This important, riveting book explores the troubled minds of mass killers through their own words. Author David J. Krajicek examines the leavings of some 50 killers from the United States and Europe, both contemporary and historical. Some are humble, some grandiose--from brief, introspective suicide notes to long whines by sex-deprived men. A few are poignant and thoughtful, and others reek of narcissism, like the ultimate selfie. They range in length from an eerie, five-word message left by a Michigan school bomber nearly a century ago--"Criminals are made, not born"--to the Mein Kampf-sized manifesto of Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik, whose dissertation goose-steps along for nearly a million words.
- Misogyny, misanthropy, and racism are threads that bind together many of the men and boys--nearly all mass killers are males--profiled in this book. Some were mere adolescents who descend prematurely into world-worry nihilism. Many exhibit a macho sadistic streak that masks deep psychological insecurities, including damaged masculinity.
- Killers in this class do not "snap." They plan their assaults for months or years, drawing up detailed battle plans and accumulating expensive weaponry. For many of them, documentation of this process in journals or videos is an essential component; they understand they are leaving evidence that will help the marquee lights of their crimes burn brighter and longer.
- Some mass killers seek revenge. Some seek fame--or infamy, its modern synonym. Some target a group or individual. Others choose victims at random. Krajicek cites three factors in nearly all cases: mental illness, easy access to firearms (especially assault rifles), and missed signals by parents, law enforcers, school officials, or other authority figures.
- Mass Killers also documents the fraternal connection between members of this grotesque club. "Serial killers are lame,"Adam Lanza wrote before slaughtering innocent children at an elementary school near his Connecticut home. "Everyone knows that mass murderers are the cool kids." Krajicek writes that Eric Harris, the alpha of the two 1999 Columbine High School mass killers, has become an idol for other psychopathic fanboys around the world who consider themselves to be part of a revolution of fist-bumping "pseudocommandos."
And that may be close to the truth. "The phenomenon is feeding on itself," warns an American psychologist who studies school shootings.