World Famous Comics: The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis
The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis
By: Ian Brady Publisher: Feral House Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Feral House Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 311 Publication Date: October 10, 2001
Book Description: Known as The Moor Murders, the case of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's torture, sexual abuse, and murder of a child and two teenagers in the early 1960s is thought to be the most appalling series of crimes ever committed in England. To understand human character, one must first explore the depraved reaches of human consciousness. So believes novelist and true-crime writer Colin Wilson, who introduces Brady's book. Brady first explores human impulse based on his readings, observations, and life story. He then analyzes a dozen other serial crimes and serial murderers.
I AM DISGUSTED WITH AMAZON FOR SUPPORTING THE SALE OF THIS BOOK The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis
I bet Amazon does not have the guts to publish this. Anyone who supports Brady's coffers by buying this book is as bad as Brady himself. He was a serial killer of little children and has no remorse. Why would anyone see him profit? I am disgusted, Amazon.
insightful, but damaged Ian Brady's work is interesting, insightful, and generally well-written, though his penchant for 50-cent words gets a little tiresome. He is VERY full of himself (one of the defining points of serial killers, it would seem), and I think that his arguments would probably look better to the casual reader if he weren't so constant in his railing against authority. Instead of coming across as well-reasoned, as he honestly does most of the time, during these episodes he just appears childish and whiney. I think he could have gotten that particular point across--that evangelical Christians, politicians, and corporate CEOs are often far more dangerous and destructive in their repression and extremes of moral/ethical hypocrisy than the working-class criminal--without the constant railing against "The Man." Of course, I was able to remain patient with it, primarily because I understand that he hand-wrote the whole book, as do many who write from prison. It's a ton of pressure, knowing that you can't just hit the "backspace" key and edit your words; I think that, given that kind of pressure, he did an admirable job.
That said, he makes a LOT of good points, which is something that people, like the reviewer below who apparently thinks that people who want to understand such things should kill themselves (way to go, by the way--real nice attitude there), generally don't WANT to know about someone who could commit such atrocious crimes. He is extremely intelligent, very well-read, and often very well-reasoned. More importantly, I think he generally delivered on the stated purpose of the book, which is to provide an understanding of why people like him work the way they do. To a great extent, it's a treatise in moral relativism at its best--or worst. I honestly couldn't disagree with a lot of what he had to say, much as I may have liked to. He KNOWS himself, which is sadly something that I don't believe can be said of most people. In that, kudos to him.
The afterword by Peter Sotos is another creature entirely. To get a good grip on what he's driving at, it's helpful to have read some of his other works--if you can stomach them. A great fan of child torture and rape who professes an extreme misogyny second only to the medieval Church (as seen in his interview in the "Apocalypse Culture" series, if you don't have the fortitude to read anything else), Sotos is, in his way, far scarier to me than Brady. To put it bluntly, if I had to overnight with one of them, I'd take Brady any day--a perspective, I'm sure, that would leave Sotos smiling. Yet again, Sotos seems to have an understanding of himself and his own psychology that is demonstratively lacking in the general populace, so... much as I hate to say it (especially as a woman), kudos to him.
These men are monsters, but they know it, understand it, and respect it. Can most people HONESTLY say the same?
idiots. WTF? what kind of animal would BUY and then READ a book penned by someone who tortured, raped, and killed CHILDREN? are you all insane? Go Kill Yourselves Scum.
A Great Read Brady's "Gates of Janus" is one great read. He offers devastating social commentary, and I often found myself squirming as I turned the pages. His analyses of individual serial killers are less interesting (though they do have some splendid moments). A lot of his analysis of the profiling of serial killers seems to have been lifted from the FBI manual.
Brady is at his best when (1) philosophizing - talking about the nature of good and evil, of morality, choice, and free will; and (2) offering social commentary - white collar v. blue collar crime, nonviolent sociopaths who rise in business and politics, the growth of the prison and military industries, the corrosive influence of tabloid media, etc.
It's almost frightening to me that I agree with so much of his philosophy and social critique. However, his evil deeds ultimately undermine what he says. Society may well be as bad as he says it is, and morality may well be the sham he declares it to be, but how on earth could kidnapping, raping, torturing and murdering children possibly be an appropriate response? Big business may well be as corrupt as Brady says, but why did he think that doing what he did to Lesley Ann Downey could constitute an appropriate solution?
In the end, it's an attempt to justify the unjustifiable. Still well worth reading, and the ideas have considerable merit apart from their author's heinous actions.
Mixed feelings! After reading Emlyn Williams' book about the Moor Murders, I was hoping to get a better understanding from Ian Brady, the convicted murderer himself. I discovered that reading this book that I had mixed reaction. First, he would have made a great writer just like Ted Bundy would have been a great lawyer or politician if they hadn't murdered innocent people mostly women and children which is a sad reminder of what might had been for so many people, the families and friends of the victims themselves and the families of Bundy and Brady. It is a shame but Brady does offer insight into the man who views other serial killers like Bundy, Gacy, the Green River Killer (before he was known to everybody), the Kingsbury Run Murderer, Jack the Ripper, etc. Brady gives a pretty good idea of what he sees in the criminals with the same arrogance that Bundy once did trying to find the Green River Killer for the Seattle cops. Anyway, BRady will remain in prison for the rest of his life. His partner Myra Hindley died after this book was published in prison as well. Nothing excuses Brady's crimes, the Moors Murders were some of the most vicious crimes in British history. Anyway, the book is interesting to read and reread again because Brady's writing isn't always clear. He is better than most new writers or inexperienced ones. BRady clearly could have had a writing career rather than be written about for his crimes against humanity. It's a shame and a pity that Brady and HIndley did horrendous things to children and Edward Evans. Even as I was reading this, I was following the JonBenet Ramsey case with John Mark Karr and the coverage he got.
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