Overview

"AN UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL LOOK AT THE MURDERING MIND ... In 1975, after Manson Family member Lynette ""Squeaky"" Fromme's attempt to kill President Gerald Ford, the FBI found a cache of letters in the would-be assassin's Sacramento apartment. The return address belonged to future forensic psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon, then a young undergraduate. A decade later, after the shocking murders of two co-workers, Smalldon's quest to understand the twisted minds and motivations of killers became personal in a way it never had been before. THAT BEAST WAS NOT ME documents five decades of conversations with murderers like John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, serial sniper Thomas Lee Dillon, and Donald Harvey-then thought to be the most prolific serial killer in American history. Through letters, prison visits, and interviews, Smalldon gives readers a terrifying look into the darkest recesses of the human psyche."

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9798986512488

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"""I was struck by Smalldon's disarming candor; it's one of the qualities that makes it possible for him to switch back and forth between two very different perspectives: that of an inquisitive but inexperienced undergraduate student, hungry for avenues of direct access to the minds of Manson and his disciples; and that of a board-certified forensic psychologist... Smalldon has produced a sprawling, page-turner of a book that's at once entertaining, instructive, and utterly unique ... Take it from someone who knows: Smalldon's a mindhunter-and a crack shot at that."" -John Douglas, author (with Mark Olshaker) of Mindhunter, The Anatomy of Motive, Journey into Darkness, The Killer Across the Table, The Cases that Haunt Us, and Obsession ""In telling the story of the true crime obsessions that propelled him to a career as a leading forensic psychologist, Jeffrey Smalldon has produced an absolute page-turner of a book ... gripping, propulsively readable."" -Harold Schechter, author of Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects; Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer; and Depraved: The Shocking True Story of America's First Serial Killer ""I'll put it bluntly: I spent three years of my life researching and writing a biography of Charles Manson that was both critically acclaimed and a New York Times bestseller. After reading Smalldon's book, I have to grudgingly acknowledge that there was a lot I missed. Damn it! Anyway, to sum up: all true crime books promise great things. That Beast Was Not Me is the rare example of one delivering exactly that."" -Jeff Guinn, author of Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson; Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage; Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde; and The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple ""Jeffrey Smalldon spent 50 years staring into the abyss and returning with incredible revelations about the minds and motivations of serial killers, mass murderers, and all sorts of other evil men who move and live among us. That Beast Was Not Me might make it difficult for you to sleep at night because of its troubling insights, and because you'll be eager to find out what's coming on the next page. Only a skilled psychologist could coax the worst killers to talk so candidly, and then compose such an intriguing memoir about his experiences."" -Pete Earley, New York Times bestselling author of The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth; Prophet of Death; and The Serial Killer Whisperer ""Most people would probably decline the offer to converse with a serial killer-but Jeffrey Smalldon has spent the last 50 years seeking out opportunities to do just that. Those of us who understand that delving into the minds of these very dark individuals is a worthy undertaking can be thankful that Smalldon has put his experiences to print. That Beast Was Not Me is one of those excellent works that comes along only so often."" -Kevin M. Sullivan, author of The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History and five other books about the Bundy case; and Through An Unlocked Door: In Walks Murder ""... a treasure trove of insights and observations culled from fifty years of personal and professional interest in the ultimate outsiders in American culture: mass and serial killers. Writing as both an aficionado and a forensic psychologist, he (Smalldon) has produced a book that has genuinely new and fascinating things to say about familiar subjects ... essential reading for any fan of true crime."" -David Schmid, author of Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture"

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