A very brief description of “Mindhunter” (4 minutes) 00:00-04:00
- The no-holds-barred description of John E. Douglas’ twenty-five-year career in the FBI Investigative Support Unit, where he used psychological profiling to delve into the minds of the country’s most notorious serial killers and criminals.
What Douglas sets out to do / Purpose of the book
- To teach people about how criminals and serial killers work, how we can catch them and how we can protect ourselves and our loved ones from becoming a victim.
The intended audience of the book / Who will benefit most
- People who loved Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris, the author of SotL, based his character Jack Crawford, head of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit, on John Douglas)
- People who love true crime and/or horror stories
- People who want to understand how - and why - serial killers do what they do
- People who want to make sure they don’t become a victim
- People who don’t like sleeping (this book is not for the faint of heart!)
Who probably WON’T like this book?
- People who don’t want to think about real life horror that lives nearby
- People who can’t handle explicit descriptions of violent and sexual crime
- Honestly, most people will have trouble reading this book
How does this book specifically benefit Men?
- As Men it is our job to protect the people in our lives. As difficult as it is to accept, there are deranged, sick criminals out there who enjoy inflicting pain and killing other people. If we’re going to take care of our loved ones we need to educate ourselves first and then educate them - as well as be prepared to protect them if the situation calls for it.
Is this book Easy, Average or Difficult to read? / How long is it? (1 minute) 04:00-05:00
- Mindhunter is very well written but it’s INCREDIBLY difficult to read. The subject matter is so dark and twisted that it’s highly possible this will be the most disturbing book you’ll ever read in your life.
- 445 pages, (Audiobook is 15 hours and 24 minutes)
What are the overall book reviews? Is the book well-known? Popular? Significant?
- 9,971 ratings, 4.7 stars
  - #6 in Law Enforcement
  - #7 in Criminology
  - #22 in Biographies & Memoirs of Criminals
- Audible
  - #5 in Crime & Criminal Biographies
  - #16 in Murder & Mayhem True Accounts
  - #91 in Memoirs
Book-To-Movie Translation
- Since its publication in 1995, Mindhunter (and the other books in this series by John Douglas) have been THE reference books for any kind of serial killers in novels, movies or television shows.
- Some of the most famous fiction inspired by John Douglas includes the “Hannibal Lechter” books by Thomas Harris, the “Alex Cross” books by James Patterson, the “Dexter” books by Jeff Lindsay, the show “Criminal Minds” and many, many others.
- There is a new Netflix show based directly on this book and the creation of the FBI’s Serial Crime Unit

Bio of John Douglas

Douglas was born in Brooklyn in 1944 and grew up in Hempstead, New York.
He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1966 and served for four years.
Douglas received his bachelor's degree from Eastern New Mexico University, a master's degree from the University of Wisconsin, and a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University.
Douglas joined the FBI in 1970 and his first assignment was in Detroit, Michigan. In the field, he served as a sniper on the local FBI SWAT team and later became a hostage negotiator.
He transferred to the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) in 1977 where he taught hostage negotiation and applied criminal psychology at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to new FBI special agents, field agents, and police officers from all over the United States. He created and managed the FBI's Criminal Profiling Program and was later promoted to unit chief of the Investigative Support Unit
While traveling around the country providing instruction to police, Douglas began interviewing serial killers and other violent sex offenders at various prisons. He interviewed some of the most notable violent criminals in recent history as part of the study, including David Berkowitz, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Edmund Kemper, James Earl Ray and Richard Speck. He used the information gleaned from these interviews to create the FBI’s new Crime Classification Manual (CCM).
Douglas’s work together with the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit has helped catch thousands of serial criminals and bring them to justice. The insights learned from their research are now taught around the world and have transformed our understanding of why violent criminals do what they do and how to find them and stop them.

Breakdown of Themes in Mindhunter

Nature vs Nurture
- A serial criminal may be predisposed to perform certain acts but it is invariably the horrible things that happen during childhood that shape their ultimate actions
Loss Of Innocence
- Everyone that comes in contact with a disturbing crime is permanently scarred - families, friends, neighborhoods, local police and FBI agents
- In many cases, even the serial criminals themselves are seriously troubled by what they have done
Courage in the Face of Evil
- Even though horrible things are happening, some people choose to stand up and fight back. A great example of this is the family of Karla Brown. After Karla’s murder, her sister Dawn worked extensively with police and FBI to talk to the murderer - and even agreed to allow herself to be used as “bait” - to bring him to justice.
Sometimes the Dragon Wins
- The struggle against evil is ongoing and not every criminal is caught.
- The only way to truly make a difference is to keep fighting, to keep pushing for communities to spend the time, money and resources to keep criminals on the run and to bring justice to the families of the dead victims.