Rating: 
Summary: Interesting book but things added that weren't necessary
Review: A friend bought this book for me for Christmas. It was a harder book to read than what I am used to reading. It was interesting but things were added that didn't completely apply such as details of child porno which John Robinson didn't praticpate in. I didn't care when computers because popular and other things such as the O.J. murders.
It is shocking how a man on a computer could convince women to cross state lines to find their "perfect" man because he was such a liar and charmer.
I would love to read a book wrote by his wife.
Rating: 
Summary: The Mindhunter Does It Again!
Review: After being an avid fan of serial killer books for quite some time, I'd begun to think that I'd read everything that was ever written on the subject. However, soon after I picked up John Douglas' new non-fiction book, "Anyone You Want Me To Be," I quickly realized there was an entire world of crime I had yet to discover.
While I had previously heard of John Robinson, I knew very little about the details of his background and killing spree. In today's world, where the Internet is such an integral part of everyday life, it is frightening to know there are predators like John Robinson out there, preying on innocent trustworthy people.
Mr.Douglas, who created the FBI's profiling unit, effectively allows the reader to enter a place many authors have previously left untouched, a killer's mind. Tracing John Robinson's background from his childhood to his days as a killer, Douglas allows us to see Robinson as more than just a psychotic maniac.
For those who enjoyed Mr. Douglas' previous works, this haunting, bone chilling masterpiece is an absolute must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: Although I am not usually a great fan of Mr. Douglas, I found the subject of this book engrossing enough to keep me reading. The story reads like fiction, except that unfortunately it is true. Robinson, the subject of this book is a psychopath who lured trusting women to their death, picking the most vulnerable as his victims. He shows the Internet for what it is: A place where anyone can be who they want to be, and nobody is really what they are. A sobering and chilling read.
Rating:
Summary: A Riveting, Chilling, Educational Read!
Review: Author John Douglas, a veteran of the FBI and expert in personality profiling, demonstrates his years of experience and storytelling ability in this vivid investigative analysis of the first Internet serial killer, John Robinson. Douglas, and his co-author Stephen Singular, meticulously describe Robinson's journey from a seemingly harmless white collar criminal to an obvious psychopath, who exploited the Internet's world of single women seeking love and relationships, with deadly results. A married father of four, a seemingly good citizen, active in his church and community, Robinson was able to hide his evil nature and schemes from his wife, a woman who lived in a state of absolute denial, and from others who knew him best.
Fortunately, he was unable to fool Steve Haymes, a parole officer in Liberty, Missouri, who had been on Robinson's trail for fifteen years before his suspicions and persistent investigation panned out. Haymes was the only person who kept a record of Robinson's evolution through the criminal justice system. During a thirty-five year period, he examined his criminal patterns, his range of activities and attempted to penetrate the man's personality. Robinson had been arrested numerous times for fraud and theft, but was able to use his charm and cunning to elude more serious charges. It was during these early days in Robinson's criminal career that he appeared on Haymes' radar screen. In early 1985 Parole Officer Haymes imagined what the law enforcement community was confronting. In March 2000, he discovered that he had been correct in his initial assessment, with results much more disastrous than he had ever contemplated.
Chubby, balding, unattractive, Robinson, was intelligent, innovative and entrepreneurial enough to be in the forefront of the consumer vanguard, employing the new personal computer technology to his advantage. Cybercrime had yet to be defined when Robinson saw the possibilities in using the Internet to make easy money and gratify his particular needs and longings. Ultimately, he discovered the world of sadomasochistic Website chat rooms, where he was able to charm and reassure the vulnerable, lonely women who frequented them. It was on the Net that he was able to stalk his victims and lure them to meet him in person - never to be seen or heard from again.
I don't read much True Crime but was fascinated by this case of deadly cybercrime. I use the Internet frequently and know people who have met online and married - although they never frequented sadomasochistic chatrooms. Still, reading "Anyone You Want Me To Be" was an educational experience as well as a riveting read. Highly recommended!
JANA
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Great for those who love the true crime stories. Well written and very good.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ FOR TRUE-CRIME LOVERS
Review: I have been a huge fan of John Douglas' career and books. In this latest book he focuses his attention and uses his professional profiling expereince to analyze one case. In Anyone You Want Me To Be, the reader doesn't just get the facts of the case but it is told from an entirely different perspective, that of a profiler. From the title of the book one may think the character is fictious, but this story is very true. Mr. Douglas takes us into the mind of John Robinson and explains how one man used the Internet to manipulate and control women for his own personal gain. He also tells us how we can protect ourselves from predators on the Internet. A true page turner.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I have enjoyed other John Douglas titles such as Mindhunter, so I thought "Anyone You Want Me To Be" might be an interesting read. I was hoping for some insight from Douglas into the criminal mind, but instead found a dry narrative of a mediocre criminal and his career. I was actually relieved when I finished the book since I was contemplating abandoning it midway.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this book down!
Review: I loved this Book! It was very suspenseful and nerve racking. Also had a lot of great information about the internet. I remember a couple of years ago I got a chain mail about a SlaveMaster. It warned not to reply to or meet a man named SlaveMaster. For years I thought it was just a chain mail letter. After reading this book it had some truth to it. The Author went into great detail and this book was educational about the net. I highly recommend for all you True Crime readers. I liked this almost as much as Stranger Beside me by Anne Rule. She is my Fav! I don't have any idea why I never saw this story on Court TV. Insane!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating tale of Internet's first serial murderer
Review: If you're a fan of true crime stories, and I am, you'll want to
read ANYONE YOU WANT ME TO BE by John Douglas and
Steven Singular. It is the tale of John Robinson, the Internet's first serial murderer . . . I
found it fascinating to see how he evolved from a petty con man to
a master of technology in the last half of the 1990s who could
attract women from all over the country to do virtually anything
he wanted. Although I knew the ending when I first picked up the book, it nevertheless kept me fascinating until the very ending--a mark
of really good writing. Also, I liked the Appendix at the end . . . the first part gave tips
for helping adults and kids avoid the dangers of Internet
predators . . . however, the second part dealing with the
following "tips adults can share with children" that I found
particularly worthwhile:
1. Never give out personal information (such as name, age, home
address, phone number, school, town, password, schedule, or
your picture) or fill out questionnaires or any forms on-line. 2. Never meet in person with anyone you have met on-line without
mom and/or dad present. 3. Do not enter a chat room without mom and/or dad's presence or
supervision. Some "kids" you meet in chat rooms may not really
be kids but adults with bad intentions. Remember-people on-line
may be very different from who you think they are. 4. Be suspicious of anyone who tries to turn you against your parents,
teachers, or friends. They may have a hidden agenda. 5. Never respond to or send e-mail or instant messages to new people
you've met on-line. Talk to your parents first so that they can check
out the situation. Never engage in an on-line conversation that makes
you feel uncomfortable; log off and tell your parents. If you get such
a message, DO NOT respond. Sending a response only encourages
the person. Instead, show it to your parents and let them handle it. 6. Use Control-H while browsing the Web to see a list of Web sites that
have been accessed by your computer in the last few weeks. This
can help you determine if your child is visiting any dangerous sites. 7. Install filtering software like CYBERsitter, CyberPatrol, or Net Nanny.
The software costs about $50 and acts as a digital chaperon,
blocking any inappropriate content. These programs work by checking
which sites your child visits against a list of disapproved sites, complied
by the makers of the software. 8. Install software that will actually record images of every Web site that
your child visits. The software won't stop them from accessing sites,
but it will let you know if you have a problem. For truly concerned
parents (or employers), you can now buy Investigator, which allows
you to track every mouse click made by your child when on-line. It
reads secret passwords, records everything that has been deleted,
catalogs Web sites that have been visited, shows credit card usage
on the Internet, and can even tell you what your child purchased.
At present, it is the most sophisticated software yet created to spy
on those in cyberspace. 9. Be a part of your children's on-line lives as well as their off-line ones.
Talk to your children about what sites they visit, whom they
communicate with, and who are on their buddy lists. No software
will ever be a substitute for being and active parent.
Rating:
Summary: A well written True Crime book marred by a giant ego.
Review: John Douglas likes to toot his horn. Supposedly he had a character based on him in Silence of the Lambs. This ex-FBI agent criminal profiler sounds more like an arm chair criminolgist who read way too many True Crime books. This is my first problem with the book.
The second is that the Internet gets first billing when in fact it played very little in the life of John Robinson. This guy was a serial killer long before the Internet was what it is now. The Web was just a window of opportunity for him to slither through and carry out his crimes. He would have very easily have found other avenues if it weren't for the World Wide Web. Don't tell Mr. Douglas this. He wants you to think that the Internet is this evil entity that teamed up with Robinson to kill women. Douglas,an obvious newbie to the web,spends two whole chapters on the rise and success of the Internet. It was like reading a chapter from "The Internet for Dummies"! If I read one more time how the web enables people to pretend to be somebody else I was going to scream. Enough already with the redundant hyperbole! John Douglas also goes in depth about child porn in cyber space and how to combat it. This all well and good but it has no place in this book! John Robinson was into the BDS&M scene with adults. Child porn was not his schtick. I wonder if John douglas knew what book he was writing for?
Despite all this I have to admit the book gives a great glimpse into the mind of a serial killer. John Robinson wasn't the typical killer. He showed no signs,outside of his crimes,of his true evil nature. Most killers seem to leave clues in their "normal" lives. Robinson was a doting father,grandpop,soccer ref and church elder. Furthermore he started out as a con-artist and slowly and without explaination turned to the darker side later in life. Quite unique.
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