No comments about A ride on the ferris wheel.(Reel Life): An article from: Clinical Psychiatry News.

No comments about Aileen Wuornos superstar.(Critical Essay)(Cover Story): An article from: Cineaste.

No comments about Monster.

No comments about Dead Ends: The Pursuit, Conviction and Execution of Female Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos, the Damsel of Death (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

No comments about Life imitates art.(Editorials)(Movie incident echoes Eugene police scandal)(Editorial): An article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR).

1 comments about On a Killing Day: The Bizarre Story of Convicted Murderer Aileen Lee Wuornos.

1. I have just seen "Monster" several times and was so interested in finding out why this woman ended up so thoroughly messed up. For some reason Amazon's seach engine did not bring up any books on Aileen Wournos other than this one, so I bought it.
   
   Find another book. First of all the print is so tiny it's like reading fine print. The author, instead of writing the usual biograpy starting with the beginning of the person's life, or starting with the end and flashing back, is all over the map. It's like the manuscript fell on the floor, was picked up in a slap happy manner, then published.
   
   I don't think author Delores Kennedy could get an interview with Wournos and seems like the only information she got was from the same sources as everyone else: the newspapers and some court transcripts. However, I believe she got lots of interviews with Wournos's hangers-on, the people who she grew up with and some who were there just for the money and attention.Nothing new in the photo section. More pictures of hangers-on than Aileen.
   
   I'm trying to finish this book, but it puts me to sleep every night. Find another book if you're interested in this tragic woman. This for sure ain't it.

1 comments about The Female Homicide Offender: Serial Murder and the Case of Aileen Wuornos.

1. Great Transaction - no problems, book in great shape, very happy - THANKS

4 comments about Dead Ends: The Pursuit, Conviction and Execution of Female Serial Killer Aileen Wuornos, the Damsel of Death (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. Dead Ends..... is a true account of the consequences that come with the destruction of a young woman's youth. After being used up by men and treated like garbage (a beer bottle thrown out a car window) Aileen lost all trust for men. She didn't care what their nature was anymore because she would never trust another man, she hated all men at this desperate point in her life. And in her mind, all men she could trap in her web of hatered for men would pay dearly for the pain she had suffered for so many years by the hands of men. If someone would have loved her and shown her love, and caring nurturing , getting her psychiatric help, like so many of us need today, things may have been some what different in the out come of her future! I do believe that she did know what she was doing when she killed all of the men, but she was already to far gone with her sickiness. ( lack of having love as a child and good direction for life)She was paying every man back for what she was put through as a child and as a woman.... This book is a must read if you are a true crime reader!



2. It seems peculiar that Reynolds' 1992 account of the life and crimes of Aileen Wuornos has not been promoted in conjunction with the Oscar-winning film MONSTER, which was based on Wuornos's life. Perhaps the substantial liberties which the screenplay takes with the facts are the reason.

   MONSTER is a work of art, whereas DEAD ENDS is a fast-paced factual presentation of the crimes. Ty, Lee's sidekick, is little like the character portrayed by Christina Ricci. First, she's unequivocally unattractive physically. Second, in reality she was much older than Ricci's character and was far more responsible for her own actions. She was not merely a thwarted adolescent whose repressive family loathed her same-sex tendencies. Finally, she lived with Aileen Wuornos for several years before the murder spree began. The scriptwriter clearly wished her characters to have understandable motivations; in contrast, in DEAD ENDS, readers never get enough background information to fully make sense of Ty and Aileen's lengthy relationship--particularly why Ty stayed on with Aileen for so long.

   DEAD ENDS also is much less empathetic than MONSTER to Wuornos herself. Though it is clear that Wuornos grew up in a grotesquely dysfunctional family (her real father was a convicted pederast who probably hanged himself in prison; her adoptive father was her own grandfather, who committed suicide and very possibly murdered his wife, Wuornos's adopted mother; her real mother abandoned her and her brother while still a teenager; and on and on), DEAD ENDS lends little sympathy to this woman who murdered seven men in a sociopathic spree (which easily might have included far more victims, but for the machinations of Lady Luck).

   Aileen Wuornos was not the first but the thirty-fifth female serial killer documented in American history; however, her methodology--using violence in a world which tolerates only masculine force--is what seems to have made her so repugnant to Reynolds and others. It was an interesting tact to take on the part of the screenwriter of MONSTER: in the film, the audience cannot help feeling sorry for this wreck of a woman.

   On a planet where physical crimes by men against women astronomically exceed those by women against men, it is fascinating that the prosecutors of Aileen Wuornos, as well as Reynolds himself, find her so repulsive. Hollywood and the popular media project image after image of male violence inflicted upon females. How curious that in a global patriarchy, pathetic characters like Wuornos are so loathed (recall the furor caused by THELMA AND LOUISE?) while the groping Mr. Schwartzenegger is elected to the governership of California!




3. I am an avid fan of true crime books and this is by FAR the most one-sided book I've ever read. It wasn't about the crimes, it was about this author's personal feelings and dislike of Aileen Wuornos. He has a real problem with women, lesbians in particular. He made Ms. Wuornos out to be someone she wasn't. She had a hard life, yes and chose to committ crimes, but that wasn't what this book was about. Again, it wasn't worth the $. I actually threw my copy of this away.



4. I was going to buy this book, but when I looked at the inside and how it was written, I decided not to. My God, this writer can't spell - the grammar is horrible, and that was just on the first few pages. So I've decided not to buy it. Get Lethal Intent instead. Also about Aileen and very well written.

5 comments about Lethal Intent.

1. This book is so badly written that I almost can not read it. The language is bad, the narrative jumps here and there without any discernable intention. There are too many details, and the story is so jumbled that it is almost impossible to follow. I do not recommend this book. See the film "Monster" instead.



2. My assignment was to complete a psychological character anyalysis on Aileen Wuornos. This book proved to be invaluable. Being unable to literally interview the "client", utilizing the works of Sue Russell enabled the understanding of the character via friends, family, peer interviews in the book. I highly recommend it just to give an understanding how a personality as Aileen Wuornos is developed via life experiences, etc. Great resource and good reading.



3. I read several of the reviews of Lethal Intent so you could say I was forewarned before I bought. The story begins with Wuornos' childhood. The details are interesting because there are many incidents that appear to be drawn from neighborhood friends and Wuornos' surviving sister Lori. The story continues through her relationship with Moore, the killings and Wournos' arrest. That is where the story seizes up badly and becomes almost unreadable.
   
   Russell then goes off down rabbit trails with snippits from various crime experts she had evidently interviewed. Lots of one-liners and opinions on serial killers and crime by women. The thread of the story is lost. I kept waiting for the story to get back on track. I wanted the story to continue, but it was continually bogged down by these lengthy opinions and views. This tact was not insightful, it was boring.
   
   Russell is absolutely a poor writer, at least with a novel. Her credits include lots of magazine work that may be her forte, this novel is not. Overall, I picked up this book because I wanted to know more about how Wuornos lived her life. I do not think, as a few readers did, that Russell was harsh and demonstrated a great animosity for her subject. Wuornos obviously was fiercely anti-social and used most people she encountered throughout her life to meet her immediate needs.
   
   I did not think that Russell inserting details of the victims' last days plans, or known itinerary, was a bad idea. It is known that many men did give Wuornos a ride when she hitchhiked without engaging in sexual acts with her. While I believe a few of the men that she killed appear to have accepted Wuornos' sexual propositions, I believe that others were most likely forced a gunpoint, or tricked, to take her to the secluded locations where they were murdered. Either way, Wuornos was a calculated, cold-blooded killer and deserves little sympathy.
   
   It should be clear that Wuornos began her sexual activities at a very young age. Of course it is shocking to believe that a child engaged in these acts. It appears that many of these acts began with other children and as time progressed, other teenagers and men. Certainly it is tragic, but Wuornos became an adult and she chose to sell her body for small sums of money as her lifelong profession. Many women have lived tragic childhoods and went on to live rewarding lives. Woornos did not.



4. A lot of the previous reviews' criticisms are valid however I found a HUGE amount of material in this book which connected the dots for me at least. Just the inconsistencies regarding her life's story are red flags. Sometimes what can't be validated is as telling as facts and considering what is presented as Lee's view of the world around her its inexplicable to me how she lived her lifestyle as long as she did. Borderlines and Sociopaths generally burn out in their 40's and behave superficially more like the norm. Lee Wournos slowed down but her behavior never aproached the norm and her narcissisism protected her from the reality of her dismal life by its unreality. Ex: her belief that she was a hero.
   
   The author's few British words were a distraction and there was a cut and paste feel to much of this book but a fascinating subject is presented.



5. Goes through the entire life story of Aileen Wuornos, notorious female serial killer up to her execution. Very informative, good read.

5 comments about Monster: My True Story.

1. It seems that the author (and I'm not talking about Aileen here, since she didn't write this book, no matter what Berry-Dee is trying to convince you) has taken lots of newspaper clippings and put this book together in a quick way to make money. Although it's not badly written there is something missing. There is hardly any references to her childhood and very much about her being interviewed. Lots of stuff I believe is taken from Nick Broomfield's Aileen documentaries. It's an ok read and I'm glad I got this one from the library and didn't buy it!



2. i purchased this book written by christopher berry dee,i was very very disappointed as it said on the cover aileen in her own words,there were the odd one or two quotes,as ive read sue russells book lethal intent,i could see alot of similarities in berry dee's book.as for the one of the main topics being corky reid,maybe he should have studied the case more,and not blamed aileen for his disapperance/murder,as he went into hiding to avoid large debts he had incurred.if you want a book given both sides of aileen i would not go for this book,i would purchase sue russells book



3. I actually met Corky Reid, who thought it strange, that Aileen Wuornos should take the rap for his death, when he was very much alive. Corky turned himself into the police and back to his family, very much alive and NOT THE EIGHTH VICTIM BY WUORNOS!
   How could THIS so called WRITER state he is writing a TRUE STORY, plus from the mouth of Aileen Wuornos (who obviously knew she did not kill Corky Reid!) and have such a BLUNDER as this?! The book should be taken off the shelf, or retitled, in my opinion, as it is not truthful! PLUS, I have read all the BOOKS written about Aileen Wuornos and the only one that makes any REAL STATEMENTS is LETHAL INTENT by Sue Russell, who actually met the people she writes about and QUOTES THEM!



4. I APPEAR IN THIS BOOK, BUT WHAT IS STATED ABOUT ME IS NOT TRUE; NOR DID THIS WRITER TRY TO VERIFY ANY TRUTH WITH ME.
   
   AT FIRST BLUSH, IT ALSO APPEARS THIS WRITER SIMPLY COPIED "QUOTES" FROM COURT DOCUMENTS, AND PARROTED "THOSE" AS "AILEEN WUORNOS' WORDS"; AS I SEE STATEMENTS (SUPPOSEDLY OUT OF MS. WURONOS' MOUTH) THAT WERE TAKEN (OUT OF MY MOUTH) FROM MY LEGAL DEPOSITIONS!
   
   TOO BAD THERE IS NO LEGAL RAMIFICATION FOR PLAGERISM FROM DEPOSITIONS, OR THIS WRITER WOULD BE OUT OF A JOB. AND, IN MY OPINION, DESERVINGLY SO, AS THE ONLY TRUTH IN THIS BOOK IS THE SPELLING OF THE AILEEN WUORNOS NAME.
   
   JACKELYN GIROUX



5. I found myself skipping around this book looking for substantial and pertinent information about the workings of this female killer. It was easy to put down and pick up again as compared to another bio which was riveting.