The Cases That Haunt Us

I enjoyed reading a profiler's point of view on some of the most famous unsolved cases of all time. It was fascinating to hear his take and read about evidence I might not have known about. ( )

John E Douglas features the following cases in this book. These are the chapter titles, in American Dreams/American Nightmares he covers the three cases listed.

Jack the Ripper

Lizzie Borden

The Lindbergh Kidnapping

The Zodiac

American Dreams/American Nightmares

“The Black Dahlia” Elizabeth Short

“Lawrencia Bembenek” ‘Bambi’

‘The “Boston Strangler” Albert Henry DeSalvo
The Jon Benet Ramsey Murder

Although I ‘know’ all these cases, I have not done much reading on them. I prefer to read about less known cases. This made this a very interesting book for me. Also it is very informative book, John Douglas has ‘done the research’ on these cases and presents the facts as known.

In some cases he also reports what was ‘known’ or published in the papers.

He explains why these cases are still so well know even today, even though some of them were over a century ago. He details mistakes in the investigations and subjects them to modern profiling. He tells us what kind of man Jack the Ripper was. Did Lizzie Borden really kill her parents? Did Bruno act alone? All the questions that people ask about these cases.

I found this book to be very informative, interesting and would recommend it to True Crime fans. ( )

That half star is because there's no bibliography. I especially felt that lack for the two cases with which I am most familiar: Jack the Ripper and Lizzie Borden. It would have been nice to know if the authors had read all of the same books on those two that I have. Before this book I knew no more about the JonBenet Ramsey murder than the tabloid headlines I'd read in supermarket checkout lines (it happened at a bad time for me). I do not feel that Mr. Douglas skewed the chapter in the Ramseys' favor because he was a paid consultant. I had some experience researching malpractice and injury liability cases when I was a medical librarian. I didn't look for only that information which favored my patron's side. I also looked for information that favored the other side -- and reported both to my patron. I wouldn't have been doing my job if I hadn't. I believe that Mr. Douglas considers the Ramseys innocent for the reasons and evidence he presented. None of the photographs are of the victims, alive or dead, except for the drawings of the heads of the Ripper victims on the reproduction of the old Whitechapel map in the photo section. The other photos are of the 9/25/1988 'Dear Boss' letter signed 'Jack the Ripper,' presented on the same page as the 'Mr. Lusk' letter; the Borden house above its floor plan; ariel view of the Lindbergh home above the ransom note; two photos of that house with the homemade ladder used in the kidnapping; part of the Zodiac's cryptogram above a Zodiac letter; the Ramsey ransom note above a photo of the house; and a floor plan of the Ramsey house. The profiling information was very interesting, and the descriptions of jurisdiction problems are troubling. Fair warning: if you want wild speculations presented as facts, this is not the book for you. ( )

nonfiction compilation of famous unsolved cases by the founder of what is now the FBI's BAU, ---pages, mostly modern-day US, also 1880's England with Jack the Ripper. Douglas analyzes each case using the BAU's techniques. easy to understand for the layperson. straightforward nonfiction, not dry but not stylized either. ( )

Great read! Douglas delves into some of the most notorious cases in history. He gives honest accounts of the crimes, adding to it his opinions from what really happened to who-dunit. I found the book informative and quite interesting. I only took issue with the Jon Benet Ramsey case. I found Douglas's opinions to be skewed in favor of the Ramsey's due to his employment by them.