Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

Great book for an in-site to the beginning of criminal profiling. This book is not for young people or those who are squeamish. Graphic details may bother some people. Very interesting book.

I read this book in 4 days, fantastic read. It is better than the Netflix show. I recommend reading if you have an interest in this sort of thing.

I'm sure that as with many readers, I came to the book "Mindhunter" after watching the Netflix series. While both are highly worthwhile, the TV show is heavily fictionalized. Parts of Douglas's book--like the interviews with Kemper, Manson, and Berkowitz; and the Atlanta child murders--make their way into the show, but the characters are composites, and a number of plot points are made up. So if you want the true skinny on profiling, read Douglas's "Mindhunter." The book is filled with actual cases Douglas assisted with, so if you're a fan of true crime you'll enjoy it. I was intrigued by the novel techniques Douglas used to capture killers. His profiles were often spot-on, but he was also a pioneer of using the media to draw out criminals, and he also created some effective interrogation tactics. Some of the cases Douglas describes are familiar to fans of the Netflix show, but he also highlights many cases not on the show. (I recognized a couple from episodes of "Forensic Files.") And he moves beyond serial murder to talk about a bomber, a pill bottle tamperer, a potential political assassin, even Jack the Ripper. Once again, I recommend the book to any true crime fan for the wealth of law enforcement information. I loved reading about how Douglas and his team solved these terrible crimes. However, "Mindhunter" flags whenever Douglas inserts too much of his personality--primarily his ego--into it. He constantly boasts about how busy and successful he was, how he flouted FBI conventions to get things done, how he singlehandedly developed the profiling wing, how his profiles were never wrong, even things as unnecessary to the story as how successful he was with women and how attractive his wife was. I suppose it takes a great deal of confidence to create profiles of unsubs and pass them off to other law enforcement personnel, convinced of their accuracy. But I think this book would've benefited from far more humility. Why didn't the co-author keep this in check? Toward the end of "Mindhunter," Douglas veers from his profiles and starts giving the reader his opinions on capital punishment and ways to fix the amount of violent crime in the US. He's of course entitled to his beliefs, and he has a lot of direct experience to base them on, but they don't really have a place in this book. Douglas never shows us any adversity. With the exception of one case (Green River killer), he never mentions a profile that didn't work. He even depicts his relationship with his wife as more successful now than ever, even though she divorced him. And he talks up his TV appearances and the fact he advised Thomas Harris ("Tom") when Harris was writing books like "Silence of the Lambs." We get it: Douglas is awesome. But he never seems to realize that his ego and opinions take a backseat to the gruesome killers in this book and how they were ultimately caught.

Perfection!!! I am hooked!

Fantastic! Criminal profiling is one of my main interests or hobbies if you want to call it that and this is like the classic primer. John Douglas is the man who coined the term "profiling"; he didn't invent it, but he basically started the modern science we know today. I didn't learn anything new about the psychology, but this was fascinating from an historical point of view as a memoir and a history of the BSU and the FBI itself. Douglas joined the FBI when Hoover was still the Chief and if you know anything about those times you'll know J. Edgar thought the "soft" sciences were a bunch of b.s. and a small clandestine group was working behind his back quietly using psychology on an inquiry-based only system and this is where Douglas first found himself. However, the book starts with Douglas' birth, childhood, college drop-out, military service, etc. before it even gets to his enrollment in the Bureau. I enjoy memoirs and found his writing style highly readable, relishing the book from the get-go. Then, of course, I became fascinated when Douglas turns to his work in the FBI, relates how profiling worked its way into being a legitimate technique, his famous study of interviewing living serial killers to find out how they thought and his work on famous cases including everything from The Trailside Killer, The Atlanta Child Murders and The Tylenol Murders. Douglas has earned himself some controversy over the years; some people find his writing style arrogant. This is the only book I've read by him but I've got its sequel on hold at the library already! so it won't be my last. Obviously I didn't find him arrogant in the least and his serial killer interviews (conducted with two others) are admittedly a giant breakthrough that even his detractors cannot dismiss.

A very intriguing and interesting walk through the mind of an FBI Criminal Profiler, John E. Douglass. Excellent, thorough details on the intricate thinking and calculating it takes to catch our nation’s worst serial killers in striving to keep the public safe. It also relays quite well the intense amount of stress and the mental, emotional and physical toll such a serious profession can take dealing on a daily basis with the worst cases of humanity. The intricate analysis that goes into establishing the details of these criminal’s profiles is extremely interesting to me. I strongly believe others intrigued by forensics, criminal profiling and the coordination of work amongst our police forces to catch the nation’s worst killers will keep you on the edge of your seats. Extending sincere appreciation, genuine gratitude and the utmost respect to John E. Douglass, his fellow FBI profilers, and to all the men and women across our great nation striving to protect and serve every single day. Thank you for all each of you do and for all you give of yourselves doing it. Salute!

Was great

Yes, I love Criminal Minds. I picked up this book because I decided to start the TV series from the beginning, and somehow this title came up. I found it absolutely fascinating. The subject matter is mass murderers, so this isn't the book to read if descriptions of their crime scenes disturb you. But if attempting to understand why a person might commit such a heinous crime interests you, then this is the place to start. There is a lot of biographical information mixed in this book, but it usually pertains to the surrounding case. I handled that, finding the person who profiles criminals as interesting as the criminals themselves. Highly recommended.

From the moment I watched The Exorcist at the tender age of four (yes, really), I was hooked on the darker corners of human nature. True crime and horror became lifelong fascinations, and Mindhunter is the perfect intersection of both. John Douglas, the FBI’s pioneering profiler, and Mark Olshaker deliver a book that’s as gripping as it is insightful—matching the brilliance of the Netflix series, if not surpassing it. Douglas’s firsthand accounts of hunting some of America’s most notorious serial killers are utterly compelling. His ability to dissect their psyches—turning behavioral clues into groundbreaking investigative techniques—is nothing short of genius. The book reads like a thriller, yet it’s all terrifyingly real. For anyone who’s ever wondered how criminal profiling came to be, or who simply craves a deep dive into the minds of monsters, Mindhunter is essential reading. If you loved the show, the book offers even richer detail, sharper analysis, and Douglas’s razor-sharp perspective. A must-read for true crime devotees!

I really loved it. Great book, learned a lot about profiling, the way it started, the insights.

Boring as main character sings his own praises

Well, let me start off introducing a bit about the author, he is a LEGEND. I don't understand why other readers were so irritated by his way of story telling and I certainly do not think he is as arrogant as other readers described. At the start of the book he introduced his early life in the FBI field with some humorous approach, and the rest, I guess you need to buy it to figure out. It is definitely a book worth buying for is what I am saying.

I bought it as a birthday present for a friend and it was a success. She said she really enjoyed reading it. Definitely worth it for all the true crime fans out there.