"Between Good & Evil" by R.L. DePue ((Warner Books)
I have read every book about profiling there is, so I opened this one only because it contained information on Columbine that I was going to use for a report. Another book on profiling, I decided, same information, same ideas, same theme. I was wrong. This is an amazing piece of work written from an entirely different view, with clarity and honesty. DePue comes from a different place, discussing the balance between good and evil, the fine lines between right and wrong -- and the ravines. He discusses the science of profiling, yes, but he also shares his personal journey and teaches us more than any other good cop, just doing his job of putting the bad people away, trying to make sense out of senselessness. We understand how our personal history creates who we are, and how it never leaves us, how our personal tragedy creates and shapes our values and work. We also learn how profiling works, and the mind of the predator is never at rest. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in true crime and law enforcement.
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"Point Last Seen" by Hannah Nyala (Penguin Books)
One of my students turned in a book report on “Point Last Seen,” a slim little volume in our Criminal Justice library at school. “You really should read it,” he urged me. “It’s about domestic violence and being a tracker.” Domestic violence? Tracker? He’s an excellent student, going to be an even better officer. For a man to be interested in educating himself on domestic violence issues is not exactly extraordinary, in my business, but it is interesting. This book obviously moved him.
Having been a domestic violence educator myself for almost 15 years, I have probably read almost everything there is on the subject, but I slipped the book in to my bag for later perusal, amidst papers to grade and a dozen other things I had to do.
Hanna Nyala’s book is interesting, it is extraordinary, it is moving, and it is like nothing I have read in my 15 years of work. In this little volume, she weaves a tale of terror and hope and hard work, and it is about domestic violence and being a tracker. Surviving an extremely violent relationship, she learns to survive in nature; she tracks the lost as she is lost, and both metaphors blend beautifully. She pauses to reflect on the beauty of the world, occasionally losing sight, for it is a tough world. Often I would flash back to when my sister and my family was living the nightmare of her ordeal with a dangerous man, and I could feel Ms. Nyala’s terror.
This was a book not easy to put down, and often I went to work groggy in the morning, having read all night. I want to thank Hannah Nyala for her honesty and her willingness to share her story so others may circle the horrifying track. And my student for bringing me the book -- sometimes my students are my teachers.
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