My idea of a “good book” is probably unconventional to some people. How many people can sit down with a book called The Human Predator and become immersed in the mind frame of a classified murderer. I picked this particular title up in a book store a few months ago. Since then, whenever I get some free time, I pick a section and start reading. Nothing has ever interested me as much as this field of psychology. Katherine Ramsland, Ph.D., and author of the book, The Human Predator, discusses the mechanics of Forensic psychology and criminology. It was interesting to learn that the concept of forensics was established, several decades after the death of Christ. Ramsland wrote with a great deal of intellect and detail. The book flows well whether one reads the chapters in numerical order or simply skims through different sections. The sections I found most interesting had to do with historical, landmark cases or murders. Criminals such as Jack the Ripper, H.H Holmes, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer have created the need for such a thing as forensic psychology; the interaction between psychology and the criminal justice system. Ramsland draws the reader in by giving the (to me) curious details of famous crimes such as these. When one hears how, “The soft-spoken Dahmer was killing men, then cutting off body pieces and preserving them or dissolving them in acid” how can one not wonder what was going through every thought Dahmer was having. Why would someone do something like this? Call me crazy, but it is the most fascinating field of psychology and I think Ramsland’s mixture of academic facts and respectable writing skills could provoke even the least interested person to read a sentence of this book.
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