The Serial Killers

Jan 30, 2025 9:48 PM

Author:Colin Wilson,Donald Seaman

The Serial Killers

As the number of serial killers worldwide has risen steadily - from the emergence of Jack the Ripper in 1888 to Harold Shipman and Ivan Milat, the backpacker killer of the Australian outback - the need to understand mass murder is becoming more urgent.

Using privileged access to the world's first National Centre for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Colin Wilson and Donald Seaman bring you this incisive study of the psychology of serial killers and the motives behind their crimes.

From childhood traumas to issues of frustration, fear and fantasy, discover what turns an ordinary human being into a compulsive killer.

Reviews

I love James Bailey's book. Right from the first page, I was riveted by his compelling, honest account of that intense part of his life. The book is fraught with wonderfully unique encounters. I recommend it to anyone and everyone

—— Mel Brooks, film director and screenwriter

If you have a functioning heart and like to laugh, take this book home. You are sure to connect

—— Brian Reilly, film producer

A vivid memoir

—— Daily Telegraph

A very funny, profound, soul-searching account of James' emotional journey . . . the story sits somewhere between The Catcher in the Rye and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

—— Bizarre

Amazing! As hilarious as it is gripping. Our generation's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

—— Mary Janice Davidson, bestselling author

I love James's book! It completely captivated with wonderful and funny moments about the life and times of an OCD sufferer. Everyone should read it

—— Michael Lionello Cowan, film producer

I found it funny with many interesting moments

—— Barry Levinson, film producer and director

It is no wonder that Mel Brooks is a long-time friend and admirer of Bailey's writing. Maybe there's even a film character in the making

—— Bath Chronicle

The particular strength of Bailey's book is that he is not afraid to show himself as deeply unpleasant

—— Mail on Sunday

Bailey's vivid sense of humour means he relates his story with a knowing sense of the absurd . . . illuminating

—— Daily Mail

A wonderful memoir

—— Daily Telegraph

In a book that is partly a popular science treatise and partly a self-help manual... he interweaves life stories and clinical evidence in an engaging and informative manner... He is grappling with one of the most important questions for our times

—— Joanna Bourke , Times Higher Education

In his 2007 book Musicophilia, psychiatrist Oliver Sacks warned that although neuroscience offers exciting insights, 'there is always a certain danger that the simple art of observation may be lost, that clinical description may become perfunctory, and the richness of the human context ignored'. Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, UK, rises to the challenge in his latest book by combining basic science and clinical observation in an attempt to explain human cruelty... We should take Baron-Cohen's accessible book as an invitation to leave the comforts of smaller, more tractable problems in a genuine attempt to address larger social issues

—— Stephanie Preston , Nature

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