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Into the Minds of Madmen: How the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit Revolutionized Crime Investigation
by Don DeNevi, John H. Campbell, Stephen Band, John E. Otto
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Prometheus Books (2003-11)
ISBN: 1591021359
EAN: 9781591021353
Dewy Decimal #: 363.258
Hardcover: 438 pages
SKU: H6870
Condition: As New
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
When law enforcement struggles to solve a serial murder, arson, rape, or child abduction, and is making little headway, it turns to the FBI's legendary Behavioural Science Unit (BSU) at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Over the past three decades, more than thirty members of this elite team have worked to capture countless elusive criminals. Rarely have they been appreciated. Never has their story been told. This unique oral history will provide fascinating reading for fans of "CSI", "Profiler", and other similar dramas, and is also a long overdue and fitting tribute to the heroic men and women of the Behavioural Science Unit, who fight everyday to keep Americans safe.
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Customer Reviews
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Gives the Real Story, Not just the Glory
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-02-14
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Many true crime fans, myself included, have torn through the books by John Douglas and other ex-members of the Behavioral Sciences Unit or BSU. We marveled at their ability to deduce intricate details of a killer's personality and lifestyle from the type of crimes they committed. We read with wonder at how they became almost overnight sensations after helping catch Wayne Williams, the man convicted of the Atlanta Child Murders.
Movies have also engrained them in our psyche. From Silence of the Lambs and Manhunter, we see these men as brave, driven, and inteligent almost to the point of clairvoyance.
But what are these men really like, behind closed doors? And how did they come to form the group that law enforcement agencies and laypeople alike admire and respect?
That is where Into the Minds of Madmen starts. It is not a book filled with chapter after chapter of car chases, midnight plane rides, or stakeouts to catch a serial killer. Instead it deals with the minutiae of how the Behavioral Science Unit came into being.
Granted, there are stories of how the team of "profilers" worked on several cases. But the goal of this book, as they state clearly in the forward is not to "resort to retelling the same sensational serial-killing stories," but instead to tell of the formation of a group that would revolutionize crime scene investigation and the methods used to catch serial offenders.
I will admit, the book can be a bit bland at times. But there is a lot of history contained in these pages, history you won't probably find anywhere else. And several of the men who spoke with DeNevi and Campbell, agents who worked in the early years of the unit, give a hint at some of the theories, books, and studies they read, which led them to create this new method of criminal investigation.
For those folks that are truly interested in the BSU, not just the thrilling stories, this is a must-read. The history contained here and the chance to get a glimpse into what made these men tick, how they developed the advanced procedures and methods almost taken for granted today, will give you a newfound respect for these men who blazed a trail that has given us all a better feeling of security.
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