Tom ShachtmanCritiques

2/15/2007: This was much drier than I had expected. I found myself counting the pages left as I reached the end. I've read a lot about the Amish so nothing in this book really came as a surprise to me.
Although they appear to be a holy, righteous group, the ones I've read about are overall really a bunch of people so full of pride that they can't even take hope in the Bible they claim to be following.
One concept that has always bugged me is that the Amish that I've read about shun the modern conveniences of the world, yet when a troubling situation comes up that they can't deal with, then it's time to call in the modern conveniences "just this once".
One passage that I liked and I hope will stick with me was where he tells of a homemaker who is folding laundry. As she folds each piece, she thinks of the wearer and the blessing they are to the family. Since I am forever buried under laundry mountain (sister to TBR mountain), this is a good thing for me to hold on to!

Having read John Douglas' work I was excited to read Ressler. Unfortunately, this was underwhelming. Obviously, I expected the general information such as stats to be outdated but I thought it would be exciting to read about "inside the minds". The book had no logical timeline jumping from case to case. Ressler has written many textbooks and manuals previously and this shows here. It is basically a rundown on one case after another with the interviews with Dahmer and Gacy thrown in for measure. The narrative was dry and I found the narrator unlikeable. He was always dispelling "rumours" of himself started by other FBI profilers and he was overly humble in stating how good the police did in solving the case he's profiled for them. I wanted to DNF this but kept at it to learn of the cases, many unknown to me taking place in the UK and Japan.

The time period between the defeat of Poland by Germany in September 1939 and the German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940 is often referred to as the "Phony War." Even though Britain and France had declared war on Germany because of its invasion of Poland, full-scale military operations did not commence between these powers until eight months had passed. It is the intention of the author to show that this period was filled with the activities and events that shaped the early years of World War II and was not just "a time of nothingness."

Free from the library, and I recalled the airlift story from Obama's bio.
A little long in spots but otherwise a very interesting story.
Great job by the organizers that put this together and helped make it happen.
I can't imagine what it must be like to leave your country for another to go to school, the culture shock, the language barrier, money, living arrangements, holidays, jobs, etc...
I tip my cap to all the students that participated.

Fascinating. It's an interesting look at the history of how wealth founded and played a part in the foundation of the US. It could be a little tedious but that may be more the subject matter and not the writing.

A fascinating read but let down by a couple of things. Ressler's need to regularly stroke his own ego is irritating as noted in other reviews, but the thing that really undermined the book for me was his false statement regarding the identity of the Wearside Jack hoaxer. Ressler (writing in 1992) states the hoaxer was a retired police officer with a grudge against George Oldfield. This is not true. The hoaxer was not identified until 2005 and was neither a former police officer nor someone with a grudge against Oldfield. Given that Ressler presents this speculation as fact means I cannot take any of his other recollections without a large pinch of salt. When he is repeatedly bragging about the accuracy of his profiles, how can I be sure that his recollection is accurate and not just wishful thinking or speculation as in the case of Wearside Jack? There are no citations in any of the cases and precious few direct quotes from other sources so the whole thing ends up being anecdotes which may have been embroidered rather than the factual insider account I was hoping for.

pioneer FBI profiler

I'd forgotten about this book!

Interesting as a source document. Thomas Harris started the serial killer boom with Silence of the Lambs, that snowballed into CSI, Profiler, Criminal Minds, etc. So Robert Ressler's Whoever Fights Monsters and John Douglas's Mindhunter can be considered the core nonfiction texts.

At best, profiling is a craft of educated guesswork. At worst, it's pseudoscientific cold-reading, confirmation bias, Texas sharpshooting. It's almost refreshing how Ressler has no compunctions about patting himself on the back, outwitting ass-covering bureaucrats, small-minded local cops, and the killers themselves.

There's a passage near the end:

In recent years, the hue and cry about profiling, and the misinterpretation of it as well as of what the Bureau legitimately does, has continued to increase. The media have come around to lionizing behavioral-science people as supersleuths who put all other police to shame and solve cases where others have failed.

But the entire book goes against this uncharacteristic humility. Ressler recounts how, after hours at a bar, because some Brits challenged them, he and Douglas worked up an off-the-cuff profile for the Yorkshire Ripper. Probably could've caught him too, if the regs had allowed it, beer in hand and all that.

I borrowed this one from my local branch of the public library.

Find my note on the book in my blog:
[http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/07/booknote-rumspringa.html]

Maybe more of a 3 1/2 stars, but this is an engaging and super comprehensive true crime book, with a really solid audio.

My only question after reading this great book is this: Why does the US have way more serial killers than the rest of the world? Looking at it per capita one would think the States were a war thorn place in the darkest part of Africa.

revolution, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, financial-backing *****

This is not an unbiased review because we were American Revolutionary War reenactors and are history geeks. But we still learned from the research that the author put into this book. To mention a few things: John Hancock was an experienced smuggler whose ideas were supported by tradesmen and others, the Boston Tea Party dumped in excess of 92,000 pounds of tea but other ports simply refused to allow the tea bearing ships into the harbor. If you didn't already know, the British viewed the colonies as a cash cow with more money and far fewer poor people than Great Britain. I'm not yet finished with it because family members snatch my e reader, and I know that when I get the print copy it will vanish mysteriously! What I have read is excellent and conversations with others who geek eighteenth century American history indicate that we'll all want our own copies. I will want the audio, too!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Using the correspondence of the Founding Fathers as support, Shachtman describes how the Founding Fathers were men of science as well as men of letters and gentlemen. It speaks of the founding of some colleges and how the required courses were changed in some others. While the book was interesting, some aspects were not, and I found myself losing interest somewhere in the middle. I did find the energy to read all the way through it though so...

I probably wouldn't read it again, since it is more history based than science based.

Incredibly interesting, if not a little dry, portrait of serial killers under the lens of behavioral science. I feel (probably wrongly haha) that I could definitely identify a serial killer if asked to. Honestly, the only reason this is getting 3 stars instead of 4 is that I read it before bed a couple times and had the most disturbing nightmares of my entire life. So...proceed with caution I supposed.

Sectioned by state, and then by village, these are lovely photos of places that have avoided tourism and the ugly chainstores. They tend to have the traditional clapboard houses, steepled churches, red and white schoolhouses and nearby livestock in brilliantly green fields. Old-fashioned, I know, but very pretty.½

This is another of those books that has been on my to-read list for a long time. As noted above, Robert Ressler has been tracking serial killers with the FBI for 20 years and his experience shows. He is rather humble and admits that ‘Profilers don’t catch killers. Cops catch killers.’ Profiling is just a tool to help them.

This book is part auto-biography and part the history of profiling. The auto-biography part is not extensive, just enough to let you know how Mr. Ressler got into the FBI and why he holds some of the opinions he does.

He details the work he initiated in interviewing serial killers and how they differ. He also gives brief histories of some cases, some very well known, Dahmer and Gacy, and some that I hadn’t heard of, which of course means, more books to read!

This was a very easy (well despite the subject matter) book to read. It has a nice conversational style, informative, and not at all boring. I recommend this book.½

I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.

This is a highly readable account of the contributions to science and technology by the founders of the United States of America and the role that science played in the success of the Revolution and the success of the new nation.

For example, George Washington's realization that the health of his troops was crucial to success on the battlefield resulted in his insistence that the soldiers be inoculated against small pox. While it is hard to prove that the war would have been lost without this precaution, Tom Shachtman makes a good argument for the importance of this policy.

While Strachtman covers the contributions in what we now think of as "pure" or "theoretical" science, the discussion of the practical applications of scientific thought is the real strength of this book. These were not men in ivory towers, these were field scientists--biologists, geologists, physicians, inventors, explorers--developing practices that would create a commercially viable country.

An excellent, well researched, look a this important side of the emerging USA. It includes an extensive bibliography.

Summary: This book was about the history of the 4th of July and how people around the country celebrate it differently. One of places that the author described was Thomaston, Maine. For example, "In Thomaston, the morning's main event, the parade, shapes up along Route One."

Review: This book explicitly described different towns and the importance of the 4th of July. It gave a brief history. For example, "The Declaration of Independence that was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776, said that all men are created equal and that they have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It also had photographs to compliment the text.

In Dead Center we get to learn about a part of society that most of us probably don’t think about very much – what happens to our bodies when we die. This could be a very morbid or gruesome topic, but the author focuses on a variety of things other than the gore. First, we learn about what challenges face MLI’s (medicological investigators), including everything from identifying cause of death to interacting compassionately with grieving families. We also learn what characteristics make a good MLI. Next, there are stories ranging from the funny or bizarre to the emotional and moving – a recap of some of the author’s most interesting experiences. And finally, we hear about the author’s biggest challenge working as an MLI in charge of identifying all remains found at Ground Zero – a process that took over 4 years.

So, as I said, this could have been horrible and gruesome, but it definitely wasn’t. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who is unusually squeamish, since an autopsy and the results of 9/11 on the victims’ bodies are both described. However, these details are described tactfully and for someone of normal sensitivity, I believe that they’re moving but bearable. The author’s training mixing compassion for families with professional detachment lends itself to the perfect tone for this book. He never seems callous. Rather, he takes his responsibilities to the families of the dead quite seriously despite focusing somewhat on his professional concerns in the wake of a disaster.

I found this book to be a fascinating look at a facet of life we largely take for granted. Like the people who create our food, the people who handle death are an overlooked industry. Part of why I love non-fiction is the ability to explore these sort of experiences that I wouldn’t encounter otherwise. Many of the stories he shares are moving and some are even funny (often those that end up not involving a dead person after all). His tone is that of a friend telling you about his interesting job experiences. The many stories are only connected by a loose chronological ordering, but they flow smoothly together. Interwoven with these interesting and emotional stories are the author’s musings on the place of his profession in society, their relation to law enforcement, and other philosophical issues. For me, this changed the book from just a parade of stories for the observing reader to an engaging and educational book which made me aware of societal concerns I was previously ignorant of. This made for both an interesting and an informative read.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

A great and interesting book to read.
It gave me more insight and (inside) information about the Amish people, just like I had hoped it would. The series I watched on television awoke my interest, and this book satisfied (part of) that curiosity.
The parts I loved best were the ones that more or less quoted the teenagers / young adults. It offered a peek inside their heads. Their thoughts, fears, hopes in a period that is difficult for any teenager, but even more when you have to make such a life determining decision as they have.

I liked this book because of the illustrations. Each page had at least one photograph of different Fourth of July celebrations. These illustrations helped support the information in the book. They also can help students take abstract ideas of certain traditions they may not be familiar with and make them real. I also liked that this book described historical events and how they connect to present day celebrations. For example, the book describes a town named Thomaston and the different present day festivities that town holds on the Fourth of July. While the book describes current events in the town, it also explains the reason why the town is called Thomaston. The book states, “Thomaston was named for John Thomas, a major general in the Revolutionary War.” Finally, I think this book would be engaging to read to students because it gives them an insight to how different parts of the United States celebrate the Fourth of July. While some of the traditions may be similar to their own, they can notice differences and gain knowledge about the reason people celebrate the Fourth of July. The big idea of America’s Birthday: The Fourth of July, is that different towns may celebrate the Fourth of July in different ways but in the end, on the Fourth of July, America celebrates its birthday.½

Story of the Reynolds family. The authors have written a wonderfully engrossing tale of wealth, privilege, tragedy, & heartache.
It's the tale of 2 brothers, one gave the world one of the largest tobacco companies we have ever had, the other gave us Reynolds Wrap. I found it very interesting how it was founded but lost interest with the spoiled offsprings.

A pretty interesting look at the science behind heat, or, more notably the absence thereof. I found it very interesting how long it took for people to truly understand what heat is.

Bonus points for naming an alumni of my alma mater and name dropping RPI, although I found it funny that the author referred to it as "Rensselaer Polytech," which nobody in the universe calls the school.

At times the book dragged, but the last chapter was really interesting. I work with liquid nitrogen and liquid helium all the time so I understand how important liquid gases are. Would have enjoyed hearing more about how scientists are achieving extreme low temperatures, but that was completely missing.

Very interesting read. This book features several Amish teenagers and their struggles to find their place in the world. In the Amish tradition, young adults have a time of "Rumspringa", or "running around" where they are permitted to sample the world outside the Amish way. They all face a huge choice: stay in the secular world, totally separate from the life and family they've known, or be baptized and join the church, thereby giving up some of their newfound freedoms. It's fascinating.