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Sons of Cain
- A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present
- Narrated by: Mikael Naramore
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
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Sons of Cain
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Summary
From the author of Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters comes an in-depth examination of sexual serial killers throughout human history, how they evolved, and why we are drawn to their horrifying crimes.
Before the term was coined in 1981, there were no "serial killers." There were only "monsters" - killers society first understood as werewolves, vampires, ghouls and witches or, later, Hitchcockian psychos.
In Sons of Cain - a book that fills the gap between dry academic studies and sensationalized true crime - investigative historian Peter Vronsky examines our understanding of serial killing from its prehistoric anthropological evolutionary dimensions in the pre-civilization era (c. 15,000 BC) to today. Delving further back into human history and deeper into the human psyche than Serial Killers - Vronsky's 2004 book, which has been called "the definitive history of the phenomenon of serial murder" - he focuses strictly on sexual serial killers: thrill killers who engage in murder, rape, torture, cannibalism and necrophilia, as opposed to for-profit serial killers, including hit men, or "political" serial killers, like terrorists or genocidal murderers.
These sexual serial killers differ from all other serial killers in their motives and their foundations. They are uniquely human and - as popular culture has demonstrated - uniquely fascinating.
What listeners say about Sons of Cain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- 🧟♀️
- 08-06-22
Tried but couldn't finish it
I really tried to finish this book but got as far as Jack the ripper and it was like listening to an autopsy medical manual, just listing the wounds inflicted on each victim. I've listened to lots murder stories but after 35 minutes of listing to graphic descriptions of every incision and body party removed I gave up.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eugenia
- 31-10-18
We have met the enemy and he is us
A very creepy book, but which must, I believe, be read by everyone. Yes, it creeped me out and I had to sleep with the lights on, for several days, but it is such a brilliant study into the matter, and helps understand a little the evil within us. I say we shouldn't pretend evil doesn't exist, because it does. We should understand it to prevent it, and this wrapped up to a beautiful conclusion.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 23-08-21
A very satisfactory historical exploration
Comprehensive, far-reaching. insiteful, titilating and appropriately gastly, I loved this thorough look through humananity's killing nature. I did not much like the very generic sounding narrator. He seemed not to have a good grasp of desired emphasis, rather placing it often at unwanted moments, however he spoke very clearly.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ashley
- 20-11-23
Excellent, recommended
Very well written and researched.
The narration was also very high quality
A must listen on serial murder
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- hannah
- 27-10-21
Would recommend!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, to the absolute fullest. The content and the delivery by the VA were top-knotch. A very in-depth and thought provoking look at serial killers and serial killing as a phenomenon. Not too stodgy and educational, not too sensationalist and bloodthirsty either. A perfect 5/5 for me.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sally Mally
- 18-08-21
Comprehensive information
Its hard listening at times, due to nature of the content. I found this to be fascinating and interesting on serial killers, back story, police trail and aftermath.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-01-23
a little bit netflix doc but very enjoyable
yeah loved it, sometime a little silly sometimes a little fast and loose with the science but always entertaining. The historical accounts are fascinating and details centuries of stuff I've never seen covered before. With some of the hypotheses (especially the reptilian brain stuff) I could take it or leave it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- K-Diddy
- 10-01-19
Interesting but flawed
It's a difficult thing to adequaltely review Sons of Cain. On one hand it is well researched, with interesting historical accounts and decently formed arguements...
...but on the other hand the author has a tendancy to draw large generalisations or make statements that arent supported by current scientific fact.
Central among these is the arguement that there is some form of 'primitive reptilian' part of our brain which could make any of us into serial killers.
The Author cites prehistoric accounts of interspecies violence between humans and neaderthals... Although ACTUAL paleontological evidence of this does not exist.
Also - the biological assumptionism that early humans and 'primtive hominids' are in some way closer to the psyche of a serial killer simply isnt true. Much of the eveidence we have points to Neanderthals as caring individuals with a rich culutral belief system including jewellry, music and cave paintings.
It feels like the author is trying to move away from old ideas of 'good and evil' by contemplating both physiology and culture, which I feel is generally a positive move.
In some parts Sons or Cain can be profund and insightful, but in others it feels like the complexity of historical and culutral issues are not quite fully fleshed out or explored.
The history included in this book is also very Western-centric, with Europe and America filling the majority of the historical accounts.
It feels like, without knowing it, the author is drawing up further questions about the nature of violence, culture, society, class and many other socio-anthropological relationships to Serial murder.
Still - for those interested in Serial Killer history - this isnt a bad book and I would certainly suggest a read!
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- miss Laura Z Burden
- 31-08-18
A must for a true crime fan!
this book was filled with wonderful dark information, but some stories jump too quick though.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- J. Fothergill
- 22-11-22
Some interesting ideas
Starts off slow but builds up to a fascinating look at the witch trials and werewolves. The best parts weren't even the most famous of serial killers but the unknown European. Interesting too was the information on Japanese war skulls.
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