Reviews (6)

buy this book! it is great
Excellent book. John has done the fire investigation community an outstanding service by writing this book.
Scientific Protocols for Fire Investigation
Book Review:
A great book to add to our library
I purchased Mr. Lentini's book as soon as it was released.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Fire investigation    2. Forensic Science    3. Law    4. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Fire services    7. Law / Forensic Science   

Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. Psychology    3. Psychopathology - Addiction    4. Psychotherapy - General    5. Addiction & therapy    6. Drug addiction & substance abuse    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Addictions   

Editorial Review

In the spring of 1988, Read more

Reviews (187)

Frightening account of corruption
Black Mass is an unbelievable account of the illicit relationship between two Irish mobsters from South Boston (Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi) and their FBI handlers (John Connolly and John Morris).
Incredible Book
I've had an interest in Boston and the organized crime around Boston for a while. I've actually had a big interest in the mafia in general. This is a great book with a lot of information that is very useful in understanding how corruption in the system allows organized crime to become more powerful and almost unstoppable.

More to come??
One might ask after reading this excellent book whether 2 kids,say brothers, were groomed to follow in the Bulger's footsteps but perhaps something went awry??
Read more

Subjects:  1. Boston Region    2. Boston Region (Mass.)    3. Criminology    4. General    5. Irish Americans    6. Massachusetts    7. Murder - General    8. Organized crime    9. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    10. Social conditions    11. True Crime    12. True Crime / Espionage    13. True Crime / General   

Reviews (1)

I shot this book then burned what was left
I was forced to read this book for the written portion of my Sergeant promotional exam.I have a BA in Criminal Justice and a BA in Psychology.This is the worst textbook I have ever read. The authors have so little information to impart, that they quote themselves from other chapters! After sifting through the c_ _ p in this book, I now have a clear understanding of what community policing actually is:People are too stupid to fix their own problems and are unable to rely on their elected leaders, so the police must pick up the slack.In this book, you could just as easily substitute Mail Woman, Garbage Man, or Cable TV Repairman for Police Man.As you read, you find out that you have been a terrible police officer.Further, the only way to fix yourself is to read this book and internalize its junk.Simply put, community policing is a way for your department to get federal funding.Next time someone asks you to fix a social problem, tell them that their elected local representative, home owner's association, town council, or governer is responsible for those concerns, not the police.Though, you will be glad to lock up their neighbor for kicking his dog. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Community policing    3. Criminal Procedure    4. Criminology    5. Police-community relations    6. Political Science    7. Politics/International Relations    8. Public Policy - Social Policy    9. Sociology    10. United States    11. Law / Criminal Procedure    12. Police & security services   

Editorial Review

A sentimental favorite, Read more

Reviews (142)

Thanks to the missing .75 cents...
We get an incredibly engaging page-turner of an astronomer/system manager tracking down a foreign hacker. Cliff Stoll genuinely struggles and questions his own actions not knowing whether he is doggedly tracing some hapless student or a nefarious spy. In the end he overcomes his Berkeley counterculture distrust of all those three letter gov't agencies and develops a respect for their work if not their inability to coordinate or communicate interdepartmentally. He becomes a security expert they all seek but laments the lack of openness and the attack on trust that is required in the academic world in order to facilitate networking and the exchange of ideas. A really good story and there is a pretty good recipe for chocolate cookies on page 155.

Nice reading with good technical coverage
"The Cuckoo's Egg" is a good book on computer hacking and espionage . It covers well all technical aspects involved in the case, stuff like UNIX, Tymnet and the very begining of system cracking.
Berkley Unix?
I really liked this book.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Data Security    2. Databases    3. Defense information, Classified    4. Electronic Warfare    5. Espionage, Soviet    6. Fiction    7. General    8. Germany    9. Hannover    10. Hess, Markus    11. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    12. Stoll, Clifford    13. United States    14. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (1)

This Is the Textbook version of Corprate Fraud
This book is excellent and very readable.It is the textbook version of Corporate Fraud Handbook: Prevention and Detection by the same author which costs less.So unless you are using this in class or teach from it get the Corporate Fraud Handbook...it costs less.Either way you won't be sorry for having the book.It is worth it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting - General    2. Auditing    3. Auditing - General    4. Auditing, Internal    5. Business & Economics    6. Business / Economics / Finance    7. Business/Economics    8. Criminology    9. Fraud    10. Fraud investigation    11. Prevention    12. White Collar Crime    13. Business & Economics / Auditing    14. Finance & Accounting   

Subjects:  1. Criminal justice, Administration of    2. Criminology    3. Government - Judicial Branch    4. Law enforcement    5. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    6. Political Science    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Prison administration    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. Law    13. Political Science / Law Enforcement   

Subjects:  1. Business Law    2. Criminal Law - General    3. Criminal justice, Administrati    4. Criminal justice, Administration of    5. Criminology    6. Jurisprudence    7. Law    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. Crime & criminology    10. English law: criminal law    11. Political Science / Law Enforcement   

Editorial Review

Most people know it's easier to get into prison than it is to get out. But for a journalist, just getting into Sing Sing, New York's notorious maximum-security prison, isn't easy. In fact, Ted Conover was so stymied by official channels that he took the only way in--other than crime--and became a New York State corrections officer: "I wanted to hear the voices one truly never hears, the voices of guards--those on the front lines of our prison policies, the society's proxies." Read more

Reviews (101)

Ted Conover's Keen Eye for Researching ..........
I bought this book for the interest in the subject matter and to also read about the author's personal experiences as a correctional officer and researcher. For the past few weeks, I read the book and can honestly say it is one of the best books on criminal justice written from "an outsider's experience inside." Ted Conover's role was to get the story. How many persons could honestly say they go in a prison to work on a book? Very, very few, probably the Ted Conover few.
Much Respect
I have to give the author credit.When he was denied the right to shadow a C.O. (Corrections Officer), he became one.This is not as simple as it sounds.He literally swore an oath to protect the inmates and the lives of his fellow officers.He worked the job with dedication, and got some great material out of it.I was wary, because I thought he might have been playing C.O.But, working in Sing Sing, you don't "play" anything.Bravo.

A Great Adventure Behind Bars.
Some investigative reporters will do anything for a story.We see it all the time on T.V. news.This one tends to live dangerously; he wrote about American Illegal Aliens in 1987 -- I wish he would do a followup as so much has changed in that regard in the past twenty years or so.
Read more

Subjects:  1. American    2. Biography    3. Correctional personnel    4. Criminology    5. General    6. Law Enforcement    7. New York (State)    8. Officials and employees    9. Ossining    10. Ossining Correctional Facility    11. Penal Institutions    12. Politics / Current Events    13. Prisons    14. Sing Sing Prison    15. Social Science    16. Sociology    17. Current Events / American    18. USA   

Reviews (2)

Im the Chief now
Great Book. Hard to read at times on mids, but now Im the CHief....Good Luck

Good read
I was tasked with reading this for a promotional test.It has lots of good infomation and makes for an easy read.Some of the chapters contain too much information making it difficult to retain but overall a good resource. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Law - General    2. Law    3. Leadership    4. Management - General    5. Personnel management    6. Police    7. Policy    8. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    9. Politics / Current Events    10. United States    11. Crime & criminology    12. Law / Criminal Procedure    13. Personnel & human resources management    14. Police & security services   

Reviews (4)

Complete Information
This book contains exactly what it says it does.The general info is presented in an interesting way so it makes for an easy and informative read.
It sucks
This book has a bad set-up.Poor drawings if any.Unorganized material.

a great book for aspiring law enforcement officers
This book has been very helpful to me. I read it cover to cover and then went through it again, following the directions and making notes. It is easy to understand, and the way it is written (as if the author is talking directly to you) makes it interesting as well.Read more

Subjects:  1. Cliff / Monarch / Barron's Book Notes    2. Cliff's/ Monarch / Barron's Book Notes    3. Professional - General    4. Study Aids    5. Study Guides    6. Tests    7. Education    8. Study Aids / Professional   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (164)

a true eye opener for personal safety
I think what I took away from reading this book was really a lesson in personal safety. I found myself really paying attention to everything going on around me and walking a little bit taller. This isn't for everyone but I found it a critical read living and working in the city at night. I actually was able to identify a bad scene unfolding in front of me and got my feet moving to avoid it. John Douglas presents the facts in a non-alarmist way while still putting great emphasis on what bad dudes are all about. This is a must read for anyone in law enforcement and anyone who likes to gain power through knowledge.

Good insights into human nature
This was a very interesting book describing the rise of criminal profiling in the F.B.I.John Douglas pioneered the combination of psychology and crimaal catching which has become so popular today, especially since Thomas Harris' Silence of the Lambs, which showed the public how this new science works (in an exaggerated form, of course).This book details how that science developed, what it's benefits are, and why it should be used, but unfortunately Mr. Douglas doesn't really tell us a whole lot about how exactly it works.He looks at case files, examines autopsy reports, then comes up with a profile of the killer.All of the cases he records in this book are cases he got right (one wonders how many he has gotten wrong, since he mentions having done hundreds and hundreds of cases, and he only mentions a few dozen), yet he never really bridges the gap between case file analysis and criminal profiling.Perhaps he doesn't want us to know, so that criminals cannot use that information to their advantage.If so, he should have explained himself, as the books cover and intro are rather misleading.
I CONFESS! I READ THIS BOOK!
Hey, I am not looking for a plea bargain here. I plead guilty to reading Mindhunter by John Douglas.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal investigation    2. Criminology    3. Murder - General    4. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    5. Psychology    6. Serial murder investigation    7. Serial murderers    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. True Crime / Espionage    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / General    13. True crime   

Reviews (2)

"Excellent start for novice or those interested in CSI"
Mark R. Hawthorne's "First Unit Responder," CRC Press 1999, ISBN 0-9493-002-1, is a 6 chapter 98-page guide book for uniformed officers working in the field who frequently are the first to arrive for a potential crime scene investigation(CSI). Rookies or veterans, Cops to firefighters to EMT's
As a law enforcement instructor at a police training facility, I found this book to be fantastic for the new recruits we train. As a retired police officer/Crime Scene Analyst, I also realized it would be great for some veteren officers and non-law enforcement personnel to review. Mark Hawthorne has kept the technical information on an easily understandable level. He has covered, in 90 pages, what would take hours of personal instruction. I found the test questions and answers extremely helpful in preparing reviews. This book can be picked up by the patrol officer, and if READ, could furnish much of the information to properly document most any crime scene. I would recommend this book to any basic law enforcement instructor or new police officer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crime scene searches    2. Criminal Evidence And Analysis    3. Criminal Investigation    4. Criminal Procedure    5. Evidence    6. Evidence preservation    7. Evidence, Criminal    8. Forensic Science    9. Handbooks, manuals, etc    10. Law    11. Legal Reference / Law Profession    12. Political Freedom & Security - Law Enforcement    13. Courts & procedure    14. Criminal law    15. English law: criminal law    16. English legal system: law of evidence    17. Law / Forensic Science   

Reviews (6)

An Awesome Book, It just needed a little more proof reading!

Finally a good book from someone who's been there
As the mother of a son who is currently in prison, I have ordered several books in an attempt to get some kind of idea of what we can expect both in prison and when he gets out.This is one of only two books that I have found to be most helpful.The writer has a unique understanding of the system on both sides of the barbed wire and gives some excellent tips on how to succeed.Our family has never dealt with anything like this so we are completely in the dark and this book shined the light on some points I had never thought of that might have taken me by surprise if I had not read this book first. I highly recommend this book both for inmates and their families.

An Answer to a Prayer
I was so happy to find this book. I bought one for myself and one for my husband. It was really helpful in many ways. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Personal Growth - General    3. Psychology    4. Self-Help    5. Social Science / Criminology    6. True Crime / General    7. Crime prevention    8. Criminology    9. Parole    10. Prisoners    11. Prisoners and prisons, America    12. Social Science    13. True Crime   

Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. Sociology    3. Crime & criminology   

Subjects:  1. Computers - Languages / Programming    2. Emergency Medicine    3. Medical    4. Programming Languages - General    5. Search and rescue operations    6. Accident & emergency medicine   

Reviews (2)

Terrible Book
ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT THIS BOOK HAS A LOT OF FACTS, BUT THEY ARE BASED ON RACISM.NEARLY ALL PICTURES IN THIS BOOK HAVE WHITE COPS WITH FULL ARMOR AND RIOT GEAR ON BEATING A BLACK MAN TO THE GROUND WITH THEIR NIGHT STICKS AS SEEN ON PAGE 103.POINTING OUT HOW MANY BLACK CRIMINALS THERE ARE IN THE WORLD IS NOT NECESSARY EITHER. ...

UNAPPROPRIATE MATERIAL
I FOUND THIS BOOK TO HAVE MANY RACIAL REMARKS AGAINST AFRICAN AMERICANS.SOME THINGS YOU JUST KNOW AND DON'T NEED TO BE SAID.THE CONSTANT PPOINTING OUT OF HOW MANY BLACKS ARE CRIMINALS AND HOW MANY BLACKS ARE POLICE OFFICERS IS IRREVELANT IN THE STUDY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE.CRIMINALS ARE OF ALL RACES AND SO ARE POLICE OFFICERS.I WOULD NOT SUGGEST THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO WANTS A CAREER IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE FIELD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Procedure    2. Criminal justice, Administrati    3. Criminal justice, Administration of    4. Criminology    5. General    6. Sociology    7. True Crime / Espionage    8. United States    9. Law / General    10. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT   

Reviews (3)

Not the best
Yes, it is adequate, but my advice to any write who is seriously considering writing about anything psychologically related is to simply buy a psychology book related to what you want. They, for the most part, are not that hard to understand and are very often much more interesting than any how-to book or any mass market fiction. This book gives a good overview, but not much else.
Review of The Criminal Mind
Writer's Digest Books' The Criminal Mind by Katherine Ramsland is an insightful tool for the serious crime writer. It is more intellectual than most self-help writing books and can provide interesting ideas for fleshing out characters. It is deeply rooted in psychological theory and that makes it an exceptionally interesting read. Complex topics are explained in layman's terms. It is nice to have a writing guide by such a talented writer.

Excellent reference tool for crime/fiction writer
The Criminal Mind: A Writer's Guide to Forensic Psychology is an excellent reference tool for any crime or fiction writer who wants to write a believable story involving elements of criminal behavior and those who investigate and treat individuals who display this behavior.Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D., is herself a forensic psychologist and the author of fourteen previous nonfiction books. She uses a mixture of fiction and fact to describe the fundamentals of forensic psychology.She stresses the importance of keeping characters and their behavior realistic to an extent. By knowing how your character would really behave,Ramsland suggests that the writer can add credibility to both characters and plot of the crime, mystery or suspense novel.Read more

Subjects:  1. Composition & Creative Writing - Genre Fiction    2. Forensic Medicine    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Reference    5. Writing Skills    6. Creative writing guides    7. Crime & criminology    8. Criminal or forensic psychology   

Reviews (1)

great
Very useful book, well documented and user friendly.Good for those in that wonderful niche. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Clinical Psychology    2. Cognitive therapy    3. Criminal Psychology    4. Forensic Psychology    5. Mental Illness    6. Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation    7. Psychology    8. Rehabilitation    9. Rehabilitation Therapy    10. Sex offenders    11. Sociology    12. Neurology & clinical neurophysiology    13. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology    14. Psychotherapy    15. Rehabilitation of offenders    16. Sexual abuse   

Editorial Review

What makes people kill? Specifically, what are the motivations behind serial, mass, and spree killings? Drawing from cases such as the mass murder in Dunblane, Scotland, in which a lone gunman mowed down 16 children and their teacher, the still-unsolved Tylenol poisonings, and the Unabomber, former FBI profiler John Douglas and coauthor Mark Olshaker try to explain the unthinkable. What sets Read more

Reviews (61)

Inside Smoldering Minds
This is an engrossing book that was ahead of its time in presenting the often seamy, often searching field of forensic science. Douglas brings us onto the crime scene, and gives us a view through the eyes of profilers, pathologists, analyzers, and detectives.
A trip to a very dark place
When it comes to bringing serial crime psychology and profiling to a level that a layperson can understand, Douglas is peerless.He identifies several different types of serial killers and includes true-life stories of a few he's dealt with in his decades with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit.It's an engrossing, easily understandable and fascinating read.

Not as riveting as I expected
When I saw this book in a used book store, I thought the title was "Anatomy of Murder". Only later did I see that it was "Motive". Based on Douglas' other books about serial killers, I expected this book to deal strictly with serial killers. And it did not.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal investigation    2. Criminal psychology    3. Criminology    4. General    5. Homicide investigation    6. Murder - General    7. Psychopathology - General    8. True Crime    9. True Crime / Espionage    10. United States    11. True Crime / Murder