My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World’s Most Violent Men

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This book was very insightful and provided lots of informative on murderers, killers and psychopaths all while being easy to read and understand. Join the UK’s leading criminologist Professor David Wilson, author of the fascinating new book Murder At Home as he explores how, for so many victims, their safest space is the place they are most in danger. Delving into infamous as well as lesser-known cases, this examination of how murderers have used different rooms in a house is perfect for fans of The Dark Side of the Mind and The Mind of a Murderer. Interesting - yes, detailed - very, all the different sorts of murder, eg. domestic, contract etc with their own chapters, well-written - definitely and seeded with famous murders that saturated the media at the time, but..... although it was very comprehensive and research-based, it didn't really tell me any more than any other similar book about murderers. And it wasn't very memorable. David Wilson is the author of the gripping books My Life with Murderers, A Plot to Kill and new release Murder at Home. Emeritus Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University and the founding Director of the university’s Centre for Criminal Justice and Research, he is also a respected TV presenter, most recently fronting Channel 4’s In the Footsteps of Killers with Emilia Fox and David Wilson’s Crime Files for BBC Scotland. Ashamedly it has taken me sometime to get to it. It has been sat on my bedside table waiting patiently to be read but am glad to say that I have now read it and it was every bit as interesting as I had hoped for and more.

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Professor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK's youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath. I also thoroughly enjoyed the little titbits into prison life with Charles Manson (I laughed out loud at the, in all honestly, bizarre scenario of Manson threatening to stab the prison guards with his moustache while stark naked and covered in shoe polish) and a ‘Furries’ convention that Wilson inadvertently ended up getting in the mix with. I would have enjoyed some more of these personal insights, as they added some much needed light relief to a heavy topic.My Life with Murderers is a reflection by renound professor of criminology David Wilson on his time as governor and assistant governor at a number of British prisons and the numerous encounters with murders he has had along the way. However, it’s also more than that, as it follows Wilson’s musings on what it is to be a murderer and the various types of murderers there are, from spree and hitmen to serial and beyond. Overall an interesting book. What stood out for me was the contrast with UK and US police interrogation techniques. One investigatory and the other accusatory. I liked the PEACE mnemonic for investigatory procedures: The author’s professional experiences, lets us get a step closer into meeting these people and finding out. Through David’s own thoughts and the conversations he has with these people, it in some ways opened my eyes and was fascinating learning about techniques they use in trying to uncover the truth. His conversation and dealings with some of the more well known killers, was especially interesting. Professor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men – especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK’s youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath. In a career spanning 40 years, David has met all sorts of killers: hitmen, mass, spree and serial killers and those murderers who seem to kill “in 5 minutes of madness”. Sometimes he meets them in a tense interview in a cell; sometimes to share a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); or sometimes just to look them in the eye as he tells them that, yes, they really are a psychopath.

My Life With Murderers by David Wilson | Goodreads My Life With Murderers by David Wilson | Goodreads

I have watched David Wilson give interviews on a wide array of cases in the past, I've watched his documentaries and read some of his books. Wilson writes well, smooth simple prose that aids in eliminating any pretension whatsoever and yet carries a rather nuanced but striking knowledge base that’s undoubtedly dripping with murderous intrigue. This book does a good job of covering both the cases he has covered and going into depth about different types of killers while also documenting his life and how he got to be one of the UK's leading criminologists.

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With experiences unlike any other and an unparalleled knowledge of murder, David will discuss his fascinating and compelling study of human nature, delving into infamous as well as lesser-known true crime cases in an attempt to make sense out of the senseless. The best section was toward the end when he discussed the making of the documentary 'Interview with a Murderer'. He spends some time discussing the murder of a teenage paper boy with the convicted Murderer Bert Spencer, who was suspected of killing the boy.

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I was fortunate enough to see the author at an event in Bloody Scotland in 2019. Having found his talk extremely intriguing as well as spellbinding, I could have happily sat there all day and listened to him talking, I bought a copy of this book after the event where he was signing copies.With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes’– Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of Criminology I know I'm not the only one who spends their time watching YouTube videos about serial killers. This book is the ideal companion to that pastime. David Wilson, the renowned UK criminologist, author, broadcaster, emeritus professor and former prison governor whose 40-year career has brought him face to face with countless killers, is coming to Exeter during a 2023 UK tour, ‘My Life with Murderers’.

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The issue however is that there is practically nothing in the book that describes how life in prison is. The book is more about describing stories of murderers. He intersperses stories of notorious cases - from Denis Nilsen to the murder of James Bulger - to illustrate his themes which include the social nature of crime, and how the murderer is a product of society. Stars — This is exactly what you think it is, and I — For One — Am extremely grateful for that, because David Wilson is perhaps the true Prof of all things murder and crime so hearing his personal journey through the murky depths of psychopathic Rabbit Warrens is one I strapped in for whole-heartedly. Thoroughly enjoyable and knowledgeable, especially if you thinking of going going down the criminology route as am I. But it’s all great for learning things that you’ve not heard of before. Or a more better insight into things; such as psychopathy.David Wilson is Professor of Criminology and founding Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University – one of the university’s “research centres of excellence”. He is the co-Editor of the prestigious Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, which is produced five times per year. Prior to taking up his academic appointment in September 1997, David was Senior Policy Advisor to the Prison Reform Trust, and between October 1983-April 1997 he worked as a Prison Governor. I received this book as part of my last A Box of Stories book delivery and was quite excited by it. I was looking forward to reading all about the interviews with the murderers and learning about the psychology of why they committed these acts. Unfortunately, this wasn't what I got. Wilson is an academic and has worked in several prisons including Wormwood Scrubs and open prison Grendon.