Reviews (13)

A Landmark Research Book
The pioneering research work of Robert Ressler, Ann Burgess and John Douglass is presented in startling statistical detail.Thirty-six sexual murderers were interviewed: the data about their motivations, drives, and fantasies was catalogued and indexed in insightful graphic detail. Perhaps the psychological, predatory horror that lurks in the minds of serial killers will never be fully understood, but Douglass, Burgess, and Ressler's work offers some stunning insights into the mind-set of some of today's most horrific sexual killers.
The textbook on Criminal Profiling
Indepensible.The textbook for criminal profilers and forensic investigators.A scholarly colossal work of invaluable and useful information.Ressler builds a very convincing case for the statisical analysis and identification of serial killers types.

Informative
This book was kind of boring in places but then again it's not supposed to necessarily be entertaining.Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal Psychology    2. Education & Training    3. Homicide    4. Murder    5. Murder - General    6. Reference    7. Sex crimes    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - General    10. United States    11. Criminal investigation & detection    12. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive yet Disappointing
Professor Gudjonsson has obviously put a great deal of effort into researching this subject and writing this book.The book contains a comprehensive review of the studies of noted psychologists.Unfortunately the thrust of the book appears to be aimed at pointing out his displeasure with the techniques advocated by Reid and Associates.These techniques have been proven to be extremely effective in the US law enforcement arena.I was disappointed with my purchase after the repeated "Reid bashing".3 stars for effort. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Confession (Law)    2. Criminology    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Forensic Science    5. Great Britain    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Police questioning    8. Psychological aspects    9. Psychology    10. United States    11. Criminal investigation & detection    12. Criminal or forensic psychology    13. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Reviews (4)

excellent resource!!!
edited by goldstein and weiner, and written by premier experts in each niche of forensic psychology, i find it to be a (usually) fairly exhaustive review and analysis of the major topics in the field.all chapters are very well written, most are very readable.good abpp review book as well as general reference book. at $160, it's expensive, but, in my opinion, it was worth the price.

Sorry I didn't buy this sooner!
I learned about this book at a conference. It's by far the most up-to-date, thorough treatment of major topics in the field of forensic psychology.I find myself referring to it on a regular basis.

The Gold Standard
The authors of each chapter are a "Who's Who" of forensic psychology.This book presents the most up-to-date information on every important topic in the field, including evaluation methodology, case law, and research.I find that I refer to it regularly when writing reports, planning for testimony, and in my teaching.It is informative, practical, and interesting to read on its own. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Forensic Psychology    2. Mental Health    3. Psychology    4. Criminal or forensic psychology    5. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (1)

The best, comprehensive review of psychopathy!
I just received this book about a week ago.It is the best book you can find on psychopathy.It is well written, with each chapter flowing from one to another in a coherent manner.It provides a good historical account of psychopathy and what I really enjoyed was the chapters on fMRI and neurobiology studies!I only wish there had been more of neurobiology and legal scholarship.This book is not a "pop" psychology book, rather it is for academics and researchers -- thank goodness! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antisocial personality disorde    2. Antisocial personality disorders    3. Clinical Psychology    4. Clinical Psychology (Specific Aspects)    5. Forensic Psychology    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Mental Illness    8. Personality    9. Psychology    10. Psychopathology - General    11. Psychology & Psychiatry / Clinical Psychology   

Subjects:  1. Forensic Psychology    2. Psychology    3. Criminal or forensic psychology    4. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Subjects:  1. Athletes    2. Coaching (Athletics)    3. Computer Networks    4. Forensic Psychology    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Mental Health    7. Physical Education    8. Psychological aspects    9. Psychology    10. Psychology Of Sports    11. Sports    12. Sports & Recreation    13. Sports Psychology    14. Education / Physical Education   

Subjects:  1. Brain Injuries    2. Forensic Medicine    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Forensic neuropsychology    5. Medical    6. Medical / Nursing    7. Neurology - General    8. Neuropsychology    9. Psychology    10. Medical / Neurology    11. Medicine | Neuropsychology    12. Neurology & clinical neurophysiology   

Subjects:  1. Attachment behavior    2. Human Sexuality    3. Medical    4. Pediatrics    5. Psychology    6. Psychopathology - General    7. Psychotherapy    8. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    9. Teenage sex offenders    10. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Reviews (2)

Violent Offenders Can Run, But They Can't Hide!
The authors clearly know their material and. perhaps, most importantly, know how to convey this information in a clear and forthright manner.Facts and statistics saturate the content of the text, and do so in theprofessional style one would hope for.Historical, with expert researchalways evident, this is a resource which ought to be on the desks of all ofthose professionals who are involved with the complex and often tediousdemands surrounding actuarial assessments!

Comprehensive and Uncompromising
This is an excellent book about the development of actuarial tools to determine risk for Violence and Sex Offender Risk.The books content covers the history of research in this area over the last 25 years andmethods and measurement.The Chapter on clinical judgement is excellentand sets the stage for the need of actuarial assessments to enhance ourability to determine risk.The appendicies contain the two risk toolsdeveloped by the authors: 1) Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG, and 2)Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide (SORAG).I highly recommend this book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. Forensic Psychology    3. Mentally ill prisoners    4. Psychology    5. Psychopathology - Compulsive Behavior    6. Sex offenders    7. United States    8. Violent offenders    9. Criminal or forensic psychology    10. Rehabilitation of offenders   

Reviews (25)

Graphic-Not a book for the easily horrified
This book was very informative.I was fascinated by all the things that Hazelwood has encountered in his career.This book is very graphic.

A True-Crime Book
For some reason I thought this was a book about the science behind criminal profiling.I was mostly wrong.It's a book about some mildly interesting crimes, much like you would see on A&E's crime shows.
Dark Dreams english review
Dark Dreams is a book that is absolutely for mature readers its content is not child friendly.Roy Hazelwood spent sixteen years as a member of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit.During this time he worked on many shocking cases but that's not all, he also did research on deviant behaviors this book shows some of what he discovered. Throughout the book Hazelwood gives many examples of horrifying real life crimes that he examined.The twenty-one year old woman with no history of arrest or psychiatric problems who while working at a funeral home developed a romantic interest with a corpse.Crime knows no age, thee boys of the ages seven, nine, and ten took a female playmate and forced her to perform oral on them and they took found objects and penetrated her vaginally and anally.The book went into some detail about the crimes and the explanation of some of the reasons for the crimes and what types of behaviors that lead a person to commit them.When I finish the book I still had some unanswered questions.Don't get me wrong the book was great and I would recommend it to anyone who is mature enough to handle its contents but I wish Hazelwood had gone into greater detail. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Criminal behavior    2. Criminal psychology    3. Criminology    4. Forensic Psychology    5. General    6. Infamous Crimes And Criminals    7. Serial murders    8. Sociology    9. True Crime    10. United States    11. Violent crimes    12. Criminal or forensic psychology   

Editorial Review

When M. Scott Peck wrote Read more

Reviews (31)

Exorcism of mental illness
I for one happen to believe in exorcism and possession, however I am quite certain after reading this book that Mr. Peck performed at least one of these "exorcisms" on someone who instead was suffering from severe mental illness.Perhaps he was unable to articulate the situation clearly enough; this is just my opinion from my reading of his account.

Thought provoking....believable and realistic
Peck's account of two posessed people in this book is very realistic. He is a Christian, but he was uncertain of the existence of the devil. As a scientist, he had to see to believe. This book is not horrifying. As much as anything, the signs and symptoms of posession are easily overlooked by competent psychiatrist, priests, and others.
Awful
I agree with most of the reviewers above who think this book is hogwash. As someone else noted, the book starts out strong but there is no payoff at the end.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Christianity    3. Christianity - Spiritual Warfare    4. Cults    5. Demoniac possession    6. Demonology & Satanism    7. Devil    8. Exorcism    9. Forensic Psychology    10. Psychology    11. Religion - Spiritual Warfare    12. United States    13. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (4)

Practical and helpful
Clinicians in Court is a clearly written, practical guide for therapists who find themselves drawn into the legal system. It provides a map for clinicians navigating the potentially risky terrain of the courts. The book cuts to the chase and provides much needed "how to" info in a manner that is very accessable to those who never intended to spend their time testifying in court, but find themselves in that position.

Saved me
When I got a call from a lawyer, I didn't know what to do. I found this book online, and wow was I lucky. Lots of useful trips which kept me out of trouble. Thank you.

super course
Used this for a college course - very informative and fun to use. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Clinical Psychology    2. Forensic Psychology    3. Law    4. Medical Law & Legislation    5. Psychology    6. Witnesses    7. Courts & procedure    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Reviews (11)

The Strange Case(s) of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The artist Paul Gauguin once said that "life being what it is, one dreams of revenge."In "Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream," Dr. Robert Simon explains that all people have "bad dreams"--thoughts of suicide, or revenge, or crime--but only a very few cross the line from bad dream to bad action. Bad men do what good men dream
Dr. Robert I Simon's book Bad Med Do What Good Men Dream is an erudite andreadable treatment of one of the knottiest questions in the history ofhumanity:what separates good men from bad men?Dr. Simon has applied hisvast experience in clinical and forensic psychiatry to illuminate thesimilarities and differences between those who demonstrate remarkablepsychopathology and "normal" people.He has explored thespectrum of violent and horrifying behavior, from killer cults to serialmurderers to workplace violence, and provided a thoughtful discussion ofthe difficulties of identifying the good and evil inside us and around us. As a forensic psychiatrist, I found this book enlightening, thoughtprovoking and well written.I highly recommend it to any professional orlay student of human nature.

the struggle between good and evil
Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream is a fascinating and well researchedaccount of mankind's capacity for evil. Written by a forensic psychiatristwith years of clinical experience examining the human mind, the book notonly provides the theoretical underpinnings of the subject, it provides theseasoned observer's inside account of what makes us "tick". Inthe humanist's tradition, it recognizes that dark thoughts are latent inall of us. Dr. Simon has produced a highly educational and riveting readwithout ever lapsing into the usual pomposity or sensationalism often foundin writings on this topic. Readers will enjoy the many thought provokingdiscussions not only about why we do the things we do, but about whatseparates "good" people from "bad". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Acting out (Psychology)    2. Antisocial personality disorde    3. Antisocial personality disorders    4. Criminal Psychology    5. Forensic Psychology    6. Good and evil    7. Mentally ill offenders    8. Movements - Behaviorism    9. Personality Disorders    10. Psychiatry - General    11. Psychology    12. Psychopaths    13. Behavioural theory (Behaviourism)    14. Clinical psychology    15. Psychiatry   

Reviews (2)

Best Book on this topic
This is the best book so far on this topic.I found the chapters on theory and research were comprehensive but easy to digest.

A good original source for care and protection evaluations.
This book provides a strong foundation for assessment in care and protection matters, and it is full of practical advice.It is a good text for graduate students studying forensic psychology, and for seasoned psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, and judges who practice in this area. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adult Child Abuse Victims    2. Child abuse    3. Civil Procedure    4. Clinical Psychology    5. Criminology    6. Evaluation    7. Evidence, Expert    8. Forensic Psychology    9. Legal Reference / Law Profession    10. Psychology    11. United States    12. Child & developmental psychology    13. Child welfare    14. Law    15. Law / Civil Procedure    16. Psychology & Psychiatry / Applied Psychology    17. Psychology-Clinical Psychology    18. Social Science-Criminology   

Subjects:  1. Criminal justice, Administrati    2. Criminal justice, Administration of    3. Data processing    4. Forensic Psychology    5. Information storage and retrie    6. Information storage and retrieval systems    7. Parole    8. Practice Management    9. Probation    10. Psychology    11. Psychotherapy - General    12. Criminal or forensic psychology    13. Psychiatry    14. Psychology & Psychiatry / Psychotherapy    15. Psychotherapy   

Subjects:  1. Assessment, Testing & Measurement    2. Children of divorced parents    3. Custody of children    4. Family Law - Children    5. Forensic Psychology    6. Psychology    7. United States    8. Child welfare    9. Private, property, family law    10. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology    11. USA   

Reviews (7)

Expert Witness - easy style
This is an excellent book for the beginner who is interested in becoming an Expert Witness.The maxims are great in that after reading the chapter, you get one point made simply from all that was read.Also, this book gives you tips that you wouldn't normally think of -- even including how to dress for court.

Well worth the time to read if you testify as an expert
Everyone who has testified in Court has at least one horror story where the attorney made them look foolish or worse.This book prepares you with an understanding of the process, procedures and roles of courts and attorneys.Knowing how to handle those tough situations can increase confidence on the stand and reduce the disenchantment of having been "brow beaten" by an attorney. Everyone, but the most experienced expert witness will find this book invaluable.

Older but not out-of-date
This is Brodsky's first book on Expert Witnessing and is now 6+ years old.It remains one of the best primers on what to expect, particularly for the psychologist, when working in a forensic environment.It is easy to read, has great stories, offers good citations, and covers a deceptively wide range of central issues for anyone wanting to be better prepared for work with lawyers and the courts.Each "chapter" is 2-3 pages in length, which makes them easy to read and digest in brief periods as each "chapter" is independent and stands alone well.I have read all three of the books in this "series" by Brodsky and continue to view this one as the best of the three. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Evidence, Expert    2. Forensic Psychiatry    3. Forensic Psychology    4. Judicial Process    5. Law    6. Legal Reference / Law Profession    7. Psychology    8. United States    9. Witnesses    10. Civil law (general works)    11. Courts & procedure    12. USA   

Reviews (1)

Excerpt of review from Doody's Book Review Service
"The authors have compiled one of the most comprehensive introductory texts to forensic psychology.Undoubtedly a worthwhile contribution to the field of psychology this year.This is a must-have for clinicians involved in forensic psychology or for those interested in this exciting specialty."Read more

Subjects:  1. Forensic Psychology    2. Psychology    3. Social aspects    4. Criminal or forensic psychology    5. Psychology & Psychiatry / Applied Psychology    6. Psychology & Psychiatry / Forensic Psychology   

Reviews (4)

Author made the comment
Don't you luv it when the author writes his own review on the book?Goodness.

Intro to Forensic Psych
Intro to Forensic Psych was a rather enjoyable read for me.Although a textbook, I bought it out of curiousity of the subject and to read for my personal enjoyment.The grouping of the material was different from a usual textbook, and the author admits this in the introduction.His organization does not change the ease with which one can read the book, and it makes it so the reader may jump from topic to topic without having to worry about missing some piece of information that will be needed to understand the rest of the material. Designed for the beginning student of forensic psychology
Introduction To Forensic Psychology: Issues And Controversies In Crime And Justice is written and designed for the beginning student of forensic psychology and includes adult, juvenile, family, and civil components of this specialized discipline. Bruce Arrigo (California School of Professional Psychology, Fresno, California) presents an informative, "reader friendly" text covering the full spectrum of contemporary debate on crime, law, and psychology. Introduction To Forensic Psychology is very highly recommended reading for anyone studying psychology, law, the criminal justice system, or related public policy issues. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Forensic Psychology    2. Psychology    3. Psychiatry    4. Psychology & Psychiatry / Social Psychology   

Subjects:  1. Addicts    2. Forensic Psychology    3. General    4. Psychology    5. Psychopathology - Addiction    6. Psychotherapy - General    7. Rehabilitation    8. Substance abuse    9. Treatment    10. Drug addiction & substance abuse    11. Nursing & Ancillary Services    12. Psychology & Psychiatry / Clinical Psychology