The Anatomy of Motive - by John E Douglas & Mark Olshaker (Paperback)

About the Book

Douglas, an accomplished criminal profiler who founded the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, explores the subject of motive, offering a dramatic and insightful look at the development and evolution of the criminal mind.

Book Synopsis

From the internationally bestselling authors of Mindhunter, a riveting exploration of the root of all crime.

Every crime is a mystery story with a motive at its heart. Understand the motive and you can solve the mystery. The Anatomy of Motive offers a dramatic, insightful look at the development and evolution of the criminal mind. The famed former chief of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, Douglas was the pioneer of modern behavioral profiling of serial criminals. Working again with acclaimed novelist, journalist, and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, and using cases from his own fabled career as examples, Douglas not only takes us into the darkest recesses of the minds of arsonists, hijackers, bombers, serial killers, and mass murderers, but also the seemingly ordinary people who suddenly kill their families or go on a rampage in the workplace.

For the first time, Douglas identifies the common building blocks contributing to the violently antisocial personality. Drawing on cases from today's headlines, he looks at recent sniper incidents at schools and other public places to penetrate the minds and motivations of mass killers. As Douglas tracks the progressive escalation of these criminals' sociopathic behavior, he also shows the common elements in many of their pasts that link them together.

Through riveting profiles and a narrative that reads like the best mystery fiction, The Anatomy of Motive analyzes such diverse killers as Lee Harvey Oswald, Theodore Kaczynski, and Timothy McVeigh, and helps us learn how to anticipate potential violent behavior before it's too late.

From the Back Cover

From legendary FBI profiler John Douglas and Mark Olshaker -- authors of the nonfiction international bestsellers Mindhunter, Journey into Darkness, and Obsession -- comes an unprecedented, insightful look at the root of all crime.

Every crime is a mystery story with a motive at its heart. With the brilliant insight he brought to his renowned work inside the FBI's elite serial-crime unit, John Douglas pieces together motives behind violent sociopathic behavior. He not only takes us into the darkest recesses of the minds of arsonists, hijackers, bombers, poisoners, assassins, serial killers, and mass murderers, but also the seemingly ordinary people who suddenly kill their families or go on a rampage in the workplace.

Douglas identifies the antisocial personality, showing surprising similarities and differences among various types of deadly offenders. He also tracks the progressive escalation of those criminals' sociopathic behavior. His analysis of such diverse killers as Lee Harvey Oswald, Theodore Kaczynski, and Timothy McVeigh is gripping, but more importantly, helps us learn how to anticipate potential violent behavior before it's too late.

Review Quotes

Liz Smith New York Post A marvelous, thrilling, chilling, and riveting read.

About the Author

John Douglas is the legendary FBI criminal profiler and former Chief of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit where he researched, investigated, and conducted interviews of some of America's most violent criminals. Over the past half-century, he either directly worked on or had overall supervision in over 5,000 violent crime cases. He is one of the foremost experts of the criminal mind, its methods, and motivations. Douglas is a veteran of the United States Air Force and holds a doctorate degree in Education, and lives with his wife, Pamela, in the Washington, DC, area.

Mark Olshaker is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and author of thirteen nonfiction books and five novels, including Einstein's Brain and The Edge. His books with former FBI Special Agent and criminal profiling pioneer John Douglas, beginning with Mindhunter and most recently When a Killer Calls, have sold millions of copies and have been translated into many languages. Mindhunter was recently adapted by David Fincher into a critically acclaimed and award-winning dramatic series on Netflix. Olshaker and his wife, Carolyn, an attorney, live in the Washington, DC, area.