Monday, August 30, 2010

New Book: Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI by Robert Ressler and Tom Shachtman

I recently finished When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, and it was pretty funny. It was my first David Sedaris book, and I wasn't disappointed. Essentially, it's a collection of stories from his life, focusing on when he lived in France and when he quit smoking, with some random stories thrown in there. Sedaris tells a good story, and I found myself laughing out loud on the L multiple times.

As you may know, I'm fascinated by serial killers. I'm pretty sure I should have gone into forensic psychology instead of trapeze artistry, but then again, I should have done a lot of things differently. Anyway, per the recommendation of Ari, I started reading Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI by Robert Ressler and Tom Shachtman. Ressler is a former FBI profiler who coined the term "serial killer," and the book recounts his efforts to profile and track down serial killers. Thus far, it's pretty good.

Books read in 2010:
Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Happy Hour is for Amateurs by The Philadelphia Lawyer
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
Open by Andre Agassi
Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange
Graceland by Chris Abani
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

2 comments:

Alex and Kyla Bailenson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GMYH said...

Ahh yes, Ridgway was probably the best prostitute killer that ever walked the planet. A TV special I saw on him in 1988 both terrified me and started my fascination with serial killers. Needless to say, I was glad I wasn't a female having sex for money in Washington state.

My other "favorites" (not that that's an appropriate word when discussing serial killers) are Jack the Ripper, Dahmer, and Bundy -- each fascinating in their own regard. You two should definitely read this book. So far it's really interesting, and all I've gotten through is the beginnings of his FBI project to study violent criminals.