these kinds of crimes. But you are also making yourself easy prey to the kind of people John Douglas profiles. This man's personal life suffered for the things he saw and the work load that he had to do regardless of Mr. Hoover's rejection of the methods. At least today there are task forces to do the work as a team. He did what he believed in that worked and I lived in VA for 22 years where the FBI Academy takes his methods seriously enough that the police officers take courses there. I have a great deal of respect for John Douglas for following the methods he believed in that he knew worked and fighting to get his methods into criminology. But even if one takes courses there are those that have a gift that makes them exceptional at his methods just as anyone who takes a course in any subject. It takes more than book knowledge one must be able to comprehend with their mind and soul what it is all about to be good at the job of profiling. Mrs symmington
Rating:
Summary: MIndhunter...John, dump your ego.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Subject Matter, Annoying Storytelling
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Annoyingly Arrogant
Review: This book, is something of a journal in which John E. Douglas comes across as a testosterone-heavy policeman glorifying his career (and personal life) after the fact. It was interesting to read this book at the same time as Robert Ressler's "Whoever Fights Monsters" to compare the two. While both books contain similar information about the inner workings of the FBI and profiles of murderers, Ressler's "objective" accounts were refreshing compared to Douglas's continual self-aggrandizement. Through Ressler, we learn that many of the deeds for which Douglas claims credit were actually undertaken by Ressler while he was "breaking in" Douglas. Save yourself the annoyance, and read Ressler's book instead.
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