Serial Murderers and their Victims, 5th ed. - Brainshare Public ...

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Foreword
As the editor of the Wadsworth Series on Contemporary Issues in Crime and
Justice, I am delighted to introduce this, the fifth edition of Serial Murderers and
Their Victims, by Eric W. Hickey. The Wadsworth Series is dedicated to the exploration
of important issues in crime and justice that receive limited attention in
textbooks but deserve closer study. Books appearing in this series are used by
students to deepen their understanding of important questions facing the fields
of criminology and criminal justice, and we are proud to say that the series has,
over the years, published some of the most important books on current topics of
interest to the field. This book is of one of them.
Serial murders are a bit like natural disasters: in the scheme of things they are
quite rare, but when they happen they demand our attention. They interest us
for several reasons, but especially because they are so dramatically threatening
and profoundly challenge our sense of our own everyday safety. But unlike natural
disasters, which happen according to an age-old, semi-stable rhythm, there is
solid evidence that the number of serial murders in American society, after many
years of steady increase, is on a decline. So the phenomenon challenges us to
think about contemporary society: we ask, “Why?” It also challenges us to think
about the human condition. We wonder, What could make someone do such
horrible crimes?
Professor Hickey shows that this question opens the door to a stunning
world of issues, and it provokes a whole new set of questions. The way that serial
murders, though rare in number, seem to give us a mirror to our larger society is
both fascinating and troubling. It is easy to get overly emotional about the topic,
as well. But Professor Hickey shows us, with his careful and thorough analysis of
these events in contemporary history, that replacing unfocused emotion with detached
investigation can yield a richness of insight that fully rewards those who
will devote themselves to a deeper foray into the topic.
Mastery of several different scientific fields is required for a thorough understanding
of the social significance of serial murders. Forensic psychology and
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