Profiling Topic of the Day: Interview with a Cannibal

No, I haven't been away because I got eaten; well, at least not by a human. Work on the other hand has consumed a good portion of me! Finally, things are lightening up and you should see The Daily Profiler return to a daily rather than monthly feature!

I have been so busy I forgot to tell you all about the great book by Gunter Stampf which I edited. When I was asked to make the English version readable (the original is in German) I was rather leery about being involved with such a project. Most of you who have read The Daily Profiler for a while know that I am a rabid anti-gore person and I don't like true crime that is overly gruesome and gratuitous. I expected a book titled Interview with a Cannibal to be of that ilk. I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I liked the book a lot, a whole lot, because not only was it well-written but it actually supported my view that the excess of gore and violence on the Internet is an unhealthy trend.

The book covers the intersection of two disturbed human beings - the psychopathic cannibal Armin Meiwes and his willing (yes, willing) victim, the mentally ill Bernd Brandes - and cannibal websites on the Internet. Stampf meticulously (but in a good way) tells the story through interviews with the cannibal in his jail cell and through histories of the two men. Interview with a Cannibal is is a pleasure to read in spite of the disturbing material. I also added a profile of Armin Meiwes at the end of the book to assist readers in understanding the psychology of this extremely creepy man.

For a little more about the book, check out my interview with Laura James at CLEWS.

Criminal Profiler Pat Brown