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Opinions/Editorials Title: The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind Is Designed to Kill s The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind Is Designed to Kill David M. Buss 34 Customer Reviews Description Released: Apr 25, 2006. 288 pages. As acclaimed psychological researcher and author David Buss writes, "People are mesmerized by murder. It commands our attention like no other human phenomenon, and those touched by its ugly tendrils never forget." Though we may like to believe that murderers are pathological misfits and hardened criminals, the vast majority of murders are committed by people who, until the day they kill, would seem to be perfectly normal. David Buss's pioneering work has made major national news in the past, and this provocative book is sure to generate a storm of attention. The Murderer Next Door is a riveting look into the dark underworld of the human psyche—an astonishing exploration of when and why we kill and what might push any one of us over the edge. A leader in the innovative field of evolutionary psychology, Buss conducted an unprecedented set of studies investigating the underlying motives and circumstances of murders, from the bizarre outlier cases of serial killers to those of the friendly next-door neighbor who one day kills his wife. Reporting on findings that are often startling and counterintuitive—the younger woman involved in a love triangle is at a high risk of being killed—he puts forth a bold new general theory of homicide, arguing that the human psyche has evolved specialized adaptations whose function is to kill. Taking readers through the surprising twists and turns of the evolutionary logic of murder, he explains exactly when each of us is most at risk, both of being murdered and of becoming a murderer. His findings about the high-risk situations alone will be news making. Featuring gripping storytelling about specific murder cases—including a never used FBI file of more than 400,000 murders and a highly detailed study of 400 murders conducted by Buss in collaboration with a forensic psychiatrist, and a pioneering investigation of homicidal fantasies in which Buss found that 91 percent of men and 84 percent of women have had at least one such vivid fantasy —The Murderer Next Door will be necessary reading for those who have been fascinated by books on profiling, lovers of true crime and murder mysteries, as well as readers intrigued by the inner workings of the human mind. Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought See All 34 Reviews Average: 3.8 out of 5 5 star 13 4 star 11 3 star 2 2 star 5 1 star 3 See All 34 Customer Reviews Customer Reviews Most Helpful Customer Reviews 133 of 149 people found this review helpful: Good Idea, but poor scholarship and sloppy thinking. June 12, 2005 by Carmi Turchick "tribalypredisposed" I wanted to like this book. I just returned from the Human Behavior and Evolution Society conference in Austin, effectively hosted by Buss's department at UT Austin. Buss spoke at the conference, and I had some big problems with what he said, but I thought I would give benefit of the doubt until I had the book in my hands. Read more 15 of 17 people found this review helpful: Entertaining read from the dude next door. February 28, 2008 by Alexander Kemestrios Ben "A.K." This book is a dumbed down version of many other evolutionary psychological accounts of homicide. Theoretically there is nothing new. However, for the neophyte, it does provide a usefull overview of how evolutionary theory can help explain who kills whom, why, and when. The reader should be a little leary of the "killing module" idea. It is not necessary to posit a murder module to account for homicide. Also, Buss is less than clear about the specific 'darwinian algorithims' operating this circuitry. Is there circuitry Read more 79 of 103 people found this review helpful: provocative but I wonder about the mono-causality May 23, 2005 by Maskirovka This book is definitely worth reading. It really makes you think about how much domestic violence comes down to simple Darwinian competition. I just find myself wondering about some of the claims made in it: 1. that as many as 12% of children in middle class families are fathered by men who are engaging in "mate poaching" (that seems terribly high) Read more David M. Buss After completing his doctorate in 1981 at the University of California, Berkeley, David Buss spent four years as Assistant Professor at Harvard University. In 1985, he migrated to the University of Michigan, where he taught for 11 years before accepting his current position at the University of Texas in 19… Read More on the Author's Page Sales Rank: #637,634 Paid in Kindle Store Language: English Print Length: 288 pages Released: Apr 25, 2006 Publisher: Penguin Books Sold By: Penguin Group (USA) LLC File Size: 457 KB ASIN: B002IEUVBY Product Details View this title on Amazon.com Poster Comment: When people imagine they have nothing else to lose, -- far too often, they 'go postal'. According to this author, our brains are wired to kill.. Comments? Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
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